The response and traffic on my lessons page has been fantastic, and I will keep adding new ones. The lessons are based on some of the concepts that I use with my students. They are aimed at intermediate to advanced players, who can analyse a concept and apply it to their own playing.
Clicking on a link below will bring you to your lesson
Jazz Co-Ordination who needs it?
Philly Joe Jones Solo Transcription
Frankie Dunlop solo transcription
Billy Higgins solo Transcription
This lesson is based on one of the concepts from my "Odd Meter Clave For Drumset" book, and was featured in the May edition Modern Drummer Magazine.
We are going to take the rumba clave in the 3-2 direction, and extending it to 5, and look at some of the rhythmic possibilities. I’ll make the presumption you already have a basic knowledge of clave. For easier reading I have written it in 5/2 so that the clave and associated patterns are still written as quarter and eighth notes. What’s important is we are now playing our new clave over five pulses. I add an extra stroke to the 3 side of the clave and leave the 2 side intact. So I now have four strokes over the first three pulses and two strokes over the last two pulses. This could be thought of as a 4-2 clave.
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THE CASCARA IN 5
Once you are familiar with this, take any of the common clave based rhythms and adapt it to fit the new clave. In this example I will take the cascara and add the extra stroke to the 4 side.
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Let’s add the clave to the pattern so we can see how they line up. I have added a bass drum on the bombo stroke of the clave. On the chart a second bass drum is written which is optional and not played on the audio.
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THE CASCARA AND CONGA TUMBAO IN 5
Now I adapt the conga tumbao to fit the clave. The slap sound is played on the rimclick and open tones on the toms, both played with the left hand. The cascara is kept with the right hand, and the bass drum plays the bombo note. On the audio there is a clave overdubbed.
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MAMBO FUNK IN 5
Now I’ll play and an adaptation of the bongo bell pattern in 5 and split the clave between the bass drum and snare, which gives it a funk feel. I call this pattern Mambo Funk.
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Let’s embellish the pattern with extra snare and bass drums. In the played example I will start with the basic pattern and then apply the embellishments, moving the pattern around the kit.
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Conor Guilfoyle: Drum Lessons
Lessons
I regularly get asked by my students about how to comp while playing Latin grooves, particularly Afro/Cuban. These are students who are not playing clave based music, but jazz with a Latin groove or jazz tune with a Latin section in it. They could play the “patterns”, but found them too repetitive for a more open interactive style of playing.
So I decided to compile a selection of exercises/ideas to free up the left hand and bass drum. While they are not devised with clave based music in mind, the clave is where I go for inspiration. The right hand plays cascara throughout and each exercise will work with 3-2 rumba clave. However feel free to take any of the ideas and apply them as you see fit.
Download the lesson here
Here’s the link to the accompanying video here
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In this lesson I will take one of the most common stick patterns in Afro-Cuban music, add some embellishments and accents and apply it to the drumset to create a nice sounding funk groove. I’m sure most of you know the “cascara” pattern, but if not you can see and hear it below. In a traditional setting it is often played on the shell of the timbales, but here I will play it on the closed hi-hat. Remember not to ignore the accents when playing it. They not only help to identify the clave in a traditional setting, but also add a “spice” to the pattern in any situation.
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To listen click here
Let’s again borrow another common timbale device and fill in all the “unplayed” eighth notes with our left hand. On the “1+” of each bar there is an option of playing a double with the left hand. This simulates the sound of the maracas, and gives a nice push to the pattern. On the mp3 I add these doubles randomly for effect.
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To listen click here
Now we move the left hand pattern to the snare drum. It is essential to play these as “ghost” strokes, keeping the right hand as the lead pattern. I have also added the bass drum on beat “1” in the first bar, and on “2+” in the second. Remember to keep those accents.
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To listen click here
Finally we will add an accent to beat “4” in both bars. This will not effect the sticking, but requires a certain degree of control, but the dynamic differences between the strokes are essential to the overall feel of the pattern. Extra bass drum strokes are also added, along with an open hi-hat. These are optional and so are notated in brackets. On the audio I vary the bass drum adding the optional strokes. As ever feel free to experiment by adding strokes, or adapting the pattern to create an original groove.
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Here are drumset applications of the most popular Cuban rhythms. It’s an overview, rather than a detailed study. There are many great publications available where you can really go deep into the rhythms. The idea here is to show basic but accurate interpretations. Arrangers outside the idiom are starting to know their Songo from their Mambo and expect you to as well.
Some of the patterns are in 3-2 clave and others in 2-3. The clave can be reversed by starting the patterns from the second bar. I chose the clave direction, from what I thought was the most popular direction for that rhythm.There are no bells or clave blocks in the patterns, instead I have used the sounds of the kit to replicate them.
I have put all the patterns and explanations into a single PDF which you can download
The audio patterns are not always taken verbatim from the written pattern, but are generally are very close.
Click on a link below to hear each pattern
Cuban Kit patterns download
Download lots of Cuban drumset patterns, that transcribed while I was in Cuba.
