Here's how to play chops : - Learn single stroke - Learn double strokes - just do random stuff with those two rudiments, fast enough so no one notice you don't even know what you're doing
How to exponentially improve your chops 1) learn a few 3-8 note groupings (RLK, RLLK, LRLLK, RLRLLK, etc.) 2) practice those grouping in different subdivisions (16th notes, triplets, sextuplets, etc.) 3) move it around the kit to see what it sounds like with different orchestrations 4) try combining those groupings in 1-4 bar phrases. Start simple (how many groups of 3 and 4 can you fit together in 2 bars? If playing 16th notes, how many different ways can you add 3 and 4 to equal 32? You can do this for any subdivision for any length of time) 5) use your smaller groupings to create larger groupings (3+4=7 or RLK+RLLK= RLKRLLK) 6) develop your own patterns and groupings to personalize your chops Do that for a long time, and boom, youre now chops MaGee. Zack is right, it all sounds the same at some point, and if you listen to enough chops players, they are doing everything mentioned above, and executing it at a high level. Love the vids zack, keep it up. P.S- try less dick jokes lol.
Hey.. I just read your reply and it probably the best reply I’ve ever gotten in the internet all my life… Thank You I have a question,for the 3-8 note groupings,am I supposed to play any of the notes as a ghost note?(Like RLLK-I play LL as a ghost note)or just play it like Zack did till I’m up to speed?? I anticipate your response in earnest 🙏🏾🙏🏾
@@roghenejoel6793its all up to you! thats the beauty of it. you can do whatever you want with the ornamentation of the notes. try out different combinations and see what you like
Zack did great summation of what I have always thought but was not able to put in words. My theory; you could take two books and become better than 95% of all drummers out there. 1. George Lawrence Stone's Stick Control, (working all the stick patterns around the drums). 2 Any simple, well written book of drumbeats; ie John Pickering's The Drummer's Cookbook; working every conceivable hi-hat and cymbal combination you can come up with. I've been drumming for at least 57 years. I can't ever remember using a fill I learned off of TH-cam. I work on them sometimes, but rarely enough to where they become part of my repertoire. By doing the two things I mentioned above; cool and creative fills and "chops" will automatically come out of nowhere, often as much a surprise to yourself as to anybody listening. The soundman for our band is also a drummer. The other night after the band finished, he said, "Man you did some cool stuff I've never heard before." I said, "Yeah, me too."
1:51 *1000% agreed* One of my all time favorite drummers is Kosuke Kamata, he never does what the majority of people do when we think of "Chops" but it's always extremely unique and creative. I know it goes down to taste and subjective opinion but what matters to me most is creativity and originality *with* rudiments more-so than speed
I’m by no means an expert here but one of my good friends also told me to work on R L L and L R R as a pattern as well and even after a few days I’m starting to get the desired sound. It’s important to practice the dynamics and really accentuate them (very low stick heights when not accented, almost inaudible).
Add kick. My favorite sticking - RLRLLK. It can sound cool as a fill and it can sound cool as a groove. You can try different dynamics - RLRllK, RlRllK, rlRllK...
Hey Zack. As a rock/metal drummer, you are the the one inspiring me in jazz drumming. You are the answer for my question "What the heck am I supposed to do with only one kick pedal?". Keep it up, you're doing awesome! 💙
How do you get such clean and consistent double strokes from your kick? Could you do a video explaining what techniques and exercises you do to develop foot independence and stamina?
Man those accent are on so satisfying like you're doing A LOT of amazing chops and ghost notes, shuffles and still manage to hit those accents perfectly. You're a GOD
Rudiments and technique are certainly important with this amazing instrument, but I've got to say man you purely play as "you" and a drummer that can play like themselves behind the kit is a true artist, phenomenal!
I always respect someone who is prepared to sit in front of a camera and say "I am an idiot". We all are sometimes. Just recognise it and keep practicing.
People always call me a basic pocket drummer. But now thanks to this video I’ve been equipped with the tools to level up and blow my haters out of the water!
