4 BIG BAND BASICS FOR DRUMMERS WITH STOCKTON HELBING | Jazz Drummer Q-Tip of the Week
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 ส.ค. 2024
- This lesson is all about How To Play Big Band Drumming:
This Jazz Drummer Q-Tip of the Week drum lesson we're calling Four Big Band Basics for Drummers is all about getting the nuts and bolts of big band drumming together including: Reading rhythms and figures, set ups and fills. Understanding the basic concepts involved in big band drumming will enable you to thrive in any big band setting. We hope you enjoy this Four Big Band Basics lesson!!
Make sure to follow Stockton
IG: StocktonHelbing
Website: www.Stocktonhelbing.com
-------Video Time Stamps-------
00:00 - Introducing Stockton Helbing
01:55 - Stockton Helbing Playing Highlights
02:42 - Big Band Basic Tip #1
03:29 - Big Band Basic Tip #2
08:37 - Playing Example: Orchestrating Longs and Shorts
09:34 - Stockton Playing Interlude
09:42 - Big Band Basic Tip #3
10:31 - Playing Example: The Primary Rhythmic Set Up
12:12 - Big Band Basic Tip #4
12:46 - Playing Example: Basic Set Up Fill
14:43 - Mel Lewis Fill Approach
16:23 - Stockton Plays Etude #2 - Medium Swing 2
To honor Mel Lewis, Stockton is using equipment similar to him:
Gretsch (1958 round badge)
13" Tom Tom
16" Floor Tom
22" Bass Drum
14X6.5 Snare Drum
Zildjian
22" Swish Knocker
21" Constantinople
18" Pre-Aged Crash/Ride
14" New Beat (60s)
Hey Quincy, thanks for this! I remember seeing Stockton when he was on Maynard‘s band. Having the both of you at the same school… I hope the students appreciate what a great resource you guys are.
That's awesome Tom. He was just a little kid back then too. LOL! Thanks for watching👍
@@drumqtips hey now! well...kinda.
Thanks Quincy. I've always "felt it" trying to play this style but never totally understood the rules and had them explained/verbalized. Your channel is so helpful. And a big shout out to Stockton.
Glad you found this video helpful Chris!
This video made me feel so bad about all the big band charts I used to play. I never had a teacher, so I had to wing it. I appreciate the video a ton, because now I know.
Glad the video was helpful Kev!
I’ve been playing at a professional level for about 10 years, I’m 29, but every time I watch a video like this I think of how I didn’t go to jazz band in highschool and didn’t study jazz in school. Ragrets.
I totally understand your frustration Chris but don’t worry about what you have not done, worry about what you are doing right now to get better. That’s all that’s important. Thanks for watching!
Same here man
WOW!!! What a wonderful surprise this lesson was! Will definitely be viewing it more.
Thank you Tom!
Very interesting point concerning choice of drumset part to use during band's figures
Thanks for watching Istra!
Perfect lesson. Simplified the whole thing and a great help to me. Thank you guys
Glad it was helpful!
Fantastic lesson on big band drumming. Brilliant explanations, which, despite playing in big bands for over 40 years, I'd sort of done, but never had explained so well. More more more please. Your content is invaluable. THANK YOU!!
I'm so glad you found this lesson helpful Dusty!
Thank you!! You both are amazing artists and educators!!
Thank you for the kind words Albutt🙏🏾
It clears up all the important concepts. You guys are so great at teaching and playing. Awesome job!
Glad it was helpful Mr. Pablo!
Stockton's the man! Got to work with him when I was way young at a camp for a few years, really helped me get my stuff in motion--and combined with you in the same video? Masterful teaching!
Glad you enjoyed it Zach! Stock is great for sure.
love your work!!
I appreciate that very much🙏🏾
Absolutely fantastic content guys, really clear descriptions and examples to help people understand these fundamentals of Big Band drumming.
Thanks for watching Darren!
Good tips as played in a big band but at the time had limited reading .
But now been playing with a group of around 8pc.
The shared vocabulary was/is very helpful. It makes it easier to talk about and think about the concepts.
I'm currently the back up drummer and keyboard player in a big band, preparing to become the primary drummer. I do these things intuitively based on years of listening. But I never had the vocabulary Stockton is using. Thanks.
Awesome to hear Don. Thanks for sharing my friend!
safe! haha. Beatiful lesson, thank you!
Thank you!
Hello Q and Stockton,
That's a lot of valuable information, not a long time ago I did a gig with some kind of big band scores and I get that "over the bar notes" or "pick-up notes". I did not had that information!
Also, very interesting the "don't play the toms for the background figures".
Thanks again for all this content!
Glad you found it helpful Joel!
Splendig lesson, as always!
