Free PDF here

Purchase "Patterns, Melodies and Rudiments" at http://www.thedrummerbrain.com/store

We continue our brief overview of the Syncopation Sets from "Pattern Melodies and Rudiments," with Lesson 15 aka 32nd Notes vs 16th Note Triplets. 32nd Notes are the backbone of all modern chops, especially gospel and fusion. Practically all of the fill vocabulary in modern drumming is dominated by 32nd notes split between the hands and feet. That's why it's critical to spend a lot of time working on this subdivision. One exercise isn't going to build you up, it takes constant and steady practice to get your feel and phrasing even and to gradually work up to blazing fast speed. It's super important to start slow and make sure you're relaxed at all times - you don't want to practice bad habits. Focus on accuracy and big tone. Focus on evenness between the hands and feet. Strive for patterns that are useful but not overused.

This video is only 4 exercises from Syncopation Lesson 15, the full 15 exercises are available in the book "Drumset Pattern, Melodies and Rudiments," in the store at www.thedrummerbrain.com/store.

Happy shedding to you

Free pdf here

Let's continue our exploration of Melodies as fills.

A quick recap of how to read melodies for the drumset:

We play the MELODY on one voice (in this case kick and cymbals) while another voice (snare) 'Fills-in' between our melody notes.

This style of reading is sometimes called the Alan Dawson Method - after the famous Berklee jazz instructor, but lots of people teach with some variation of this method. This is the most basic of voicings - For more of a challenge, you can switch voices, add toms or left foot; you can also change your fill in subdivisions. The possibilities are really endless, the hardest part for most students is just getting going. Start at the beginning of Ted Reed's "Syncopation" and work your way up. Fluency is the goal, not sloppy speed.

Sixteenth note melodies are inherently funky - E's and Ah's fit in the cracks of most grooves; so you hear them used a lot more in "Advanced" music, like neo-soul and fusion. But don't let that scare you, start slow and focus on placement - once you're fluent in landing on E's and Ah's your phrasing will start to open up and get off of the 1/4 note and 1/8th note grid.

These exercises plus a lot more are available in the book "Drumset Patterns, Melodies and Rudiments" - which can be purchased at www.thedrummerbrain.com/store

Happy drums to you

Free PDF here

Let's explore some of the ways we can use advanced combinations to make our basic Syncopation Sets come to life.

Some overview stuff:

We are playing a pattern exercise based off of the first pages in Ted Reed's book "Progressive Steps to Syncopation..."

We're using smaller and more common modern subdivisions for this exercises (1/8th note triplets and 16th notes) - these advanced sets can be found in the book "Patterns, Melodies and Rudiments" at thedrummerbrain.com/store

If you're completely unfamiliar with playing Syncopation Pattern sets, see this youtube playlist covering Lesson 14

https://bit.ly/2zJiP2Y

The beauty of these exercises is their repeat-ability. Let's make an advanced combination using inverted doubles and flams. We also split our voicing between the snare drum and floor tom.

When creating advanced sets, the goal is to make something musically applicable, but also to build chops, endurance and coordination - things that can only come from repetition.

As always, go slow and focus on flow - Don't feel obligated to start with this voicing, create your own combo and develop your individual style on the kit!

Happy Drums to You!

Transcription here

Part 2 in a series of videos exploring Melodic based fills and Fill-ins

Fill Melody Exercise #1: https://youtu.be/o53IH8dZipg

Introduction to Melodies and Fill-ins: https://youtu.be/LHYa1qF-9ZM

We continue to explore melodies with 8th note rests - this time in a more traditional descending fill voicing. Remember that you can voice your melody and fill-ins on any drum or cymbal - unique voicings can make the same melody sound completely different. Explore and expand your creativity!

Go slow. Strive for flow, not speed. Keep your focus on the melody.

This is an excerpt from the second section of "Patterns, Melodies and Rudiments," a book exploring drumset fills. To purchase the book (digital or physical copy) visit the store

Part 1 transcription here

Part 2 transcription here

An introduction to the second method of fills: MELODIES

More specifically Melodies and Fill Ins. Also commonly known as the ALAN DAWSON method - his material is highly valuable for any student of the drumset; This style of filling is pretty common in the jazz school of playing (because it allows drummers to read, play and solo to melodies from jazz charts) - but just a little modification can make it useful for any style of music.