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Snare Drum Exercises
As I have said before I have done a lot of work on the rudiments. Hours spent going through the Wilcoxin books, Alan Dawson’s Rudimental Ritual, among many others. They have been very beneficial to my technique, allowing me to have the ability to execute some of the wonderful phrasing that I heard the jazz master’s play. One of the issues that I have as a jazz drummer is that the rudiments in themselves don’t swing or at least don’t have a direct line to jazz phrasing. The eighth notes are played straight rather than swung, and they tend to start and finish on the beat. Jazz drummers don’t play that way. To help remedy the problem I have come up with a rudimental series where the eighths are swung, the accents displaced, and the rolls are triplet based utilising typical jazz phrasing. I have borrowed heavily from the late great Alan Dawson’s Rudimental Ritual, in that the rudiments are grouped together drags, flams, rolls, and paradiddles. I have also used his concept of keeping them in 4 bar groupings. However, unlike the Ritual I don’t see this as an exercise to be played continuously from top to bottom (though you could). Each rudiment is an individual phrase and should be learnt as such. Emphasis should be placed on phrasing rather than speed. On the recording all lines are played 4 times at 130 BPM, and I feather the bass drum and play the hi-hat on 2 + 4 throughout. You can always vary that depending on the rudiment and the desired result. This is intended as a supplementary exercise to traditional rudimental studies. So get stuck in to those books, get your chops together and use this exercise to help get your hard work to sound well in a jazz idiom.
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Now let’s move these rudiments on to the drum set. Many are exact replicas of the previous snare patterns moved around the toms, while others have been changed or the bass drum added. On the audio all exercises have been preceded by 4 bars time. They are not 4 bar breaks in the traditional sense, but repetitive exercises that have been placed in a practical format. However I do suggest you practice them this way. The real creativity happens when the exercises are under your hands and you can mix them up and use in “real” playing situations. On the roll exercises the bass drum is played 4 in the bar though this is not written in. Again emphasis is not on speed but phrasing. The tempos vary from exercise to exercise on the audio, though they are all in the mid tempo region. You can try them at different speeds and see which ones lend to which tempos. Remember, this is only ONE possible way of applying them. Use your imagination to come up with your own applications.
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There is just so much information online at the moment it’s scary! You can spent literally hours flitting from one thing to another, looking for the secret of fire and still come away feeling vaguely dissatisfied. This is not to dismiss the ton of high quality articles, videos etc. but it’s the sheer amount of it that’s daunting. Also the fact that you know its’ infinite, can make you spend less time on the ones that matter. In this respect I’m as guilty as anyone. This was brought home to me recently when Chander Sarjoe a fantastic Dutch drummer did a workshop at the college here in Dublin. Despite having an in-depth knowledge of both jazz and Carnatic musics, among other styles, he spent the whole class embellishing a single figure. Twisting, turning, adding, subtracting and generally developing its complexity. There was months of work in this one phrase. Well, it got me thinking so I decided to write a series of rudimental exercises based on solely one bar of 16th notes. I enjoy practicing rudiments, I particularly like Alan Dawson’s rudimental ritual. However I also like to challenge myself rhythmically, (though some say I’m already rhythmically challenged :) so I have tried to combine both with these exercises. The 16th notes are subdivided in to two groups of 5 and two groups 3. This is the rhythmic key to all the studies. It is essential the quarter note pulse be played throughout. While this may problems initially it is also what makes this an interesting rhythmic study. The first thing we’ll do is learn the sub-division pattern using the Carnatic syllables from “Subdivisions” lesson. So clap the pulse while saying TAKADIMI, and then change the syllables to 5+5+3+3 which is:
TADIKINATHOM-TADIKINATHOM-TAKITA-TAKITA
So on to the snare. As there are so many samples I have decided to put the whole lesson into a single PDF document. This is to save you having to open a load of web pages, and also for easy printing, to use on your practice time.
To download the lesson click here
To download the lesson audio click here
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This rudimental solo is based on the Snare Drum Subdivisions lesson. It keeps the concept of dividing a bar of 16th notes into 5+5+6, with the 6 divided either into 2 x3’s or 3 x2’s. While this rhythmic restriction may seem limiting it in fact open doors for me, forcing me to come up with new rhythmic phrases and ideas. It’s in the style of the Charlie Wilcoxin solos. All rudiments and stickings are clearly marked. I suggest you work on bars individually, where you’ll find some nice standalone phrases. I dedicate this solo to one of my mentors Keith Copeland. This fantastic drummer and teacher introduced me to the joys of Charlie Wilcoxin, as well as the frustration of Fred Albright snare books. Also, a big-shout out to the guys on the Cymbalholic forum, for all their advice on the writing of this solo.
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To hear it click here
To see a video of me playing the solo (12mbs)
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Odd Meters
This is a groove that I have been playing around with recently, so I thought I’d put it up here. It’s not clave based but has its’ roots in Songo. It’s a two bar pattern, played between hi-hat, snare and bass. Each bar could be played as a pattern in itself, but when the two are played together, it has a very nice cyclical groove. Here is bar one:
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To listen click here
Here is bar two: The bass drum on beat one (in brackets) is optional and in the played example, I alternate between playing it and omitting it.
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To listen click here
Now the complete pattern.
