Herta fills 2- 2 and 3 beat fill ideas

Here's some of the herta fill variations we looked at on sat guys. A pick ups using the herta rudiment we looked at. If you can't remeber how to play a herta look at the previous post.
  Good luck guys

Herta fills 1

Hey guys,
                Here's the fill we looked at on sat morning using the herta. It's four strokes (rlrl) but the first two strokes are twice as fast as the last two. The first line is just the sticking pattern so go nuts with it to get the feel of the rudiment under your hands play it round the kit and try playing the first two quick notes on a different sound ie a tom or the hi hat.
The second line is the basic rhythm we were following so count it out and get a feel for that.
The last line is the fill we finished off with. Replacing each group of three 16th notes with a herta. Take it easy and watch your sticking. On sat we learn't this fill in two halfs which might make it easier.
I'll try and a get a short video done of how to play it up asap.
Hoe to see you guys again soon

Pete

Samba

Tonight's lesson - Board Capture

Drum Clinic .....

16th November in Ware there is a drum clinic with a great drummer called Craig Blundell - this guy teaches many pro drummers and should not be missed!

I'll be there after my last class, hope to see you all there.

A

Riff Practice 2

Ok, this one is 4/4, 4/4, 9/8, 4/4.

 Riff 2 by psdrums 

Riff Practice

Guys

Here's the riff to practice .... be quick to download.

 Riff 1 by psdrums 

More 'Jumbo' Fills

Guys

Remember NO drum lessons this week, we're on half-term.

Here's the additional 'Nelly' fills that we did last week. I'll post of some riffs over the week.

'Nelly The Elephant' Fills

Enter Sandman- Part2+3

Here are the pushes that run through the intro section every four bars. Again count and take your time with them, make sure you don't change your bass drum pattern as you play the cymbal hits or forget the high tom notes on 2 and 4

Enter Sandman-Metalica

Here's the basic groove for the Intro to Entersand man we looked at. Remember that the left hand is playing  beats two and four on the top tom AND NOT ON THE SNARE DRUM :-). Spend some time getting really comfortable with this groove as it will make learning the pushes much easier later on and count!!!

Bounce Triplet Exercise

The 'Missing' Groove

Cissy Strut Video (with sticking)

Groove to Valerie

This is the groove to Amy Winehouse's cover of valerie and uses the 1\4 note co-ordination we've been looking at. The tempo on the track is pretty brisk so stay relaxed and don't play any part of the groove too loud or heavy. It's tight and light all the way through!!! watch out for the straight 16th note fills on the bridge into the choruses. Good Luck!!!

Pete

1/4 note groove ex 1

Here's the quarter note groove co-ordination w've been looking at. Read it carefully and one you have got it try playing it with a "swung" feel (i.e swing the bass drum part ;) )

 

Cissy Strut - Two Grooves

As promised and requested, here is the groove from the classic New Orleans Funk track Cissy Strut by the Meters.

Remember to play it 'almost swung'....

Having nailed that bit .... have a go a this 'sample bar' from the bridge. On the actual track, nearly all of the bars are different but this will give you a flavour of what's needed.

This week's suggested listening homework is some Earth, Wind and Fire - Live! You'll smile ... I promise. Here's the link, enjoy EWF - Live!

Let us all know how you're getting on Tweet

Rope - Two Grooves

Well done to everyone this week. It is a fast one ....

So as a reminder, here's the Intro and Verse Groove

And here's the Groove from the Bridge/Chorus, lead hand on the ride cymbal

The downloadable PDF of the chart up to the drum soli phrasing  can be found here.

Any problems, or questions don't forget to Tweet

5 stroke roll ex's

Here's yesterdays 5 stroke roll fill's.

The first bar is the basic sticking ex for the 5 stroke single stroke roll. Make sure you practice it starting with both the right and the left hand as written.
The next two bars are examples of the same ex but phrased across the toms. If you practice these dynamically it adds proper musicality to the fill and to quote don becomes "proper drumming". Both phrased variations have an example starting with the left hand so practice those as well.

The last three are examples of when to play the five stroke roll within the context of a groove creating a pick up or fill. The first is the easiest with the fill starting on the 3rd beat of the bar so start with that one. I have written the fills just on the snare to start with so you can hear the placement of the fill. Once your comfortable try using some of the "phrased" and accented examples again try leading with the right and left hand.

