{"id":6953,"date":"2019-09-30T09:09:12","date_gmt":"2019-09-30T16:09:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.drumeo.com\/blog\/?p=6953"},"modified":"2024-07-05T13:07:18","modified_gmt":"2024-07-05T20:07:18","slug":"a-drummers-guide-to-jazz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.drumeo.com\/beat\/a-drummers-guide-to-jazz\/","title":{"rendered":"A Drummer\u2019s Guide To Jazz"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is an excerpt from The Drummer’s Toolbox: The Ultimate Guide To Learning 101 Drumming Styles<\/a>. The book goes into even more detail about jazz drumming!
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Jazz: A brief introduction to the genre<\/b><\/h3>\n

Jazz music originated in New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 1800s. For African-Americans living in New Orleans during this time, jazz music was a way of responding to cultural issues like racism, segregation, and discrimination.<\/p>\n

At that time, styles of music like blues and ragtime were major influences on the development of jazz music. Over the past century, many subgenres of jazz have emerged including Dixieland, big band, bebop, cool jazz, hard bop, free jazz, Latin jazz, jazz fusion, and many more!<\/p>\n

Most styles of jazz music feature a rhythm section with upright bass (sometimes electric bass), drums, piano (sometimes keyboards), and one or more instruments responsible for playing the melody of the music – like trumpet, trombone, saxophone, or voice.<\/p>\n

Jazz is an incredibly unique genre where musicians are constantly innovating and pushing musical boundaries. Jazz presents drummers with the opportunity to improvise and interact with other musicians in real time. This makes for the perfect creative opportunity to explore the drum set in brand new ways.<\/p>\n

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The Fundamentals<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Jazz is triplet-based music that has a swing feel (yes, there are exceptions). In jazz music, rhythms are interpreted differently than they are in pop and rock music. When we see an eighth note rhythm it will be interpreted in eighth note triplets.\"\"<\/a>
The most important element of jazz drumming is the ride cymbal pattern<\/strong>. As drummers, we need to establish the swing feel for the rest of the band by playing that consistent ride pattern. Here is what the standard jazz pattern looks like.
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Another essential element is the hi-hat<\/strong> which is played on beats two and four (when playing in 4\/4 time). Here\u2019s what the ride cymbal pattern looks like accompanied by the hi-hat foot pattern.
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Jazz music is interactive. Musicians accompany and react to other musicians based on the melodic and rhythmic motifs that they play. This act of accompaniment and reaction is known as comping<\/strong>. As drummers, we can comp for other musicians with all four of our limbs. Practicing comping is also an excellent way to develop independence in a jazz context. Here are some examples of comping ideas applied to each separate limb and to multiple limbs as well.<\/p>\n

Comping with the snare drum<\/strong><\/h5>\n

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Comping with the bass drum<\/strong><\/h5>\n

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Comping with the hi-hat<\/strong><\/h5>\n

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Comping with the ride cymbal<\/strong><\/h5>\n

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Comping with multiple limbs<\/strong><\/h5>\n

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Whether you\u2019re playing rock, pop, jazz, or any other style of music, it is important to have vocabulary that can be used in specific styles of music. One of the best ways to learn new vocabulary is by listening to your favorite drummers and trying to imitate them – we\u2019ll look further into this in the next sections. In the meantime, here are a few phrases that can be played in a jazz context. You can orchestrate these patterns in different ways to develop your own unique vocabulary as well!<\/p>\n

Phrase inspired by Max Roach<\/strong><\/h5>\n

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Phrase using a repeating snare drum\/bass drum figure<\/strong><\/h5>\n

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Phrase using double stops<\/em> (unison strokes)<\/strong><\/h5>\n

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Playing with brushes<\/strong> is another essential part of jazz drumming. Brush playing can be heard on countless jazz recordings, from ballads to up-tempo swing tunes! You can learn more about brush playing in this lesson with Peter Erskine:<\/p>\n