Firstly Zack - awesome video as always dude, i love your approach, playing and humour! Secondly - 5:03 - from my years working in drum shops in the UK you'd be amazed how many thin cymbals i've had turn up inverted like that by bad courier services! Easy enough to flip them back in. When i was young and naive i asked the guy i worked with what this "weird china cymbal" was when a cymbal arrived inverted, only for him to laugh himself silly and take it off me and pop it back the way it should be... oops haha!
The fundamentals thing couldn't be more true. It's all about singles, doubles and that's it! Taking it slow and focusing on this again has made drumming change and become more fun again!
its really just the amount of work you put into it. I had terrible consistency until I just sat there for a week and did only double strokes for an hour each day
Seriously the best way I've ever heard it described. Every other video about this subject tends to completely over complicate it. Thankyou for this man!
Totally agree, after maybe 2-5 min of chops, they all sound the same, cuz I mean continuous 16th/32nd notes repeated is gonna get old. So, could you make a video on how to play a good drum solo? Not a chop battle drum solo, but a melodic musical one
Zack it looks like you need to be a little more careful. Hi hat injuries are not common but can happen. When they do you will be shocked. These injuries can vary from cracking or breaking to inverting. What we saw today was your hi hat invert. I would recommend fix it up as fast as you can. We are lucky it didn’t crack. If you feel comfortable you can try and fix it yourself but I recommend taking to a professional to fix it. We hope your hi hat is alright. :)
@@ZackGrooves my drum teacher was a hardcore jazz drummer who learned from danny gotlieb and he always played heel down but he knew i wasnt a primarily a jazz player so he taught me heel up. as long as the drummer is consistnt and doesent hit extra kicks after the beater stroke if you know what im saying than to me it doesent matter
"...if you haven't practiced your singles then you need to grow up..." thx for speaking the truth brother. as allways it's the fundamentals that will get you ahead.its the first of your videos im watching. pretty rad stuff! thx alot for this one and future advice \m/-_-\m/
I loved this video! This type of drum content is perfect for moderate to expect skill levels cuz you’re talking about things in terms of vague modular tools you can apply to pretty much any drum. Good shit, dude!
sticking is playing extra strokes on one hand (RRR) for example to free the other hand for movement or Crash hit in this case. I learned this in marching band snare. Its important.
So true! I can’t play that fast. But I know the reason is that it’s because I still just suck at cleanly playing up tempo. I haven’t spent nearly enough time time on those basic hands and feet. I love that line you said, “if you haven’t practiced your singles, then you need to grow up.” I know that was mostly a joke but some people need that exact sentence for real!
Thank you for this video, been here since 5k! My personal issue isn’t speed or moving around. I did high school Marching Band so rudiments were mandatory. My personal issue is timing. It’s amazing how you can freely move but stay in time. I feel like whenever I do that I lose time and come back offbeat. Metronome isn’t helping 😂. Any suggestions? Idk what I am doing wrong.
Zack; I just happened across a video of you learning to play Sax in 10 minutes and now here. I have been playing drums for 30 years, I have no chops. Your video has brought back some basics of thought for me to take home and work on. Spent years learning rudiments and performing in orchestras, and bands....but never developed beyond "making the cut". What you say here, rings with me! Basics, tighten 'em up, get up to speed! Paradiddle was my favorite rudiment as I developed it into my own groves and solos. Need to do that with RLKK! RLRLKK! With that said, I still have not figured out how to double kick on a bass....to save my life. :(
I’ve been playing for 9 years and I’ve never learnt my double strokes. Any advice guys? Is it simply about patience and discipline or am I just a dumbass lol
Check Rob Brown, Gordy Knudtson for some excellemt insights. Most people will tell you about accenting 2nd stroke, but rarely go in any particular depth I feel. Unlocking clean doubles is really satisfying. And once you get that solid even sound going it gets super addictive, and motivating to work on. The "4800 double strokes" excersise made by Rob Brown gave incredible results for me in just a few days. After 1 year of doing this, lets say 1-3 times a week I am blown away by the results. Combine this with getting into different diddles and you will be set for life : ) Good luck!
It's all about the basics. Thanks man, this was actually really helpful. I am a guitarist and I take the same approach with speed building, arpeggios, rhythm and strumming, etc.
