How to Stay in the Pocket with The Pocket Queen | Drum Lessons
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ก.ย. 2024
- Guitar Center Lessons presents Taylor Gordon (a.k.a. The Pocket Queen) as she breaks down some of her signature techniques on the drums. Here, Taylor explains what the "pocket" is, and she demonstrates how small timing adjustments in a drum pattern can make it feel like a completely different groove.
GUITAR CENTER LESSONS
Playing music is our passion. Guitar Center has thousands of certified, expert instructors across the country who can help you cultivate your own identity and create a curriculum that's uniquely designed for what you want to learn. Guitar Center Lessons are available for all skill levels and offer personalized one-on-one music lessons online and in person for guitar, bass, drums, piano, DJ, and more. From beginner to the more advanced, we will help you grow as a musician.
Learn more and schedule your first lesson with us today! www.guitarcent...
More tips from The Pocket Queen...
Techniques Overview: • Drum Techniques with T...
How to Hold Your Sticks & Keep A Beat: • How to Hold Your Drums...
How to Create Magical Moments on the Drumset: • How To Make Magical Mo...
Keep up with The Pocket Queen: / thepocketqueen
#GuitarCenterLessons
Technique is the concept that she's teaching ! You'll be surprised how many drummers have taken off without learning technique and the rudiments ended up being sloppy drummers! that's why she's the pocket Queen
Like Larry Mullen Jr... oh wait...
Any recommendations so I can avoid being sloppy?
@@RGE_Musicpractice your singles, doubles, paradiddles and flams. Those are the most important imo. Keep those clean. Practice having clean rolls which is made from doubles. That’s probably all you need to conciously keep track of on the drumset.
1:10 first version
2:35 (after the slow version, kinda improvised)
3:13 second version "totally different"
4:00 third version "laid back"
Notice she swings a bit harder towards the end of the speed up.
That's what I hear; a bit more swing and bounce added in during the speed-up. She sounds like she would be alot of fun to jam with, that's for sure. 👍
Love this woman! Putting on for all of us female music enthusiasts
U gotta pretty smile 😊
@@GODSSON365247 thanks, Randy. The little one with the hoop gear is awesome.
Even the way she speaks has groove...
Super classy lady 🎶🎶
@@truthfirst1893 you ll0
Absolutely! She definitely deserves the title of Pocket Queen! I'm most amazed at how well she explains everything. She's clearly very intelligent and analytical and people like that, I find, are often not great teachers. Here's for the exception to that!
So true
I wanna marry this lady!
Finally an intelligent drummer that tells the truth and realizes the craft is more than just beating a drum head...it's that pocket and steady combination of rudiments that form consistent grooves
Rudiments have ZERO to do with groove. 🤦🏻
I had to revisit this video and it amazes me that her explanation of pocket is she just lays back.. analyzes the situation while interacting with other humans, blah blah blah. If I was a 12 yr old trying to figure out what she means I’d be like wtf you talkin about?? This is why social media drumming celebrities shouldn’t try to “teach”... f this nonsense
JuJu from E.U. is the best. That DC go-go scene back in the day, was all I heard.
@@patrickellerin111 she gives better advice than you, you just sound bitter
What's a groove and pocket in layman's term? Sorry I am a noob
that snare is so clean it gives me chills. excellent
Crispy, it is.
I've always felt really strongly about the philosophy she's explaining about "the pocket" and the difference behind staying in time and feeling the pocket and exploring what's possible. I'd been playing acoustic for about 3 years before I was introduced to the "band kids" in high school. I couldn't have looked at music more differently than they did. It seemed as if they were robots and would get bent out of shape going off the transposed sheet music and improvising with feeling. A very small percentage offset from them were all percussionists and could hang with whatever you felt like trying and feeling out. It's the difference in persona from a 1st chair orchestra seat at the philharmonic and someone in, let's say, a blues band who knows enough to chop but can't read music. I've always been with the latter and do realize it's short comings but haven't ever compromised my passion for technical theory and disciplined page turning so to speak. What's really awesome is how the legends usually know both lanes and can cut up with whoever is playing like Jaco or Fleck or even Mozart for that matter. Can anyone relate to the disdain for theory over passion and also admit that they regret not learning to read?