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I also like to think of this as a one bar pattern with an even 5 pulses. To demonstrate this I have written the previous two bar pattern as one bar pattern using 8ths and sixteenths. I have modified it slightly. As well as being a slightly different pattern, I moved the right hand to the cymbal while playing the left hand around the toms. You will see the lines on the PDF that shows where the second group restarts. You will also be able to hear the metronome throughout.
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To listen click here
To download a video of me playing this groove (23MBs) click here
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Swing in 7
Let’s look at playing in 7 with a swing feel. There are some difficulties that need to be overcome. The first and probably the biggest issue is our dependence on “beat one”. If we have to play “the one” every bar it will feel chopped or stilted.
One way to avoid this is to practice using 2 bar phrases changing what I call the “targets” in the second bar. By a target I mean a beat used to resolve or finish your phrase. "Beat one" is the most common target, but we need to avoid using this continuously to keep the rhythm flowing.
For example a good target beat in 7 would be “beat two”, as this allows you play duple meter phrases. You could finish with a crash on your selected target and then change to a more subtle sound like a snare or bass, and then maybe not even playing it at all but just feel it.
The “ands” of the beat are good targets too, as these are very commonly crashed on in a typical jazz situation. I suggest you work methodically picking a single target point and stay with it till you feel comfortable. Start with beat two and when comfortable move to beats three, four, etc. then the “ands” of each beat.
In the meter of 7 you have fourteen targets points. While you may not need to play “beat one” all the time, you do always need to know where it is. Think of it as a stake in the ground, and that you are attached to by a rope. You can stay close to it for safety or you can be brave and move further away, but if you lose sight of that stake the rope has been cut and you are lost.
A question I get commonly asked is “What about the hi-hat?” The issue being if you are in 7 and you play the standard jazz hi-hat foot pattern on two and four it will become the one and three every second bar, and that as we know is a mortal sin. You could adjust the hi-hat every bar, but that would go against the flow. For me it’s fine to keep it even.
The hi-hat alone does not make a pattern swing. It’s what goes on above/around it that counts. If you have good cymbal time, fluid phrases that are well executed, then the hi-hat will fit right in regardless of the beat it falls on. At times I keep it even, while at other times I like move it about like a bass drum as I would in 4/4.
Counting is another issue. I don’t like to have to count at all if I can avoid it. Counting fills up the musical space needed for your creativity. Of course it's needed at the start, for accuracy and learning, but the sooner you dispense with it the better. A system I use for counting in 7, is called the "three and A half pulse concept". I count three half notes and a quarter note instead of seven quarter notes.
Straight away half the numbers are gone, and with practice you will stop counting and feel the pulse as an ostinato that underpins what you play.
To see the counting system
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To listen
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One of the many musical qualities jazz has is a sense of forward motion. This is due to a number of factors, syncopation, walking bass lines, II-V harmony being some, even the crashes on the "ands" rather than the downbeats makes the music feel like it’s on the move. It's this quality that we need to maintain if we are to make an odd meter swing credibly.
This can be accomplished by following the above ideas, but you will also have to know the language of jazz to make it sound convincing. There is no point in me writing out a 100 jazz cymbal independence exercises applied to 7, they may help but won’t in themselves make you sound good.
You’ll need to listen, listen, listen,then listen again to the music and with a combination of practice and osmosis you will sound like a jazz drummer.
Here is an audio demonstration of some of the above ideas. First you will hear me play jazz time in 7, but with the three and a half pulse overdubbed. It will allow you hear how I play over the beat, around the beat and on the beat using the above concepts.
Then you will hear the same piece again but this time without the overdubbed pulse. Try to clap or count along with it. It may be tricky at first, but with time it will come. Also just listen to the playing without counting and it should sound natural. This is your goal. Good luck
To listen
CLICK HERE
To download a video (17MBs) of me playing Swing in 7 CLICK HERE
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Rhythm Exercises
Subdivisions
In this lesson I’m going to look at subdivisions of the pulse and how to play them in different groupings. I will show how sixteenths, which, are usually played in groups of four, or triplets which are usually grouped in 3’s can be regrouped into 5 or even 7.
You won’t need to be at your drumset for this lesson. Let’s begin by learning a series of syllables taken from the carnatic rhythm system of South India and apply it in a very practical way. They may be tongue twisters to begin with, but with practice they will quickly become essential tools in the application of subdivisions.
Ok let’s start with the syllables representing the numbers 1 to 5. They are:
TA = 1
TAKA = 2
TAKITA = 3
TAKADIMI = 4
TADIKINATHOM = 5
To listen
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These numbers do not represent any subdivision per se. For example TAKITA is a group of 3, though not necessarily a triplet. It could be 3 eighths, 3 sixteenths or triplets depending on how we apply it. Similarly TAKADIMI is a group of 4 but is not necessarily sixteenths, though it could be.
We can combine syllables to make longer phrases. To make a group of 7 we could combine syllables
4+3 = TAKADIMI-TAKITA
3+4 = TAKITA-TAKADIMI
5+2 = TADIKINATHOM-TAKA
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Similarly to create a group of 9 we could use the following combinations.
