Basic solo vocabulary with Syncopation

Hey, it's been awhile since I've posted anything downloadable of my own, and you don't want to hear me prattle on about cymbals and crap, so here's a basic solo vocabulary builder I've been working through with a couple of students. Use lesson 6 out of the new edition of Syncopation, or pp. 14-15 from the old version:

You have to apply the variations with a vengeance to make these sound like anything. Especially vary the accents- give the thing some shape. 

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Todd's methods: Son of Daku-daku-paradiddle

Right, I'm starting to regret the name I made up for this thing- until I think of the alternative, long-winded description for this very common pattern. Now if I can just bring myself to call it that without an equally long-winded exploration of why it's embarrassing to do so, we're golden.

Anyhoo, this is a simpler version of this earlier piece, using my old favorite, Lesson 4/pp.10-11 from Syncopation. I conceived it for practicing at fast tempos in jazz, with even 8ths, but there's no reason you can't play it at moderate tempos and swing it, or apply it to other styles of music. 

A good format for practicing these would be four measures time/four measures exercise. Once you're comfortable playing ex. 1-15 that way, you can experiment with moving around the drums, and adding accents/embellishments, and finally, improvising with this concept. 

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Sixtuplet plus release

This is something that came up in my practicing yesterday, and I went ahead and scribbled out a page of it for you. These sound good fast, but it's also a good idea to ask "what would Andy Newmark do?" and play them at slower tempos, or in half time, focusing on getting them to sit nicely. You should also take it a few steps further and figure out your own rhythmic variations and bass drum parts.

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