that’s why i, an allstate-level orchestral cellist, am really thankful that i also learned saxophone and have been in jazz band for 5 years or so, meaning i learned how to improvise and discovered the art of feel. i’ve applied that philosophy of applying technique to myself in general to learning other instruments, like how piano is teaching me right hand flexibility as well as finger and hand independence, bass teaches me the art of groove and stretches out my left hand, and drums is teaching me limb independence and to better understand rhythm. if i hadn’t explored other areas of music i’d be one of those robots that didn’t know how to make the music their own. even in a full 100+ person symphony where the cello section has 15 people and as such there’s not much room for deviation, you still have to interpret the notes through your own body and your own instrument.
i know that music is art, not exact science. realizing that is what separates good musicians and great ones.
reading music is a great skill to have, but it’s not end all be all. also, it’s not too difficult, especially with prior music experience.
music theory, however, is dull and doesn’t compare to just learning through experience.
My GOD that snare. Crispier than kit kat and yet lighter than popcorn. You know the tuning is on point when the tempo drops but you can't help but feel the groove.
She definitely knows how to tune those heads!
Get out of here with your poetry! So good! 😅
That mug POPPIN!! 💯
❤❤😅😅😅😅😅❤❤
You're a bass player's dream come true!
Lol fr
Mos Def
@@raeblae3225 en riiffdpijzdossiwlmjjv
@@luquann ok
That's what I was thinking..
Yep, pocket is the feel. It's not loose, but it's what quantization kills. I love her approach of deciding what feel is needed and then playing to create that feel. My bass playing improved when I internalized that. Not better chops but the right chops played with better feel.
That snare sounds so crisp * - * thanks for your knowledge Pocket Queen, I wish you were my drum teacher.
Perfect. A song drummer. Bernard Purdie for our times. Love it. Exactly how I try to play. No flash. This is pure class. 👍🏼
She’s Bernard ? Really?
@@thephobos9907 i think he means shes representing what bernard purdie represented at his tume. Which is fair enough. Its not like pocket is a mind blowing concept. It just has a lot of nuance that she has mastery over
@@yamsang0__0 she isn’t a good drummer imo. You can tell by watching her play. It’s not smooth, it’s mechanical and twitchy. Maybe I need to re listen to it or check out more of her stuff, bc for me this isn’t it
@@thephobos9907 but she IS a good drummer. I’m not sure what your definition of “good” is but maybe you’re looking for flashy 32nd notes and double kicks and etc. the whole point is that she can give the beat a swag which is something even more technical drummers can’t even do lol
She’s solid, but Purdie is next level
A real master of her craft, respect.
💀
Thanks so much. You are a fabulous drummer. As a kid of the fifties, loved my fifties rock and roll, but funk beats don't come naturally. I have played this with you now a hundred times learning some funk awesomeness!
Music is less about what’s on paper and more about feelings and how it makes you feel. However you still have to keep time with a steady groove.
In love with this drummer!
lol
It’s that feeling of living in the moment, waiting in anticipation on the next move to make. All that “free time” you get when you’re right on track. Just makes you wanna wiggle a bit in the mean time.
You will be surprised how many drummers can do rolls chops but can't keep pocket
Preach
IMO pocket is the hardest part of music, for all musicians. If everything is quantized and dead on the click it’s much simpler, but if you want music to groove staying in that zone where everything is in its specific spot relative to the beat without dragging/rushing is a challenge. Say you’re playing behind the beat and your bass player starts to drag…do you snap him back in place or run with it? These are the sorts of decisions that set world class musicians apart IMO
Yea I’ve had dudes who drummed perfectly to prog metal and couldn’t keep a simple swing blues groove consistently.
@@ConcreteKOS to be fair, it’s actually extremely hard, which is why professional musicians spend most of their time practicing that and not playing polyrhythms in 17/16. The typical “prog” drummer just learns the basic pattern and thinks they’re done; they don’t even know what they don’t know.