Hope that all makes sense we'll do some more of these next lesson with some combinations of five stroke rolls so really get the basic rudiment under your hands.

Enjoy
Pete

16th note snare drum co-ordination

Last week we started to look at 16th note syncopation. This is the adding of notes, usually on the snare drum or bass drum in between the 8th notes on the hi-hat. I have written out the snare drums ex we looked at.

i) is the excercise written out in 8th notes to start with it's easier to read and will help you get comfortable with the co-ordination. Make sure your counting and take your time. The bass drum on 1 and three will help you get your bearings when you move onto ex ii.

ii) is EXACTLY THE SAME as ex i. The only difference being it's written as 16th notes rather than 8ths. So count it 1 e + a, 2 e + a, etc play it to a metronome if you can and the click should fall on the 1, 2, 3 and the 4 with the e + a's in between.

iii) Ok now you've got the ex's you can work on your co-ordination with your right foot. In this ex your playing the 1+ and the 3+ on the bass drum and missing out the 2 and 4. Again take it slow and count it. It shouldn't be too difficult as your bass drum plays with your right hand on the hi-hat.

iv) Same idea as before, your hands play the same but this time we've moved the bass drum 8th notes to +, 3 and +,1. Read it count it and take your time

v) This is the killer playing the bass drum on the + of 2 and 3 in the middle of the bar requires some serious counting but if you've practice the other ex's you shouldn't have much trouble nailing it.

When you can play all of these ex's try adding a back beat by playing your right hand on the snare drum on beats 2 and 4

Next week's Groove

Here's a look at the basic grrove that we'll be working on next week. We'll need it at about 140 bpm ..

Remember - The Track can be found here on Spotify and don't forget to click this button Tweet to let us all know how you're getting on. The downloadable PDF can be found here.

Just one more ... Paradiddle-diddles Part 2

Hey Diddle-diddle ... Here's the last one, honest!

RECOMMENDED LISTENING : This week's listening homework is Rope - Foo Fighters. It's from their new album of the same name.

Paradiddle-diddle Grooves - Part 1

Ok, here we go with the last part of the Paradiddle Groove journey. The download-able PDF can be found here.

16th Note Hi-hat Grooves

Here's a link to the pages already up with examples of hand to hand 16th note grooves like the ones we looked at on monday. Remember start slow and try to keep your hands down. Your aiming for a "light and tight" sound with out accenting the hands when the bass drum is playing. Start slow and remember to breathe

16th Note Hi Hat Grooves

News Flash!

Now, you know that I NEVER get involved with the retail side of the business at Playsomething .... but this is really good for you guys should you want a drums kit?

Jon is selling off the ex-teaching Yamaha DTX explorer kits for £350 .... they're all virtually un-used, and all in perfect order.

If you want one call Jon on, 01920 460646 (only speak to Jon or Max!) and reserve one, it's a great deal!

Al

Double Paradiddle Grooves - Part 2 'The Inverted Double'

Ok, so how did you get on with the first batch? I bet you've nailed them all ...

Here's the second lot - This time its an Inverted Double Paradiddle, played on your left hand (Right hand for Big Dave) and right foot.

The downloadable PDF can be found here or click on the chart below to go full screen.

Watch out for the third and final instalment on Friday ... something for the weekend!

NEW - Each post, from now on is going to include some recommended listening. You're going to need Spotify (if you need help with getting Spotify - let me know).

So this week's 'Listening home-work' is some fine West Coast Funk (pronounced FONK! as in honk) from Tower of Power. The drummer is David Garibaldi who is the king of funky grooves using  paradiddles. Have a listen to this album Tower Of Power – Great American Soulbook.
Their version, on this album, of 'Me and Mrs Jones' is in 12/8 and therefore would be a great way to practice those double paradiddle triplet grooves! Me and Mrs Jones.

Enjoy ... and stay funky!

Single and Double Paradiddle Grooves - Part 2

Ok, as promised here's part 2 of our Paradiddle Groove odyssey.

Here is a sheet to work through for starters. Click on the chart below to go full screen on you computer or click here for a downloadable PDF and watch out for the next part in a few days!

Drum and Bass Grooves

Here's the long list of grooves that we worked on this week. 

