Restarted the mike clark funk book recently. It was a bit frustrating last time but I can see how it comes easier now. It makes you play some pretty odd rhythms with all limbs and with tons of ghost notes. Let's see if I stick with it this time around..
I've been working on snare drum pieces for marching band - in slow motion. I can't approach drum corps tempos, so I'm slowing them down and playing with a wide swing - sort of a jaunty saunter instead of a military march.
My routine is one hour of technical exercises on the set broken into 15 mins of hand warm up, 15 mins of feet warm up, and 1/2 hour of reading/playing coordination exercises. Then I work on 15 mins of Jazz, 15 mins of Latin feels, 15 mins of Shuffle, and 15 mins of free form.
As for the first hour, most of the stuff I use is what I have created and the rest is from Gary Chaffee's books.
I've been guilty. But a lot of times what you practice on the kit sounds like "playing" because it involves practicing limb independence, not just sticking on a snare over a bass drum ostinato.
And of course, you have to literally practice playing the kit.
Restarted the mike clark funk book recently. It was a bit frustrating last time but I can see how it comes easier now. It makes you play some pretty odd rhythms with all limbs and with tons of ghost notes. Let's see if I stick with it this time around..
Stick control also today, double strokes section. I’ve been playing to music too often lately. Which is great, but doesn’t feel as productive as it should.
Thank you! I see he makes mention of Love Light by Jabo, one of my favorite grooves. Just reading the quote on the back cover are great too. Flood is a live album I always go back to, the transition from Maiden Voyage to Actual Proof is so slick.
The examples in the book are interesting. I think of Mike's playing as more flowing than say Garibaldi where lays down a defined pattern. But cool he isolated some examples here.
I like the interviews, explanations and transcriptions. It's not really a "method" book, though - you get thrown in at the deep end and then try to make sense of it as you go. I don't see myself using all of the grooves in the future. For example, the open handed grooves are very similar to the other grooves, so not sure what to do with those. You need to select the most interesting parts yourself and skip over a few things that don't resonate with you, but overall it's a neat book and worth its price if you're into Mike Clark's drumming. He also has another book ( https://www.halleonard.com/product/339771/the-post-bop-drum-book ), but I haven't looked into it yet.
My practice doesn't sound as regimented as others. New to double Kick drums (started last August). playing 16th notes at my max speed for 5 minutes. Rosanna shuffle is a daily project and always finish up with playing songs I'm working on. I have a practice pad next to my desk, so I'm always doodling on that through out the day
Since I currently only have three limbs (surgery on left wrist), I've just been focusing on various "3-way" independence exercises. I'll be bringing the left hand again at some point, but for now playing variations of these keeps me going. For the below, I've just been changing the limbs around for the parts once I learn it one way.
Also been listening closely to music I want to try and play when I can do so again.
In my life I've rarely practiced..anything. I'd now and then go down the basement in my younger days and play a beat or two but practicing always came from jamming or gigging. I LISTEN to drummers like someone insane and have absorbed things that way..watching and listening. One of the guitar players I'd jammed with relentlesy was on the road with Mark Cranny and said Mark was constantly in the books or practicing during the day. Sadly I was never that intense..actually I've always thought something was wrong with me. Oh well...carry on.
last few nights i'm working through some Michael Schack lessons.. i have done them 100's of times but now that i am re-learning how to use my arm i am pretty much having to go back through everything and re-learn it. At least it's much faster than the first time
In my life I've rarely practiced..anything. I'd now and then go down the basement in my younger days and play a beat or two but practicing always came from jamming or gigging. I LISTEN to drummers like someone insane and have absorbed things that way..watching and listening. One of the guitar players I'd jammed with relentlesy was on the road with Mark Cranny and said Mark was constantly in the books or practicing during the day. Sadly I was never that intense..actually I've always thought something was wrong with me. Oh well...carry on.
not really wrong with you...just that your brain fires differently than others....sort of like mine
When I started as a youngn', I played for about 7 years before I opened a book. I just listened and learned by watching and copying. Getting into marching band playing forced me to learn to read better...and then I got addicted to learning stuff out of books, and written music more than just jamming. That actually helped me with my learning by ear b/c I could envision what the patterns looked like if they were written down when I heard them
they key is to find what works for you, and then not worry about whether it works for everyone!!
But a few years ago I decided to become obsessed with the paradiddle. Just kinda practicing it relentlessly around the kit and then turning into into grooves on the hi hat & snare have made me so much of a better player.
So latest I’ve been double stroke rolls around the kit at various bpm for 10 min at a time and then ramping up the bpm. I did 90 min of practice today with 50 min dedicated to double strokes and 40 to the paradiddle.
3 years ago my double stroke roll was embarrassing. Now, I’m so much better just by trying to master those two rudiments. And doing it in a musical way with accents
But a few years ago I decided to become obsessed with the paradiddle. Just kinda practicing it relentlessly around the kit and then turning into into grooves on the hi hat & snare have made me so much of a better player.
So latest I’ve been double stroke rolls around the kit at various bpm for 10 min at a time and then ramping up the bpm. I did 90 min of practice today with 50 min dedicated to double strokes and 40 to the paradiddle.
3 years ago my double stroke roll was embarrassing. Now, I’m so much better just by trying to master those two rudiments. And doing it in a musical way with accents
Lately I’ve been practicing rolls, etc., with the lightest grip that still gets the job done and doesn’t make me lose the sticks. The faster I go the better the control...
Just a suggestion (something I have done and it is extremely helpful) is to take a 16th note pattern and that which is written, play them as single stroke accents and all of the rests as a ghosted roll. That means that all 16th note rests turn into 32nd notes which are open double stroke rolls.
Okay, I'm still down a limb and going stir crazy, so taken the Groove Scribe app from MikesLessons and created three limb independence exercises to keep me working on something while I wait for the left wing to heal. Maybe someone will be able to use these when they are down a limb. Maybe just try them and add left hand as you see fit. They get crazy real fast!
In my life I've rarely practiced..anything. I'd now and then go down the basement in my younger days and play a beat or two but practicing always came from jamming or gigging. I LISTEN to drummers like someone insane and have absorbed things that way..watching and listening. One of the guitar players I'd jammed with relentlesy was on the road with Mark Cranny and said Mark was constantly in the books or practicing during the day. Sadly I was never that intense..actually I've always thought something was wrong with me. Oh well...carry on.
Kind of still figuring out about my practice time. I am stuck in the rut of having too much material to practice si I have a tendency to jump from one thing to another. I also have acces to my set only once a week with band practice. So its mostly pad work for me and limb independence.
Regarding the post of Bozozoid. I just read in Drumhead magazine that Morgan Agren never practiced to any lessons or books as young lad. His main source was listening to other prog rock cats and trying to emulate what they are doing. It seems it worked ok
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