Single stroke / Herta exercises

A few of the drumline exercises we looked at recently can easily be tweaked to work single strokes.

 

First, "The Grid".  Go through it with doubles as the variable, but instead of a double stroke, play it as two single strokes, or a "herta", if you will.

 

 

Next, do the same thing with Triplet Rolls.  This one works really nicely as it will end on the opposite hand that you start with, so you can just go around again on the other side.

 

 

 

Finally, this is another piece from the drumline "songbook", called "Pantera".  I have no idea who wrote it, and it seems like no one else does either.  It just appears to be like a folk tune with an unknown composer.

 

 

With all of these, keep your heights consistent; full, but not pounding, and don't add any accents. 

Triplet Rolls

Here's another classic of the marching arts repertoire.  It's simply called "Triplet Rolls", and that's exactly what it is, a roll exercise based in triplets.  You could wor /these skills just as easily by "diddling" The Grid, but still everyone knows this one, so it's something you can play with other people easily.

 

Just like a jazz standard, there are a few slightly different versions of it, but what I think of as the most common version looks like this:

 

Notice the lack of accents.  Everything should be at one even height.  It will vary depending on the speed, but in general it should be a medium height; nice and relaxed and beefy - not so high to where you're really having to push it, but not so low that you don't get any sound or power.  Try to keep the singles and doubles both at a consistent height and volume.

16th note grid

While less common for some reason, the same grid concept that we looked at last week can be applied to 16th notes.  Again, just vary each partial of the beat four times once, then two times twice, and once four times.  With the extra partial in each beat it makes for a longer exercise, but also means we have a little bit more room for whackier combinations to try out.  Here are some of the same options we looked at last time, but with 16th notes.

 

  

 

 

 

 

Also remember that we can add another layer of complexity by adding static elements and secondary elements, like:

Play a diddle on every first partial, but then move through the accent grid, leaving you with accented didles and drags

Grid flams, but always play a diddle after each flam 

Again, the possibilities are pretty much only limited to your imagination.  Don't forget to move your feet and/or count out loud.

Jim Chapin - "Modern Jazz Drumming with Rhythm Backgrounds for Home Participation"

Maybe this is old news, but I had no idea this existed.

I've owned Jim Chapin's Advanced Techniques for the Modern Drummer for years, but never spent much time with it, and it definitely didn't come with a CD.  Lately I've been digging in to it, and enjoying it a lot.  Curious about a few questions I had about the material I jumped online and ended up stumbling upon this....

Though the book was first published in 1948, it looks like the record wasn't released until 1970.  But in it, Chapin goes through the entire book, playing every exercise alone, and some with a bass player.  It answers pretty much every question I've seen on various forums about the interpretation of the book.  So, it, like me, you are working through this book and find yourself wondering what Chapin intended then be sure to check out the playlist above.  It's all there.

The Grid

We're in peak drum corp season.  And while I haven't properly followed the activity since the two summers I spent with the Glassmen many moons ago, I still watch some "lot videos" every year for a dose of nostalgia, and to see what kind of craziness they're up to these days.

The "marching arts", a catchall phrase referring to drum and bugle corps, marching band, and winter guard, is something that practically doesn't exist here in the UK, save a few small pockets of niche interest.  But love it or hate it, I think there are some great lessons to be learned in these activities that students here are missing out on. 

Seemingly simple things like punctuality, instrument care, teamwork, and reliability are incredibly important skill in these activities, and continue to be so through any musical career.  A strong and logical practice regime and focused rehearsal etiquette are paramount skills that are honed to perfection over a summer of daily rehearsals and performances with 134 other individuals.

Musically speaking, there's always heated debate on the benefits (or detriments) of the marching arts, which I won't go into today.  But I certainly feel that having to move your whole body in time while playing your instrument can never be a bad thing.  And finally, the whole reason for this post, repertoire.  Again, there are plenty of musicians out there who don't care for such musical stylings, but there is standard material from this scene from which any drummer can benefit.

If you're not familiar with the drumline world, each group will have their own exercises and show pieces that are unique to them.  But there is also a huge repertoire of universal pieces and exercises that everyone knows.  It's akin to the marching equivalent of a blues, or rhythm changes.  You can get together with members of other groups who you've never met and be able to immediately play together.

