What are your favourite albums with Peter Erskine on them? Been listening to his playing on Marc Johnson's 'Bass Desires' and I really want to get into more of his discog.

I don't have a question, or really even a statement, but I sat down to learn Blue Train and I'm in awe of that subtle hi-hat shift where he moves it to the & of 1 and 3, and the middle triplet of the 3 and 4. It's giving me a run for my money at tempo.

Hello everyone!

As I understand it jazz drumsticks tend to be more light than other drumsticks like rock or metal. I know that the election of drumsticks depends widely on wether you feel comfortable or not, but could you give me some opinion on what drumsticks should a player go for or tell me what sticks do you use?

I am currently using Vic firth american classic 5AN. Could you tell me if these are in the "jazz category" at least? or maybe they are too heavy. Im 1,78m tall and pretty in shape if that helps...

I am currently in the process of prepearing for entering the superior conservatory and I'm searching a good drum practice routine to do every day.

What should i be focusing on? rudiments? sound? independence?

If you have some exersises and some tips, some routines, etc... What has worked for you?

Thanks!

I'm trying to decide between the Yamaha Stage Custom Bop kit and the Sonor AQX Jazz for my at home practice kit. I've heard countless examples of both kits and to my ears they both can be made to sound great. The Sonor's come with a 13 x 6 snare which appeals to me. The Yamaha is only a 3-pc with no snare. I like the natural finish on the Yamaha's though the black sparkle finish on the Sonor's doesn't offend me.

Sell me on one or the other..

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PS. I'm not shopping for used kits.

Hi, I’m looking for some jazz songs where the drums are the main focus of the song (drum solos etc) Obviously there are songs like Caravan but I cannot play that because of how ridiculously hard it is so maybe things that are easier :) the song can’t be too long as there is a song length limit (around 2 minutes) so any suggestions will be appreciated!

Thank you!

Got admitted to my dream school for a jazz drum set performance degree. Absurdly excited and just a little bit terrified. Anyone got any advice for how to prepare for/survive music school? Any good resources for shedding non drum requirements like theory or keyboard skills? Thanks y’all.

I've been doing lots of transcribing recently, and I know that writing it down yourself is useful but I have an increasingly limited amount of time to practice these days because of school, gigs ext. So I've started to sometimes just find transcriptions on YouTube or musescore so I don't have to spend time writing solos out. Or I just do it by ear if the recording is good-ish

Basically what I'm getting at is, how quintessential is doing your own transcriptions? Is it ok to take the musicit from another source?

Hello jazz drums community,

I need your help and insights! I'm a semi-professional musician who mainly performs jazz, but I also have a background in funk, Latin, and prog rock, among others. I have experience in classical percussion and have marched snare in DCI. My technique has been praised as refined and loose by several instructors, and I'm comfortable with both match and traditional grips.

However, for the past year, I've encountered a distressing issue: a sharp "shock" sensation in my wrists while playing. This occurs primarily on my electronic kit with mesh heads, but it's also present on acoustic kits. Strangely, I can practice on a pad for hours without any problems, even with complex rudimental exercises. The shock only happens when I move my arms across the kit, like transitioning from the snare to the toms.

I've consulted an orthopedic hand specialist and a neurologist, who ruled out carpal tunnel, cubital tunnel, and tendonitis through nerve tests. They suggested it might be a minor condition that's hard to detect and advised I could definitely continue drumming but I should take breaks when the shock sensation starts to occur. Unfortunately, a visit to a physical therapist didn't provide any insights or improvements.

Drum instructors have confirmed that my technique appears sound, but one suggested focusing more on relaxed and fluid arm movements across the kit, highlighting the importance of ergonomics in drumming. I don't get this wrist shock from literally any other activity.

This persistent shock sensation is troubling and abnormal, occurring in both wrists when I move around the kit, and both matched and traditional grips. It's become a significant barrier to playing for extended periods. It's strange - even if I go for weeks without playing, once I hop back on the kit and play for an hour or more, the wrist shock comes back.

Has anyone here experienced something similar or have any advice on what this could be and how to manage it? Your insights and experiences would be greatly appreciated as I navigate this issue.

Thank you in advance for your help!

Hello,
I got a new ride cymbal online (Zildjian K Custom Special Dry) and after playing it for about a week, I can't get into the sound of it. There's this weird hum going on that i tried capturing in video. The hum is apparent in the video but in real life it's almost like twice as loud.

This is the first expensive cymbal I've bought (the one I replaced was a PST 3 ride) and I'm not sure if I'm just not used to the sound of it yet or if this is a bad (personal opinion) cymbal? Is there anyway to get rid of the hum? I love everything else about it!

(P.S When I was looking for cymbals, the sound in my head was something like Jimmy Cobb when he played with Bobby Timmons, and that's what I thought I heard in sound clips on youtube).