Start slowly and build-up your speed, remember we're aiming for 170bpm.

Thurs 7pm Class :Motown fill/Pick up

Here's the motown fill we looked at last lesson. All three variations. Start with the first one and familiarise your self with the rhythm of the phrase. The second example just uses an open hi-hat rather then the high tom to finish the fill. This is a little more subtle and adds a nice touch of depth especially if you don't play a crash on the one of the following bar. The last example adds an open hi-hat on the 3rd beat of the groove. By adding this accent on the down beat of three it creates a nice counter rhythm to the one on the and of 4 at the end of the fill.

When you can play all of these examples comfortably try adding three bars of groove prior to the bar with the fill. See what happens when you change the groove or play it on different drums/ sounds on the kit. Although known as the motown fill this fill transcends genres and styles cropping up in everything from  Bob Marley to Zeppelin so go mad with it :)

1/8 note groove ex

Ok guys, this is the 8th note groove ex we've been using as a bit of a warm up for the last few weeks. Playing a bass drum on every 8th not except on beats 2 + 4. By practicing this beat properly you'll improve your stamina and speed and all round facility within your groove playing. It will help with playing fast 8th bass drum figures in fast rock tracks (a la Taylor Hawkins from the foo fighters) through to smooth even syncopated figures in drum and bass grooves 160 +bpm.

So here's the groove :

To get the benefit of this ex it's all down to how you practice it. It hinges on the principal that great playing is about simple things played well. Here's some things to think about while you get to grips with it:

1)TIMING practice to a metronome; start out using an 8th note click (so a click on 1 and the + of the  beat) to make sure your not rushing the 8th note. Start at 65-70 bpm going up in 6 or 7 bpm intervals    so you cover a range of tempos not just increments of 10. When this feels comfortable try using a quarter note click.

2)  RELAXATION; The aim is to build your co-ordination so you don't have think about your right  hand when your playing various bass drum pattern's. In order for that to happen you must be relaxed.
Aim to "throw" the right hand down onto the hi-hat and get the stick to bounce back up doing the
work for you. This is what will enable to you play comfortably at speed.

3) EVEN-NESS: This is partyly down to timing. Most people have a tendency to rush their bass drum playing more than one note at a time. This is most noticable when playing groups of three (as in this case) so be aware and avoid it. The other thing is even-ness of sound, if your bouncing the stick off the hi-hat correctly from the same height with the same force all the strokes should sound the same. Are all your snare drums and bass drums all the same volume?

4) VOLUME: Firstly how loud are you playing? Try practicing at different volumes, the best way to approach this is to try using different stick heights. The lower the stroke the lower the volume. Playing at 140 bpm plus at low volumes is a great exercise in control.
Secondly is your bass drum or snare drum much louder than everything else? Do you generally always   have loud a snare even when your trying to play quietly. This is called "internal dynamics"; how well all the different sounds on the kit are balanced next to one another, and being able to change and control that is an important part of setting up good "groove" and "feel". Record your self playing and listen to how you play.

It doesn't matter how advanced the player this ex is use-full and i will be posting a couple of variations to help with other aspects of 8th note co-ordination all based on this groove. Practiced properly you should see you abillity to play good solid time with feel and control right up to the 180 bpm mark and beyond. Five or ten minutes a day of this and you'll see dramatic improvement in your groove playing fast!!!

Essay over i hope this helps and look out for some of the variations that will go up over the next few weeks,

Pete

Single and Double Paradiddle Grooves

As promised, here's page 1 to start on.

Then we moved on to Double Paradiddles, here's the sheet - WITH HOMEWORK!!!!!

8pm thurs -"shot through the heart"

A bit of Classic Jovi to rock out to, enjoy guys :)

here's the last piece of the puzzle

here's the fill into the chorus of "steady as she goes". Make sure you get the spacing of the notes spot on in line 1. Remember the bass drum note after the two snares is an 8th note so will create a space before the next snare drum.
 Line two simply plays two beats of the previous ex at the end of a bar of the verse groove to create the fill.
Line 3 has the pick up followed by a bar of the groove for the chorus to get used to the transition. Watch your bass drum pattern at the end of the bar playing the + of 4 and on the 1 of the next bar.