5+4 = TADIKINATHOM-TAKADIMI
4+5 = TAKADIMI-TADIKINATHOM
3+3+3 = TAKITA-TAKITA-TAKITA
To listen
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I have put lines to separate the syllables, but this is for easier visuals. Do not put a space or pause there. Practice them aloud, while placing a clap at the beginning of each syllable. This reinforces the various subdivisions. The longer the group the more options you have with the syllables. Practice your own subdivisions. For example see how many variations you can come with for a group 11?
Sixteenths in groups of 3
Let’s learn how to take a specific subdivision and regroup it. I’ll start with sixteenths in groups of 3.
Clap out your quarter pulse and saying TAKADIMI for each pulse. These are our sixteenths, (often counted 1e+ah). While maintaining the tempo of your pulse and subdivision, change your syllable from TAKADIMI to TAKITA. This will regroup the subdivisions into groups of 3.
We’ll need to do a little math to resolve them. Our total number of subdivisions per bar is 16. 3 goes into 16 five times with 1 left over, but for simplicity and musicality I will make it four groups of 3 and one group of 4.
3+3+3+3+4 = 16
This transfers to 4x TAKITA and 1 TAKADIMI to the speed of TAKADIMI (our subdivision)
To listen
click here
Sixteenths in groups of 5
Using the same system we can put our sixteenths in groups of 5. I will extend it to two bars, which means we now have 32 subdivisions to work with before we resolve it. So 5 goes into 32 six times with 2 left over.
5+5+5+5+5+5+2= 32
This transfers to 6 x TADIKINATHOM and 1x TAKA to the speed of TAKADIMI.
We can of course put the TAKA anywhere within in the cycle, but in this case for ease of explanation I put it at the end.
To listen
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Sixteenths in groups of 7
We will again use a 2 bar phrase. This time the 32 subdivisions are divided into 7’s.
So, 7 goes into 32 four times with 4 left over.
7+7+7+7+4= 32
This transfers to 4x TAKADIMI-TAKITA and 1x TAKADIMI to the speed of TAKADIMI.
To listen
click here
You could also reverse the 7 groupings so they are now TAKITA-TAKADIMI, or place the extra TAKADIMI in the middle or at the beginning instead of the end. Use your imagination.
To listen
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Triplets in groups of 4
The same system can be used for regrouping triplets (or any subdivision). I’m going to begin by putting eighth note triplets into groups of 4. We are now counting three groups of 4 per bar, instead of the usual four groups of 3.
Clap your quarter pulse and saying TAKITA for each pulse. These are our triplets. While maintaining the tempo of your pulse and subdivision, change your syllable from TAKITA to TAKADIMI. This will regroup your triplet subdivisions into groups of 4.
4+4+4=12
Which transfers to 3xTAKADIMI to the speed of TAKITA
To listen
click here
Triplets in groups of 5
Let’s now put our triplets in groups of 5. I will extend it to two bars, which means we now have 24 triplet subdivisions to work with before we resolve. So, 5 goes into 24 four times with 4 left over.
5+5+5+5+4 =24
This transfers to 4x TADIKINATHOM and 1x TAKADIMI to the speed of TAKITA
To listen
click here
Note: When I clap I like to place an accent on the “one” of each bar for reference.
Triplets in groups of 7
Finally we will put our triplets into groups of 7. Using the same counting system and two bars, here is the math. 7 goes into 24 three times with 3 left over.
7+7+7+3=24
This transfers to:
3xTAKADIMI-TAKITA and 1xTAKITA
To listen
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or
3xTAKITA-TAKADIMI and 1x TAKITA
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Of course you could put that final TAKITA anywhere in the pattern, or divide the 7’s into 5+2
TADIKINATHOM-TAKA
These are just a couple of ideas to get you started. The possibilities are endless. As I said you don’t need to be at a kit to work on these. In the next Subdivision lesson we will look at kit applications, in the meantime get that metronome and start clapping and counting!!
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These exercises are designed to help you develop the ability to play odd groupings in 4/4. I see them as rhythmic development exercises rather than technique exercises. It is relatively easy to play an odd grouping in 4/4, but it’s even easier to lose the original pulse and thus get lost within the pattern. To make these common rhythmic devices work, you must develop the ability to hear both the sub-division and the pulse simultaneously. If you have checked out the “Subdivisions” lesson, then you can practice the following exercises away from the drums by clapping the pulse and saying the appropriate syllables for the sub-division. I have played them on a practice pad with a metronome. Of course you can play them on a snare while maintaining the pulse on the bass drum. However a metronome is essential for accuracy. I’m no machine and naturally tend to lay back on my sixteenths. I also try to add some inflection to the patterns to make them more musical. I use single strokes throughout. The final exercise, the “Sub-Division Pyramid” is a killer. The ultimate challenge is to count aloud the 1,2,3,4 while playing it. Best of luck and enjoy!