One of them is "The Grid", which is not so much a piece in itself, but a concept to which one can apply nearly limitless variables.  The easiest place to start is with accents. In constant triplets, play an accent on the first partial of the triplet four times, the second partial four times, and the third partial four times.  Next, we do each partial only twice, but repeat that whole section a second time, so the accents are changing more quickly, but over the same amount of time.  Finally, we do each partial only once, but repeat that whole section four times.  In short:

4 beats, once

2 beats, twice

1 beat, four times

So, with accents it would look like this:

But, the concept can be applied to anything.  Instead of accents you could do flams:

Or double strokes:

This can then be taken further by adding static elements, eg:

Flam on every first partial, while going through the accent grid

Accent on every first partial, which going through the diddle grid

Play the accent grid with rolls on the unaccented notes

Once you memorize the form, the possibilities are pretty much endless.  I remember sitting around with practice pads seeing what ridiculous combinations we could come up with.  If you're new to this, start with the accents, flams, and rolls, and go from there.

When playing it, put on a metronome, and move your feet with the pulse or, better yet, count out loud at the same time.  This will improve your timing, and give you a better feel of where each articulation sits in relation to the beat.

Solo Transcription - Philly Joe Jones, "Two Bass Hit" (again)

Here's another take on Philly Joe's solo on "Two Bass Hit".  The best known version, of course, comes from Miles Davis' 1958 album Milestones, which is arguably the pinnacle of his first great quintet (though by this point it was a sextet with Cannonball).  But just over a year later, Philly Joe released Philly Joe's Beat under his own name, and re-recorded "Two Bass Hit" with a different band.  Some of the vocabulary in the head is similar and at times even identical to the Milestones recording, but the famous drum break just before the solo section is markedly different, despite containing plenty of Philly Joe-isms.  As usual, stickings are my best guess and what I would likely play, but do with it what you will.

Solo Transcription - Philly Joe Jones, "Locomotion"

One of the earliest ever posts on this blog was a transcription of the intro of this tune.  Now, 11 years later, I've finally gotten around to transcribing the solo Philly Joe takes over the whole form.  And it's a good introduction to a form that I like.  It's an AABA form, but each A section is a 12-bar blues.  Some people call this a "blues with a bridge".  "Unit 7" is another example of one.

If you've been following all the Philly Joe posts I've been doing as of late, then you'll notice a lot of familiar vocabulary, particularly as his three-beat triplet lick.  It's one of those things you can't unsee; once you notice it, you realize it's everywhere.  I'm not entirely sure what sticking he's using in this case, but I've made my best guess.  To my ear, especially when slowed down, bars 11 and 12 sound different to the long phrase starting at measure 20.  I've written what I think is most likely, but you should experiment with what works for you.  Revisit this post for some alternate stickings to try.

 

In fact, all of the stickings found here are my best guess.  I listened hard, and then based my choices on things that I know Philly Joe liked to do, such as playing a long string of 8th notes with one hand, as in the first bar.

 

Regarding the rolls, at the beginning of the second A, they are probably closed double-strokes that lead to each stick shot (RRLL R).  But in the middle of the bridge I can't help but wonder if what I notated as rolls are actually four-stroke ruffs.  In that particular grouping of three 8th notes that goes "roll, snare, bass", Philly Joe often played a four stroke ruff with the sticking rllR.  This allowed him to finish with a nice strong single stroke on the right hand.  You can find more on the four-stroke ruff on this post from a few years back.

 

This is all nitty gritty stuff that I enjoy trying to decipher, but really, what's important is the sound, and the vocabulary.  So, as always, I recommend listening a bunch, singing it a bunch, and they trying to put it on the kit.

 

Repique de Anel Rhythms for Drumset

I first got this idea in a lesson I had with Kiko Freitas.  Kiko took Dotô’s rhythms of the repique de anel, and orchestrated them for drumset.  

You can revisit this post for more on Dotô and the repique de anel, but as a brief reminder, here’s what a common version of his signature groove looks like.