Buddy Rich: hold my coffin.
I love how happy she is while she’s doing this. That makes it more enjoyable as a fan.
What I hate are the people who thumbs down videos simply because they didn't get something that they wanted out of it. That you are more advanced, or didn't up your game by watching, doesn't mean this isn't a good video demonstration of pocket. I hope those who do learn and enjoy this video can see the value here and enjoy this video.
Or not everyone has the same opinion as you.
Taylor !! Always love seeing the Pocket Queen 👑 ❤️
Yall..........I was bopping my head the whole time😂😂
How am I just now seeing this video? I LOVE Pocket Queen, and sometimes like Guitar Center! 🤩🤩😀
Pocket is such a vague term, and I feel like this video explains it okay, but some people might not get it unless they already kind of know what it is. She mentions the "dictionary definition" of pocket, and then highlights what pocket means on a subjective level, which I think is meant to emphasize the fact that there's much more to the term than its most basic technical definition.
Personally, it seems like most people are using it to describe not only consistency, but also having a good sense of the subtle rhythmic and sonic nuances of playing a given note (often in relation to what the other parts of the rhythm section are doing). For instance, Flea talks about landing his bass notes on the "o" of a kick drum pop. I think pocket is like knowing whether to play on the first "p" or the "o" or the second "p," depending on who you're playing with and what song you're playing. It's mere milliseconds, but it really changes your perception of the song.
If you want to see that subtlety in action, I recommend watching Rick Beato's video on quantization, where he essentially ruins the groove/pocket of Bonham's drumming by changing where the drums hit. It really changes the feel and even the tone of the drums.
th-cam.com/video/hT4fFolyZYU/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=RickBeato
Exactly. Rick's example is great. That's also a good quote from Flea. Bass notes blossom (even with a pick) so it makes a big difference how that lines up with the kick even within a phrase to make it breathe.
Awesome! Thanks for this. It really helped.
I LOVE TO SEE HER GROOVE!!😎 I'M A FAN MS. POCKET QUEEN!! ☺
That ending 😍😍😍 as a drummer, nothing but respect. That was an excellent tutorial.
Works in rock music too, ask Nick Mason about the space in between. It the part that makes you feel like you're floating.
I also play drums and have new Orleans roots I could feel and gear that new Orleans in your foot in the bass drum to me that's the key to taking off and going into other places but still staying in "pocket"...to be simple your bass is awesome I felt the spirit...your amazing
Shane
Shane's is 3😀😁😃😀
Love her teaching style. Super rad
Amazing. So smooth. Love her vibe
1:13 straight groove
2:44 second line feel
3:18 hi hat time lag
I think of the second line feel as strongly swung. The last one is very subtle, left hand delays to create the elusive “half swung” feel.
I think all drummers/percussionist have a collective appreciation for really good technique when we see it and the appreciation I have for the stick/hand control is really high for her. All it took was that thumbnail
This Chick is a whole vibe, truly a queen
Damn makes me wanna pick up a drum set haha I’m a guitar player
She said it... it’s about feel and groove. Locking eyes with the bass player and just laying it down. It’s when your beat is consistent but your body starts to move. It moves you. Literally. Great video. Just wish I could get my snare to pop like that. Time to smash down on the resonant heads lugs. Yo beat yo!
Tama slp dynamic bronze! Great sounding snare
been a fan since the first time i saw one of her instagram videos. amazing feel to her playing.
That thing at the end with that bass bounce was ESPECIALLY fiery. Does this woman have a TH-cam channel?
th-cam.com/users/ThePocketQueen
she's so fly. I love that
Liking the snare tuning👌
She's absolutely right. The pocket may involve lots of speed, variation, and rudiments but it is above all else GROOVE AND FEELING. If u not feeling the time then u can't stay in time.
Lawd that SNARE!!!!! 🙇🏽♀️🙇🏽♀️🙇🏽♀️🙇🏽♀️🙇🏽♀️
The space in between! Perfect explanations.
My goodness that snare drum, WOW !!!
It looks like the slp dynamic bronze. They don't sell them anymore unfortunately.