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In this lesson I’ll show you how to put five even beats over two. You’ll start by learning how to count it accurately, then move it onto the kit and finally hear how it can be applied in a jazz context. Just seeing the number 5 over group of notes on a page can be enough to bring on palpitations. Why is this? Seeing triplets on a chart causes no fear, yet three doesn’t fit evenly over two either! The thing is you know how that triplet is going to sound BEFORE you play it, and that's the key. This is not the case with the fives, so we tend to guess at it, slowing down or speeding up trying to get it to fit evenly over the pulse. Here's a system devised by my brother Ronan, that will help you get familiar with the sound of the fives, and how they relate to the pulse. Instead of setting up a pulse and trying to get our fives to work over it, we are going to use what I call the “reverse five method”. We start with the fives and then find our pulse against it.
STEP 1 Start by counting evenly to five and repeating. Add a clap to count one. Repeat this over until you have the sound in your head. When I say repeat I mean REPEAT, over and over until you are really familiar with the sound. This is the “feel” of five over one. When you are sure you have it accurately, stop counting but keep clapping on the one. When you stop counting you should still be hearing the sound of the fives as they relate to the pulse in your head. Return to counting after 4 claps. Alternate now, four counts on four counts off. Reduce this to two counts on and two counts off. This is an abbreviated version, you should stay on each part for as long as it takes to be accurate.
To listen click here
STEP 2 You will need to be absolutely sure of step 1 before moving on to step 2. By all means read on and listen to the audio to get an overview of the system, but really don’t try this step in earnest until you have completed the first. We begin where we left off. Count to five while clapping on beat one. Drop the count after 4 claps. Continue clapping for 4 then return to counting the fives. Repeat. When you have settled into it, double the speed of your clap as you stop counting. If you have spent enough time on step one, you should still hear the original fives in your head, except now you are hearing them against two claps instead of one. This is five over two. Return to counting the fives aloud after eight claps (keep the clap going). I like to put an accent on the downbeats of my clap to help root the original pulse. Alternate as you did in step 1, between four counts of five on and four counts off. Reduce this to two counts on two counts off. This will take some time to perfect. Don’t get discouraged. Work at it any chance you get, you don’t need to be at your drums. Just be careful about practicing it in public.
To listen click here
STEP 3 Now we bring it to the drums. We’ll follow the same system as above, starting with the fives played on the snare drum and playing the bass drum on the one. If you use single sticking the lead hand will alternate on every five. Once you are comfortable with that, stop playing the snare while maintaining the pulse on the bass drum. You should still be hearing the fives over each pulse before you play them again on the snare. Alternate four fives on four fives off, just as you practiced above.
To listen click here
STEP 4 Play five even snare strokes with the bass drum on each downbeat (the one). Stop playing the snare while maintaining the pulse on the bass drum (as step3). Now, when you stop the snare drum play the hi-hat with your foot evenly between each bass drum. Bring back in the snare drum in fives, this gives you five over two. Practice, “four fives in” and “four fives out”. It will take a moment to get it feeling even and natural.
To listen click here
STEP 5 This is the same as step 4 except we now add a bass drum to the hi-hat. This gives us a “four on the floor” feel with the bass drum and the hi-hat on beats two and four, both associated with classic jazz. I often use a heel-toe rocking motion, to help me maintain a steady pulse on the hi-hat.
To listen click here
To see it click here
Now we’ll apply the concept to swing. The jazz ride cymbal pattern is based on triplets, which is six over two, so when you go to the five over two, it feels as if you have inadvertently put on the handbrake. The slight slowing down has a drag effect, but you cannot let that tempo actually slow down. Use a metronome! In the audio demo I play a basic swing pattern for four bars and then five over two on the snare drum. The bass drum is kept on quarter notes throughout while the hi-hat is on two and four. After a couple of cycles I play some doubles and then move the fives around the toms, all the time keeping a steady foot pattern. This is just an overview of some of the possibilities. Stay at each one till you are comfortable. Once you are, add your own variations. Flams will work well for example. Use your imagination.
To listen click here
Here is a demo of the fives in a jazz solo context. I mix them in with triplets and sixteenth notes etc. I try to make them obvious and you should by now be able to easily identify them. I don’t use a metronome here, because I want the overall sound to breathe a little. You should not go here until you can accurately play the fives against a metronome. Try to come up with your own applications, and as I said earlier feel free to email me with comments or send me an mp3 of your applications. I would love to hear them
To listen click here
To download a video (40mbs), of me playing a solo using quintuplets in a jazz context click here
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Jazz
Metric Modulation
Metric Modulation (M.M.) is a fancy term for implying a new tempo while still relating to the original tempo. Probably the most common metric modulation is the “double time feel”, where the band doubles the tempo of the piece, creating the illusion that the tune is going by at twice the speed but in fact the chords go by at the original tempo.
M.M.s of various types have been used commonly throughout jazz, particularly in the Miles Davis group, with Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Tony Williams. This group’s rhythmic explorations were to be the forerunner to much experimentation in metric modulations by other jazz groups. Another more recent example of a recording using M.M. is Wynton Marsalis’s “Standard time Vol. 1”.
While many modulations are done spontaneously on the bandstand, it is a very good exercise to analyse them in the practice room, and be prepared for them should they happen. Their study is also great for developing rhythmic flexibility, and developing the ability to hear more than one pulse simultaneously.
For this lesson I will analyse the commonly used modulation 3 over 2. I start with breaking down the maths, showing the exercises for the kit and then put it in a practical framework. Though this really only scratches the surface, I hope it will give you an idea of the many possibilities that are available to you.