 

The left hand plays the “dois do bumbo” rhythm on the bottom head, while the right hand taps out a telecoteco-ish pattern on the shell of the drum.  The right and left hand together also make interjections reminiscent of 3rd surdo phrases.

I don’t want to share Kiko’s arrangements without his permission, and working on it gave me some new ideas.  So, I’ve come up with my own interpretation.

Kiko’s version required more in the way of chops.  At points there are four or five 16th notes in a row with one hand.  That’s no big deal at moderate tempos, but I thought the groove also had the potential to work well at brighter tempos.  And, I wanted to get a third pattern in there with a rim click, rather than using the snare.

So, here’s what I came up with….

 

The bass drum covers the left hand part, and the right hand on the hi-hat plays an almost identical rhythm to that of the right hand on the shell of the repique de anel.

The left hand then serves two roles on the rim click.  The accents outline a very common samba/bossa nova pattern.  But each note of that pattern is followed by a second note, intended to be played much quieter, ideally matching whatever volume you choose to play the hi-hat.  If done well, the rim click and hi-hat should blend together, creating a steady stream of 16th notes.

The result is constant 16th notes with two separate comping patterns while not having to play more than three simultaneous 16th notes.  The creates a more relaxed feel and should allow you to play it longer without fatigue.

More (read: ALL) Three-Beat Triplet Stickings

Here's some silliness for your Friday morning....

The other day I was playing around with some of those Philly Joe three-beat triplet ideas and made up some of my own.  I started making a sheet of all the different combinations when I thought, "hang on, that's gonna' be a lot!"  Not knowing (or caring) the best way to find all of them and organize them I simply asked ChatGPT to give me every combination of nine notes using only singles and doubles, and wouldn't you know it just spat it out lickety split.

Of course, some of the phrases start with one or two notes on one hand, and also end with one or two notes on the same hand, meaning you'd end up with three or four notes in a row.  ChatGPT didn't quite understand the concept of looping at first, but I was able to get it split into phrases that will loop cleanly, and those that won't.  For those that wouldn't, I asked ChatGPT to give me the opposite of it, allowing it to be looped.

The whole thing was pretty dumb, and even though I didn't spend much time on it, it still got more time than it really deserved.  But hey, at this point I think I might as well have a little tap through them.

So, not that you needed, or wanted it, but here's all 110 possible combination of three beats worth of triplets.

