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
Transcription here
Let’s keep exploring advanced voicings for Syncopation Sets. Lesson 14 is probably the most useful of the four Syncopation Sets: 16th note triplets and 16th notes being the most common subdivision in fills.
Our voicing this time is a Groofill (Groove + Fill) with some tricky kick substitutions:
Our 16th note pattern is RLRK LKRL - voiced for beats 1&3/2&4
Our triplet pattern is RLRRKK RLKKRL - also voiced for beats 1&3/2&4
The key to making patterns like this come to life is breaking up the voices, maintaining a snare on the backbeat and DYNAMICS. It doesn’t matter if you’re playing at 38bpm or 200bpm, if you don’t have dynamics then your feel will be flat and lifeless. Groofills are great for working on dynamics and phrasing, you have to get your ghost notes down and back beats up to keep the Groove part going, but you need to dig in to your toms to get the weight of a Fill. Awesome for rock and pop, but with a little creativity you can work Groofills into almost any style of music.
Go slow, think ahead, run the entire lesson if you’ve got the time or just a handful for a nice workout.
Happy Drums to You!
The rest of the advanced Syncopation Sets as well as lots more material can be found in “Drumset Patterns, Melodies and Rudiments” available in the store
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
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!
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 4 of a Fill Pattern series covering Syncopation Lesson 14.
Previous videos:
Video 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKIN6bQgMU4
Video 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKWSYUV-AkI
Video 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lcMQYlqKPo
Now we add two kick substitutions - remember that kick placement cary be any part of the phrase: RLKKRL or KKRLRL etc...
Using your creativity is key to making musical and fun exercises - start with simple rules, like quarter note voicings and slowly add on more variations. You can get to some really nasty ideas in no time.
Download 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!