Love it ....Taylor Gordon (a.k.a. The Pocket Queen) Ima remember that name! ❤
My old manager at s music shop who was an exceptional drummer always pointed to "Hold the Line" as the best example of in the pocket drumming.
She’s a machine. 👑
The pocket is a fluffy pillow you just lay into
Man. Watching this makes me want to pick back up the snare drum and relearn to play it. Shout out to the "Pocket Queen."
My fav one!!!! The Queen!!!!!!! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
One of my favorite drummers and easy on the eyes 😍✌🏽
To me the pocket is magical and a term used to loosely for those who don't truly know what it is. She's on the money when it comes to feeling.
She’s from my hometown,New Orleans. So she naturally has that New Orleans funky drummers groove instilled in her. I come from a family of drummers. My uncle Jesse Hill was a famous New Orleans drummer and there are my cousins Herlin Riley and Joseph Lastie. Both renouned New Orleans drummers. And let us not forget, the great Jonathan Moffet. Michael Jackson’s former drummer. We’re proud of you my young sister. Keep the groove funky.
Pocket Queen is the G.O.A.T!
Pocket Queen indeed!
The most important thing you indicated here is the space between the notes.
That can refer to groove, pocket, feel, laying back, or whatever. But what is it exactly? It's the variance in that space when it comes to 16th notes. Everything else is on the grid, and it must be. The 16ths? Yes and no.
I've examined to date quite scientifically where the upbeats lie (for this I'll define those as '2 and 4'), downbeats ('1 and 3') and accent beats (everything in between-the 8th and 16th notes) in over 250 different popular recordings. (ignore 12ths, 24ths, 32nds, etc). I actually measured it. (Hey! It became a hobby. Sue me)
Why did I do this? What I was playing at first sounded too mechanical. Too 'quantized'. I was playing patterns, the same hits and fills, as Steve Gadd and Buddy Miles, but what were they doing that sounded so better? I was trying to be rhythmically perfect, and I was, but I sounded like a bad drum machine from 1972. So I had a mystery to solve.
The secret I didn't know was where the even-numbered 16ths lie. The whole, half, quarter, and 8th notes all fell directly on the grid. That's important. That's the frame of reference for the even-numbered 16ths. You can't play 'behind' or 'ahead' of the beat-if you are the drummer, you are the beat. You're the frame of reference for everyone else. Try to play behind, or ahead, they adjust, moving things back to on the beat.
But in every single song I examined, the even-numbered 16ths (the odd-numbered ones are actually 8th notes) did not fall on the grid. They fell 8 to 33% late, depending on the song. And every single song did this to some degree. This was the secret. Those 16ths in any song are consistently that late. In every song, they fall a precise percentage late.
8-17% isn't consciously noticeable by listeners. But it's there, and this is what our unconscious mind responds to, bc that is where emotion lives. That's what gets their heads bobbing and their toes tapping. What they perceive as 4/4 is really a skewed version of 4/4. Triplet swing is the same as delaying those 16ths 33%. Most jazz delays them about 25%, and most rock delays them about 17%.
If we ignore the triplet kick beats in your last example, the rest is very close to triplet swing based specifically on where the even-16th accents fall. Most things don't get that far away from the grid, but there are songs from almost everyone, that do, even including rock giants like Led Zeppelin.
5:05 thats all I needed in my life
Omfg the last 30 seconds!!!!!! She can’t be human!!!!
Them micz on point!!!
You are a joy to watch! I love your smile as you play like a little girl with her toy, evidence of your mastery and majesty! One of my favorite drummers is NEAL PERT of RUSH, do you have any covers of RUSH songs? Also, FENCE WALK by MANDRILL, RAPPER DAPPER SNAPPER by EDWIN BIRDSONG, SO MUCH LOVE by NORMAN CONNORS, SHO YOU RIGHT by BARRY WHITE, DO YOUR DANCE by ROSE ROYCE, BELLY DANCER by THE ISLEY BROTHERS, LET'S START THE DANCE by BOHANNAN, SOUL MAKOSSA by MANU DEBANGO, and HOW GLAD I AM by NANCY WILSON? If you can only do 2, please do BELLY DANCER and SO MUCH LOVE?
