jazzerooty
Junior Member
I practice the solos from Charlie Wilcoxon Swing Solos. I play a lot of ride cymbal time, bebop style, while feathering. Long time. Play along to records.
So, are you single, or soon to be single?When watching TV I play on my knee and as well as singles, flams and doubles I also like to play around with what I call “ABCD triplets”
I sometimes get “the look” and desist for personal safety... ?So, are you single, or soon to be single?
(Or a tragic victim of domestic violence in the near future)
Me too!I’m currently working on left hand control with slow doubles, emphasizing the finger snap for the second stroke of the double to match my right hand power: l L - rR, etc. Sometimes lL- r and repeat. With my left’s index trigger finger it makes control a bit problematic.
? Glad to see you're listening to the distant drumbeat of self preservation.I sometimes get “the look” and desist for personal safety... ?
Like it!The exercise that has the greatest impact on my playing is playing along with songs on the FM radio. I change the station every few songs. I rotate between rock, oldies, jazz, country, blues, hip hop, popular and hispanic stations. So after one hour I have played along with many songs I have never heard before and songs from many different types of music.
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I've exercised an Irish Setter, but never heard of that.The Irish Spring Exercise was one of the best for me.
I find BeBop and just fast Jazz in general has really helped bring back my speed, especially the left handI practice the solos from Charlie Wilcoxon Swing Solos. I play a lot of ride cymbal time, bebop style, while feathering. Long time. Play along to records.
Yup, I just use an app on my phone, Metronome Beats. I think I used the free version but then paid a couple bucks for premium for some reason. For gap training I like it because you can set specific measures that are silent (eg 2 on 2 off) or it will do it randomly based in the percentage you put in (eg 60% silent measures). Definitely keeps me on my toes and it's teaching me to really internalize time.Do you own one of those metronomes that omit measures to test your accuracy?
So, are you single, or soon to be single?
(Or a tragic victim of domestic violence in the near future)
I was on a different thread where someone was touting a swerving, curving, corkscrew hand technique that seemed like it wouldn't be useful even if you put the time in to master it (apologies if that sounds unkind). But it got me thinking about things that we really feel were worth the time investment that we might want to offer up to the forum...
I'm a match grip player. My right hand alternates naturally between French, American and German depending on how it feels and what it wants to hit. My left is pretty much American. I hadn't really thought much about this until recently. I had a forearm rotation problem on my left side which has meant that holding a stick with my thumb pointing up (or even slightly rolled over to the left) has been the most comfortable. However, American/German finger technique (fingers closing into the palm) is pretty useless when the thumb is pointing up as the stick just waggles from side to side over the drum head - the fingers need to sort of swivel up and down on either side of the fulcrum.
As my right hand knows what to do I used it to teach my left, and I've been drilling my left hand while watching TV or waiting for the kettle to boil. Nothing fancy, just slow consistent strokes on a cushion or into my right palm (so it isn't noisy) really concentrating on how it feels in the right hand and trying to replicate that feeling in the left.
After only a month of this my left hand control has improved dramatically now I've returned to American. My fingers are starting to have a similar connection to the stick as my right hand, something that has eluded me for the decades I've been playing. I can play left hand lead hi-hat/ride with a much better feel and touch and I'm sure this will only improve the more I practice this technique.
For me, with where my technique is at, it's felt like so little effort for a significant reward. So I wondered if anyone else had similar anecdotes?
I practice the solos from Charlie Wilcoxon Swing Solos. I play a lot of ride cymbal time, bebop style, while feathering. Long time. Play along to records.
Yeah, Buddy! That's a good one. I do it with jazz radio.The exercise that has the greatest impact on my playing is playing along with songs on the FM radio. I change the station every few songs. I rotate between rock, oldies, jazz, country, blues, hip hop, popular and hispanic stations. So after one hour I have played along with many songs I have never heard before and songs from many different types of music.
.