You two make a GREAT duo! This got my so hyped to work more on my big band playing this upcoming week of practice! Lookint forward to getting that neat etude book. Thanks for all the great education! Btw, you inspired me to buy a complementary bop kit for my current vintage tama superstar (Birch shells ca 1982 w/ 20" kick). Use it mostly for pop stuff, but now I really wanna tune it for big band drumming, hehe. Anyway, as I said, you really inspired me to get a bop kit and I just got my hands on a used Starclassic Birch/Bubinga: 12", 14", 18". Put some fresh ambassadors on them and wow they sing beautifully and has really inspired me to play more jazz! Thanks again for sharing your passion and knowledge! Greetings from Sweden!
Thanks for the kind words and for watching this lesson Paul!
The most important yet concise tips for big band drumming that I've never been taught about -_-'. My teachers did teach me about big band figures, etc, but never about short/long note; figures over slash notation vs main rhythm notation; rhythmic setup; etc. So I just learned by ear, literally :D. THANK YOU!
Awesome Iwan. I’m glad to hear that you got something out of this great lesson by Stockton👍🏾
@@drumqtips I just ordered his books as a result of this video.
Very good lesson ! :-)
Thanks for watching Simon!
Excellent instruction-Big band drum instruction has been very limited in the past-You are bringing light and simplicity to an art that is rare. Keep up this instruction. Thank you
Glad Stockton's lesson was helpful Stephen!
@@drumqtips You are welcome. Great job bringing him to your channel and of course you do a great job also with all your constitutive videos- great job. Wish I could take lessons from you.!!
Quincy Davis is the young Alan Dawson of the 21st century… Thank you guys so much.
Ha! I’ll take that compliment. That’s very kind of you Chris. Thank you🙏🏾
@@drumqtips Yes, I will purchase some lessons, and QD music next week and get busy . I’m excited because you’re unlocking musical mysteries through what Dr. Greg Carr calls “the momentum of memory !”
Great video. You guys mentioned Mel Lewis. He’s probably my fourth favorite jazz drummer of all time. I love his playing on Sonny Stitt Blows The Blues.
I'm with you Tate. Mel's definitely one of my favorites too. Thanks for watching!
Just got a Big Band Gig and this is coming from you... what a timing!
Awesome Simon!!
Stockton is a fantastic player. I had the opportunity to discuss with him at a jazz camp near the beginning of my jazz playing and he directed me to some great music to listen to. Literally transformed into a jazz player after I had been focused on rock for years
Awesome to hear Xander. Stockton is great!
My experience with him was terrible. He was my bandleader one year for all-state when I was in high school and he was a complete asshole. He told kids they couldn't play their instrument and the music he brought in for us to play was basically all his. A lot of us went to schools with bands where most could hardly play. We missed an opportunity to play shit we actually wanted to. All i wanted was to play swinging basie shout choruses and we had to play his songs about his turtle. Oh yeah, he also brought his CDs in so we could get signed copies which we had to pay for and he brought in his bandmate to play with us on a song. He used it as an opportunity to promote his career, not educate.
Awesome demonstration! It gave me a lot of ideas for piano comping as well, I think this lesson can work for pianists as much as drummers, as the piano is also a percussion instrument, and is part of the rhythm section. Thanks for sharing!
Awesome! Yes, piano is definitely a percussion instrument, but a lot pianists don't realize this unfortunately. Glad you do! Thanks for watching:)
Reading your comment I remember reading about a Cuban conguero who, dissatisfied with the melodic possibilities of conga's, changed to piano while, around the same time, a Cuban pianist, dissatisfied with the sonic possibilities per pianokey, started to play conga's instead. Can't remember their names but the complementary story's stuck.
Nice to see a shout out to the 1 oclock in a youtube video
Great stuff. Would be nice to hear his breakdown of more of that Etude. Cheers!
Thanks for watching Tim!
@@drumqtips - It's been good to discover you! :)
I was just asked to join a Big Band (based on my small group playing with some players who are a members of the BB I guess!?) and I am LOCKED IN THE SHED getting ready for the first rehearsal next week. I cannot tell you what a great refresher of some of the must-know basics this video was!! Even the stuff I knew, now I know I knew it…..and that’s as valuable mentally as the tips themselves. Getting up there to swing 15 guys requires confidence and this video gave me just that and specifics to practice as welll! I just wanted you gentlemen to hear from a satisfied customer :-) I’m checking to see if Stockton’s etude book is available in Japan (must be somewhere…!) and one way or another an order shall be placed. Cheers!!!🎶
Glad it was helpful!
I've learnt a lot of jazz in this channel
I’m very happy to hear that Mario👍🏾
Blakey made a comment once to a group of young drummers at a drum clinic. He said quote, ‘ I don’t know anything, I just play. They wanted technical explanations. Instinct is very important, and can’t be taught.