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https://reddit.com/link/1bucypf/video/j5pvy806e5sc1/player

Gimme more Gadd fusion!! That cowbell groove on Daily Bulls is too much 🤤

Saw this drum cover the song Tank by the Seatbelts, which is more famously known as the theme song to the 1999 anime, Cowboy Bebop. It's a bebop jazz song, and the drum part is pretty cool: it's a songo-inspired 2:3 latin groove, similar to the groove in the Whiplash version of Caravan.

In this drum cover, this guy is playing 8th notes with his hi-hat foot at 140bpm. That to me looks crazy, as when I've tried going that fast, my left foot tires out way way too quickly. Even when I'm using my ankle for the hi-hat hits. This guy seems to be doing a type of swivel motion on the foot where he's not hitting the same part of the pedal every time, the first eighth note is higher up on the pedal and the second eighth note is lower down on the pedal.

Here's the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4-TRMW8qOI

Could someone explain this technique to me? I'd love to be play 8th notes on the hi hat foot pedal that fast. Thanks!

Hi there!

I have an uptempo jazz gig coming up in a month. We have a song at 310 bpm. I have looked up on YouTube on various techniques to play the ride cymbal with one hand that fast, and almost all use "push-pull" to get the 3 notes fast in succession, while also straightening them out. They do something like a wrist stroke, then let the stick bounce on the rebound, and then squeeze the fingers and bring up the wrist on the third and final stroke. I've seen this also described as throw and catch or open/close.

I understand this technique in theory, but I've tried practicing it and it's very unintuitive for me and will take a long time to learn. I'm not sure I can learn it in time for my month's gig.

Instead, I am looking into alternative techniques I could use for the fast jazz ride. I have some some people use a "pendulum" motion, where they don't use push pull, but move the stick horizontally across the ride cymbal. As in they start on the right side of the ride, move their hand left for the 8th note, and then move right to end the phrase.

Elvin Jones, who played with John Coltrane, did not use push pull and used this pendulum motion.

I'm pretty good at Moeller for one handed 16th notes as well as sustained single stroke rolls at say 200 bpm. Is this pendulum technique similar to Moeller? I also move my hands say horizontally when I'm using Moeller to get more than two strokes out of the hit.

I also see another technique by guys like Tommy Igoe where they seem to rotate or pivot their wrist while doing the uptempo swing, where they start in french grip and then go to American grip as they finish the swing pattern. It looks like you're scraping the ride cymbal, and you primarily hold the stick with pointer finger and thumb. I've seen Greyson Nekrutman do it too. I'm not sure of the full mechanics of how that works and can't find a tutorial on it.

Greyson is doing that here at 8:16: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwPCbmTXsiA

So yeah, push-pull is difficult and unintuitive for me. I think I could get it if I had many months of practice to dedicate to it alone, but I don't have that much time, and Moeller/pendulum/rotation pivot seem more intuitive to me given my existing skillset.

Wanted to know if you guys had any suggestions too. Thanks!

Drums are amazing, although I play other instruments myself I can't say I'm particoularly proefficient in any.

I have noticed most of my drummer friends that play other instruments are kinda better drummers for some aspects. One of my friends he plays trumpet and piano and he's really good when playing in big bands as he's able to read the horn charts and react better than what I can do, I know a couple of drummers that play piano fairly well and are much more reactive to what other musicians do in a small band and also they probably understand the chord changes better than me.

What instruments do you play and how important do you think it is for drummers to play other instruments? I can easily say that since I picked up piano I became a better drummer and it's good fun, I might get a trumpet soon or something :)

Hi everyone, I have been playing jazz on the drums for a few months now and I have some friends that I play with often.
I've been able to do the fundamental stuff - keep time, swing, hi hat on 2 & 4, and try to do some very basic improv on the snare. However, I'm really struggling with trying to improve my playing. What are some things I can work on to improv better? Also I kind of struggle with knowing what fills to play so any advice on that would be great

Hi, can someone recommend a jazz song for beginner drummer? Would be nice if you can also share notes 😅 Thanks for helping:)

for an audition for a jazz summer program it says to play 2 contrasting pieces and i have no idea where to start with deciding what to play.

This is the description:

Perform 2 contrasting pieces lasting no more than a total of 8 minutes. Both pieces should begin with an opening ‘head arrangement’ (i.e. a melody, accompanied by a chord progression). This should then be followed by an improvised solo section, which is based on the same chord progression as accompanies the opening head (In both pieces, drummers will be expected to accompany the head, take a solo and trade four, two and one bars with the pianist)

I have to include a piano lead sheet with it as well

Thanks if you read all that and i’d really appreciate any recommendations - hope i’ve given enough info.

I’ve already checked eBay and and reverb is a bit expensive, any ideas where to get some cheap used jazz drums besides those sites and garage sales?

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https://reddit.com/link/1b9367l/video/j629bt6ksymc1/player