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Hi-Hat

Funky Left-Hand Open Hi Hat Splashes

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

More Afrobeat – Tony Allen’s Groove on Fela’s Go Slow

I have been dawdling about with this and Miles Arntzen’s fab article in January’s Modern Drummer has reminded me to keep going with my learning about Afrobeat and Tony Allen’s drumming in particular. Music is The Weapon Of The Future is an album I’ve been listening to quite a bit. On the track Go Show Allen’s juxtaposition of lightness and fearsome groove is almost too much to bear. I have been trying to get the feel of this track right… Read More »More Afrobeat – Tony Allen’s Groove on Fela’s Go Slow