I) Blake - Introduction For those of you who have been anxiously anticipating that part of the curriculum where we re actually playing some grooves and fills, well, here we are. Let s begin by first establishing a couple of concepts that will help you in your approach to playing the beats that we re getting ready to discuss. Understand that while the example I ve chosen is very basic, the concept nevertheless applies to even the most intricate groove. The idea is that you never approach a beat thinking that your right hand operates in a manner that is independent of everything else. Nor does your left foot, or your right foot or your left hand. What you want to be thinking instead is how everything is working together. For example, consider the following beat. R R R R R R R R The tendency is to play the hi hat with the right hand and get that going as though you were getting ready to spin several plates in the air. nce you have that spinning then you concentrate on playing the snare with the left hand on two and four. Then, once those two plates are spinning, now you add the bass drum That kind of approach will drive you out of your mind. Rather think of it like this: R R R R R R R R Blake 98
What you re going to do now is take it, literally, one attack at a time. The very first note you re playing is an eighth note on beat one. In this case you re playing your right hand (the hi hat) and your right foot (the bass drum) simultaneously. Go ahead and play that right now just that combination of your right hand and your right foot together. R R R R R R R R The next attack is just the right hand (the hi hat) on the + of beat one. Go ahead and play that right now. At this point, while tempo is always a consideration, you re now trying to posture your mind in such a way where you can accurately process what it is you re trying to accomplish. In other words, don t be overly concerned about they way things are sounding right now. For now concentrate on when you re supposed to be playing a particular instrument (hi hat, snare or bass drum) and in what combination with one of those three voices ( voice is sometimes used as a term that refers to one of the many instruments that comprise a drumset [tom, cymbal, snare, hi hat, etc]). R R R R R R R R The next attack you re playing your right hand (the hi hat) and the left hand (the snare) simultaneously on beat two. Again, do that right now. Are you getting the idea? You would continue this process of breaking down each attack into which voice(s) is (are) being played and then playing that configuration. You play each attack as slowly and as deliberately as you need to in order to give your brain an opportunity to process what it is you re asking it to do. nce you re at a point where you re comfortable, you then begin playing each attack in succession according to a particular tempo. I would recommend that you always attempt to work with a metronome 99
or some kind of a click (a drum machine for example) so you ll get in the habit of always thinking in terms of good, consistent time ( time refers to a consistent tempo). Now using that approach, let s take a look at this first set of beats below. II) Grooves (located on the following page) Grooves 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Now, taking some of the grooves above let s build on those and try some two measure patterns. 100
Two Measure Patterns 1 2 2 3 4 I wanted to point out that patterns #3 and #4 represent a rhythmic configuration called half time. What s happening here is that while the quarter note is still moving along at a normal speed, because we re putting the snare on beat 3 as opposed to beat 2 or 4, the end result is a groove that feels like it s being played half as fast. It s a good thing to have in your toolbox and you ll see how it can be used in the solo that we ll be looking at in a moment. Another thing that I want to point out is the way that I ve documented the time signature in the above patterns and grooves. Rather than writing out 4/4, instead I abbreviated it by writing a C. The C stands for common time and you ll see this abbreviation often in that 4/4 truly is a common time signature. III) Fills Now let s look at some fills. 1 2 Important: The drumset portion of this curriculum is written assuming that you re playing right-handed. If you are playing lefthanded simply reverse the suggested sticking patterns. 101
