Kenneth Nishimoto
Senior Member
Alright, up until this point, my specialty has really been the sort of choppy, funky, jojo mayer/johnny rabb/squarepusher style breakbeats, right? That's all delightful, and it works well in the context of the music I make, but Lately, well, I've been itching to branch out. I've been working out seventh chords on my piano, studying scale theory, learning to sing properly, and now I want my heart to beat with a spang-a-lang.
That's right folks, the drum machine wants to learn jazz. I can do a reasonable approximation with a pair of brushes, and just a snare, but I oftentimes feel that my playing is less fluid than it ought to be, I'm going through the motions, it's not "natural", you know? The thing is, I've got the groove, when I listen to a bop record or some benny goodman show, I can feel the beat, and I understand the mysterious allure of the whole thing, but how do I get my arms to do what's all up in my head?
I'm going to check out that one Jim Chapin book (you know the one, with the umbrella?) at the local library, and I was curious as to if anyone has any other suggestions as to what course I ought to pursue, or books I ought to look into. However:
1. Lessons are out of the question. I have good technique, I can read sheet music, and I, being a poor college student, am extremely, consistently broke. Drummerworld is going to have to suffice as my teacher for now.
2. Specifically, I want to look into bop, swing, and good old N.O. style shuffles. All that fusion whitewash is for the birds, I reckon, and I think that a good understanding of free jazz will come as my skills in bop become more advanced.
Thanks folks!
That's right folks, the drum machine wants to learn jazz. I can do a reasonable approximation with a pair of brushes, and just a snare, but I oftentimes feel that my playing is less fluid than it ought to be, I'm going through the motions, it's not "natural", you know? The thing is, I've got the groove, when I listen to a bop record or some benny goodman show, I can feel the beat, and I understand the mysterious allure of the whole thing, but how do I get my arms to do what's all up in my head?
I'm going to check out that one Jim Chapin book (you know the one, with the umbrella?) at the local library, and I was curious as to if anyone has any other suggestions as to what course I ought to pursue, or books I ought to look into. However:
1. Lessons are out of the question. I have good technique, I can read sheet music, and I, being a poor college student, am extremely, consistently broke. Drummerworld is going to have to suffice as my teacher for now.
2. Specifically, I want to look into bop, swing, and good old N.O. style shuffles. All that fusion whitewash is for the birds, I reckon, and I think that a good understanding of free jazz will come as my skills in bop become more advanced.
Thanks folks!