• Coordination And Chop Builders

    Coordination And Chop Builders

    Coordination is a key element in creativity. Being able to express yourself on command is a goal for many drummers. These exercises are some that I use to practice coordination, and to build some chops. Alternate…

  • The Space Between

    The Space Between

    Obviously our goal when playing music should be to play with emotion, feel and passion, but we also can not lose sight of the consistent space between each of our notes. I have heard many players…

  • Bonham-Isms

    Bonham-Isms

    Here are a couple of fills and grooves from the John Bonham library. There’s no way to include all the classic Bonham material in this lesson, but here’s a couple I enjoy. For some really killer…

  • HI-HAT ACCENT DISPLACEMENT PART 3

    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…

  • HI-HAT ACCENT DISPLACEMENT PART 2

    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…

  • HI-HAT ACCENT DISPLACEMENT PART 1

    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…

  • BACK TO BASICS – PART 3

    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…

  • TRAIN

    TRAIN

    The basic sticking pattern of this exercise is a Flam followed by 3 strokes on the alternate hand. This exercise also lends itself to the drum set when you substitute a foot (or two) for all…

  • DOUBLE BASS DRUM HAND/FOOT PATTERN

    DOUBLE BASS DRUM HAND/FOOT PATTERN

    This is a nice, simple, basic double-bass pattern. This pattern can lead to many things in the future (fills, grooves, etc.) and there are numerous ways to apply this pattern around the drum set. It is…

  • JAMES BROWN’S “COLD SWEAT”

    JAMES BROWN’S “COLD SWEAT”

    Interesting facts about Cold Sweat. The horn line is based on Miles Davis’ “So What.” The band set up in a semicircle in the studio with one microphone and recorded live in the studio in one…

  • BASIC ROCK BEATS

    BASIC ROCK BEATS

    Rock has a long lineage of amazing drummers. Ringo Starr, John Bonham, Peter Criss, and Mick Fleetwood to name just a very few. Rock and roll often demands a simplistic approach to create what we might…

  • BACK TO BASICS – PART 2

    BACK TO BASICS – PART 2

    The past couple of months we looked at some basic groove concepts. Now it’s time to strengthen our grasp on some basic fills. Each one is written with a four-measure groove loop that will help you…

  • BACK TO BASICS – PART 1

    BACK TO BASICS – PART 1

    I decided to throw a curveball out here. You can easily say “I can play these” and ignore the lesson here, or you can take the challenge and see what you can do with them. Almost…

  • A DIFFERENT WAY TO FLOW – PART 2

    A DIFFERENT WAY TO FLOW – PART 2

    After Part 1, I wanted to play some exercises to help me get comfortable grooving and comping between the snare and bass. So here are the exercises I have been doing. I also started playing the…

  • A DIFFERENT WAY TO FLOW – PART 1

    A DIFFERENT WAY TO FLOW – PART 1

    This is a fun concept I have been working on lately. I picked it up from watching NYC drummers like Keith Carlock and Zach Danziger play. They were able to keep time with the ride and…