YO,
Guitarist back seeking more drum advice. Something from this summer reminded me of this old thread, and Tamadude's thread about Bass Pedals:
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=10086I went to See Steely Dan this summer. Their drummer, Keith Carlock, was, I will say, quite fantastic.
http://www.keithcarlock.com/news.htmCarlock sets up, from what I saw, like a trad jazz drummer. Snare drum tipped forward, trad grip, ride cymbal front and centered. I liked his set up because it seemed like it was more about ergonomics than it was about framing his mug so the audience could see him.
My attention was, for some reason, drawn to his Hi Hat Foot, which kept time MOST of the time. Even if he was playing the hat closed, he'd still be bouncing his left heel. From my layperson perspective, it seems that a lot of 'jazzier' drummers do this, whilst I see this less with straight rock players.
So I've been practicing a little swing, playing hat on all 4 beats of 4/4 or just on 2 and 4. My favorite is playing all four beats with the left foot but accenting 1 and 3. I do this by playing HEEL UP on the 1&3, HEEL DOWN on the 2&4 on the left foot. If I do this whilst playing the backbeat on the snare I get that awesome ticking clock sound, and it physically feels great.
Playing some syncopation with the bass drum over that has been very challenging. Making my brain hurt a la:
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=10240&start=0Is it my imagination, or is it true, that Stewart, for the most part, does NOT do this. Anyone?
For the most part, I picture him leaned over on his Left Foot on the hat, occasionally opening the hat in interesting places. Imitating this physical stance goes a long way, I find, towards playing some Stewart like beats.
Because I'm such a fata$$, this 'stance' is great for me, balance wise.
However, I think my left foot practice is contributing nicely to my drumming fitness program.
dc
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