The Rudimental Ritual Brush Variation?

[jazzin']

So this is for the guys who have done the ritual with brushes.
What I was wondering was if anyone has tried the ritual by slightly variating it from the way Alan Dawson wrote it out by combining his version and then applying the kind of principles Clayton Cameron uses for his rudiments.

eg. Generally accented notes will turn into a sweep/slide, though this is not always the case. Take the ratamacue for example. It would be played: ruff 1 and a ACCENT (if that makes sense). Using similar kind of thing to C.C. it would be: ruff 1 and a sweep (see C.C. book or website for a better explanation).

Anyway, the point is I was playing my daily ritual which is usually followed by a series of other sort of rudiments incorporating sweeps and flexes etc etc.

I figured it would be reasonably easy to combine them (though it would take a bit of work and organising) and was wondering if anyone has tried or successfully done this. I think it would really be a very cool thing to be doing.

Duke? Do you still do the ritual? Ever tried something similar? Anyone else?

Cheers.

[classic*beat]

Sure that's a good idea to work on. If you got the variations then go for it. Practicing rudiments, stick control, etc. with brushes will help you get the feel for them, and is great for chops in general. Which is what I think playing the rudimental ritual with brushes is all about. Mainly you want to be working on creating time feels for what ever style of music you're playing. So it is important to not go overboard with working strictly on chops with brushes. There is nothing worse than some one playing brushes like they would with sticks. I was given a few lessons on brushes and that was it. I got the basic techniques down and since then it's been up to me to figure out the art form. I still have a long way to go. It all needs to be carefully studied and practiced. I've been listening to Tommy Flanagan's album Overseas, and a few tracks on Stan Getz's Jazz samba album. Great brush playing on both albums.

[Pearlrules]

I heard from somewhere that its better to practice your rudiments with your brushes than with your sticks. Is this true?

[Michael G]

I heard from somewhere that its better to practice your rudiments with your brushes than with your sticks. Is this true?

A brush has no rebound, so it would be particularly bad to practice rudiments all the time with brushes. But, it is still very helpful to do some rudiment practice with brushes, like Dennis Chambers says about an "art" in lifting the drum stick.

[theduke86]

Hey man,
Actually, I did the ritual for a month and a half with brushes. It's a great idea. However, I quit it because I'm doing some pipe band type snare exercises for technique stuff.
Of course, the best technical exercise routine is the one that consistently addresses weak points in the way you play drums. Taking Clayton's and Dawson's exercises together sounds like a great idea. Just remember to keep practicing and learning new patterns, too!

[jazzin']

Nice, that pipe band stuff sounds very cool. I did something sort of similar, but it was with all the scottish rudiments. Damn, they had some severely hip phrases. Really nice press roll ideas.

I've been playing the ritual thing for quite a while now, both sticks and brushes and just felt that to incorporate both would save a lot of time and give some fantastic little variations to work with. I'll give it a try and if it works I might even consider re-transcribing it and put it up here for anyone to play with. I actually use this as my daily warm up, so it'll stay with me for a while yet. A small but fun part of my daily technique work.
Hey, if you don't mind I might hassle you at some point for some of the exercises you're doing with the pipe band stuff. I was really diggin' that before I moved on, it would be great to find some more stuff. Cheers Duke.

Hey CB, yeah I think all the Tommy Flanagan stuff is great. Elvin is brilliant on that. Plus his later work with Nash is just blinding for the brushwork!

I think it's a great idea to practice all the rudiments with brushes. If you can get a really clean sounding swiss army triplet with brushes, with sticks it'll be perfect. Assuming that is, that you use sticks everyday alongside.

[Lance69]

Hey, that's a cool idea. Duke, how did the rudimental ritual with brushes go for you? I bet it contributed a lot to your soloing and overall groove I assume?

And another thing, how can you apply the brushes to the rudimental ritual? Do you just staccato first and then sweep after? For example, the paradiddle, RLRRLRLL (strike,strike,sweep,sweep, etc.)

[jazzin']

Yeah exactly. I mean you would have to go through it and decide what you think would sound better. Like the first part, would you play the drags with a sweep or strike? It's up to you. Although it sounds great with a sweep...actually that whole first section of drags and ratamacues sounds cool ending with sweeps.

[fat in the middle]

Pardon my ignorance, but what exactly is The Rudimental brush Ritual ?

[jazzin']

It's a daily practice routine devised by Alan Dawson consisting of about 80 rudiments set over a samba foot ostinato. It takes around 15 minutes on an average tempo to complete. It's designed for both sticks and brushes. Great for keeping your hands together.