LOOP-FRIENDLY PHRASES

  1. RRL RRL RRL      21. RLR RLR RLR      41. RLL RRL RRL      61. LRL RLR RLR  

  2. RRL RRL RLL      22. RLR RLR RLL      42. RLL RRL RLR      62. LRL RLR LRR  

  3. RRL RRL LRL      23. RLR RLR LRL      43. RLL RRL RLL      63. LRL RLR LRL  

  4. RRL RLR RLL      24. RLR RLR LLR      44. RLL RRL LRL      64. LRL RLR LLR  

  5. RRL RLR LRL      25. RLR RLL RRL      45. RLL RLR RLR      65. LRL RLL RRL  

  6. RRL RLL RRL      26. RLR RLL RLR      46. RLL RLR RLL      66. LRL LRR LRR  

  7. RRL RLL RLL      27. RLR RLL RLL      47. RLL RLR LRL      67. LRL LRR LRL  

  8. RRL LRR LRL      28. RLR LRR LRL      48. RLL RLR LLR      68. LRL LRR LLR  

  9. RRL LRL RRL      29. RLR LRR LLR      49. RLL RLL RRL      69. LRL LRL RRL  

 10. RRL LRL RLL      30. RLR LRL RRL      50. RLL RLL RLR      70. LRL LRL RLR  

 11. RRL LRL LRL      31. RLR LRL RLR      51. RLL RLL RLL      71. LRL LRL LRR  

 12. RRL RLR LRL      32. RLR LRL LRL      52. LRR LRR LRR      72. LRL LRL LRL  

 13. RRL LRR LRL      33. RLR LLR RLR      53. LRR LRR LRL      73. LLR RLR RLR  

 14. RRL RLL RLL      34. RLR LLR RLL      54. LRR LRR LLR      74. LLR RLR LRR  

 15. RLR RLL RRL      35. RLR LLR LRL      55. LRR LRL RRL      75. LLR RLR LRL  

 16. RLR RLL RLL      36. RLR LLR LLR      56. LRR LRL RLR      76. LLR RLR LLR  

 17. RRL RLL RRL      37. RLL RRL LRL      57. LRR LRL LRR      77. LLR RLL RLR  

 18. RLR RLL RLR      38. RLL RLR LRL      58. LRR LLR RLR      78. LLR LRR LRR  

 19. RLR LRL RLR      39. RLL RLR LLR      59. LRR LLR RLL      79. LLR LRR LRL  

 20. RLR RLL RRL      40. RLL RLR LLR      60. LRR LLR LLR      80. LLR LLR RLL  

  

 

NON-LOOP-FRIENDLY PHRASES

 1.  RRL RRL RLR      LLR LLR LRL         16.  RLL RLR LRR      LRL LRL RLL

 2.  RRL RRL LRR      LLR LLR RLL         17.  LRR LRL RLL      RLL RLR LRR

 3.  RRL RLR RLR      LLR LRL LRL         18.  LRL RRL RLL      RLR LLR RRL

 4.  RRL RLR LRR      LLR LRL RLL         19.  LRL RLR RLL      RLR LRL RRL

 5.  RRL RLR LLR      LLR LRL RRL         20.  LRL RLL RLL      RLR RRL RRL

 6.  RRL RLL RLR      LLR RRL LRL         21.  LRL LRL RLL      RLR RLR RRL

 7.  RRL LRR LRR      LLR RLL RLL         22.  LLR RLR RLL      RRL LRL RRL

 8.  RRL LRR LLR      LLR RLL RRL         23.  LLR RLL RRL      RRL LLR RRL

 9.  RRL LRL RLR      LLR RLR LRL         24.  LLR RLL RLL      RRL LLR RLR

10.  RRL LRL LRR      LLR RLR RLL         25.  LLR LRR LRL      RRL LLR RLR

11.  RLR RLR LRR      LRL LRL RLL         26.  LLR LRL RRL      RRL RLR LRL

12.  RLR LRR LRR      LRL RLL RLL         27.  LLR LRL RLL      RRL RLR LRL

13.  RLR LRL LRR      LRL RLR RLL         28.  LLR LRL LRL      RRL RLR LRL

14.  RLR LLR LRR      LRL RRL RLL         29.  LLR LLR RLL      RRL RRL LRL

15.  RLL RRL LRR      LRL LLR RLL         30.  LLR LLR LRL      RRL RRL LRR

Philly Joe three beat triplet phrase, alternate stickings

Awhile back I posted about a common Philly Joe phrase in which he plays three beats worth of triplets in this sticking.

It is a really common phrase of his, and even cursory listening should turn up plenty examples of it.  One of the best known examples of it is the last few bars of his solo on “Two Bass Hit”, from Milestones.

I also turn it around sometimes, putting the paradiddle-diddle first.  In this case you’ll have to play RRL at the end instead of RLL.

 

But you’re also likely to hear Philly Joe do another group of three triplets with a different sticking.  You can tell the difference by the rhythmic melody it creates.  Philly Joe played a lot of 6-stroke rolls.  In this sticking he plays a 6-stroke roll with an extra RLL at the end.  This is another nice one to have in your back pocket and sounds nice as you move it around the kit.

I also like sticking an extra RRL at the end instead

 

And, of course, you could revisit the original post for ideas on how to launch into it.

Max Roach - "Sandu"

Keeping on with the current comping theme I figured I'd transcribe some of Max's comping to go with the Sandu solo I did a couple months ago.  It was quite hard to hear some of it, but it's largely accurate.  As best I can tell, Max is feathering through the whole tune.  So, for the sake of clarity I left the feathering out, and only notated the bass drum notes that are part of the comping figures.

 

More comping with melodies

Here's another sheet of comping exercises using melodies, this time with Charlie Parker's "Yardbird Suite".  Again, I've pulled out a handful of the phrases that are the most "drummy" and turned them into exercises.  Check out the previous post for a full explanation.

