A Simple Phrase - Extensions

Following on from the posts last month, here are some exercises placing the figure into four bars of time.

As you should have noticed things start to get interesting when this figure is played in 3/4 (Idea #21.1: 5 & 5A / Idea #21.1 5A, 5B, & 5C). It is what is termed a Hemiola in classical music, the ratio of 3:2 (3 over 2), although we are really thinking of 2:3 and playing 2 over 3. This is what makes this figure so powerful and so common in jazz; it can be heard in Herbie Hancock's comping, Brian Blade licks and, where we started, Elvin Jones solos.

It is most commonly played in 4/4, so the 2 over 3 takes four cycles or three bars to resolve, and the three most useful starting placements I've written out as the practice exercises.

Exercises 1A - 1C are written on the cymbal, but additionally should be practiced as a comping figure underneath jazz time.

Use the sticking from "Idea #21.1: 5 & 5A" and "Idea #21.1 5A, 5B, & 5C" in Exercises 2A - 3C (in the PDF). Start to move the accents around the kit and experiment with different stickings as well.

You could also shift all these exercises so that you start the figure on the first bar of the four bar phrase and the the last, fourth bar, is just time. However they tend to resolve better when played as written in the exercises.

A lot to work on!

This was originally posted on "Jazz Drumming Blog" and in the "Ideas for Jazz Drumming" e-book (no longer available). This post has been revised from the original.