Lesson No. 1

For Drummers (and a bit of my bio-graph, but I needed to give "cred" to my teachers)                  Brasile from Band of Joes

    Practice rudiments (build-style; i.e., Start slow, increase gradually to AFAP without pain, then slow back down to ORIGINAL starting tempo; and various steady kick-off tempi; i.e., pick a mm and stick with it for a full minute on all 26 rudiments, pausing for a full minute between each).

    Practice various tempi of jazz, samba, rock, funk, shuffle, and shuffle funk beats with 6 bars time, 2 bars fill/solo - as well as chords (M and m and hm), scales, arpeggios of 16th notes even and 8th notes triplet for 3 octaves up to 1/4 note = 90mm through 140mm leading with left, then right hand (depending on rudiments / sticking pattern needed).

    For styles, practice going from one style of 2, 8-bar phrases (for a total of 16 bars) into another style of the same length. For instance from Swing to Funk to Swing and repeat, or Swing to Samba to Swing and repeat or continue.  Not a new concept, but I need this kind of practice.  Recently, I have discovered through reminder as well as me actually listening to recordings of bands I have been in - both past (5, 10, 15, 20, 25 years ago) and present (Spring 06) - that a small range of tempi (for me, 95 to 102mm), I have a tendency to play the first few beats to a bar and a half a bit rushed - especially when going from swing to samba (not noticing a difference when in reverse).  A lot of this is a matter of remembering to keep subdividing or doubling (half-timing) the pulse.  In other words, feeling the pulse and hearing the tuplet time, no matter the tuplet. 

    Toward this success in keeping honest time, I had been reminded of the concept of "Visualizing Time", by Dr. Mike Flack.  My personal fave is imagining I am driving a Greyhound bus and keeping the pulse of the white lines in the road as I pass by them.  Of course, as in driving late at night and becoming hypnotized by the white lines passing under you, one can become hypnotized by the time pulse - yes, it is true.  So, don't let that happen.  Hmm, the drummer as "Bus Driver" concept, not new, but somewhat ignored in recent years, until lately.  You know, where the Bus is the Band and the Drummer is the Driver, the Police Officer as Band Director, the Bassist as engine (also having to stay tuned), and the Sound Engineer is the Toll Booth Operator!  Although this is nice for INTERNAL time keeping, you must make sure that your time is EXTERNALLY developed as well.  You will see below what I have had to overcome in discovering this.

    Remember, Blues styles can be generally 12-bar OR 16-bar phrases on their own!  There are light shuffles and heavy ("Chicago") shuffles.  And don't even get me started on The Real Purdie Shuffle!

    Try the Stone (Stick Control) Book as if it were a book of Big Band charts - using the staves of practice routines as if they were part of a longer, regular chart - per page and even 2 or 3 pages, also in order to practice turning pages while playing and keeping the time (by stringing the exercises together into full page exercises) - by playing the single rhythms on just the high-hat, while beating underneath in a style pattern as above.  Then move to the ride cymbal.  BOTH hands need equal practice (and once mastered, it will look cool and fool your friends, and you will sound and look just like Stewart Copeland!).  Then the Bass drum or Bass drums (i.e., both feet L-R then R-L), then back to the high-hat - this time with your usual HATFOOT!.  I was taught this initial concept by Joe Varhula around 1972.

    And, speaking of superb teachings, Charles "Chuck" Schwartz (of Chicago's late 70's bar pop-rock band, Gambler) taught me a linear concept - not yet called "The Linear Concept" you would later hear of  - back in 1968, re-visiting the Stone and its Holy Grail, only this time, instead of just Right Hand/Left Hand or Right Foot/Left Foot (ala Carmine Appice),  Hand/Right Foot and its "eviL" twin: Left Hand/Left Foot.  Now I think of Left Hand/Right Foot (actually a very common Pit Orchestra playing technique, as is multi-percussion solo memorizing) and Right Hand/Left Foot (common, but still skill-raising in Jazz and Gospel) to go alongside the usual, starting your practice day with rudiments in this fashion.

Whoa.

    It wouldn't be until about 1978-79 where I started putting the 2 concepts together in my playing (and about 1983 finally into my practicing!)

    Remember, you can apply all of this hand-to-hand on any instrument, even the keyboards, and not just as a dexterity element either.  Speaking of Keyboarding, it was Joe Varhula that taught me the mad keyboard foundation I needed to audition for transfer from CLC into NIU (or anyplace like it).  But, I needed rudimentary skills first before I tore into the excerpts or, later, the "hard stuff" (excerpt skills "are the gateway skills" to the hard stuff!).

