Thaard's one year jazz-drumming study.

I agree with this

....and jodgey4 mentioned that your snare needs to be louder.....which is absolutely not the case at all

if anything your overall volume could come down a bit .....everything should fall under the umbrella of the ride cymbal volume wise ......take the mind state of a funk or rock player and flip it inside out ....180
I have ego problems or something like that because I feel like I need to defend myself... sorry.
The second part of that was verbatim advice I gave to a friend today on jazz drumming. I should have been more clear about what I meant... in the recording, the lower tuned snare is a bit muddy, and I wanted to hear what he was playing. To add presence in this situation, the only option other than tuning (which I won't tell him how to do) would be to create an artificial raised presence of snare by raising the volume ~5%.
But in the end you are right; I should've kept my mouth shut. The balance was pretty pro, just like your playing. Anthony is much more qualified than I to make suggestions!
 
Jazz is like Chinese to me (a foreign language that I dont get and might never) but I did watch your video and the one thing that I kept waiting for you to change is your R hand grip when playing the ride. It just looks a little uncomfortable to me to have the hand open like that (palm up) and seems like you maybe use a little, tiny, miniscule, bit more energy when you play and have to turn it over to go to the hats or snare or anwhere else.

I am all for whatever grip works- dont get me wrong and I am nervous about even commenting here amongst the big dogs but I did notice it. Might just be that you only play the ride that way that seems odd to me.

Keep it up anyway. Sounds great and so relaxed.
 
Jazz is like Chinese to me (a foreign language that I dont get and might never) but I did watch your video and the one thing that I kept waiting for you to change is your R hand grip when playing the ride. It just looks a little uncomfortable to me to have the hand open like that (palm up) and seems like you maybe use a little, tiny, miniscule, bit more energy when you play and have to turn it over to go to the hats or snare or anwhere else.

I am all for whatever grip works- dont get me wrong and I am nervous about even commenting here amongst the big dogs but I did notice it. Might just be that you only play the ride that way that seems odd to me.

Keep it up anyway. Sounds great and so relaxed.
I'm using french grip with some moeller. Haven't had any problems with it. I'm working on loosening my grip though, to get a better sound.
 
Fabulous!!!! As you know, I've nothing to offer by way of credible observation or advice. All I can offer from my simple rock brain perspective is it all sounds pretty damn fine to me. I especially like tune 3. Even the fast opening fills played at low dynamic tells me you "get it".

Always in admiration my Nordic friend :)

Andy.
 
You have made great progress. Really impressive and I find it quite inspiring.

Question: In this past year of study, did you find yourself developing a passion for the music or was it simply a matter of conquering something you wanted to get better at?
 
Hi, I don't want to sound critical, don't get me wrong, just curious: Did you work mostly
out of John Riley's book(s), or did you study certain drummers, albums or tunes? If so,
which?

Oh, and good job with the play-alongs, too! To give a honest feedback, I don't think it
sounds like pure jazz playing of a traditional jazzer, but I mean it's a matter of how you
want it to sound, and a matter of where you started of course.
 
Fabulous!!!! As you know, I've nothing to offer by way of credible observation or advice. All I can offer from my simple rock brain perspective is it all sounds pretty damn fine to me. I especially like tune 3. Even the fast opening fills played at low dynamic tells me you "get it".

Always in admiration my Nordic friend :)

Andy.
Thanks Andy!

You have made great progress. Really impressive and I find it quite inspiring.

Question: In this past year of study, did you find yourself developing a passion for the music or was it simply a matter of conquering something you wanted to get better at?
At first I wanted to get into jazz-studies, but after a while I came to the conclusion that it wasn't for me, so now I'm going into music production/composition. That said, jazz definitely helped me with my groove/swing and independence. I've also discovered a lot of good jazz musicians and hidden gems in records.
Hi, I don't want to sound critical, don't get me wrong, just curious: Did you work mostly
out of John Riley's book(s), or did you study certain drummers, albums or tunes? If so,
which?

Oh, and good job with the play-alongs, too! To give a honest feedback, I don't think it
sounds like pure jazz playing of a traditional jazzer, but I mean it's a matter of how you
want it to sound, and a matter of where you started of course.
I started out with the john riley book, but soon discarded it and did my own thing instead. I studied a lot of jazz drummers, especially Tony Williams, Bill Stewart and Ari Hoenig.

"Pure jazz" is in the ears of the beholder. No one could believe what Tony and Elvin played when they started dishing out in their hay-days. I'm just doing my own thing, and people can listen to it however they want.
 
Dang Thaard those are just awesome=one year study (and man you can't go wrong with the Tony and Elvin study which sure paid off) and really nice return and your own touch-just excellent. I've just gone crazy over jazz the last few years and it is a genre that keeps escaping me-although I listen to it all the time-and man you're spot on about the independence thing. But hey I'm old I'll keep listening-I figure it's just taking longer to sink in LOL. Very talented young man and I wish you good luck and fortune with your future endeavors and journey in music production/composition. You are still going to drum though-right?
 
Dang Thaard those are just awesome=one year study (and man you can't go wrong with the Tony and Elvin study which sure paid off) and really nice return and your own touch-just excellent. I've just gone crazy over jazz the last few years and it is a genre that keeps escaping me-although I listen to it all the time-and man you're spot on about the independence thing. But hey I'm old I'll keep listening-I figure it's just taking longer to sink in LOL. Very talented young man and I wish you good luck and fortune with your future endeavors and journey in music production/composition. You are still going to drum though-right?
Thanks, yes. My main goal is to be a full time drummer, so I'm studying drums through a teacher and going to all the jams in my city. Trying to reach out you know.
 
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