Here's how to play chops :
- Learn single stroke
- Learn double strokes
- just do random stuff with those two rudiments, fast enough so no one notice you don't even know what you're doing
Fr?
What about bass drum? What are chops without bass drum?
Fried Panda chops are rudiments with kicks in between
Joel Sparkowich duh
stop exposing me bro
How to exponentially improve your chops
1) learn a few 3-8 note groupings (RLK, RLLK, LRLLK, RLRLLK, etc.)
2) practice those grouping in different subdivisions (16th notes, triplets, sextuplets, etc.)
3) move it around the kit to see what it sounds like with different orchestrations
4) try combining those groupings in 1-4 bar phrases. Start simple (how many groups of 3 and 4 can you fit together in 2 bars? If playing 16th notes, how many different ways can you add 3 and 4 to equal 32? You can do this for any subdivision for any length of time)
5) use your smaller groupings to create larger groupings (3+4=7 or RLK+RLLK= RLKRLLK)
6) develop your own patterns and groupings to personalize your chops
Do that for a long time, and boom, youre now chops MaGee. Zack is right, it all sounds the same at some point, and if you listen to enough chops players, they are doing everything mentioned above, and executing it at a high level.
Love the vids zack, keep it up. P.S- try less dick jokes lol.
This is a really good explanation. I love it. Thanks for sharing!
PS: no, u
why less of those jokes :(
@@ZackGrooves nice
Hey.. I just read your reply and it probably the best reply I’ve ever gotten in the internet all my life… Thank You
I have a question,for the 3-8 note groupings,am I supposed to play any of the notes as a ghost note?(Like
RLLK-I play LL as a ghost note)or just play it like Zack did till I’m up to speed??
I anticipate your response in earnest 🙏🏾🙏🏾
@@roghenejoel6793its all up to you! thats the beauty of it. you can do whatever you want with the ornamentation of the notes. try out different combinations and see what you like
I have literally never seen a hi hat invert like that while playing
It’s pretty common with bigger hi hats. That’s why some people put a splash cymbal under the bottom hi-hat as well.
It looks like his bottom hi hat is bigger than the top hi hat
No one has😭😭
Wait am I really getting memed or that was true? Lmao
Ever been in marching band?
Hey I think I love u?
Bruh
Brethren
Saxologic Lmao
Simp
this is different kind of step bro action
I can’t wait for this channel to blow up more than it already has
Right??
Same. I hope hes aa big as twoset violin or davie bass guitar guy.
@@marksayosmejia7251 he's got what it takes and he definitely deserves it
@@musicwithsilviaabreu6599 i already have the bell notif turned on.
It's already happening!!!!!
RLKK
Me:hmmm
RLRLKK
Me:hmmmm
Zach: let’s put them together
Me: WOAH WOAH WOAH HOW WOAH
i cry
I can always predict when the “YOU NEED TO GROW UP” scene is coming 😩😀
Love this punchline 😄
Just popped my cherry on that one! Nearly spat me tea out lmfao I need to grow up
Zack did great summation of what I have always thought but was not able to put in words. My theory; you could take two books and become better than 95% of all drummers out there. 1. George Lawrence Stone's Stick Control, (working all the stick patterns around the drums). 2 Any simple, well written book of drumbeats; ie John Pickering's The Drummer's Cookbook; working every conceivable hi-hat and cymbal combination you can come up with. I've been drumming for at least 57 years. I can't ever remember using a fill I learned off of TH-cam. I work on them sometimes, but rarely enough to where they become part of my repertoire. By doing the two things I mentioned above; cool and creative fills and "chops" will automatically come out of nowhere, often as much a surprise to yourself as to anybody listening. The soundman for our band is also a drummer. The other night after the band finished, he said, "Man you did some cool stuff I've never heard before." I said, "Yeah, me too."
Can we take a minute to acknowledge zack wearing a dragon ball tshirt...
The boi got taste
No
I have the same one on rn
no
Aniruddh Gupta shut up
Aw, Zack looks sad that his saxobro moved away.