    "Hey, dude, what about swing?", you might be thinking.  Well, I believe, and more so once I heard it from Branford Marsalis, "Swing is shuffle, shuffle is swing.  It's all triplets.".  True, very true.  I am going to add to that: "Funk is triplet, funk is gospel, on and on".  Recently, I have become devoid of chocolate intake but am now intrigued by the syllabic content - Cho-co-late.  Chocolate = just another tri-pa-let!  It's fun, try it, really!  Now, you say, "but, yah, OK, what about PLAYING A tri-pa-let? Hmm?".  Well, I say use the rudiments (always back to the basics).  Use the Rule of Rudiment and you may never have to "think about it" again, when playing swing. 

The Rule of Rudiment states:  There is no rule other than following other good examples of variations of the basics!  Rudimentary, Watson!

So, for swing I use:

                                                    ||: R - L -  L - R - L - R - R - L -  L - R - L - R :||

                                                    ||: 1 - & - a - 2 - & - a - 3 - & - a - 4 - & - a :||

OR

SLOW  to MEDIUM tempo       ||: DAH . . DAH . ga-DAH . . DAH . ga :||

                                                     ||:  long . . long . short-long . . long . short-long  :||

OR                                               ||:  stroke . . stroke . tap-stroke . . stroke . . tap- :||

A Word about the metronome: Set your Dr. Beat - or better - to sub-divide to triplets or 16ths depending on the style you are practicing at the moment.

    (Dr. Beat?  Yah. there is almost no sense in talking about any other stand-alone unit for the time being - although, if you can afford it, another method would be to get a laptop of at least P2 400MHz era and download a $50 dollar copy of Band-in-the-Box or $100 bundled with Finale [they are both owned by the same company] some nice amplified, open-air or sealed-cup, non-amplified headphones and jam/practice with different virtual bands/styles at will)

Perhaps I am sounding vague here?  I do not want to sound vague - ALWAYS PRACTICE WITH THE METRONOME ON AND AT AN APPROPRIATE TEMPO FOR WHAT YOU ARE PRACTICING.  Did I say ALWAYS?  What I meant to say was "ALWAYS PRACTICE WITH A METRONOME"  Recently (2-12-2007)  I remembered that I was NOT always practicing with the metronome on - perhaps sounding like I was making an excuse (not intentionally) - and that lack of metronomic practice cost me some embarrassment in a rehearsal.  I don't embarrass easily.  Although I was adhering to a click track set before me (mostly visually tracking, because I can not hear the Dr. Beat click acoustically hardly at all while playing drums using sticks, without headphones or a small guitar amp, despite that I was tracking perfectly - I expect the click in a studio, not as proof in a rehearsal, as that is the embarrassing part)

The metronome is not a Metro Gnome.

Metronomes are important.

Now back to the pattern we started above,

Swing: HI-HAT on 2 and 4 ALWAYS, almost NEVER stop that Hat!  In a Big Band setting, try to save your money for 13" pair of Zildjians or Sabians - the smaller, higher frequencies will cut through all the way to the Bari Sax, Bass Bone, and 5th trumpet - where it can be needed most!

    Most of you Metal-heads might be thinking now, "Hey, that's pattern up there you started us with is just triplets using a

 paradiddle-diddle!"    Yes, shifted to the right by 4 notes (the 4th note in the pattern above), but a paradiddle-diddle none the less.  Notice from the shifting, the accented notes fall on 2 & 4 when counting in 12/8 (doubled compound duple)!  That is the real key, to me, of swing; while dropping the left hand out to almost a ppp dynamic (called ghosting the notes) for the most part, until it's time to comp behind the soloist - either in combo OR Big Band playing - bringing the left hand in louder where needed.  Using this technique to develop a true swing feel and time should eliminate the "Concert Band Swing" or on the other side, the "Perry Como Feel" (I got this "PCF" notion from a lead trumpeter of NIU back in Fall 1984 during a combo rehearsal and yes he was commenting on my playing!  I wish I could remember his name as I would rather give more proper credit!)

