My latest YouTube video covers the topic of using paradiddles as grooves between the snare and bass so instead of playing R L R R L R L L you play B L B B L B L L and so on. It’s a great way to develop your ghost notes including balancing the ghosted and accented notes in different ways. It will also improve bass drum coordination and can be used to increase bass drum speed and endurance if… Read More »Playing Paradiddles As Grooves
Zigaboo Modeliste is one of the true forefathers of funk drumming and in this YouTube video I explain the groove he plays on Robert Palmer’s Sailing Shoes. The song was written by the great Lowell George and was on the Little Feat record of the same name. Palmer’s version of Sailing Shoes appears on his 1974 debut album, Sneaking Sally Through The Alley. The song is brought to life here by Palmer’s energy and the Meters’ awesome funky backing as… Read More »Learn to Play Zigaboo Modeliste’s Groove on Sailing Shoes
Just a quick demonstration of the groove for the very funky I Want You Back by the Jackson Five. I think the rhythm is provided by Benny Benjamin and James Jamerson here but not really sure, internet doesn’t provide the info.
Here’s a quick guide to the main drum grooves for James Brown’s I Got You which should be in any drummer’s repertoire, if you ask me. Melvin Parker played drums on this classic soul number. Download the sheet music PDF here – Essential Components of I Got You by James Brown And here’s a video with me doing each bit nice and slow:
Here’s the main groove bits for James Brown’s Cold Sweat played originally by Clyde Stubblefield. Download the sheet music PDF here: James Brown – Cold Sweat Bits.
So now I am Drumeo’s greatest fan all of a sudden. Watch this:
I just came across this YouTube video advertising a Kickstarter campaign to raise funding for a documentary about the amazing Oded Kafri. Oded is a solo drum kit musician who mostly performs as a busker on the streets of cities around the world. I’m acquainted with Oded since I met him rehearsing and experimenting with new material at Mill Hill Music Complex. I enjoyed watching him work and experiencing his eclectic approach. Oded has unlimited curiosity about different music styles… Read More »Oded Kafri: Drum Machine
The greatest British band ever, The Blockheads, are the subject of a documentary called – The Blockheads: Beyond the Call of Dury. The film makers are raising money via Kickstarter to finish the production of what will hopefully be a brilliant documentary telling the story of this legendary band. Quoth the Kickstarter page: The story of how the band came to back Ian Dury is quite amazing and the career that each member has had is quite frankly unbelievable. What… Read More »The Blockheads: Beyond the Call of Dury
I had a great time last Sunday attending a clinic with top-notch New Orleans drummer, Stanton Moore, at Bell Percussion in Acton. The event was organised by fellow Edgwareian and hub of the drum community, Mike Dolbear of www.mikedolbear.com. I admit I was feeling a little apprehensive about seeing Stanton since I became a bit “Stantoned out” with his Street Beats DVD and Groove Alchemy Book and DVD. It started to feel like he was popping up everywhere I looked,… Read More »Stanton Moore Clinic at Bell Percussion
Here’s a sheet of exercises I wrote to develop the facility to play open hi hat splashes on the ee’s and ah’s using the left hand. These exercises are based on the famous Bernard Purdie lick you can hear in Aretha Franklin’s Rocksteady and which is a staple of funk drumming. If you watch Purdie play the lick, you’ll notice he plays the open sounds with his right hand but I find that when you use the left hand it… Read More »Funky Left-Hand Open Hi Hat Splashes