First things first - grab your free transcription here.
It was probably always going to end up here.
The Tony Williams ride pattern with both hands.
It sounds like a circus act. Or a party trick. You’re probably wondering how it came to this. So let’s back up.
My left hand always kinda sucked. First, I had some conflicting teachers. (Hindsight 2020, I should have listened to the first, who, despite I’m pretty sure joining a militia shortly after teaching me, had the right idea about hand technique.)
Next, I did the “trad” thing for about 15 years after college. Hard to explain, and it’s not necessary, but trad is kind of a kinesthetic way to get “into the minds” of the jazz greats. If I wanted it to feel to me as much as possible how it felt for Max Roach, there was no choice.
All of that left me in the early 20-teens with kind of a wimpy left hand. I’d “bear claw” stuff, or use back fulcrum, but it had nothing like the dexterity of my right.
Of course I’ve been dabbling with stuff to improve it, but the two things that were game-changing were Gordy Knudtson’s particular encapsulation of the push pull technique many greats have used over the years, and my going “full black pill” this spring on playing the ride cymbal with both hands.
As jazzers the right hand gets so much practice playing the ride, so that any average jazz drummer probably has right hand technique that would considered rather elite in non-jazz circles. (True, the prog guys still have us when it comes to high volume stuff.) “If I could just get my left hand to do what my right does, I’d cover a lot of ground,” I thought.
Roll on 6 months of “rage caving”, and we arrived at this point.
Abi-dexterous Tony. Not that I’m particularly great at it so far. But I can do it at moderate tempos.
So I wanted to make you a video.
And now that I kinda “see the matrix”, I think this is the way. Everybody who’s serious about their weak hand should do this.
Do you agree? Leave a comment below. In any event, hope you enjoy.