        A word about the diddle: The diddle (that stroke-tap done with the same stick) of the shifted paradiddle-diddle rudiment can ruin your swing if you don't pay attention to its nature!  The tap part after the man stroke tends to be weaker than the stroke part, and that is to be expected considering gravity.  But, we must - as in good double-stroke roll practice - treat and practice the tap as an individual stroke. 

||: R - L -  L - R - L - R - R - L -  L - R - L - R :||

||: 1 - & - a - 2 - & - a - 3 - & - a - 4 - & - a :||

In reality what you are doing here is playing twice as fast in one hand compared to single strokes alternating.  So, to practice against the natural tendency, push or drive into the tap of the stroke-tap of a diddle so that it is accented compared to the main stroke, essentially just playing two strokes with almost even dynamic.  As you play the whole rudiment faster you will find the "break point" in your playing where the push becomes less practical.  But, when you get there say at a tempo above 135mm to 140mm, you will then be approaching be-bop level (explained later).

||: R - R - L - L :|| 

    (:pushing the "bounce" or tap of a double-stroke roll, start slow and increase, then back down.  One minute at a time with 30 second rep rests)

The importance of using this "push" approach on the paradiddle-diddle "bounce" (another reference to the tap) will eliminate the tendency in swing to accent, by nature and especially at medium to up-tempo charts (but, not at bebop speeds yet), the 'a' of 2 + a or 4 + a going into the 1 or 3 of the 1 + a and 3 + a groupings, respectively.  In the rudiment above [the roll example], after shifting one whole beat where the 'a' stays the main stroke of a diddle, the natural accenting becomes apparent.  Remember, play your kicks with the non-ride hand or kick drum, not with your ride cymbal - especially in Big Band playing.  It could be almost desirable in combo playing, for varieties' sake, but not in Big Band.  If, as a drummer, you have heard others say, "Your time isn't right.  I can't tell where [beat] 'one' [of a measure] is.", or words to that affect, then you now know exactly what they are talking about.  They are referring to the accented 'a' of beats 2 and 4 which  when gone unchecked will sound so loud, in effect drowning out the main beats of 1 and 3 - thus causing the perception of the 'missing one' beat!  This same perception can also force listeners - especially jazz aficionados and musicians alike - to further perceive your hi-hat (always on 2 and 4) as being LATE in relation to your accented 'one' (where the 'one; has been identified as being actually the accented 'mistake' ).

Yep.  Now you know also why most musicians can't explain the problem verbally.  I recently discovered that my own time was similarly affected.  I certainly hope I can fix my own time within a couple of weeks, then again, they say just knowing can be more than halfway to a cure.  The only way I figured out that my time was affected by the natural diddle accent tendency was when a Big Band director 'beat-boxed' it for me.  A couple of days later, I finally realized what I had been doing for at least 4 or 5 years of playing!  Sure, it could be considered "modern" swing, but then again who cares, especially when you start hearing from the band, "Hey, where's one?" - they probably aren't asking the bass player!

The same attention in roll practice needs to be applied to all diddles so as to maximize evenness across all strokes.  A refined exception may be encountered when adding subtlety to flams.  Flams are reversed where the stoke-tap relationship are concerned.

Also, recall that most drum rudiments where invented not just for practice but also for showmanship while playing.  (In battle, I suppose being able to switch from one hand to the other quickly could offer some weapons payload deflection opportunity to the drummer ?).

 

Applying the triplet feel to:

Shuffle  = |:  R         r   R          r   R          r   R         r :|

              = |:  L         l    L          l    L          l    L         l  :|

              = |: 1 - & - a - 2 - & - a - 3 - & - a - 4 - & - a :|

    R + L in Shuffles are usually the Snare and HiHat or Snare and Ride.

UdderShuffle = (used under rock-a-billy guit solos a lot) the L pattern must be on the SNARE - you can swap hands if needed/cool-to-do, just that one hand must be the snare while the other on the ride/main pulse, with the accent actually forced on the snare part!

              = |:  R             R              R               R            :|

              = |:             L               L              L               L :|

              = |: 1 - & - a - 2 - & - a - 3 - & - a - 4 - & - a :|

HardShuffle = above, with added BD on 2 and 4 (also called the backbeat, because it feels backwards)

ChiShuffle = (Chicago, Buddy Guy's bands)

              = |:  R        R  R          R   R        R   R        R :|

              = |: 1 - & - a - 2 - & - a - 3 - & - a - 4 - & - a :|

              = |: F - & - f - (F) - & - f - F - & - f -(F) - & - f :|

    Above, snare heavy on 2 + 4 only (rim or not) but sometimes add the standard shuffle with the BD shuffle pattern here.  The Bassist will undoubtedly follow the foot here, too.  Some leaders want the foot on the beat with the snare on 2 and 4 (again, the backbeat feel), some want the snare in "the pocket" without the BD on 2 nor 4.  Another way to think of what I call the Chicago Shuffle (or the French "Chuffle"), is the same as the basic, but now just take the left hand part and move it to the BD Foot part, leaving the left hand for ghosting and certainly the all-important 2 and 4 shots-on-snare.

