Jazz 8th Note Triplet Comping

[Bonzo_CR]

Listen to as much Elvin Jones as you can possibly find.... many of your answers will be in that context.

Ha! Yes, Elvin is the answer to most of my questions too!

 

[SmoothOperator]

That looks like a straight triplet feel, but there are ways to play around with it. You can play it with an up beat, like the reggae stride, emphasizing "and a" or you can split up and emphasize the "Y" "A" eg "2 Y an A". Thomas Howie, used to have a set of patterns to develop this kind of independence against a swing, though there are different notations to indicate that is what is needed, eg they will tie the note one way or another. You could also ghost them as a quintuplet feel, if the beat is divided 12345, and the swing pattern is 1----1--4-, then you can play them on the 2nd and third subdivisions. Happens a lot in swing.

I just want to clarify. Typically, in swing the syncopation doesn't move around very much. Yes, it is somewhere between a triplet and an eight, maybe closer to dotted sixteenth, or even a tied quintuplet, but what ever it is you want to accent that note and stick with it. There are commonly other rhythms that float around I call'em shuffles, where they actually shift around for different sections of music or as part of the individual style of the drummer. Hence, it is important to interpret the context the pattern is played, and possibly consider alternatives(preferably pre-practiced) to the fixed triplet feel.

 

[TMe]

...flamming with the ride.

The stuff I work on is far more simple, but I had the same problem. I tried deliberately flamming some notes, first with the grace note on the snare, then with the grace note on the ride, then going back and forth. Then I started tightening up the flams. That helped. I found that, without realizing it, I was always wanting to flam in one direction and by practicing flamming in the other direction, I was able to get a bit more control.

 

[Mr Farkle]

The stuff I work on is far more simple, but I had the same problem. I tried deliberately flamming some notes, first with the grace note on the snare, then with the grace note on the ride, then going back and forth. Then I started tightening up the flams. That helped. I found that, without realizing it, I was always wanting to flam in one direction and by practicing flamming in the other direction, I was able to get a bit more control.

That’s a great idea! I might give that a try. Kind of like playing the second double louder to eventually make it sound the same.

I have been working on a practice pad playing all three triplets (consistent even pattern) with my left hand while playing the standard ride pattern on the pad with the right hand. Doing that and hearing the constant flams was so irritating that my brain quickly took over and started to tighten everything up. Hopefully that transfers to the kit.