:(
1:51
*1000% agreed*
One of my all time favorite drummers is Kosuke Kamata, he never does what the majority of people do when we think of "Chops" but it's always extremely unique and creative. I know it goes down to taste and subjective opinion but what matters to me most is creativity and originality *with* rudiments more-so than speed
Awesome! Thanks, Zack!
2:32 is just Zack showing off his muscles 😆
I’m by no means an expert here but one of my good friends also told me to work on R L L and L R R as a pattern as well and even after a few days I’m starting to get the desired sound. It’s important to practice the dynamics and really accentuate them (very low stick heights when not accented, almost inaudible).
Agreed! Thanks for writing in!
Add kick. My favorite sticking - RLRLLK. It can sound cool as a fill and it can sound cool as a groove. You can try different dynamics - RLRllK, RlRllK, rlRllK...
Hey Zack. As a rock/metal drummer, you are the the one inspiring me in jazz drumming. You are the answer for my question "What the heck am I supposed to do with only one kick pedal?". Keep it up, you're doing awesome! 💙
oh man, when somebody has hella skin flute chops, amazing
I’m like Travis Barker on the skin flute
@@pokerdealer2003 i bet you ar lmao jk
I saw no other comments on this and it almost made me wonder if I was the only one who knew what the skin flute is
How do you get such clean and consistent double strokes from your kick? Could you do a video explaining what techniques and exercises you do to develop foot independence and stamina?
have you seen the size of his legs? that's how. don't skip leg day.
He’s just talented. It’s not even a concern. It comes naturally with learning to play drums. - Practice good times bad times
Has a lot to do with the pedal too. I had bad doubles on my cheap pedal, then I got the DW 9000 and mine are fast and clean
Literally just practice.
try wearing heavy shoes and use high spring tension.push your foot down once then drag it back.that works for me at least.
Man those accent are on so satisfying like you're doing A LOT of amazing chops and ghost notes, shuffles and still manage to hit those accents perfectly. You're a GOD
Rudiments and technique are certainly important with this amazing instrument, but I've got to say man you purely play as "you" and a drummer that can play like themselves behind the kit is a true artist, phenomenal!
I always respect someone who is prepared to sit in front of a camera and say "I am an idiot". We all are sometimes. Just recognise it and keep practicing.
Instructions unclear, opened a butcher shop by accident.
People always call me a basic pocket drummer. But now thanks to this video I’ve been equipped with the tools to level up and blow my haters out of the water!
30 seconds in and I’m just like THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!
You're the GOAT of drumming youtubers
Firstly Zack - awesome video as always dude, i love your approach, playing and humour!
Secondly - 5:03 - from my years working in drum shops in the UK you'd be amazed how many thin cymbals i've had turn up inverted like that by bad courier services! Easy enough to flip them back in. When i was young and naive i asked the guy i worked with what this "weird china cymbal" was when a cymbal arrived inverted, only for him to laugh himself silly and take it off me and pop it back the way it should be... oops haha!
You’re the first person to answer my question about how to speed up chops and what chops even are. Thank you!
Omf this video reminds me of old youtube... i love it
I’ve been looking forward to this all week
You inspired me to play the trumpet with this video. Keep doing what you're doing, Zach.
Zack is the human definition of the perfect drum teacher. No "don't do this or that". Its just 100% wise words.
yeah he’s not teaching someone who just started learning. bad technique leads to poor progress, which dominos into disinterest
Tldr: Man has a seizure playing drums
Love u
One day @ZackGrooves is going to be the biggest drum youtuber in the world...keep making this sshhh............ t I LOVE IT
MAD SKIN FLUTE CHOPS
GROW UP
The fundamentals thing couldn't be more true. It's all about singles, doubles and that's it! Taking it slow and focusing on this again has made drumming change and become more fun again!
Great vid bro. Ur my favorite drummer
Yessir your definition of chops is the definition I go off of as well. Fluidity around the set, jazz daddy
Make a vedio on how to play that first chops that you played like fire 🔥🔥🔥, were the Speck guy got shocked 😂😂😂😂..