------------------

Funk    =  |: 1 - & - a - + - & - a - 2 - & - a - + - & - a -   -  3 - & - a - + - & - a - 4 - & - a - + - & - a :|

Funk    =  ||: R         r   R          r   R          r   R          r :||

             = ||:                                   L                             :||

             = ||: F                        - (f) -               (F)           :||

Note the funk has zero '&' in the RH count exposition, but is not really gone.  They are there in your time keeping, and will be needed for fills, so keep them in your head.  Note also that Funk beats easily translate to most modern (1990 and up) Reggae beats, although you might find the beat 'straightened' out at times, even with the above 'half-time' feel written.

R in the Funk beat written up above is either Hat or Ride. L is SNARE, F(oot) is the BD (or Hi-Hat if you are feeling clever!)  Snare is usually on a sharp rim, especially in Gospel - or at least the snare is to be tuned corps-style, you know, tighter than a head gasket on a Lamborghini.  Use the same rhythmic guide for Gospel as is the funk from above, after all: the Funk is from Above!  Funk fills?  Well, keep your wits about you, as they are usually very good, twice as fast as you think, and sometimes not shuffled (IOW, in the main time feel), but straightened - along with the above feel count, think 32nd notes evenly played and heavily accented on main beats, but just not the shuffle pulses. 

Get it?  Try listening to some more good examples here, thus my avoiding some embarrassment explaining Gospel, just yet.

    "Groove" = what a bassist might say

    'Shed or shedding = comes from "goin' to the woodshed" and "shedding The Light [of God]", but in gospel music rehearsals is a self imposed, band time-out to practice/jam with your fellow Gospelians, not only trading 4's or 8's but trading instruments, and not necessarily on a Sunday!  It's not uncommon to find a lot of Gospel players able to play all "in the shed" - Drums, Bass, and the B3.  At least for 2 or 3 hours.  Sometimes "in the shed" is where it belongs - until you are ready!  You will know when you are ready to play it out for folks.

    The B3 = an organ of the electronic variety.

---------------------

REGGAE:

        (Instruction come soon!)

        Reggae beat names/labels, and some derivatives:

                Rocksteady =

                Dancehall Style =

                Rub-a-Dub Style =

                4-on-the-floor =

                Ska =

                Ska-punk =

                Calypso =

                So-Ca = (a combined Soul and Calypso)

---------------------

    A "shooorT!" word about Big Band written note length interpretation:

            ("shooorT!" is from a Bobby Shew clinic)

    (From Rich Holly)  "...Always think short and long with the overall sound coming from the set and never, never use all four limbs together on one beat or accent - that's just nonsense, but it might be good for R & R, just not Big & Band!  In other words, articulate with the band when you are kicking the band....."

    PLAY TIME = I have referenced before the Bus Driver approach to playing for a big band (and I will again in this series!) or actually any band.  In Big Band though, specifically, the swing time is played - very much like what is described above.  Using a Band-on-a-Bus philosophy to Big Band playing, think of the Drummer as the Driver, the Bassist as the Engineer, the Director as the Traffic Cop, the composer as the road engineer, the other vehicles along the route as the composer's intended notes to be played, the band as the bus passengers, and the driver of the other vehicles as the "audience".

    Taking the Big Bus analogy further, note that as Bus enthusiasts (also known as Bus Spotters, as in Train Spotters) are a niche breed, so is the Big Band lover (and musicians as another niche listening audience).  Big Band music is often further divided into different camps (or "Bus Stations or Depots").  There are the Basie types, Big Phat Band types, the Rob McConnell types, the Buddy Rich types, the Maynard chart types, the Brian Setzer types, etc.  And with those types come slight or even great differences in how we play the time.  For the purists, the time can be played more "combo"-like as with Big Phat or Maynard OR more Swing era-like as with Buddy or more Hard Blues as with McConnell or certainly Setzer.  In other words, the strict swing pattern isn't always played on just ride cymbals nor is the swing pattern always strict; sometimes the writing calls for the Weckel approach - time shifting, or purposely turning the beat around for "interest".  Sometimes hip and desirable for very advanced players and listeners, most times confusing and irritating to less advanced listeners,  With complex metric time or more "interesting" time-shifting, advanced players, too, can get or become confused.  But, just like any drummer learning a more complex rhythmic vocabulary, so too must all other horn and rhythm players learn.  What is needed here is for drummers to dialogue with horn players about what drummers listen to.  This dialogue will also open most drummers up to what hornists are grooving on, and so it should go.