See you soon :)

Pete

Finishing off - Under The Bridge

Well done to everyone who put loads of work in to master this song last week. The last few written bars plus the end 'slash' bars caused a bit of concern so here they are.

Let the video run to hear the some ideas as to what to play for the last 'un-written' bars....

Now if you want to download the pdf here is the link.

Linkin Park Chorus groove

Here's the groove to the chorus of "what i've done" that we looked at this week. The basic groove is the same but take your time to get used to the quarter note right hand pattern on the crash. Another great variation of a killer groove. Enjoy :) !!

A New Chilli Peppers track to try!

I thought I'd post up an alternative Chilli Peppers' track for you all to try. Here is 'Under The Bridge' - have a play through it if you get a chance and we'll play it together in class.

Here is a link to the track in Spotify - Under The Bridge

Steady as she goes - Verse Groove

A tasty 8th note groove with a displaced back beat and some great hi-hat work!
I have split the grove into the two separate halves in their quarter note form for you to gte to grips with the co-ordination before tackling the groove as a whole in all it's 8th note glory

Enjoy and take your time with the first two stages before launching into the complete groove

Linkin park "what i've done"

Here's the break down of the groove we worked on in mondays lesson :)

Page 2 of the pretender

Here's the 2nd instalment as promised :)

SMK - The Intro Groove

Welcome back to everyone after our half-term break. 

Ok, so we've started on the Chilli Peppers' SMK - and well done to everyone for doing so well last week.

Here is the Intro groove that we looked at.

Now we have looked at all of the three grooves that feature in this very groove/riff-based song click here to bring up all three posts with the videos to practice to.

Enjoy

Steady as she goes

As promised guys :), look forward to working on this next week
Pete

This weeks warm up/fill ex

A basic 8th note "linear" phrase for you to start messing bout with. As always take it slowly, each step at a time making sure your comfortable with the co-ordiantion of each one before speeding it up gradually and then moving onto the next ex.

Well be using this as a theme for the next 6 weeks so the more you get stuck in now the easier you will find things later on.

Enjoy :)

Half Term Homework Part 2 - The Video

Half Term Homework (Part 2)

Ok, so hopefully you've had the time to have a go at the first groove. The song is SMK by the Chilli Peppers and can be found here from the PS Drums spotify playlist (I've linked to the Karaoke version because of the F words!). I hope you'll find this track both challenging and interesting as its 'Riff-lead' with the drums sticking to the riff pattern in the form of grooves.

In Groove 1 I have omitted the 'extra' bass drum beat on 3 of the second bar, which on the recording I have, I couldn't hear.

This is Groove 2 from further into the song. Work through it slowly making sure that in Bar 1 you keep an eye out for the bass and snare drum beats NOT with the Hi Hats.

Video to follow ....

Half Term Homework Part 1 - The Video

Half Term Homework (Part 1)

OK, here's part 1 of your half term homework / prep for next week.

For starters, I'd like you to have a look at this groove ...

More coming soon ......

Bo Diddley Grooves

Ok, so this week we looked at fast, Bo Diddley-based grooves. The first one we looked at was 'Town Called Malice' - The Jam. There are two grooves to deal with - Groove 1 is from the Intro (after the bass riff) and from the Chorus, Groove 2 is from the verse - play is straight NOT swung!

The second song we looked at was the classic - 'Can't Hurry Love' - Phil Collins. It's very similar to the Intro / Chorus groove above - with the addition of a bass drum on 3 of the second bar.

The third groove we looked at was 'Valerie' - Amy Winehouse / Mark Ronson. Slight change but again the same 'feel' and tempo.

5 stroke roll ex 2

Here's this week's warm up exercise. Again based on the sticking for the 5 stroke roll but voiced in a different way across the kit creating a "phrase".
The first line is the basic sticking playing the 1st and fourth stroke on the toms (right hand on the floor tom left hand on the high tom). Take care with the second part starting with the left hand on the three this will feel odd to begin with!!!
The second exercise is the same but after playing the right hand lead there isn't such a long gap before starting the left hand lead. This creates a really nice syncopated feel. Take your time with it and count!!!
The last two lines are just examples of how you could use the above stickings as a fill with a groove. Remember play three bars of str8 groove before the bar with the fill.
This should get your hands and your brain working good and hard :) enjoy!!
Pete