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August 2014 Issue – Volume 39 • Number 8

We continue this month with more ways to interpret Ted Reed’s classic book Progressive Steps to Syncopation for the Modern Drummer. This time we’ll be converting the written manuscript from its original 4/4 form to 5/4 time. The following applications can be used with any of the seventy-two repetitive one-measure examples from pages 29, 30, and 33–36, or from the thirty-two-measure rhythmic melodies from pages 37–44 (in the original printing). Let’s begin by exploring Example 1 from page 29. Now convert the phrase to 5/4. It takes five measures from the original manuscript to equal a four-measure phrase in 5/4. As with the 3/4 applications from last month, there are several ways of approaching this conversion in your practice. Begin by reading the original manuscript and omitting the barlines. Another approach is to write in new 5/4 barlines with a red pen so you can clearly see each measure in […]
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Articles in August 2014

Groove Freedom Part 2: “Funky Drummer” Permutations

Welcome to the second installment of articles based on my new book, Groove Freedom. I wrote this book for myself as much as I did for my students. There is nothing quite like the feeling of having one hundred percent…

by Mike Johnston
Feb 16, 2018

Harvey Mason: The Groove Is All Around

Harvey Mason is one of the most recorded musicians in history. His precise, soul-filled drumming has knocked out fans of sophisticated groove playing for more than forty years, on such seminal albums as Herbie Hancock’s Head Hunters, Charles Earland’s Leaving…

by Ken Micallef
Feb 16, 2018

Elaine Bradley

The plan was clear for Neon Trees’ new album: big sounds, big ideas, and big performances. Neon Trees’ Pop Psychology is what happens when a successful pop-rock band pursues a hip-hop recording approach using Peter Gabriel’s So and Kanye West’s…

Story by Ken Micallef | Photos by Alex Solca
Feb 16, 2018

Lee Goodness

Photo by Nicole Goodness   Curtis Mayfield was unlike any other soul artist, and the job of servicing his timeless grooves was a unique challenge, especially during the dawn of electronic drums. The journeyman player who helped bring Mayfield’s message…

by Drew Schultz
Feb 16, 2018
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Upbeat Triplets Breaking Free From the Downbeat

This month we’re going to look at quarter- and 8th-note-triplet rhythms that are offset to the upbeats. When we talk about upbeats, we’re usually referring to the “&” counts between the quarter notes in a straight 8th or swung context.…

by Bill Bachman
Feb 16, 2018

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