Taking a frontage road here, off the main highway, let's look at:

    Vocabulary =

    In a recent (4/2007) clinic at the College of Lake County led by Conrad Herwig (bonist), speaking of a musical vocabulary (both of rhythm as well as harmony/melody) he mentioned the importance of "your own sound" - rather than always mimicry of other artists.  So many younger players try to emulate their favorite "like"-kin (Saxists only listening to other saxists).  Why just that?  Mr. Herwig (and I learned this right out of High school, too) told of trying to emulate other hornists; a horn other than your own!  If you are a guitarist, why not try to emulate Gary Burton (vibist) or Andy Narell (panist) ?  If you are a rock drummer, why not listen to good gospel drummers?  Because, you just might want to put away your sticks for a few minutes and assess!

 

(back to timing and everything.....)  

 In general, when keeping time, there are two things to consider (still holding to the Bus Driving Theory).  One is as when you are driving (any vehicle) you don't want to succumb to the white-line hypnosis, but as a time keeper you need to be always aware of the white-line intervals while always looking for those "road Signs"; the same as any safe Bus Driver!  Two is the Speed Limit.  The Speed Limit for a band is always set by the recognized leader.  In the case of a Big Band, the recognized leader is usually a separate person who stands in front of the band counting tempos to start a tune and perhaps directing large dynamic shifts, time signature changes or rubato and endings of tunes.  The more inexperienced bands will generally need a director to constantly clap, snap, or head-bob the tempo for all to see (although, some directors have turned the finger-snapping into a showman's art!).

        To the second thing:  Sometimes, when a director gets ready to count a tune in, he or she will move their hands or snap their fingers or at least generally indicate where the count will "be" (the tempo they intend).  Some drummers will play "their own" tempo no matter what the director counted "off".  Amazingly, those same drummers will perceive other drummers that directors "appreciate" or "tend to favor" as playing the tune faster than what the director indicated.  This a problem that can be overcome.  While it may be true that a particular director counts tunes off and that some drummers would sound as if they are playing FASTER than what was counted, the point is, if the director AND the band AGREE that the "faster" player is playing the time correctly, then the drummer perceived as playing their wrong time (slower OR faster) will be in the wrong.  Time can be a "majority rules" UNLESS A CLICK TRACK OR METRONOME IS USED either in studio or on the gig or in rehearsals.  There are MANY professional groups that use such devices on the gig, so to speak, but it is rather rare for Big Bands to be seen with it in a Live Club or "sit down" public venue come performance time.  Does this mean that a band should never use a metronome in practices?  Of course NOT!  ALL Big Bands and their directors should do a few rehearsals or reading sessions using a metronome WHILE PLAYING and loud enough for either the rhythm section to hear it or the whole band.  I do not know why more bands do NOT do this!  As with individual metronome practice to internalize time, a whole band MUST do the same in practice, and especially when playing historically accurate arrangements or styles.  Many educators miss providing this opportunity.  Doing so is NOT a waste of time and should be applied, especially in schools at all levels of ability.  Yep.  All schools.

    (from elsewhere)  Kicking the band = hitting an accent or note on a drum (usually snare, but can be on a tom) or cymbal+BD with the band - usually these "kicks" are written in by the arranger or copyist on Big Band charts for drummers - if you can't find the chart, ask for a copy of the conductor's score or 1st or 4th/5th trumpet part to "kick" from.  A short sound can be from BD+ or SD+ quick-close-hihat or BD+ or SD+ short-fall cymbal, like a 16" crash or smaller.  Longer sounds require larger cymbal hits or more opened hihat.

    "set up the band" = playing something in context to other rhythms or kicks encountered in the chart or style of the chart, played BEFORE the actual kicks to be played.  Usually the louder the kicks, the longer you might want to "set up".  Some set-ups can also be referred to as "Building a house".  Try never to play the written kicks ahead AS if they COULD be the setups; instead,  try different rhythms, but simpler or more complex, just not identical - doing so will make some horn players feel as if they are missing the measures, because in rehearsal they would have probably, at least unconsciously, memorized the actual kicks, and playing them "early" can cause confusion, and may also make your director think you are the one goofing!  I have seen it happen in rehearsals to others and myself enough to know of its importance to mention here.

    "Building a house" referred to above, can also refer to final fermatas specifically written for big drum fill endings of charts or sections (the ones rarely seen just prior to a DRUM SOLO) - also use stylistic interpretation here.

Big Band DRUM SOLO = whatever the band director can tolerate.

