In my opinion, no drum set education is complete without some sort of jazz study. To ignore jazz is to ignore the first 50-60 years of the instrument. First drummer to use a kick drum, first drummer to use a hi-hat, first drummer to use a ride cymbal, first drummer to use two kicks drums - all jazz drummers.
I've started studying jazz in the last couple of years and I can categorically state that it has enhanced all aspects of my playing and has given me a much bigger vocabulary to be creative with. My background is in playing punk, hardcore and into prog rock and I've been playing for 20+ years. The main two things that I have worked on have been the rudimental ritual and Ted Reed's syncopation book. The best bit is that I know I've just scratched the surface and I'm in this for the rest of my life.
I started Jazz lessons in the early years but went straight into playing in a Brazilian Batucada band then a Rockabilly swing band, Afrofunk band and ultimately in a Theatre band, all required dynamic control and textural playing, swing rhythms, break down sections and colour, not sure I could have done it without the Jazz ears.. Cheers Nate, you had fun making this one we can tell..
The instrument started to make sense on a whole different level when I began to practice Jazz drumming. I am so glad I can now for the first time really appreciate creating small melodies and solos rather the creating only loops (which I love too). I feel like having much more balance and cohesion on the kit as well after incorporating the hi-hat into the playing.
My first drum teacher graduated from Berklee in ‘66 so jazz was mandatory for me. He also made learning to read/write mandatory as well. The background in it lets me adapt to many different styles.
Hey Nate, thanks for the awesome videos. I was wondering: did you ever look into the playing of black midi's Morgan Simpson? He plays unlike any other drummer I have ever witnessed, and I would love to learn more about his playing, but -- as a less experienced (jazz) player -- I find it hard to find a place to start. If you're interested, it would be awesome to see your analysis/introduction of his style and chops. If you're not familiar with him or his band, I'd check out their live performances -- e.g. tracks like 'bmbmbm', 'Ducter', and 'John L.'. Cheers!
Incredible band, incredible drummer and he must be all of 19! I predict he'll eventually be regarded as one of the best ever, once the rest of the music world wakes up to him and this amazing band.
Jazz developes all the skills you need for any other genre and far wider than any other style for that matter. Independence, dynamics as you said, chart reading(in big band/large ensemble playing), the importance of the quarter-note in a groove and far more. But it also allows you to peek into the history of music over the past 100 years, as in my opinion jazz was the first style of worldwide popular music culture.
The older I get the less I wish to hear someone beating the snot out of the kit. I want to hear the subtlety and the nuance. I want to hear the drummer elicit, tease, and conjure music from the instrument. For this I needed to add jazz to the listening and hopefully one day to my playing.
I studied jazz, its invaluable if you want to work professionally. I'd actually take it a step further though. After getting work with a blues band a few years back, it made me wish I had taken time to study blues first.. There are so many different shuffles and a part of American music history. Young drummers, myself included, want to play the chop stuff though 🤣🤣. Looking back, it would have been great to study blues music first to understand jazz a bit deeper, giving context to American music, and its history. My jazz feel definitely improved after playing lots of blues gigs, thats for sure..
I started out playing in a punk band 44 years ago I now play in a jazz trio with stand up bass player I love jazz but I still play punk rock and fusion and heavy rock it all translates the most important thing is your grip I use traditional left hand French right hand for jazz …for heavy rock it’s German …for anything in between like funk fusion pop etc it’s American…it’s easy to train yourself to respond to the music.. you don’t even need to think about it . If you love every genre you’ll learn it and find a way to use it ..
Totally agree jazz is feel texture dynamics & technique it also trains you to listen to what the other guys in the band are doing and embellish those moments....And I've played and play punk/ rock/surf/and reggae...Great insight 🥁
it’s no coincidence that drummers in other genres who have a bit of a background in jazz are some of the best players in their genres. It’s why Kenny Grohowski is undoubtedly the best death metal drummer. It also just naturally makes your playing much more tasteful.
Study jazz to learn touch, then study marching percussion to learn how to play with the met and put some energy into the drum, then start a 311 cover band.
