Two Licks to Play Over Gilad’s Eye In The Sky

Gilad Hekselman’s music is one of the only things that’s been in steady rotation on my iPhone since around 2010. I listen to One More Song if I want to get fired up in the mornings, or This Just In before I go into the shed. Often, I’ll end a jazz practice session by jamming along to Eye in The Sky. Last month I posted a Facebook video of me playing along, but the quality was low and you couldn’t hear what I was listening to in my headphones.

How do you get better at improvising and start to develop your own voice? In my Asia clinics (sometimes in front of a cadre of 4-5 hard-core fans, lest anybody think I’m bragging;) I spoke about the two “poles” we’re trying to join: at one end, there’s practicing only other people’s vocabulary, from transcriptions or books; at the other, there’s only working on abstractions like Stick Control. How to join the two together?

Listening back to my own playing in the Facebook video, I realized there were several licks I kept coming back to - a few that I was nailing, and a few that needed some work. From my own recording, I picked out several unique things I was doing that needed more work, and I started working on them. In essence, I transcribed Myself.

To bring the two threads together, two of those licks are the subject of this week’s lesson.

And for those of you still reading, I still want to do a small clinic in New York during the first two weeks of January. Interested in attending, and/or know of a venue? Just hit “reply” or comment below the blog post, and let me know!

See you soon killaz,

N

Advanced Odd Meters 1 feat Chris Paprota

I’m pretty excited for this one. When you watch it I think you’ll understand why. Chris Paprota has inspired me for the last six months with his head-turning videos on Facebook. I heard he was looking to get into video lessons, I was looking for badass drummers to collaborate with, and the rest is history.

I should say this lesson has a lot of Me, and relatively less of Chris. We didn’t plan it that way, but that’s how it shook out. Given that we were edging past 20 minutes, we elected to post in installments. Hence, Chris’ response to my last video will be in Part Two.

Ok - odd meters. In this lesson we attempt to wrap our minds around the Sweet Science of math-rock/jazz/pop, choosing, as our primary target, one of its most ingenious purveyors: Tigran Hamasyan.

Anyway, I know why all ya’all are here...

And for those of you still reading, I still have a few Early Bird tickets left for my LA clinic, where I’ll discuss how mortals like us can learn Gospel Chops. Get in here.

See you soon killaz,

N

Two Licks I Stole From Spanky

It’s been a busy week.

As I ramp up for collaborations numbers 2 and 3, dash off the last videos of Module 12, and prepare for my What About Me lesson, I was again in a position where I needed to dash off a “quickie” lesson to give you guys something to chew on for the next week. (Can’t let you guys get soft;)

It just so happened that one practice device I’m using to learn What About Me inspired some Spanky licks I’d heard players like Arthur Kam use, but that had lain dormant for a few months. “Well,” I thought, “why not just give them those?”

So even though this week’s episode is a shorty (an “in-between-isode” in Ferriss parlance), I think it’s dense with useful drum goodness. The licks contained within it will immediately make your straight 8th playing hipper.

Anyway, I know why all ya’all are here...

And for the comment thread, who thinks my language on this channel is too blue? Who thinks it’s not blue enough?

See you soon killaz,

N

Jazz Ballad Crash Course

Careful what you wish for. Feedback on  my last “mini” lesson was unequivocal: people want shorter lessons if I’m not doing a collaboration or interview.

Not one to ignore good advice, I give you another “shortie”. Jazz ballads are probably the scariest single thing you can do as a drummer. Vast, wide-open spaces, plenty of room to rush or drag, plenty of sonic space for people to hear if your brushes aren’t on point. (Even Jojo gets nervous…)

So I thought I’d give you two simple tools to make your jazz ballads better. First, a ballad pattern that seems to work at multiple tempos, and keeps one brush in motion all-the-time, but also accents the beats to give the band a clue where you are. Second, you know that hipster lick you always hear Ari and Greg doing? I’ve got a version of that. (As usual, I tried to get at the DNA of the lick, not just recite it verbatim.)

Anyway, you’re probably here for the transcription.

And for the comment thread, who’s coming to my LA clinic!?!? It will be either Wednesday Jauary 20, Thursday the 21st, or Friday the 22nd. If it’s thursday I might drag some of you to cocktails with some of my entrepreneur buddies. Oh - and probably in Echo Park/Silverlake. As I’ve said, I’ll get an official announcement out soon!

See you soon killaz,

N