Always one of the best drummers
its really just the amount of work you put into it. I had terrible consistency until I just sat there for a week and did only double strokes for an hour each day
3:51 the drum face is strong with this one.. i would like to have even only the face as cool as yours :D cool vid btw
Hey Zach, great work. Keep choppin
5:05 wtf lol
I LAUGHED SO HARD
A good teacher doesn’t teach what to learn but how to learn. Thanks chops man
Im gonna start praying to you at night whether you like it or not
hopefully it will make me a jazz master like you
All that knowledge in 5 min. Amazing work!
First time I see this @5:02 . Note to self: Don't skip leg day.
P.S.: Jumps cuts = Chops
1:53. Dude's right. Play only chops and you'll fall into a pattern. You'll notice your fills repeating, accents repeating too
The most chill drum channel out there
Im am glad to have it clarified that nobody knows what chops means
I honestly still dont know what chops mean 😂 I just practice and play lol
I want to hug this Man and never let go
Just sayin, I’m here before he blows up and becomes the next best YT funny drummer
cringe
@@paranoidandriod he's just saying
Haha, that intro! Love the creativity of this channel. And those CHOPS!
I think the next thing I want to know is how do you know when it's appropriate and how much chops to use
Seriously the best way I've ever heard it described. Every other video about this subject tends to completely over complicate it. Thankyou for this man!
4:31 4:40 Stop the wink bro I can't even lol
No I kidding I wanna hear more of that groove at the beginning
Best drum channel on TH-cam
Totally agree, after maybe 2-5 min of chops, they all sound the same, cuz I mean continuous 16th/32nd notes repeated is gonna get old.
So, could you make a video on how to play a good drum solo? Not a chop battle drum solo, but a melodic musical one
Man you make me laugh every time while joking in you're vids. :) Ty for reveal those chops! It means so much to me.Greetings from România!!!
TSCHOOOPPPSSSS
i like how you wisely goof, then break it down with facts. well done sir. and thank you
is that sean wright's chops ?? loll great job dude
ps : i mean in the intro
nice and early, love your videos btw you are a great inspiration for me. You are a beast on the drums
Zack it looks like you need to be a little more careful. Hi hat injuries are not common but can happen. When they do you will be shocked. These injuries can vary from cracking or breaking to inverting. What we saw today was your hi hat invert. I would recommend fix it up as fast as you can. We are lucky it didn’t crack. If you feel comfortable you can try and fix it yourself but I recommend taking to a professional to fix it. We hope your hi hat is alright. :)
Dawg... Like, nice that you care, but I think hes just gonna buy a new one
It’s also probably the weirdest way you could’ve said hey Zach be careful about you hi hats
This is why I love drums. Everything can be broken down into the most basic fundamentals.
Ok I get the sticking and all but what about our kick? I always end up just throwing it anywhere and I feel like it sounds bad
Yeah, usually I don't even use the kick when I'm fooling around unless it's completely random
Here I am, watching a random TH-cam video... and you're playing to one of my tracks! Would love a full video dude, you're fantastic!
What technique do you use when it comes to doing fast kicks? (Heel toe etc.) Love the content man, keep it up!
I play heel up! Never really knew it was a thing until someone pointed it out to me. It’s how I’ve always played haha
@@ZackGrooves my drum teacher was a hardcore jazz drummer who learned from danny gotlieb and he always played heel down but he knew i wasnt a primarily a jazz player so he taught me heel up. as long as the drummer is consistnt and doesent hit extra kicks after the beater stroke if you know what im saying than to me it doesent matter
@@ZackGrooves do you have your heel up for both feet? Because I need help with my hi-hat /left foot speed
"...if you haven't practiced your singles then you need to grow up..." thx for speaking the truth brother. as allways it's the fundamentals that will get you ahead.its the first of your videos im watching. pretty rad stuff! thx alot for this one and future advice \m/-_-\m/
YUUUURURRRRR
you a 66samus fan?