Absolutely true! Music can’t actually be taught, just concepts and approaches. Thanks Chuck!
AMAZING! You just gave us the "recipe" to success...I now feel better prepared to "cook." This lesson was informative and invaluable! I will definitely follow up on the social media platforms and resource materials. THANK YOU...THANK YOU...THANK YOU!
Glad it was helpful!
Sounds amazing! What’s a figure? What’s a rhythmic setup?
Thanks so much, guys. That was so clearly explained and demonstrated, and fun to watch. One question: I've read that Dave Tough was respected as a big band drummer, and I have his paradiddle book but I've never heard a recording of him. What was it about him that musicians from Buddy Rich to Charlie Watts admired?
Dave Tough was a wonderful drummer for small groups as well as big bands. Check out his amazing discography from his Wikipedia page: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Tough#Discography
@@stocktonhelbing Thanks again!
awesome stuff! Simple but powerful. You're great educators guys!
Off topic question, but do you think it is already a time to change the head on that floor tom? Those wrinkles appear so quickly to me on that kind of heads.
Some drummers never change their heads because they like the worn-in sound. Thanks for watching!
I'm always struggling with this in latin cascara styles... May you help with a video in the topic? Latin big band
You should check out the video I did with Jose Aponte on clave flow. I think it might help you.
Any introductory lists of big band drummers? Or general big bands?
Check out Stockton’s big band book. He has a great list on the back of it.
Hey Quincy, exciting video. I got a little confused about the notes though. On the chart there was very little notes compared to what was played on the drums. Was it the over all melody-rhytm? And then you can fill in around it? Extreme metal drumming is my main playing style but I would like to get more colors into it and still "keep it simple". You videos are really helpfull :)
HI there. I'm not sure I fully understand your question but thanks for watching!
@@drumqtips I'll try in a diffrent way, english isn't my first language :-)
I refered to the sheet music shown while you guys played the drums. There were only a few notes shown in the sheet music. Are the notes "simulating" a band so to speak and you are supposed to play whatever in the blank bars and then hit the few notes together with the band?
Hope you get what I mean :-)
@@casperthomsen5450 Yes, you are on the correct path. The figures on a big band chart show what the band is doing, but it is up to the drummer to then play time and set ups around those written figures to complement the music and the band. What is written on a big band drum chart is maybe only 30% of the information needed to play successfully. The rest is found, first and foremost, by listening to and playing along with the rich history of big band music. I recommend starting with a Duke Ellington or Count Basie album. Best wishes!
@@stocktonhelbing Thank you for the answer 😁 that was exactly what I meant. I might listen to some of Duke Ellington and Count Basie👍
How do I know what drum or cymbal to use when looking at the music notation?
It’s up to the drummer to orchestrate to their liking.
How do you play the two consecutive eight notes written above the staff? Two shorts ot two longs?
2 Shorts
@@drumqtips of course... thanks!
Q Tip!?!?()
Arigatou!
or u could listen to the music! lol
That’s absolutely the best we all can do for sure. That’s why it’s the first thing Stockton mentioned👍🏾
Buddy rich.....400 times ! I'm 70 yrs old. Many drummers try to play like rich.....all fail 😢
Can’t argue that Gary!
…you lost me at “sterile” … and I left the building at “razzle dazzle” … there are no rules on how jazz players address each other, and your esteemed guest is a great educator - but “sterile” as a term for the main voice of the drum set just doesn’t work - for me, anyway.
Okay Mr. Bronx🤣. Thanks for watching!
@@drumqtips no other thoughts or views?
I used "sterile" in terms of "harmonically sterile" - non-clashing - with the harmony. "There are no rules on how jazz players address each other." What are you even talking about? This video is trying to help people learn more about the joys of big band music and big band drumming. All about encouraging folks. I'm sorry you found this all so offensive. It's actually amazing to me how you could! Go do you. Good luck.
02:50 False. "If you want to get into big band drumming, Listen to big band drumming, 100+ times". This means you do not understand, or teach well, if you have to force students to experience, rather than simply read and write, and worse, insisting it needs to be experienced "100+" times (a six minute track would be many hours of unfocused effort). Reading and written analysis were invented for exactly this reason. Horrible lesson and horrible instructor if it starts out with the #1 tip that a student must WASTE hundreds of hours of their time before even beginning to study.
Thanks for sharing your opinion.
If you wanted to be a quarterback in the NFL, yet had never watched a football game before, then reading a book on how to be a quarterback would be pretty confusing. My college professor, who played in many professional big bands, suggested listening to the big band tradition first and foremost before studying a book or manual on it. I also found that to be helpful and I've played in many professional big bands and on many big band recordings. So, by all means, please share your big band drumming discography and then maybe we will consider your opinion.....
@@stocktonhelbing Count your fallacies.