To see it click here
To hear the audio examples click here
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One of the perceived difficulties in jazz drumming is the independence required. Drummers’ in general are wary of the amount of work required to play a syncopated pattern on the cymbal, hi-hat on 2+4, while playing endless variations between your snare and bass drum. This, perception is compounded by drummers telling everyone, just how difficult it allegedly is.
I have seen non jazz drum DVD’s that recommend you get Jim Chapin’s classic book on jazz independence, and work through it because it’s “a great workout”, or some such sound bite. I would dispute the usefulness of say a rock drummer working his way through it. It won’t help his rock playing and certainly won’t make him sound like a jazz drummer.
Chapin didn’t write his book in a vacuum, he based it on what he heard being played. Sure the opening snare against cymbal exercises, are methodical, but after that he quickly gets into classic jazz drum phrases. The important thing is he used the music to create the exercises, not the reverse! If you play the book through from A to Z, without any references it will sound musically empty.
Listen to them again in the context of the music, and the playing of Max Roach or Philly Joe Jones’s, and it takes on a whole new dimension. My point is, if you don’t know how it’s meant to sound, than you can’t possibly aspire to sound convincing as a jazz drummer, regardless of how many of the jazz exercises you learn.
Jazz students themselves get discouraged with the sheer volume of independence studies for jazz drummers. The other classic book “Syncopation for the modern drummer”, by Ted Reed has become a jazz bible. There must be literally 100’s of mind bending, limb twisting variations developed from the original exercises. I’m sure Reed had no idea when he wrote the book just how far it would go.
These exercises are useful, and if you want to get serious you’ll need to take some of them on. However, again independence does not in itself make the jazz drummer. Understanding the music and knowing the feel and what to play and when to play it is essential. That comes with listening to the music, and no exercise books will ever replace that.
Let’s look at the basic differences between rock and jazz drumming. Firstly in jazz we have the accent or emphasis on beats 2 and 4, as against 1 +3. Then we have the eighth notes swung as against played straight in rock. However the big difference in my mind is the cymbal. In rock the cymbal or hi-hat is the icing while the bass and snare is the cake. In jazz it’s the opposite. The ride cymbal drives the bus, while the bass and snare add flavour or inflections to the cymbal beat.
Remember these are just differences, not comparisons in difficulties. So forget what you heard about jazz drumming being more difficult it’s not, it’s just different.
I contend you don’t actually need any independence to play jazz. To demonstrate I will play a swing feel, but every time I play the snare or bass drum I will also play the cymbal, in other words its always unison, no co-ordinated independence. It still sounds like jazz because the phrasing etc. is right. That’s what’s important, not the lack of co-ordination. Of course it is going to be limited and I would only play like this to show my point, but it comes across as acceptable jazz playing. So forget the hype and superiority of us jazzers, get listening and swinging.
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I was digging through my record collection, listening to drum solos that influenced me and still do today. I realised that a learnt musical phrase or concept at a particular time in your development can have a profound effect on your playing and in fact stay with you for life. Listening to the solos again after so many years, I heard all sorts of licks or phrases that I had lifted and actually thought they were mine! Most of the solos are not so well known.
Of course I loved/love the big guns like Elvin, Tony and Jack (notice we’re on first name terms now), but in many ways I think these lesser known players had more of a direct influence on me, because at that stage of my development I could directly relate to their playing, more than to the more advanced concepts of the others.
Listening to the solos on their own is to take them out of context. It’s so important to hear what they were responding to musically to get the full picture. However, for obvious reasons I can’t put up the whole track, and hope I don’t get into trouble for putting up this much. I recommend you get the CDs or download (legally) if available, as they are all fantastic recordings. The solos are not in any order of preference, they are all great, and offer wonderful material for transcription, or just listen to them and enjoy the great playing. I will add more as I rediscover them.
Al Foster Taken from the Sam Jones album “Visitation” on the Steeplechase label. The track is a Jones composition called “Del Sasser” It’s a 64 bar AABA (16 bars each) form and Foster takes one perfect chorus. Listen to the way he keeps the ride going and plays wonderfully musical phrases on the toms underneath.
When he leaves the ride, he keeps the forward motion continuing the musicality and marking out the form. Great technique and phrasing abound, I got a lot of ideas for doubles around the toms from this solo. Though he gives an impeccable “one” at the end of the chorus only Ronnie Matthews appears to be listening as the rest scramble in. One of my students Kevin Lawlor transcribed and played this one for his graduation exam.
To see it click here
To listen click here
Jimmy Cobb This great solo is from another Steeplechase recording by Kenny Drew called “Liteflite” and it’s the title track. Many of us think of Jimmy Cobb as the “Kind of Blue” drummer, or Mr. “Springy-time feel” from Miles’s band, but this solo is more aggressive than what we have come to expect from him. It’s an outro but he keeps the tempo of the theme throughout. It’s chock full of wonderful “Cobb-isms”.