Sammy Loehnis OHHHH YURRRRRRR
OHHH YURRRRRR!!! 🤘🏼😈
Bro I’ve actually watched all of your videos so many times now. And as a starting drummer you inspire the hell out of me THANK YOU
i need myself a couple of exercises to do at home my dude. Im working on my fundamentals but i feel like im far away from starting to have "Chops"
I loved this video! This type of drum content is perfect for moderate to expect skill levels cuz you’re talking about things in terms of vague modular tools you can apply to pretty much any drum. Good shit, dude!
That was the goal!! Thank you man. Appreciate you!
zack made a china cymbal with his high hat stand
This is great I feel more confident now with this stuff
Me: how are your invert chops?
Zack: pretty good, look at this *inverts hi hat*
Me: ... I meant inverted diddles but this is cool
Great words Zack, I too find that hard things to play can be made easier by perceiving it differently.
If my drumming was on par with my skin flute playing I would be Travis Barker.
Just throwing me penny in, F the jump cut complaints, I sub'd cause i like your edits, keeps it fresh man
Best drum lesson I have ever had, took 2 minutes.
sticking is playing extra strokes on one hand (RRR) for example to free the other hand for movement or Crash hit in this case. I learned this in marching band snare. Its important.
His cymbal was like alright imma just invert myself cause these CHOPS are too tight and he needs to stop
Whats not to love about this guy - he plays better than just about everyone commenting on here I reckon...
HOW did you do that to a hi-hat?!
THICC foot
Is it good now?
tw
Absolute BANGER of an intro
Aye but where can I get that DBZ shirt tho lmao
So true! I can’t play that fast. But I know the reason is that it’s because I still just suck at cleanly playing up tempo. I haven’t spent nearly enough time time on those basic hands and feet. I love that line you said, “if you haven’t practiced your singles, then you need to grow up.” I know that was mostly a joke but some people need that exact sentence for real!
Thank you for this video, been here since 5k! My personal issue isn’t speed or moving around. I did high school Marching Band so rudiments were mandatory. My personal issue is timing. It’s amazing how you can freely move but stay in time. I feel like whenever I do that I lose time and come back offbeat. Metronome isn’t helping 😂. Any suggestions? Idk what I am doing wrong.
Zack; I just happened across a video of you learning to play Sax in 10 minutes and now here. I have been playing drums for 30 years, I have no chops. Your video has brought back some basics of thought for me to take home and work on. Spent years learning rudiments and performing in orchestras, and bands....but never developed beyond "making the cut". What you say here, rings with me! Basics, tighten 'em up, get up to speed! Paradiddle was my favorite rudiment as I developed it into my own groves and solos. Need to do that with RLKK! RLRLKK! With that said, I still have not figured out how to double kick on a bass....to save my life. :(
What hats are those? They sound so damn good
UFLIPs
They look like Meinl Sand Hats to me
Your one of the best drummers I've seen and I love your videos
bro I literally have that same DBZ shirt
This channel is actually helping me grow up.
I’ve been playing for 9 years and I’ve never learnt my double strokes. Any advice guys? Is it simply about patience and discipline or am I just a dumbass lol
Check Rob Brown, Gordy Knudtson for some excellemt insights. Most people will tell you about accenting 2nd stroke, but rarely go in any particular depth I feel. Unlocking clean doubles is really satisfying. And once you get that solid even sound going it gets super addictive, and motivating to work on. The "4800 double strokes" excersise made by Rob Brown gave incredible results for me in just a few days. After 1 year of doing this, lets say 1-3 times a week I am blown away by the results. Combine this with getting into different diddles and you will be set for life : ) Good luck!
You are my favorite youtube channel! My love for memes and my passion for drums are both found in your humor and editing style its so amazing
5:02 that happens a lot to my crash
It's all about the basics. Thanks man, this was actually really helpful. I am a guitarist and I take the same approach with speed building, arpeggios, rhythm and strumming, etc.
How to be a good drummer if you're a naturally good drummer. >.
Hard work beats talent if talent doesn’t work hard
no
@@joelsparkowich6892 lol
Digging your channel... Your a machine bro
CHOPS
I would just at accents and taps / non accents to the short list of fundamentals
Great content brother and seriously amazing playing.
Zack: How did that sound? Did it sound crazy? I think it did.
Me, who thought it sounded good: 👁👄👁