Excellent video as always, every instrument player should have some jazz courses in a moment of his learning: to learn what jazz brings to music and to learn improvisation. For myself, as a drummer, it helps me to play with dynamics and softly in acoustics gigs but it also helps me to build solos (I study a lot of Philly Joe Jones and Max Roach solos and there are some greats licks to learn in those solos)
I'm not even going to pretend that I'm a good jazz drummer when I come from a self taught rock/pop background. But a coworker who was also a drummer inspired me to check out some of the great jazz artists of the past and my god I never would've realized the influence it would have on my playing. When just doing some improv blues/rock jam sessions I've been complimented by some if the other musicians for jazzy playing. Others will take notice and it can only be beneficial to you.
It all depends on what you ultimately want to play, combined with your overall musicality, and natural abilities. Some drummers will study jazz and never end up being musically relevant. Some drummers will study jazz and will end up musically relevant Some drummers won't study jazz and will end up musically relevant Some drummers won't study jazz and won't end up musically relevant.
I’ve been playing a long time but I don’t seem to progress. I had a jazz teacher when I was 5 and that grip and a few Tom grooves haven’t left me. They actually feel most natural. Where to from here? I’m 50 and in Australia
Let me first say I love your channel. Always entertaining, educational and humorous. I am a rock drummer from way back. (70’s) The only jazz that I played was with a swing band and also a vintage pop jazz band. 30’s and 40’s jazz standards from the great American Song Book. So those styles are a little more straight forward than BeBop or advanced stuff where everyone knows where the 1 is, but no one is playing it. I approached it by just playing my own way, of coarse while supporting the music. For me, I guess I will always sound like a rock drummer playing jazz. But In my opinion, that’s better than listening to a jazz drummer trying to play rock!
There's that famous quote, from that famous drummer: "too rock for jazz and too jazz for rock" .. I think he had a pretty successful career integrating the 2...
Some awesome studio drummers who studied jazz, but aren’t heavily associated with it: Al Jackson Jr., Earl Palmer, Steve Jordan, Matt Chamberlain, and Jim Keltner. I think that the creativity, sensitivity, spontaneity, and coordination learned from studying jazz made all of these guys great choices for work with songwriters and recording artists.
Jazz is the beginning of knowledge, the gateway to unbound expression and as diverse as most other genre combined. How does one study music at all without considering genre? Jazz is the elephant in the room, it is the girl that is too pretty so nobody ever asks her out because they assume she has better offers. So go ahead, say hi and don’t forget to smile and be yourself, deep down she’s not so complicated or as mysterious as she might seem at first. In fact once you get to know her, you will realize how familiar she has always been.
I will never call myself a jazz drummer by a longshot but in the context of our rock band, all the points you raise are things I apply to the stuff we do... The dynamics is definitely a thing... I remember going to jam nights in a tiny pub nearby. It was just a 2 block walk and I figured out a way to strap the tom and floor on one end and the kick on the other and just sling the whole thing over my shoulder. Hat stand and gig bag in in one hand, hats and crash ride in the other and I would walk in and have my shit setup in minutes. One night the guitar player sat behind my kit and said "Wow! you can keep it down to our level with that rig!!" And yes, the kit is tuned pretty lively, the crash-ride is my go to cymbal for loud stuff and I like huge maple sticks. That allows me to lay it heavy if I want to or just let the sticks do their little tappiddy dance around the kit and still have great tone without drowning out the band. It's all about the control!! I love my rides and playing them while still getting a Bonham like chick out of the hi-hats is the most rock and roll thing to do if you ask me! I had Bloodshot Bill who's a well known one mand band rockabilly act from Montreal tell me once: "I've never seen a drummer with so many cymbals play them so smartly!" That pretty much sums it up with the first point, each has it's sound and comes in the right spot when the dynamics call for it. Last point also brings back the previous one... I've had bandmates call me out on not playing enough straight rock on the hats... then I do and they're like "Oh crap, that sounds kind of empty... Could you do something heavier?" I come back to the previous groove and that nails it!! Also, drum tuning is not what other drummers on gigs we share shoot for. My current guitar player says we get the sound he likes because we like the old blues stuff and I tune like the old had jazz cats that played in those blues bands!!