 

 

Comping with Melodies

There is plenty of great resource material out there for learn how to comp in straight ahead jazz styles, with more coming out all the time.  But turning that material from an exercise on a page into real music can sometimes be a difficult leap.  One of my favorite ways of dealing with it is to transcribe the comping of great jazz musicians.  The obvious choice would be drummers like Art Blakey, Philly Joe Jones (here's another), and Charlie Smith.  But you can also transcribe the comping of other rhythm section players, like this example of Bill Charlap.

 

But another way is to use actual melodies to your advantage.  Bebop and instrumental tunes work best for this, as vocal tunes and Great American Songbook repertoire tends to be too open to interpretation for this particular application.  Transcribe (or use a lead sheet) the heads of popular jazz standards.  Just the rhythm of the melody is fine - there's no need to worry about the pitches at this point - then play those figures on the drums.

 

Start by reading the resulting rhythms on the snare.  Then add the bass drum.  If you want to take it farther you could add the hi-hat, tom orchestrations, etc.  But if you listen to the examples linked above, the majority of straight ahead comping relies primarily on the snare and bass.  I like to isolate excerpts that I feel are most applicable and come up with various different orchestrations.

 

Here's an example using Charles Mingus' tune, "Moanin'".  At the top of the sheet is the full melody rhythm.  Below that I've taken individual phrases and written out four potential orchestrations for each.  These are, of course, just a few potential options, and you should come up with some of your own.  Mine lean a bit heavier on the snare than the bass drum, and don't use too many bass drum doubles, but again, you can do anything you like with it.

 

 

 

Gadd shuffles

I stumbled across a video the other day of Steve Gadd playing a shuffle in which he used his left foot to play the skip notes.  This frees up the the left hand to just play backbeats, and the right hand to just play quarter notes - be it on the ride or hi-hat.  As no one limb has to play those two shuffled eighth notes really close together it creates a very relaxed feel.

Now, Gadd obviously isn't this first person to do this.  Mel Lewis immediately comes to mind.

But, as you'll have heard, Mel is playing a jazz ride cymbal pattern along with that left foot.  Gadd, on the other hand, is only playing quarter notes.  Again, to my ear this just makes the pocket deeper, and gives the groove an ease that's particularly applicable to rock and blues shuffles.

In the same video Gadd also went on in the video to do a few variations.  One was simply putting the odd push on the bass drum, like so:

He also put ghost notes on the triplet partial immediately after the back beat:

This opens it up to the possibility of turning the groove into some sort of half-time shuffle.

And while I was looking for a better video of Gadd playing these examples I came across another video labelled "Gadd Shuffle".  But it ended up being something different.  In this video Gadd was using his ride hand on the snare drum to create the shuffle.

Here you are playing those two shuffled eighths with the same hand, but with the right hand as you would on a ride cymbal anyway.  Again, it just seems to relax everything a bit.  Or maybe it's just Gadd being Gadd.

Anyway, the curmudgeon in me kind of wants to say "just work more on your left hand", which we all should do, but actually these are nice to have the your back pocket.  Stick them in your bag alongside the shuffles according to Keith Carlock.

Solo Transcription - Max Roach, "Sandu"

I've been revisiting Max Roach lately with some of my students, four of whom are working on this particular solo.  None of them have written it down yet.  Rather, we've been learning it by ear in the lesson, going phrase by phrase and playing it on the kit.  Admittedly, it's been awhile since I've transcribed this way myself, but I think it's the superior approach, and one that we should all try to do more often; as opposed to jotting down a bar at a time as we listen to it at 50% speed on a laptop and then trying to learn it like a percussion ensemble piece.

With this approach the students got a better overall feel of the big picture of phrasing and language, and what makes it tick.  Even if they're not playing every note exactly as Max did, the essence of the solo gets into their own vocabulary more quickly and naturally.

I also found that from listening to it so much with them and working through orchestrations and stickings, that when it came time to write it down I could put about 75% of it to paper without even listening to the track.

So, while I may be handing you the notes for this particular solo, I would still consider trying to transcribe by ear behind the kit on this, or another solo.  An old friend of mine who taught me a lot about this music always said:

1. Listen
2. Sing
3. Play
4. Write

Do steps 1-3 multiple times each before going on to step 4.