To listen click here
Billy Higgins “Smiling Billy” from a Cedar Walton trio album called “live at the Pitt Inn”. It’s an open solo where he uses a short theme that is a constant point of reference. Listening to this helped me understand the concept of theme and variation, as well as the importance of recognisable melodic patterns in a free drum solo. Of course Higgins spent years with Ornette Coleman, where he honed this craft. A short masterpiece.
To listen click here
Alan Dawson What a slick solo, clean with impeccable phrasing and great technique. This is taken from the Booker Ervin recording called “The song Book”, and the track is “Lamp is low”. Dawson who was very well known as a teacher is lesser known for his playing though he was amazing and has an extensive and impressive list of playing and recording credits. You can understand why everyone wanted to study with him, (Tony Williams, Steve Smith Vinnie Colaiuta etc) when you listen to this. His teaching methods have been published in John Ramsay’s excellent book “The drummer complete vocabulary”.
To listen click here
Victor Lewis From the Woody Shaw recording “Live at the village vanguard”, this solo is both intense and musical. Lewis yet another underrated drummer who has flown below the radar despite having played with virtually everyone on the New York scene, including long stints with Stan Getz and Woody Shaw. On this solo I love the interaction between the snare and bass as well as the “Tony Williams flams”. Great dynamic control and set ups for the band to keep the form.
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Transcriptions
Transcribing drum solos
Transcribing solos is a fantastic learning tool. It will give you a real insight into someone’s playing, while at the same time providing a technical challenge, and a springboard for your own ideas. Before I go to my transcribed solos let me offer some advice to the you as a the potential transcriber.
1. Make sure you love the solo, and really want to play it, as you are going to be spending a lot of time with it.
2. Don’t pick something too hard. For example it’s not advisable to start with a Jack DeJohnette 10 minute free solo. Instead try to find a solo that is within your comprehension, yet still challenging.
3. Go to the roots. It’s better to transcribe Max Roach than say Lewis Nash or Carl Allen. No offence to them, as they are fantastic drummers, but their playing is obviously influenced by the bebop greats. Do what they did, and go to the source.
4. If you get stuck on a bar or phrase in either the playing or the writing(and there may be plenty), skip it and work around it, but don’t let it stop you continuing the solo. If you fill in the gaps around the problem area, the solution often becomes obvious. If you can’t figure it out, get an opinion from another drummer, preferably an experienced teacher.
5. Write it out. This will improve your rhythm and reading skills and give you something satisfying to look at on completion.
6. Learn it, so you can play it by heart along with the recording, beat for beat.
When you can do this, take favourite phrases and embellish them, trying to mix them in with your own ideas. If you have really learnt the solo properly, many snippets of phrases from the solo should naturally filter into your playing.
7. When you can do all the above forget about the solo and move on. Something that can be hard to do after so much work, but the effort of maintaining the solo in your repertoire, will be counter-productive, and the good work will already have been done.
Ok enough of my yakkin' lets have a look at the solos.
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What can you say about Philly Joe! Those rudimental skills combined with canny rhythmic phrasing and perfect time, make him for me the ultimate be-bop drummer. Apparently he was a fiend for the Charlie Wilcoxin rudimental books, and this shows up time and time again in his playing. for great rudimental applications.
This solo is taken from a Wynton Kelly trio recording called “Kelly at Midnight”, though it has been re-issued under different names. Wynton Kelly’s trio was famously Miles Davis’s rhythm section for years. It consisted of Wynton on piano, Paul Chambers on bass and Jimmy Cobb on drums. After they left Miles, their unique time feel, led them to be hired as a section for many great soloists, including Wes Montgomery, Joe Henderson and George Coleman among others.
What makes this recording different is that Philly Joe replaces Jimmy Cobb in the trio. I’m not sure the chronology of this recording, but Philly seems to have something to prove, and he’s on fire throughout!! The recording has that wide stereo effect so if you want to be a “drummer- drummer”, you can pan the balance just to hear Philly's playing both comping and soloing. The sound quality is very clear and there are breaks and solos on virtually every track.
The transcription at hand is a track called “Pot luck”. It’s a blues, and after a great bass solo by Paul Chambers, Wynton and Philly trade 4’s for 3 choruses and then Philly Joe takes a 3 chorus drum solo. Watch out for the rhythmic displacements, and the way he turns the beat around as only he could.
When I originally transcribed this 20+ years ago it drove me crazy, even when I had it written out and learnt, I still heard some of phrases in the wrong place. He likes to use the dotted quarters going across the bar line. This is obvious in his third 4 bar break, (check out the bass drum) but he also uses the same rhythmic concept moving around the drums in triplets, in the final chorus.
I have written in some suggested sticking. Of course this is open for interpretation. What's important is the replication of the sound, but I found these worked for me. As usual I recommend you get the whole album it swings from beginning to end, in the meantime here’s the solo, so time to get to work!!
To see it. click here
To listen click here
To see a video of me playing the solo along with the original using the suggested sticking. click here
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Frankie Dunlop is one of the unsung heroes of jazz drumming. He came to fame when he played with Thelonious Monk for about 4 years in the early 60’s but pretty much disappeared from sight after that. For me he was Monk’s best drummer. The wonderful way he dropped “bombs” behind the soloist gave the music great rhythmic propulsion.