The basic idea is this: read a melody with one voice and fill in between that melody with another. Most students start with the melody on a cymbal (with a kick) and fill in with their snare. Start super simple and keep your focus on the melody. Some students pick this concept up right away, some students take a while to wrap their heads around it - as always, strive for flow not speed.

Once you’re comfortable with the basics, we can use smaller subdivisions and double stroke rolls as our fill ins.

PART II

Once you’re comfortable with basics of Melody and Fill-in playing, you can and should modify: You can change voices for both the Melody and the Fill-ins, you can mix the subdivisions of your fill ins, you can also add ‘Ornaments’ like flams and diddles and doubles.

The voicing and phrasing you chose will greatly affect how the Melody sounds and feels, you can create two entirely different parts from one melody voiced in two radically different ways. Here again is where the rubber meets the road for your creativity - start simple and work your way up to something inventive and musical. Happy shedding!

This is an excerpt from a larger book on fills titled "Drumset Patterns, Melodies and Rudiments" available for purchase (as physical or digital copy) in the store

Part 6 of a Fill Pattern series exploring Syncopation Lesson 14

Part 1: https://youtu.be/bKIN6bQgMU4

Part 2: https://youtu.be/eKWSYUV-AkI

Part 3: https://youtu.be/6lcMQYlqKPo

Part 4: https://youtu.be/6D-G3Ek0QXw

Part 5: https://youtu.be/cRgfHa3XgsI

Everyone's favorite: Microfills. First you need to set a base, in Syncopation Lesson 14 our base is 16th notes, which we play as an alternate sticking groove.

The permutating figure (the notes in red) is our Microfill - you may need to start with just one voicing for your microfill, but eventually you should modify your voicing for beats 1&3 and 2&4 - keeping a snare on the 2s and 4s will keep the groove going.

Once you're comfortable with the basics, modify and experiment - this is where the rubber meets the road for a lot of modern drumming, so dig in to this voicing.

Full transcription here

www.thedrummerbrain.com/free-lessons

Part 5 of a pattern exercise series covering Syncopation Lesson 14

Part 1 :https://youtu.be/bKIN6bQgMU4

Part 2: https://youtu.be/eKWSYUV-AkI

Part 3: https://youtu.be/6lcMQYlqKPo

Part 4: https://youtu.be/6D-G3Ek0QXw

This time we voicing Lesson 14 as a groove - this can be very simple as shown: We read everything on the hi-hat and use alternate strokes.

As usual, once you're comfortable with the basics, MODIFY! You can change sticking (doubles, diddles, flams) or change voices (ride, stack, bell) you can change placement for kick or snare etc. The goal is creativity, so use your imagination!

Full transcription here

This is video 2 of an excerpt from Pattern Exercises.

Watch video 1 here

After we’ve comfortably moved Lesson 14 around the kit in quarter note subdivisions, it’s time to go smaller, 8th note subdivisions make for a great movement exercise as well as some killer sounding fills. Moving sets of 3 notes quickly between drums is huge for odd grouping patterns and flashy fills.

Start slowly and go for accuracy over speed.

Download a free PDF of this complete lesson here

Video 1 of Pattern Excercises: Syncopation Lesson 14

This is a pattern exercise based off of the exercises found in Ted Reed's book: "Progressive Steps to Syncopation." I'd highly recommend purchasing Ted's book and working through it as well!

The first part of Reed's book starts with a series of 'Grids' with varying rhythmic subdivisions - the smallest subdivision Reed's book reaches is 16th note, which are actually about the second or third LARGEST subdivision in most modern drumming.

The Drummer Brain Pattern Exercises BEGIN with sixteenth notes and eighth note triplets (Lesson 13) and up to 32nd notes and 32nd note triplets. Lesson 14 tends to be the place most students start, 16th notes vs. 16th note triplets.

We begin by moving our hands around the kit in a quarter note motion - that just means your hands change drums every quarter note. Mastering this motion will be essential before you can start to add more voicing variations to this pattern.

Happy practicing!