Listen to a song called disease injury Madness by the band Between the Buried and Me. Blake Richardson will demonstrate to you exactly why you even need jazz in metal Edit - or basically any animals as leaders tune
Does anyone know a good shared practice space in sausalito/ San frascisco? Please help me drum guys!
Pinning this
In my opinion, no drum set education is complete without some sort of jazz study. To ignore jazz is to ignore the first 50-60 years of the instrument. First drummer to use a kick drum, first drummer to use a hi-hat, first drummer to use a ride cymbal, first drummer to use two kicks drums - all jazz drummers.
Totally agree
Amen
I will agree with that.
Amen
Bill Ward - period
I was a rock and metal drummer for years before college, and then started studying jazz. It has made my playing so much more musical and locked in
Very cool!
A 80/20 Drummer and Zack Grooves collaboration? I’m in!
Yesssssss we need to see that happening...
I've started studying jazz in the last couple of years and I can categorically state that it has enhanced all aspects of my playing and has given me a much bigger vocabulary to be creative with. My background is in playing punk, hardcore and into prog rock and I've been playing for 20+ years. The main two things that I have worked on have been the rudimental ritual and Ted Reed's syncopation book. The best bit is that I know I've just scratched the surface and I'm in this for the rest of my life.
I started Jazz lessons in the early years but went straight into playing in a Brazilian Batucada band then a Rockabilly swing band, Afrofunk band and ultimately in a Theatre band, all required dynamic control and textural playing, swing rhythms, break down sections and colour, not sure I could have done it without the Jazz ears.. Cheers Nate, you had fun making this one we can tell..
The instrument started to make sense on a whole different level when I began to practice Jazz drumming. I am so glad I can now for the first time really appreciate creating small melodies and solos rather the creating only loops (which I love too). I feel like having much more balance and cohesion on the kit as well after incorporating the hi-hat into the playing.
My first drum teacher graduated from Berklee in ‘66 so jazz was mandatory for me. He also made learning to read/write mandatory as well. The background in it lets me adapt to many different styles.
Hey Nate, thanks for the awesome videos. I was wondering: did you ever look into the playing of black midi's Morgan Simpson? He plays unlike any other drummer I have ever witnessed, and I would love to learn more about his playing, but -- as a less experienced (jazz) player -- I find it hard to find a place to start. If you're interested, it would be awesome to see your analysis/introduction of his style and chops. If you're not familiar with him or his band, I'd check out their live performances -- e.g. tracks like 'bmbmbm', 'Ducter', and 'John L.'. Cheers!
vouch. morgan’s becoming one of my fav drummers of all time
Incredible band, incredible drummer and he must be all of 19! I predict he'll eventually be regarded as one of the best ever, once the rest of the music world wakes up to him and this amazing band.
@@rayboreham2648 23 now, 19/20 when the band blew up 🤯
Thanks for setting that straight. Whatever age he is, brilliant!
One of my favorite bands, and Morgan’s drumming is always a pleasure to listen to
Jazz developes all the skills you need for any other genre and far wider than any other style for that matter.
Independence, dynamics as you said, chart reading(in big band/large ensemble playing), the importance of the quarter-note in a groove and far more.
But it also allows you to peek into the history of music over the past 100 years, as in my opinion jazz was the first style of worldwide popular music culture.
Mitch Mitchell. Another rock drummer with jazz roots.
The older I get the less I wish to hear someone beating the snot out of the kit. I want to hear the subtlety and the nuance. I want to hear the drummer elicit, tease, and conjure music from the instrument. For this I needed to add jazz to the listening and hopefully one day to my playing.
I studied jazz, its invaluable if you want to work professionally. I'd actually take it a step further though. After getting work with a blues band a few years back, it made me wish I had taken time to study blues first.. There are so many different shuffles and a part of American music history. Young drummers, myself included, want to play the chop stuff though 🤣🤣. Looking back, it would have been great to study blues music first to understand jazz a bit deeper, giving context to American music, and its history. My jazz feel definitely improved after playing lots of blues gigs, thats for sure..