This solo is taken from a live recording with Monk’s big band. The tune “I mean you”, is a standard 32 bar A-A-B-A form and the solo is 3 choruses long, and is a perfect example of his melodic concept. I originally transcribed this more than 20 years ago and it was a big influence on my playing. I still use it today with my students.
I have to thank my drum teacher John Wadham, for introducing me to Frankie’s playing and taping this solo for me. I literally wore out the cassette copy. So when CBS re-mastered and re-issued the recording under the title "Big Band and Quartet in concert", I heard stuff, I never heard through my old analogue hiss.
On the transcription I have written in some stickings. These are optional, but they do work. I have also being checking out Frankie on Youtube to see how he approaches his common phrases. Isn’t Youtube a fantastic resource!
Some phrases have no stickings written, because I felt the sound shape would be the same, regardless of the sticking. The stick on stick is always struck with the right hand of course. Within this solo is an abundance of wonderful phrases, all of which dovetail together seamlessly. The tempo does not budge from beginning to end. In fact the more I analyse and listen to it, the more I realise that it’s a minor masterpiece.
To see it click here
To listen click here
To download a video of me playing this solo with the recording. click here
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This solo is by the late great Billy Higgins. For me, another very underrated drummer, who appeared on countless classic recordings, from Lee Morgan’s “Sidewinder” to Ornette Coleman’s “Change of the Century”.In fact I heard that at one time he was the world’s most recorded drummer.
He is ideal transcribing fodder, in that his ideas were simple yet always swinging. I chose this one for precisely those reasons. In fact, all you will need is a bass drum, snare and hi-hat (and even then just for one bar). However, don’t be deceived into thinking because it is not technically complex, it will be easy to play.
The challenge is to master his feel and nuance, which will in turn help you learn classic phrasing. Taken from an album by pianist Horace Parlan called “A happy frame of mind”, this is the title track. It’s a 12 bar blues which begins with 2 choruses of 4 bar breaks, followed by 2 perfect choruses of a solo from Billy.
I have already done some of the work for you by writing out the solo. I wanted to give an example of how to approach transcription, and you can still of course learn to play the solo while using my transcription as a reference if needed.
To see it click here
To Listen click here
To download a video of me playing the transcription along with the the original track click here
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Max Roach solo on Sandu
“Study in Brown” is an absolute classic record and one of my favourite bebop recordings of all time. For the drummers, Max takes a solo on virtually every track and gives a master class on form, bebop phrasing as well as innovative technique.
There is his classic solo on “Cherokee” which is taken at a blistering tempo, and has put it up to everyone else since, yet despite the tempo, Max’s solo is the essence of melody and grace. There is also his great imitation of a train using brushes on “Take the A train”.
Actually every solo is a gem, not least the one I picked for you today. “Sandu” a Clifford Brown blues, is a mid tempo groover! Max takes two perfect choruses outlining the form, with obvious transitions and phrasing. It’s so clear, that, I often wonder why Clifford and Harold Land missed the re-entry while Richie Powell (piano) and George Morrow (Bass) nail it. They play a chorus before the horns come in. Part of the arrangement maybe?
Anyway, Max’s solo is less than a minute long, but it’s packed full of wonderful “Max-isms” that challenge and can be used and re-used. In fact, they have become the stock in trade for so many players over the last 50 years. Listen to the way he changes from triplets to sixteenths to create a sense of shifting gear, or to the high tuning of the toms and the way he moves around them to create melodies and intensity.
I learn these solos by listening (and listening) to them, learning to sing them, writing them and finally sitting at the kit. This solo may seem short and simple but the devil is in the detail. His way of creating duple meter phrases on three drums is unique. The bass feathers (four on the floor) throughout, and the hi-hat is on 2 and 4. The last four bars, being the exception, where he sets up the band using phrasing from the melody.
I offer some sticking suggestions, though they are of course not obligatory. Watch out for the grace notes that are barely audible but essential. Learn and enjoy this classic piece of work. Maybe just another day in the studio for Max, but a lifetimes’ study for the rest of us.
To hear the solo CLICK HERE
To see the solo CLICK HERE
To watch a video of me playing along with the solo
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This transcription is a little different to the others in that I am putting a timbale solo on to the kit. I have taken some artistic licence in the way that I’ve orchestrated it, but I have stayed faithful to the rhythm, which I believe is the more important.
One of the obvious differences is that the timbales are just two drums, and the low drum is to the left. There are many different tones available on timbales, such as dampened strokes, rimshots and open tones. These I have distributed around the toms and on the bass drum.
The solo is from a classic Puente album called “Top Percussion” recorded in 1957. It’s predominantly a percussion record with Tito on timbales, Mongo Santamaria on congas and Willie Bobo on bongos., hence the Ti-Mon-Bo in the title. Anchoring down the session is the great Bobby Rodriguez on bass.
The solo is very musical and sits very well on kit. Tito was responsible for bringing the timbales to the foreground in latin music and you can tell despite all the classic “Latinisms” that his phrasing was very influenced by the American drumset tradition.
I haven’t written in any sticking, as this is just my interpretation, but I think it works. 54 years ago it was a great solo and today it’s a great solo. Real art never ages!
To hear it CLICK HERE
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