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Knowing the structure of any piece guides the drummer and percussionist as to what to play. Knowing structure is a an essential part of being a great drummer or percussionist.
Popular Songs
Know that most popular songs have verses and choruses, know how long each section is.
Bebop Tunes
Know the typical convention of playing jazz in a bebop style:
Head (opening melody): may be played 1-2 times, most often it's either 12 Bar Blues or AABA tune
Solos: Order is often horns, piano, bass, drums (or trading)
Head restated
Big Band Charts
Observe the overall structure like the head and solo sections or any sections with shots.
Unless you're a highly-seasoned reader, memorize the charts you play by the time the concert happens. As a drummer you need to focus on the time more than any other member of the band. The charts therefore need to be memorized.
Find the book: Drum Wisdom, by Bob Moses for ideas on how to set up figures in any style of music.
More on Setting Up Figures
(I discussed this in the clinic):
Play a repeated passage where you play one bar of groove in any style. The second measure sets up a figure, for example, 4+ (the "and of four").
Set this figure up in as many ways that you can. Repeat this figure and have fun creating exploring as many ways as possible to get to 4+.
Here are some other examples of figures:
Take any measure from Reed's Syncopation and treat it as a set up measure that you alternate with a groove measure. You can also treat the New Breed pages as examples of 16th-note figures.
Play figures at the end of 4-bar, 8-bar, 12-bar, and 16-bar phrases.
Play these figures in all styles: pop, jazz, Afro-cuban, Salsa, African, etc.
Symphonic Works
Check out recordings and a score of any pieces you're about to play and observe your part carefully. Do this before the first rehearsal.
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