Hello, drum world! I hope all is well. This lesson is based around one of my favorite hybrid rudiments, “the cheese”. I just think it’s one of the coolest sounding rudiments around. I suggest starting this slowly as the sticking pattern is a bit nuts. If you’re struggling with the doubles on the cheeses take…
Category: ALL DRUM LESSONS
ULTIMATE DOUBLE BASS
Here is another page from my double bass book, Ultimate Double Bass. These exercises I have been shedding lately and are really improving my control, speed, and power. Here we use various foot patterns shifting from 1/8 notes to 1/16 notes. Start slow, making sure you have each pattern correct, then build up the speed. Always…
HI-HAT ACCENT DISPLACEMENT PART 3
This exercise is a fun one. You can use the displacements of accents to imply a modulated time. You will start out by accenting the downbeat. Then you will start to accent every third hi-hat. Eventually you will start to imply the modulation by playing the bass and snare along with accents. Make sure you…
HI-HAT ACCENT DISPLACEMENT PART 2
When you are comfortable playing all the accents of part one, you can combine them to make phrases in your grooves. Try to use the accents to emphasize a rhythm or melody. Use a metronome and make sure you always feel the downbeat. Try these one-measure grooves to get comfortable moving the accents. By phrasing the…
HI-HAT ACCENT DISPLACEMENT PART 1
This series deals with the ability to move the accents around in a 1/16 note hi-hat groove. Being able to move accents can be a great way to alter feels or imply modulation. These four examples are the primary accents you should be comfortable with. Use a metronome and make sure you always feel a…
WARMING UP AND THE 90 DEGREE BOUNCE
The importance of warming up cannot be overstressed. I always warm up at the start of my practice ritual. Without dedicating several minutes to warming up, your hands and arms will be tightening up in no time. A warm-up routine helps to increase elasticity of the muscles in your arms and hands. It warms muscles,…
MOZAMBIQUE
The Mozambique drum set groove is perfect for drummers of all skill levels. Entry-level drummers should take this opportunity to work on independence and feel, while more advanced players can start to add variations to the bass drum pattern, along with numerous other embellishments. Be sure to take this groove slow, learn each part individually, and make…
BACK TO BASICS – PART 3
In this visit back to basics, I took the grooves from Part 1 and now play them as a shuffle. Personally I feel shuffles aren’t understood enough by younger generations and are very important in developing one’s feel. The most important thing is to pulsate triplets when you’re playing these grooves. Try not to straighten…
GOOD TIMES ON THE BASS DRUM
This lesson is inspired by Led Zeppelin’s “Good Times Bad Times.” John Bonham’s right foot on this song always blows me away every time. He plays a 1/16 note triplet lick as in example A. John Bonham had such a smooth touch and great power in his foot. You hear every note he plays clean…
DOUBLE BASS FILL IDEAS – PART 2
This is the second installment of Double Bass Fill Ideas. If you haven’t gone through Part 1 of this series, visit this link > Double Bass Fill Ideas Part 1. Remember to take one basic pattern and play it as many ways as possible. We will start with a basic pattern, keep all the notes…
DOUBLE BASS BUILDING BLOCKS – PART 2
I hope everyone’s legs are feeling good after Part 1 of this lesson Double Bass Building Blocks – Part 1. If you are practicing this stuff you should be noticing some great results by now. Here is another building block using 1/16 note triplets. Once again, start slow and try one line at a time….
DOUBLE BASS BUILDING BLOCKS – PART 1
Here is an exercise I have been shedding a lot lately. This is designed to help build speed, control and endurance. Start by playing each line twice. Then progress to playing each line 4 and 8 times each. Start at a slow tempo and move slowly up to the faster tempos. Record your max tempos….
POLY-RUDIMENTS
This lesson is actually a warm up I do before a show, but it can also be a very effective practice routine during those days where you know you won’t get a ton of time to practice and still want to feel like you challenged yourself in some way. I am calling this routine poly-rudiments,…
BASIC BRUSHES
Brushes are fun to play and it’s a good idea to learn how to play them. You never know when you’ll need to dredge ‘em out of your stick bag. They’re fun to play and give you a whole different feel when drumming. The first thing you should remember is that you can use each…
MAMBO
The Mambo is a very complex rhythm of Afro Cuban decent. We will try to comp four different percussionists parts; the Bass drum is our Surdo, the Hi-hat foot is our Shaker, the bell of the ride is our Mambo Bell & the Cross Stick and Toms are our Congas. The Ostinato that is being played…
CHACARERA OVER HI-HAT
The Chacarera is a groove from northeast Argentina, especially Santiago del Estero. It was originally played with an instrument called the Bombo leguero that is made of wood and leather and is between 13 to 18 inches in diameter. In Europe and the USA this kind of rhythm was made popular by Argentinean guitar player…
BEMBE
The Bembe is an Afro-Cuban groove with a 6/8 feel that can also be interpreted in 4/4 with triplets. The style originates from the word “Bembes” which is an African term for religious gatherings that involved singing, dancing and drumming. Murray Creed is the creator of the Victoria Drum Fest as well as an educator,…
DEVELOPING THE DOUBLE STROKE ROLL WITH YOUR FEET PART 3
“Repetition is the mother of learning” therefore yet again, I still don’t think we, as drummers, take practicing our feet as seriously as we should. I hope you’ve had enough time to practice all the exercises from Part 1 and Part 2. This is the third time we are getting together to tackle the uneasy task of making…
ACCENT TO PARADIDDLE
This exercise is focusing on accent to taps to accented paradiddles. It’s a simple 1/8– 1/16 note piece, but we are using odd groupings of 5,7, and 9 and then filling in the gaps with single paradiddles and then double paradiddles. For those who don’t know, a single paradiddle is RLRR or LRLL and a double is…
8TH NOTES MAKE THE GROOVE GO ROUND
If this exercise appears to be something you’d learn in your first drum lesson, that’s because it is. It’s a simple three-bar exercise that is repeated. The main point I want to get across is, as simple as it seems it’s actually quite hard to play well with a relaxed grip, good technique and precision. …
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