    OK, seriously: some band leaders want you to start simple or quietly and then build.  I prefer to pay attention much more to drum solos that sound like they are part of the melody and changes (chord changes) of the original tune or mimic the chart variation of that tune. On the latter case in starting a solo, showing a contrast from where the band just "was" in the chart is much more effective than a simple formula to stick to all the time.  Insisting on starting a drum solo the same way can sound boring - then again; your director may vary!  It's a drum solo and all the ideas - good or not so good - need to come from the mind of the drummer "in the moment" - Stanislavski for Musicians, anyone?

However, thinking as a potential band leader yourself someday, always try to think in context of the whole show - all the songs on the program.  There can always be a sound reason why a director wishes to hear solos within this frame work.  Basically:  Be there, be present with everybody, don't be oblivious.  This gets to the next point of Big Band playing:

    Interplay/comping = you need to develop, hone, refine any techniques of ghosting notes, rhythmic interplay with another soloist that you are supporting in their musical communication efforts.  Listen to everybody:  Records (aka, Vinyls), CDs, downloads, internet streams, radio stations, live bands, your soloists in your band(s).  And by listen, I mean ASK your director and each soloist what they like in comping: Do they like a drummer who "lays it down" - beating the time incessantly without much variation; do they like a mimicker - matching rhythms as much as possible that fly out of the horn during their solo; do they prefer to work off ideas they hear from others in the rhythm section - including your ideas?  These are questions rarely asked in bands but always need CLEAR answers - in the professional world, a lot of this is wrongly just assumed. I think we still need to ask each other!

    Also, in comping/accompanying behind a soloist, "building a house" techniques may be used (like, as I was recently reminded, when a soloist is hanging on one note for a long time, or perpetuating a motif, build something underneath that as "you (drums) and the piano/guitar are really the only one's that can do that; can build excitement..."

    The "Group Time"  = The actual time play of the group.  Everyone - not just the drums/bass - is responsible for the time.  This said, there is a way a drummer can screw the group time, and usually when after comping a soloist, when comes the "backgrounds" or a soli setup of the shout chorus (usually sax or bone soli here), make sure that the time stays perfect - what happens here, and a LOT of professional live drummers do this, is "Accommodation Time".  This problem could also be called Assumptive Time or even Compensation Time.  When playing or rehearsing with a group of same musicians over a long period of rehearsal or gigs, drummers can become almost complacent with what the drummer perceives as a "Freight Train"; this perception should be quelled.  To do this, take the Drummer as Bus Driver analogy: what must ALL busses do before they cross railroad tracks?  STOP.  Hell, even in music that's what we do for railroad tracks!  Now, in thinking that the "Fright Train" can take over the time AT ANY TIME, just STOP, and think (don't literally stop playing, of course) I am, I AM the Driver of this bus, and the band is the passenger - the band shall not "become a fright train" nor shall it jump the freight train.  I will not allow the band to become hobos!  (Except maybe the bones, they can become hobos after the gig, I don't really care what bonists do after a gig...)

    OK, to explain, the Freight Train mentioned (above) is often what directors refer their hornists as, and as a drummer, if you let them, the band will become a fright train - you would have gotten stuck on the tracks, and now, the BAND in their shiny new freight train of their own design WILL TAKE YOU WITH THEM.  In other words, the band would then be leading you, instead of the other way round- you leading them!  This is what is translated from what most directors mean when they speak of "the freight train".

    Color [the] changes = unique to drummers, guitarists ,or anyone who brings a mute to the gig.  This involves the precise changing of the guard - the cymbal or cymbal color - right along with specific changes in the music.  Again,  don't always try to guess where that might be in a chart, ask the director, although without much practice you will know - bridges, sax soli, choruses, shouts, intros & endings, sometimes the letters in the alphabet are a good bet.  Some will care greatly, others will "trust your judgment". Ask anyway - be a nudge!  You can assume some obvious choices first, just to keep the rehearsal smoother.  Try to change cymbal color always ON the beat, usually the first beat of the first measure of the chord change or after the repeat sign:  new soloist, bridge of tune, the repeat of tune or melody, a "Shout chorus".  Although where your color changes happen can be interpretive, you must always make them and always be definite and precise whenever making those changes.  This habit really does give an audience an impression of "what a great fuckin' band !".

    Cymbal color = either a different cymbal or a cymbal that has decidedly different sound on different spots located on the same cymbal.  One word of warning - rarely go to the closed or almost closed hi-hat as some might consider that to be "energy draining" especially if you go to a tight high-hat.  Use director approval on this one, I am not kidding, some abhor going to the hi-hat, some love it - and at roughly the same spots in the same charts!  An excellent cymbal to go to rather than the hihat, is the swish or sizzler.  By doing so, you will create nothing but love in the air - especially when played under a moonlit sax soli!  On the other hand, literally, you could use your feet to make the hihat "sound" like a sizzle when you don't own a sizzler.  (Warning, although many perceive this latter choice as valid, seriously look into financing your very own Sizzle Cymbal - and at least 20").

