Introduction to the learning and basic methods of jazz drums (Part 1)
Jazz drums can bring the atmosphere of the scene to a high-spirited state, and can also show a calm and serene situation. In gospel music Jazz drums play an important role.
Jazz drumming is quite difficult because it requires four limbs to be separated, which is like four people playing four instruments at the same time. Moreover, amateur drummers make up the majority in churches, and their practice time is definitely not enough to compete with professional drummers. compared to. Therefore, the most important topic in learning jazz drums is how to pick out appropriate and applicable chapters to practice, and then you can put them to use immediately. In short, it means how to be your own teacher and learn how to ~educate yourself~.
1. How to hold the stick:
1. The hand movements start from holding the stick. Incorrect holding method is usually the main reason that makes future progress difficult. However, there are many ways to hold the stick according to needs, and you cannot limit yourself to 1 or 2 ways to hold the stick.
2. Mainly divided into traditional, symmetrical and other grips. The only difference between the two is the left hand. The traditional holding method is to gently hold the drum stick between the thumb and index finger of the left hand (at the tiger's mouth) and swing it up and down. Symmetrical grip: The left and right hands have the same grip. The drum sticks of both hands are in a figure-eight shape. The upward angle of the back of the hand is not necessarily the same. Taking the right hand as an example, the upward angle of the back of the right hand is different when hitting Hi-Hat or Ride Cymbal. For the left hand, the upward angle of the back of the left hand when hitting the snare drum or floor drum is also different.
3. In order to achieve sharp sound in Latin music, 13-inch short Latin drum sticks are commonly used. At this time, the tail end of the drum stick touches the heart and is struck with the thumb, index finger and middle finger of both hands.
4. At the beginning, hold the stick with ease. Do not squeeze hard, which may cause tendon damage. In addition, improper use of wrist force may cause the Tom Tom's drum beats to be cloudy and the Hi-Hat beats to be unclear. shortcomings. 5. There are many ways to hold the sticks. Sometimes you may hold two drum sticks in one hand as needed, so no one holding method is absolutely correct.
6. There are various lengths of holding the stick according to needs, but it is best to hold it at 1/3 of the end of the drum stick. Those who want to increase strength can hold the end.
7. If the head of the drum stick is damaged but you still play the drum, it will easily cause dents in the drum skin and the sound of the drum will not sound good. Drum sticks are consumables, so do not begrudge them when they need to be replaced.
8. If there is black dirt on the head of the drum stick, it will be easy for the black dirt to stick to the matte surface of the snare drum when playing the snare drum. In this way, when you want to play with the drum, it will be difficult to play perfectly. rustling sound effect. 2. Types of drum sticks: There are various types of top drum sticks. For example, the drum sticks commonly used by church jazz drummers are as follows:
1. Drum brush (Brush), commonly known as drum broom: There are metal and plastic Depending on the material of the bristles, the percussion sound is delicate and soft. It can be used in places where the volume demand is small, such as soft music, small spaces, and traditional choir churches.
2. Rute: It is made of thin bamboo strips tied together. Its percussion sound has a rustling sound, and the sound quality and volume are between drum brushes and ordinary drum sticks.
3. Ordinary drum sticks (Sticks): The appearance is divided into thickness and weight. Generally speaking, heavier drum sticks are used for heavy drum beats, but drum drums are more difficult to use.
4. Cotton mallets (Mallets): The front end of the drum stick is made of cotton or rubber. The percussion sound is low, steady and solemn, so the floor tom (Floor Tom) has the taste of timpani. If used on cymbals, it will produce a soft and dense ringing sustain effect, which can create a soft and heavenly effect.
5. Latin Sticks: The front and rear ends of the drum sticks are the same thickness, and there are three types of lengths: 13 inches, 15 inches and 16 inches. They are used to hit Cowbells and Timbales. Wait for the rhythm sound effects to have a warm and joyful feeling.
3. Percussion posture:
A drummer's drumming posture can probably reveal his percussion level. How to say it:
1. The upper body is not straight and the left and right shoulders are unbalanced.
2. The height of the drum chair is not appropriate, resulting in poor pressure points for the left and right feet, uneven drum beats, and difficulty in opening and closing the Hi-Hat.
3. The arms are stiff and unable to swing to the rhythm of the music. The movements are stiff and inelastic, causing back pain easily and making it impossible to play for long periods of time. 4. Playing the drums only with arm strength and poor wrist strength will result in muddy drum beats (especially floor-standing Tom Toms with soft drum skins), and Hi-Hat's shortcomings of unclear drum beats
brittleness.
4. Basic Exercise 1: Take root downward and bear fruit upward. (Isaiah 37:31) Top
1. Basic technique is a very important key in the future. If you ignore this exercise, it will be difficult to practice many rhythms
The drum is the loudest, Tom- Tom's voice was unclear, so Solo was even more difficult. No matter how long you have been learning to play, you can never stop practicing basics, and the same goes for basic practicing of tambourine.
2. If you want to improve your drumming skills or make a career out of drumming, the National Association of Rudimental Drummers published the 26 basic percussion exercises (The 26 rudiments) in 1933. , which is the most basic course. If you want to cover the snare drum skills of symphony and military music, then the 40 rudiments published by the International Drummers Association in 2000 are a must-have skill.