[fat in the middle]

It's a daily practice routine devised by Alan Dawson consisting of about 80 rudiments set over a samba foot ostinato. It takes around 15 minutes on an average tempo to complete. It's designed for both sticks and brushes. Great for keeping your hands together.

where would one find such a beautiful thing?

[MNdrummer21]

where would one find such a beautiful thing?

http://rudimentalritual.tripod.com/. Enjoy!

[jazzin']

Holy Crap!! That is cool, I didn't think that would ever find it's way to the internet. That's very nice of someone. This should be put up as a sticky or something so everyone can benefit. Nice find MN!

[MNdrummer21]

You're welcome. :) Now just remember, when you get smokin' chops, don't hurt anybody with 'em! lol jk but it is a wonderful resource that will really help you with your chops and control over your hands and/or feet if you make the choice and committment to working with it. Much like the blushda, it's not a toy!

[jazzin']

You're welcome. :) Now just remember, when you get smokin' chops, don't hurt anybody with 'em! lol jk but it is a wonderful resource that will really help you with your chops and control over your hands and/or feet if you make the choice and committment to working with it. Much like the blushda, it's not a toy!

Hehe I've been doing the ritual for ages, I just got excited for those who want to learn it but couldn't find it. There seem to be quite a few.

[whoback]

Hey just saw this thread while looking for something else but I have a question:

Have any of you guys here ever successfully learned the Ritual from Ramsey's book? I ask because I've got a hand written version that my teacher got from Alan and he is also friends with John and has told me that the book is wrong. He says some of the rhythms and stickings are messed up making it impossible to learn.

Anyone work through the actual book?

[j45000]

Hey just saw this thread while looking for something else but I have a question:

Have any of you guys here ever successfully learned the Ritual from Ramsey's book? I ask because I've got a hand written version that my teacher got from Alan and he is also friends with John and has told me that the book is wrong. He says some of the rhythms and stickings are messed up making it impossible to learn.

Anyone work through the actual book?

Perhaps you could scan it and offer it up as an attachment so those who have the book can have a look.

[whoback]

If you're talking about the handwritten version I can't help you. I'm home on break and don't have it with me.

I'm sure someone has the Alan Dawson / John Ramsey book here... have you worked through the ritual successfully?

[j45000]

If you're talking about the handwritten version I can't help you. I'm home on break and don't have it with me.

I'm sure someone has the Alan Dawson / John Ramsey book here... have you worked through the ritual successfully?

No, I just got the book. Was just wondering what the differences were

[jazzin']

The book is fine and it is also exactly the way Alan Dawson plays it. It has a CD recording of both John Ramsay doing a slow version and Alan Dawson doing a fast version of it. It is played by both exactly the way it is transcribed in the book. So either your teacher has the wrong version or maybe got an early version or a watered down version third hand or something. The book is right.

[j45000]

Jazzin', thanks for the input

[anp27]

The book is fine and it is also exactly the way Alan Dawson plays it. It has a CD recording of both John Ramsay doing a slow version and Alan Dawson doing a fast version of it. It is played by both exactly the way it is transcribed in the book. So either your teacher has the wrong version or maybe got an early version or a watered down version third hand or something. The book is right.

Sorry for this 5 year old resurrection but.....
Actually, the book IS wrong. I own it, as well as a copy of the Ritual that I got from my teacher at the Collective. Even my teacher says the book is wrong. I can tell you exactly where the errors are:

1. The rudiment at Bar 231 should be labeled '4 Stroke Ruff Paradiddle'

2. Bar 250 should end with a quarter note on beat 4.

3. Bar 403 should have a repeat bar line (indicating the beginning of the repeat)

[Caz]

Sounds do-able and like a good idea, as it's a bit limiting that the RR doesn't deal with sweeps.

Bit of a detour but I found it interesting and others reading this thread might too...

I saw an interview (I think it was one Todd Bishop posted), where Alan says he had later changed his mind about strictly playing the RR with brushes only. He found it better to also practise it with sticks as it helped with dynamics (particularly playing quietly) in orchestral scenarios. I'd been sticking with John Ramsay's original advice about always playing it with brushes.. now I try to work on each rudiment independently with sticks at different tempos/dynamics, as well as bashing through it with brushes.

Thanks for writing out those errors anp27 - nice to see them written out for clarity.

Caroline

[anp27]

I'm sure it would be a lot of fun incorporating sweeps and whatnot into the RR but playing it as it is is hard enough!

I've been practicing the RR strictly with brushes so far but every now and then and I'll pick up my sticks and play some parts of it.. I have to say that its 10 times easier playing the RR with sticks after practicing with brushes only. I'm pretty sure I could play it around the tempo of Dawson's recording with sticks if I wanted to, but my goal is to be able to play the Ritual with brushes first, then switch to sticks. Practicing with brushes is excellent for building your wrists!