      A word about: This "cymbal color" thing can be serious, so practice it!  "But, how can I without an actual band?"  Easy.  Learn the song form, learn where the changes occur in the music, listen where the soloists are soloing, and mark them all down on your music.  You could also invest in the aforementioned Change to playing another ride cymbal ON the 1st beat of the 1st measure of the change.  If you are not used to this, be patient, learning this technique can take a long time (months, not weeks), especially if you have not been doing things like this (precisely this)  for many years.  But, practice should correct the problem.

    Shout Chorus = the part of the tune usually the loudest and with all sections playing in either unison or soli and usually including and needing setups, then kicks, from you!  Also, watch out for the opposite: The no-play zone - where the band plays usually in unison or soli, but with no drumming - not even a light tapping on the hi-hat is used, unless perhaps during rehearsals or younger bands (see director for details!).

    A Shout or The Shout = in Gospel is where the main beat-pulse is played exactly twice as fast as before with heavy enough emphasis on 2 and 4.  A Shout can also be called by a Rev or Pastor spontaneously having had nothing to do with the prior song played, but just caus' he feels it!  Also, shouts can go quite a long time at church or in the concert church (read: The Energizer Bunny). " 'Shed and be ready!"

    A term I can't remember = this one is another fun one:  you continue to play under an established soloist (usually, oddly enough a sax soloist) with interplay and almost a trading system, while the rest of the band or rhythm section basically drops back or out - kind of an ostonatti.  But that isn't the term.  Or maybe it is the term.  There is one, I just don't recall it.  Listen to some Ernie Watts' material for some ideas.  There are instances on the Metheny "American Garage" album where Gottlieb and Metheny alone do this, it's very unique and exciting to hear and do, actually the title tune features this technique. Another good example is on Nick Drozdoff's album, "No Man is an  Island" on the Mr. D's Music label (2006) of track "Jam Cat Boogie", the demo, there's enough there for you to get the idea of what they are speaking about.  You can also try this with your favorite bass players when they take solos, especially in funk.  Another version of this is for your soloing, where the bassist and or pianist comp only (without variation) on a decided ostonatto underneath your solo, hopefully showing off your ability to play polyrhythmically around the time - but still in time; in a clinic of Paul Wertico, he said it best, "even when it sounds like I am playing 'out of time', listen closely, I really am not [playing out of the time]", he then adeptly demonstrates the concept!

In the pocket = generally, always on the written and perceived beat and time precisely, sometimes - in addition -  make sure the snare is the only thing playing when it's needed - usually on 2 and or 4 (especially in funk or gospel/funk styles, as well as some reggae styles)!  This means the BASS PLAYER does not let his or her long notes play through (sustain) into any part of the actual snare hit - and yes it is only a fraction of a second but YES IT IS NOTICEABLE for "pocket" playing to be good!  The bassist should mute the note immediately before the snare hit.  It's what separates the Drummer..........from the Bass Player!  Don't think I forgot the Johnson's thumping-pops or Clarke's pull-offs!  Those can be appropriately applied in the pocket, too.

** Playing "ahead of the time" = play the ride patterns just slightly ahead of the actual perfect time (that your hihat and bass player are adhering to!)  This adds excitement to medium tempo tunes.  A way to practice this (of course, with the metronome) is to think of the ride pattern occurring like flams just before they would really be played.  In other words, practice for a while (10 to 20 minutes) playing the ride pattern with BOTH hands, keeping the left hand timed with the metronome, and playing the right hand slightly ahead of the left hand - in a series of "fa-lams" on the swing rhythm.

Be-Bop = very fast jazz tempos [blame and thank Dizzy!] that will cause your swing/shuffle to get "straightened out", becoming straight 8ths or 16ths (at be-bop tempo an 8th can sure feel like a 16th, can't it?), so written as:

                      ||: dah .          DIGGAdah :||,   throwing the ride hand at the cymbal on 2 and 4 and letting the diddles bounce afterward

             OR   ||:  long .        SHORT-short  :||

             OR   ||:  tap .          STROKE-bounce  :||       basically a 3-stroke roll

                      ||:  1 .              2       -       +  :||

                        (of course I will post the music note pic ASAP!)

** Lay back = the opposite of playing ahead, this time you lag the ride cymbal behind the bassist and hihat by a fraction of a second.  Also when kicking the band actually let THEM do the laybacks while you nail the perfect time with your kicks - thus giving an overall desired "fat" sound to the already "ShoooorT!" notes of ballads.