“Jazz is a lifestyle” Tony Williams. You could study it all you want but you can’t swing it until you live it. But it will help your drumming😎
I started out playing in a punk band 44 years ago I now play in a jazz trio with stand up bass player I love jazz but I still play punk rock and fusion and heavy rock it all translates the most important thing is your grip I use traditional left hand French right hand for jazz …for heavy rock it’s German …for anything in between like funk fusion pop etc it’s American…it’s easy to train yourself to respond to the music.. you don’t even need to think about it . If you love every genre you’ll learn it and find a way to use it ..
Besides jazz actually being fun to play, Jazz drumming vocabulary predates rock vocab. Early rock drummers studied, listened to and played jazz. :)
Coming straight from watching one of Zacc's videos made this intro super fun to watch lol
Another jazz drummer brining new stuff to another genre, Vince Rogers in Tera Melos.
This video was at times confusing, but very enriching and made me a better musician.
Just like jazz. Kapow.
Jazz has completed taken over my studies, all of the other genres slowwwww dowwwn when you play jazz even at a moderate speed.
Totally agree jazz is feel texture dynamics & technique it also trains you to listen to what the other guys in the band are doing and embellish those moments....And I've played and play punk/ rock/surf/and reggae...Great insight 🥁
it’s no coincidence that drummers in other genres who have a bit of a background in jazz are some of the best players in their genres. It’s why Kenny Grohowski is undoubtedly the best death metal drummer. It also just naturally makes your playing much more tasteful.
Facts. Also, Sean Reinert (RIP) from Cynic was a die hard Weckl fan and it SHOWS
Study jazz to learn touch, then study marching percussion to learn how to play with the met and put some energy into the drum, then start a 311 cover band.
So true. Good information for sure.
Excellent video as always, every instrument player should have some jazz courses in a moment of his learning: to learn what jazz brings to music and to learn improvisation.
For myself, as a drummer, it helps me to play with dynamics and softly in acoustics gigs but it also helps me to build solos (I study a lot of Philly Joe Jones and Max Roach solos and there are some greats licks to learn in those solos)
I'm not even going to pretend that I'm a good jazz drummer when I come from a self taught rock/pop background. But a coworker who was also a drummer inspired me to check out some of the great jazz artists of the past and my god I never would've realized the influence it would have on my playing. When just doing some improv blues/rock jam sessions I've been complimented by some if the other musicians for jazzy playing. Others will take notice and it can only be beneficial to you.
My man rocking a bass space 22 shirt
I've said it before and I'll say it again. I absolutely love your video essays, on any topic. Fun and informative. Blessings, friend
" make a jazz noise here "!
Sounds Good.. How Does One Start LEARNING it.?? What Advice do you have for Me..? u play nice brother..!
It all depends on what you ultimately want to play, combined with your overall musicality, and natural abilities.
Some drummers will study jazz and never end up being musically relevant.
Some drummers will study jazz and will end up musically relevant
Some drummers won't study jazz and will end up musically relevant
Some drummers won't study jazz and won't end up musically relevant.
Any listening suggestions for the rock drummer wanting to hear jazz? Preferably artists that are on Bandcamp.
gracias
I’ve been playing a long time but I don’t seem to progress. I had a jazz teacher when I was 5 and that grip and a few Tom grooves haven’t left me.
They actually feel most natural. Where to from here?
I’m 50 and in Australia
Let me first say I love your channel. Always entertaining, educational and humorous. I am a rock drummer from way back. (70’s) The only jazz that I played was with a swing band and also a vintage pop jazz band. 30’s and 40’s jazz standards from the great American Song Book. So those styles are a little more straight forward than BeBop or advanced stuff where everyone knows where the 1 is, but no one is playing it. I approached it by just playing my own way, of coarse while supporting the music. For me, I guess I will always sound like a rock drummer playing jazz. But In my opinion, that’s better than listening to a jazz drummer trying to play rock!
What region were you playing in?
@@shovedhead Ontario Canada
This is awesome, thank you!