Fill #1 is nothing more than an attack on the bass drum followed by eighth notes being played on the snare and the floor tom simultaneously. Again, you ll be able to hear and play this in a practical situation in just a moment. Fill #2 is something you probably want to tuck away in your memory and be able to call it up at any given moment. Usually a fill is placed at a point in the music where it s K to cease playing 2 and 4 on the snare. In other words, you re going to interrupt the pulse that the typical listener is subconsciously listening for. While that sounds a bit risky, as long as the fill is placed at the end of a musical phrase or some other appropriate place in the music, it s a very acceptable thing to do. As a matter of fact, it will add to the musical worth of the composition. However, for those times where it sounds like a fill might be appropriate but you re not wanting to interrupt that all important pulse, fill #2 is a good option to employ. You re keeping your left hand on the snare while using your right hand to play the toms. n the following page is the drumset solo entitled Blake named after one of my students. There are some measures that have within them patterns and or grooves that we haven t gone over in the preceding section. This isn t an unintentional oversight. I chose to present these configurations in a more musical context rather than write them out as drills. Their presence in the solo is justified because of the musical idea behind them. In other words, they re not written because they sound great all by themselves as much as they serve a purpose that we ll discuss at the end of this part of the curriculum. Should you get stuck, simply stop the CD, isolate the problem area and rehearse it on your own at a slower tempo. For the moment, let s now turn our attention to Blake a solo written in a basic, straight ahead rock style. IV) Blake Drumset Solo (located on the following page) 102
➊ A R R L B C D L R L ➋ 103
V) Explanations and Definitions You ll notice that I ve included some sticking suggestions, but only in a couple of scenarios. I think it s best that you determine what is most comfortable for you. Rather than dictate every stroke, look to see for yourself what works best and go from there. As I mentioned previously, Blake is written in the straight-ahead rock and roll style. The fills that are written are based primarily on eighth notes, as this is usually the most appropriate subdivision to utilize. nce you get into sixteenth notes and more elaborate rhythms, you run the risk of compromising the overall feel of the composition. That s not to say that you can t do it, but in this style, oftentimes, less is more. Have fun with it and don t allow yourself to be content with being able to execute it. Practice it with the idea of making music. There is a difference between a mechanical execution of a particular exercise and a musical performance that genuinely moves people. Granted, it s a subjective line that I m drawing here but rest assured that once you ve played Blake enough to become comfortable with what you re doing, you will then be able to concentrate on the way you re sounding. And that s the difference between making music and making noise. Go get em! There are a few anomalies in Blake that I ve designated using numerical symbols. Take a minute now and look over the definitions below so you can understand what it is that I have written. ➊ ➋ This might look a little strange to you - a quarter note sitting out all by itself. This is a pick up note. A pick up is regarded as being a stand alone attack and you just need to be sensitive during the count off that rather than coming in on the downbeat of the first official measure, you ll be kicking things off on beat four of the preceding measure. The symbol above the half note is called a fermata. This means that you are to hold that note as long as the bandleader or the conductor dictates. When they signal to stop holding that note, that is the time to cease playing. ftentimes, as the drummer, you ll be doing what they call a trashcan ending where you play the whole kit in a haphazard fashion while the other band members do the same sort of thing on their instrument. It s a lot of fun. 104
VI) Supplemental Exercises Let s conclude this section by looking at some additional twists we can incorporate where the original grooves and two bar patterns are concerned. The first twist is to go back and play every beat with a quarter note attack on the bell of the cymbal as opposed to eighth notes on the hi hat (see diagram to the right). The second variation would be to play all the grooves with an off beat eighth note attack on the bell of the cymbal (see diagram to the right). Now let s go back to eighth notes on the hi hat, only this time we re going to wash the hi hat on the + of beat one and the + of beat three. When you listen to the recorded version of this variation you ll understand what I mean by washing the hi hat. All you re doing is allowing the hi hat cymbals to sizzle by releasing some of the pressure being exerted by your left foot. The o in each instance as documented in the diagram above means that you re allowing the hi hat cymbals to open up a little bit and then, by using your left foot, you re squeezing the hi hat cymbals back together where the x is written. Try it! Finally, we re going to do the same thing we did with the hi hat a moment ago, only this time we re going to wash the hi hat on every off beat. It looks like this: After you ve finished working through these exercises, we ll be ready to proceed with Jeremy. Before you do that, however, take a moment and see what kind of a solo you can write on the following page using the patterns, grooves and whatever other ideas you can come up with. 105