5. Basic Exercise 2: Roll Drum (Roll) is also called broken drum or rolling or combo
There are many basic exercises, but Roll Drum is in the transition and rhythm ( Especially Swing, Samba, Fusion) are used in many places. In the technical examinations of classical or modern orchestras and music percussion departments, drum drum is a required subject. The wheel drum sounds simple, but the skill of the wheel drum can easily reflect the level of the player. It can be seen that the wheel drum is a very important part for the drummer.
Usually there are two categories of drums:
(1) Open Roll: Hit one dot at a time or two dots at a time with one hand, allowing the left and right hands to Take turns tapping in a circular motion.
(2) Close or Press Roll: Using the elasticity of the drum surface, the drum surface can bounce freely by pressing down with your fingers, allowing the drum surface to emit a short continuous sound.
The basic practice process of wheel drum should be practiced in a cycle from slow to fast to slow, and you should be able to control the intensity of the drum sound at will, using (1) finger flicking or flicking (2) wrist bending and stretching ( 3) The elbow is raised and raised (4) The arm swings freely with the stick, forming a beautiful and natural striking action.
6. Rhythm practice: If you skip the basic technique practice and go directly to the rhythm course, your future study will be very difficult. In terms of rhythm playing, it takes more time to practice a rhythm well than others, and the rhythm produced may not be pleasant to the ears. I remember when I was learning drums more than 20 years ago, the teacher taught basic exercises on the pad for 2 months and 8 lessons, during which he didn’t even touch a real drum. And only the beginning of the right hand was taught (the exercises starting with the left hand were not taught). Although I complained a lot at the time, I am grateful now because the basics were all there at that time.
7. What is a fill in:
The so-called fill in is when the singer or performer reaches a certain space in the song or wants to take a breath, and the drummer fills in to decorate it. these spaces. The content of the fill-in is very important. Over or under will destroy the integrity of the song. This requires the drummer’s creativity to design the phrase structure and accumulate it with experience and practice.
8. Fill-in methods: There are various types of fill-ins, such as rhythm fill-in, Hi-Hat fill-in, cymbal fill-in, rest fill-in, Tom-Tom fill-in, special sound effect fill-in.... .etc. The phrase structure of the fill-in must be able to be sung, and certain rhythms must be separated into specific fill-in methods. The movement of the drum must be accurately observed, which is called eye-to-mouth, mouth-to-hand, and hand-to-hand. The processing of the transition space is very important. Creating weird spatial foreshadowing is more fresh. Sometimes the transitions that are easy for the audience to guess and hum are familiar. Sometimes a song has countless transitions from simple to complex, giving it a layered feel. So, how do you handle it? Just use other people’s criticisms and experiences and practice to accumulate them.
9. The beginning of the song: If there is no conductor, the beginning of the song may be chaotic. Here are several references:
1. Look at the gestures of the pastor or leader.
2. The Si Qin gives instructions with a nod or a wink.
3. The drummer enters by hitting the drum stick or Hi-Hat reading, which is called Sign or Count off. As for the number of hits, it depends on the beat of the song. For example, if the song is played from the 4th beat, the number of Signs is 3 times. If the song is played from the 2nd Beat, the number of Signs is 5 times. The minimum number of Signs is 2 times and the maximum number is 5 times.
10. Ending: The following are several commonly used ending methods:
1. Stop at the same time and end with a rest.
2. Rit (Rit) ends with cymbals.
3. Ending with decorative sound.
4. The sound gradually decreases (Fade out) and ends with a rest sound.
5. Free (Adlib) ending.
11. The importance of the metronome:
When the orchestra sometimes feels that a certain player's beat is unstable during practice, sometimes it is because the player is not familiar with the music. Sometimes the natural sense of rhythm is slightly insufficient, but this problem often occurs in the drummer himself. Especially for beginner drummers who lack experience and are prone to nervousness. In addition, their tacit understanding with the orchestra is not yet strong enough, so they are prone to unstable beats. However, when performing basic exercises and rhythm exercises, using a metronome training can make up for this shortcoming, come on!!! In addition, if the congregation claps on beats 2 and 4 (snare drum sound) when singing hymns, the stability of the beat can also be increased.
12. Proficiency: How to judge whether what you are practicing is proficient enough to match with other team members?
1. The rhythm (Groove) and Fill (Fill) you practice The speed of in) can easily change from fast to slow, slow to fast, and fast to slow.
2. Can you easily sing and play the drums at the same time as you practice?
3. If the song needs to be paired with two rhythms, can the rhythm be easily changed alternately in each section during practice?
4. Singing method: 4 beats can be sung into 1 Beat 2, 3, 4, 1 and 2 and 3 and 4, 1& 2& 3& 4& or 1e&a 2e&a 3e&a,
3 beats can be sung into 1 Ti Ta, 2 Ti Ta, 3 Ti Ta or 1 and 2 and 3 again.
PS. If there is no problem when practicing with CD sound effects, it does not mean that you are proficient enough to coordinate with other group members.
Hope this solves your problem.