Ballads = almost always played in straight eighth-notes (usually as written), occasionally changing to swing feel when indicated (normally) in the written chart.  Most often played with brushes and quite often switching to sticks in the middle, then back to brushes near the A part or "Head" of the chart.  Ending a ballad:  Almost always with a drummer-written small fill or roll, slight pause, then a pick-up, then into the final fermata - just ask Byron Stripling.

From the Top or Head of a chart = literally means play form the beginning of the chart (as written).

A 2-beat = think a very light and moderate tempi gospel shout or almost Dixie land, quite useful and written in most Musicals up through to the late 1970's (yes, even JC has some!), but no heavy accenting.  A very basic feel right along with your bass player who will not be "walking" the bass line, but playing on 1 and 3 only.  Usually conducted in "2" but conceptually a very fast 4/4 sig.

A "walking" bass line = (literally the bassist's fingers walk across the strings from note to note played, index to middle alternating) swing pattern from the drums while the bassist keeps time right with you playing surely and squarely on each main beat of each measure, with occasional hiccupped beat pulses placed, you guessed it, squarely on the pickup pulse (the 'a') of the swing Cho - co - late feel!

Read the ink  = ignore any and all previous markings made by others - or even by you - on a chart.

Help the conductor  = the opposite of Read The Ink, where in the case that the conductor has a "condensed score" or no score at all and will want to know where some of the band's big shifts are - keys, feels, dynamics, rubatos, G.P.'s, other written instructions written in your part.

Dynamics = In Big Band, REALLY EXAGGERATE the dynamic markings. Sometimes, for intermediate players, I will insist on a Drum Corps approach to dynamics using specific stick height measurements for ppp, pp, p, mp, mf, f, ff, and fff.  While training in the Cavies prior to marching seasons, the drumstick-at-ruler-height was used quite often to measure our stick height.  This concept might seem counter intuitive to a whipping style of stick power, but is easily overcome with practice.  Under soloists, again exaggerate starting at least 2 dynamic levels below from the end of an ensemble section, starting immediately with your color change.  Going to the hihat would be more typical dynamically under your piano or bass soloists (although in different styles, this drop-down may not be needed under bass solos).

Practicing = with your first few lessons with your new teacher, ask if you can record the lessons.  Hopefully this might not be a problem for early first lessons.  It may actually be beneficial to both you and your master.  Your master may ask you to record your practice sessions.  You should do this.  Use a media that is compatible for both of you to record/play on.  After hearing your recorded lessons played back to both of you in your next lesson, your teacher will certainly be able to help you improve your Practice Routine, as it most likely will need some improvement, grasshopper!

        Try practicing everything as if it were a piece of music, memorized from time to time, and visualizing yourself playing the pieces perfectly in front of an audience large enough to cause you goose-bumps, but not too large as to cause undue stress - this visualization technique I learned from Rich Holly (NIU) and later re-enforced by Kaiko Abe (another marimbist) in clinic sessions. Before actually warming up before each practice session, visualize yourself playing though each exercise without actually moving a muscle, then start warm-up, then move to the first piece of "music".  Rinse and repeat.  Always try different tempos, as above, loitering around those trouble tempos (which you can only conquer, but will never be rid of, as the one thing that you must always practice are those things that deteriorate over time:  extreme quiet/extreme loud playing and your trouble tempo ranges)

Try patterning your practice from this lesson of Derek in this YouTube Permalink

 

(Added from CLC Jazz Band, 4-27-2007):

Another approach to practicing reminds me a little bit about learning how to "ground" yourself when learning a play script - start with your feet and remember to breath!  This concept was very recently re-enforced through a short clinic given by Conrad Herwig (bonist, composer, arranger).  For breathing he uses Chi-gong, helping center ourselves before actual practice.  In actual instrument practice, Conrad uses the modal approach to scales with his own accompaniment on piano.  This not only helps turn boring scale drudgery into music, it also helps with your own piano playing!  Really an elegantly simple concept proven by Mr. Herwig in his clinic.  (also, I don't doubt that he can play the drums, either!)

Yes, a very boiled down version of Conrad's clinic, but I don't want to get it wrong - you should just check out a clinic of his near you!

You came back, good.  Here's Lesson 2.

The following is culled from Rich Holly's NIU Percussion syllabi pages.

            Rich's "found" and re-"known"  links:

                 Percussive Arts Society YOU MUST JOIN.

                Marc Z's Percussion Information  

                Drummerworld