WEEK 1

New Concept: Swing

Today', we were introduced to the jazz swing pattern on the ride cymbal. We will use the phrase “WALK-the-dog” when practicing the rhythms, adding an accent on the first note (WALK).

• Song to use for practice: “Along Came Betty” (Art Blakey)

Rudiment Practice

We revisited our singles and introduced accents in our warm up. I will attach an example of an exercise to use.

WEEK 2

Review: Swing

We started by reviewing the WALK-the-dog pattern on the ride cymbal. Remember to add more of an accent on beats 2 and 4 (WALK).

• We added the hi-hat on beats 2 and 4 to help support the word WALK in our exercise.

Rudiment Practice: Single Pyramid

Today, we combined three of our single warmups to create a new one. When practicing, add one note in each hand and then repeat the exercise without stopping (i.e. RL RRLL RRRLLL RL RRLL RRRLLL etc.)

Groove Practice

We used our singles with accents and added the kick drum underneath on beats 1 and 3. We add the snare accents on beats 2 and 4 (those should happen in the right hand).

• Important note to remember: Your hands should not stop when you hit the kick or play an accent. Keep the RLRL.. pattern going throughout the groove. I will upload a video of this exercise.

WEEK 3

Review Swing:

We reviewed the swing ride cymbal feel with the hi hats closing on 2 and 4. Continue to say “WALK-the-dog” as you practice this.

• This week we added the kick drum on beats 1 and 3. Below is the video example of how it all comes together.

Singles Pyramid:

We reviewed the pyramid and talked about playing each group of notes (1, 2, and 3) all at the same tempo. The video below gives an example of the steady tempo.

Accents Groove:

We are the using the concept of accents and moving from just using it as an exercise to building grooves with it. This video is our first groove breakdown that will get us comfortable with using accents. Get as comfortable with this as you can.