How To Play Jazz Drums in 3/4
by Tim Lake
Once you have become comfortable with playing jazz in 4/4, you will need to work on playing in 3/4, a jazz waltz. You will start to find that there are some popular tunes played in 3/4 - a good exam is “All Blues” from the Miles Davis album “Kind of Blue” - and that on a gig a couple of the tunes are likely to be in 3/4.
This worksheet will start to get you familiar with some basic snare drum comping ideas. This requires a new level of inter-dependence and it will probably seem a bit awkward compared to playing in 4/4.
Start slow and make sure to count. Try to sing the phrases as you play.
Once you are comfortable with the basic set of patterns, try combining them into 2 and 4 bar phrases - I’ve given a few examples in the PDF. You should also try moving the snare drum part around the kit.
Some popular and famous tunes in 3/4:
+ My Favourite Things - as played by John Coltrane+ Some Day My Prince Will Come.
+ Up Jumped Spring.
+ Jitterburg Waltz
+ Alice in Wonderland