Jazz independence exercises, help

MattKrasky

Junior Member
I just started getting back into jazz independence and I was wondering if there is any like techniques or exercises I could do on a practice pad that would help my hands be more independent from each other, if that makes sense.

Would just going over the paradiddle inversions one after another help with that or what?

Thanks, Matt.
 
Re: Jazz independance exercises, help

I have one word for you: Alan Dawson's Rudimental Ritual.


Take it slow and thank me in a year or two.
 
Re: Jazz independance exercises, help

I have one word for you: Alan Dawson's Rudimental Ritual.


Take it slow and thank me in a year or two.

You beat me to it.

Play it as suggested, with the samba foot pattern too.

Honestly, I haven't really messed with it that much but it will certainly get your hands where they need to be.
 
Re: Jazz independance exercises, help

You beat me to it.

Play it as suggested, with the samba foot pattern too.

Honestly, I haven't really messed with it that much but it will certainly get your hands where they need to be.

IMO the samba foot pattern can/should wait until after the rudiments have become comfortable.

The flam rudiments are especially great for independence. Separate the hands and apply them to ride (or hihat) and snare and you get lots of cool stuff.

Another similar method is taking a handful of right-hand ostinatos (e.g. 1+2+...1e+2e+...1+a2+a...) and playing Syncopation (pp. 38-41ish) in the left hand (reading the 8ths as 16ths, in this case).

And I don't know if OP has done this but if not reading those Syncopation pages as swung eighths against some splang-a-lang is a great way to start building a bop comping vocabulary. (And then go through the rest of the 80 or so Alan Dawson Syncopation variations!)
 
Re: Jazz independance exercises, help

I used the Mel Bay Studio Jazz Drum Cookbook. Very logical independence exercises and it really opened my playing up. Another thing I always did and still do is incorporate paradiddle-diddles into my jazz ride patterns. Just split your hands between the ride and snare. It's a good thing to use while working on other independence exercises to help keep your ride pattern solid and to help add color to your playing.
 
Re: Jazz independance exercises, help

Here's something for you-- some paradiddle-diddle variations that translate directly into jazz cymbal/comping patterns. You could also do the triplet flam exercises in Stick Control, or do anything at all in that book, swinging the rhythm.
 

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Re: Jazz independance exercises, help

IMO the samba foot pattern can/should wait until after the rudiments have become comfortable.

The flam rudiments are especially great for independence. Separate the hands and apply them to ride (or hihat) and snare and you get lots of cool stuff.

Another similar method is taking a handful of right-hand ostinatos (e.g. 1+2+...1e+2e+...1+a2+a...) and playing Syncopation (pp. 38-41ish) in the left hand (reading the 8ths as 16ths, in this case).

And I don't know if OP has done this but if not reading those Syncopation pages as swung eighths against some splang-a-lang is a great way to start building a bop comping vocabulary. (And then go through the rest of the 80 or so Alan Dawson Syncopation variations!)

Oh, absolutely! I certainly didn't mean to start out with the samba pattern.

Yes, definitely look into all of the Syncopation interpretations involving just the hands; snare comping, latin cross-stick, etc. The Alan Dawson book by John Ramsay has all you will ever need to get you through Syncopation...that and a good teacher.
 
Thanks everyone! but one question (I am just getting into all this technical stuff) but what is an ostinato? i've read the word a few times on here but just kinda looked over it.
 
Thanks everyone! but one question (I am just getting into all this technical stuff) but what is an ostinato? i've read the word a few times on here but just kinda looked over it.
Ostinato = repeated pattern going on while typically varying some other elements. E.g. a specific foot ostinato and playing something different/improvised on the hands or vice versa. Or keeping up a hand ostinato on the hihat and/or ride while varying your other limbs.

Ostinatos are great to get the motions automated until they feel totally natural. Once learned, move on to a new ostinato etc. With more practice you can move in and out of them at random.
 
Ostinato = repeated pattern going on while typically varying some other elements. E.g. a specific foot ostinato and playing something different/improvised on the hands or vice versa. Or keeping up a hand ostinato on the hihat and/or ride while varying your other limbs.

Ostinatos are great to get the motions automated until they feel totally natural. Once learned, move on to a new ostinato etc. With more practice you can move in and out of them at random.

so the jazz ride pattern would technically be ostinato correct? or did i read that wrong?
 
I just started getting back into jazz independence and I was wondering if there is any like techniques or exercises I could do on a practice pad that would help my hands be more independent from each other, if that makes sense.

Would just going over the paradiddle inversions one after another help with that or what?

Thanks, Matt.

I would suggest getting the book Advanced Techniques for the Modern Drummer by Jim Chapin, and go over all the independence exercises (in the first part of the book--part I--, before he introduces patterns for the bass drum) with both hands on a practice pad. Bill Bachman also has similar exercises at the back of his Stick Technique book. Do this VERY slowly at first, and make sure that when both hands are playing together they are hitting exactly together.
 
I would suggest getting the book Advanced Techniques for the Modern Drummer by Jim Chapin, and go over all the independence exercises (in the first part of the book--part I--, before he introduces patterns for the bass drum) with both hands on a practice pad. Bill Bachman also has similar exercises at the back of his Stick Technique book. Do this VERY slowly at first, and make sure that when both hands are playing together they are hitting exactly together.

i already have went through the first 1 or 2 parts of the chapin book but I'm going back through it as we speak because i hadn't played jazz for a few months. Dumb mistake..
 
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