There's that famous quote, from that famous drummer: "too rock for jazz and too jazz for rock" .. I think he had a pretty successful career integrating the 2...
please. please please. do a video on danny carey from TOOL at some point. he studied jazz and is known as one of the greatest drummers of all time
Some awesome studio drummers who studied jazz, but aren’t heavily associated with it: Al Jackson Jr., Earl Palmer, Steve Jordan, Matt Chamberlain, and Jim Keltner. I think that the creativity, sensitivity, spontaneity, and coordination learned from studying jazz made all of these guys great choices for work with songwriters and recording artists.
I think it woulda been awesome if when you click on the video you just said, “Yes” and the video ended
And ... .. The finger snap lives!!!
Jazz drumming has its place. The pocket.
This video was modern art
Learn the Tony Williams 5-stroke ride pattern & apply it over a straight 4 feel… boom! You’re Johnny Guerin.
Nice!! Thanks! 👍👍👍
4:48 can I have sheets to this exercise pls??
They don’t exist. The exercise is to improvise with your left hand and right foot while keeping constant 8ths with the left foot ;)
Jazz is the beginning of knowledge, the gateway to unbound expression and as diverse as most other genre combined. How does one study music at all without considering genre? Jazz is the elephant in the room, it is the girl that is too pretty so nobody ever asks her out because they assume she has better offers. So go ahead, say hi and don’t forget to smile and be yourself, deep down she’s not so complicated or as mysterious as she might seem at first. In fact once you get to know her, you will realize how familiar she has always been.
cringe
bro calm down jesus christ touch grass
Do a metalcore cover. Something by Invent Animate or Northlane
yea?
Rock without swing is a March
True story if you level up your Jazz drumming touch sensitivity, you automatically go up a level in being able to get your woman off
Of course it helps.
I will never call myself a jazz drummer by a longshot but in the context of our rock band, all the points you raise are things I apply to the stuff we do...
The dynamics is definitely a thing... I remember going to jam nights in a tiny pub nearby. It was just a 2 block walk and I figured out a way to strap the tom and floor on one end and the kick on the other and just sling the whole thing over my shoulder. Hat stand and gig bag in in one hand, hats and crash ride in the other and I would walk in and have my shit setup in minutes. One night the guitar player sat behind my kit and said "Wow! you can keep it down to our level with that rig!!" And yes, the kit is tuned pretty lively, the crash-ride is my go to cymbal for loud stuff and I like huge maple sticks. That allows me to lay it heavy if I want to or just let the sticks do their little tappiddy dance around the kit and still have great tone without drowning out the band. It's all about the control!!
I love my rides and playing them while still getting a Bonham like chick out of the hi-hats is the most rock and roll thing to do if you ask me! I had Bloodshot Bill who's a well known one mand band rockabilly act from Montreal tell me once: "I've never seen a drummer with so many cymbals play them so smartly!" That pretty much sums it up with the first point, each has it's sound and comes in the right spot when the dynamics call for it.
Last point also brings back the previous one... I've had bandmates call me out on not playing enough straight rock on the hats... then I do and they're like "Oh crap, that sounds kind of empty... Could you do something heavier?" I come back to the previous groove and that nails it!! Also, drum tuning is not what other drummers on gigs we share shoot for. My current guitar player says we get the sound he likes because we like the old blues stuff and I tune like the old had jazz cats that played in those blues bands!!
Another reason: improved left (off) hand.
Jazz should always be a course of study for any serious drummer... why? Because the roots of all modern drumming come from Jazz/Swing.
Studying different Bags Is Like Speaking 4 -5 or 6 Languages..
Too many young drummers don't know how to swing a cymbal or play dynamically either!
Listen to a song called disease injury Madness by the band Between the Buried and Me. Blake Richardson will demonstrate to you exactly why you even need jazz in metal
Edit - or basically any animals as leaders tune
Yes, please stop, we do not need two Zack Grooves.... but we do need two Nate Smiths. 😂
Guys... It's pronounced "Chazz"..... Gosh...
I'm a total amateur drummer, but when I sit down at a drum kit my instinct is to play jazz