First things first - grab your free transcription here.
I’m endlessly fascinated by the disparities between what we think is going on when great players play, vs what’s really going on.
Almost a decade ago, I would transcribe stuff from Justin Tyson or Thomas Pridgen, and eventually came up with a rule-of-thumb, kind of like Drum Occam’s Razor: “if you have to do something that feels super physically awkward to play this lick you think is happening, it’s probably something else.”
Not exclusively - certainly sometimes drummers have worked out unique ways of moving around the kit - but usually. If you hear hoofbeats, think horses instead of zebras, and if you hear thunderous Thomas licks, think paradiddle permutations with kicks and cymbals until you learn differently.
It’s just such a lesson that underscores the theme of this week’s youtube entertainment - a simple lick that’s a bit of a “missing link” in the playing of a lot of great “choppers”. The humble RLK.
At the beginning of the video, I show 2 prominent examples of great drummers who, when the lick seems to permutate and “warp”, if you slow it down, the root is this RLK. Simple, but not easy. Because in 16ths or 32nds, introducing a 3-note phrase is introducing chaos. A rotating dynamo that will drag you across barlines whether you’re ready or not. So not easy. But, in theory, simple.
The third musical example I offer in the opening minutes of the video is drummer whose focus is not necessarily RLK. But I show his playing to illustrate that I could drop this RLK in the middle of the street, and unless they had connectors, a conception of improvising, and fundamentals, very few would be able to “pick it up”.
So we use that as a jumping off point to discuss 3 points of the “how” of playing like “the greats”.
Also if you’ve made it to the end, you might be interested in going deeper with these concepts, and it just so happens I may have the thing: enrollment closes soon for one 1:1 coaching slot I came by “accidentally” this month. If you’ve been waiting on the fence to check out the Impossible to Fail program, now might be your chance. More Info here. Because this will go fast, I’ll delete this paragraph in 24 hours.