She's just Awesome ! 😊🥁
Technique, dynamics, and fun
Oh my god!! I'm in love!! 💕Marry me pocket queen!!! Y'all stop watching this video that's my wife y'all are checking out!!!
That kick drum sounds amazing. Got that vintage pillowy compressed ringo kinda sound.
Great lesson! Her lesson makes pocket fun!
very intelligent musician!
That was amazing and I don’t even drum. It did give me ideas of how to improve my rapping and poetry
She is super smart and super funky
She’s a badass! Great lesson
Yo she’s one of my favorite drummers
Dang like a slice of butter on a pile of flapjacks smothered in soul
What happens is you learn about space...When to strike,when to rest,when to hold it,how long,and how many times.That's the same exact situation which goes on with DJs that can spin all types of music equally,because they understand the pocket,the space,when to layer,when to subtract.
Layering and subtraction isn’t to do with timing that’s to do with the arrangement
She's a true master!
Pocket should be standard but you'd be surprised how many think they have it or think it just means timing. It's so much more. It's having absolute control of tempo itself from within in unison with mind, body and soul, being able to minipulate tempo and transform it into 'feel', whereby that feel becomes rocognisable by other musicians and music lovers who know your style for example; if somebody heard a band play on radio or cd, they would recognise the drummer for their feel because their pocket has become their signature. Shorten pocket (neo soul) , stretch pocket (laid back) and on the pulse/beat(quantised/standard pocket. Learning all these comes with plenty of practice but only when you are aware that your pocket needs work. So many think a good drummer is one who can chop, chop, chop but it's not, it's the drummer who can manipulate pocket and train themselves in tempo sensitivity and hold to create grooves that are solid, stank face solid.
Was she a church drummer ever? Seen so many insane church drummers in the city in Philly. Those players are pocket players for sure.
For sure, my brother and a few other Philly drummers I know. My son is learning
@@kellymurphy7914 hell yeah. Played gigs a lot in my early 20s 10 years ago in west Philly and playing Easter Sunday service in a gospel church is still the highlight of my short musical career. The interplay of those musicians is insane. We had a glorified jam session and I loved every second. That’s how church should be! Was used to white people church my whole life which is cool but gospel church.. you feel it!
ive never heard of the pocket queen, i have no idea how i landed on this video, but dammit im a fan
Does staying in the pocket also mean keeping the same tempo? Or does it mean progressing smoothly faster or slower as long as you can keep the feel steady?
those hi-hats are glorious
Nice job queen! 👑
4ever luv the pocket queen
This is awesome. Way more helpful and applicable than learning how to play a 5:3:2 polyrhythm with a clave ostinato on your left foot, truth be told. 😂
Great lesson! More please!
Absolutely amazing
The beat at da start had me groovin yo
What a lovely smile!!!!!
My daughter's got her new drums set up at Guitar Center
Okay, I love everything about this girl ❤
She is so sweet you just want to hug her
She slows the tempo and the timing is DEAD ON! Awesome.
Shes really right about this, i feel the same way and have pocket too
And y'all THAT'S why she's the QUEEN!!!!😁👸🏽🎶🎙🎺🎸🎷👍🏿🥰
I love. The. Way. U are. Teaching the. Beat.
LOVE LOVE LOVE Taylor Gordon #ThePocketQueen
I don't know if it's the groove or the tone of the kick but it reminds me of Try Again by Aaliyah. Great lesson!
I'm a big fan. You live in the pocket! I have that same snare. Guess you have great taste too 😋
That jacket/shirt combo is dynamite
A national behind the kit and camera!
She’s awesome. My rhythm must be absolutely terrible though, because all three sounded exactly the same to me.
The 2nd and 3rd play-throughs of the groove feel like they swing more than the last, and certainly more than the 1st.
It's subtle, but it's there.
Me 2. But im addicted to her videos
Un grove super sympa !. merci (in France)
That snare sounds amazing
She is the best