Versatile drummers of today are called upon to play countless styles from all over the world, which include all styles of jazz, popular, Latin, African, and Indian music, and more.
Even if armed with all of that knowledge, you may be asked to play grooves that you've never played before. It is important to continually expand your vocabulary of grooves. It is also important to develop your ability to make a new groove feel good in a short amount of time (for studio sessions and some live performances).
In addition to listening to as many styles of music as possible, I have used the following books to help develop my vocabulary of grooves and styles:
- *Syncopation for the Modern Drummer, Ted Reed
Practice the Following Ideas for Jazz That I Discussed:
Interpret the notes (pp. 37-44) in Syncopation as swung 8ths.
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The snare drum reads the lines from Syncopation. |
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Snare plays all eighth notes.
BD plays all notes equal to and longer than a quarter note.
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Bass drum reads the rhythm. |
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Bass drum reads the rhythm.
Snare fills in all triplets that the Bass Drum doesn't play. |
There are countless more approaches to this book not mentioned here. You can also invent your own.
- *Creative Coordination for the Modern Drummer, Keith Copeland
This is an excellent all-round book for many styles of jazz, Latin and pop exercises in 4/4. This book also has a great discography for listening.
- *The New Breed, Gary Chester
This book gets deep into coordinating many different styles of popular drumming in 4/4. Three limbs keep an ostinato while the fourth limb reads a line. If you go through this book, make sure you do the left-hand lead exercises, even if you don't end up playing that way. I recommend spending at least a full week on each system.
- Learn to play the Drum Set, Book 1 & 2, Peter Magadini
These books introduce drumming grooves and concepts for beginning drum set players. Great for your students who aspire to play kit in a band you might direct one day.
- The Art of Bop Drumming, John Riley
An excellent book on a bop approach and style for the drum set.
- Afro-Cuban Rhythms for the Drum Set, Malabe and Weiner
This book is a great introduction to Cuban music and how one might apply those rhythms to the drum set.
- Brazilian Rhythms for the Drum Set, Fonseca and Weiner
A great in depth discussion of the roots of Brazilian music and approaches for applying those roots to the drum set.
- West African Rhythms for the Drum Set, Hartigan and Abraham Adzenyah
This excellent book discusses many West African styles of drumming and how one might approach them on the drum set.
- Even in the Odds, Ralph Humphrey
A great book for odd time signatures
*I recommend these three books as great ones to start off with. Go through any of these books and when we get together for the next masterclass, I can then field any questions that you may have.
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