The Drum Chops "Problem" Nobody Talks About

[@danlc95]

Another thing I used to teach my students was to do triplet singles from drum to drum. I used this to follow my guitarist at the end of his solo on one of our songs. Tom 2 = RLR Snare = LRL Floor Tom = RLR Tom 1 = LRL Getting from the floor tom to the Tom 1 is a bit of a challenge for me at 124bpm, but I've been lazy about really getting it down. Also, we did some touring through the Midwest last summer and I took a four piece. I just played the Tom 2 part on the floor tom and it worked fine. Thanks, Nate!

[@Q1776Q]

Just learn to lead with your other hand...for most people ...your left hand . I also have my lowest tom on the left side of my kit.

[@8020drummer]

is that not kind of what I'm doing in the second half of the video?

[@Pericles777]

Very early on I made sure whatever licks I learned i practice leading both sides and now it’s never even a thought 😂

[@8020drummer]

@@Pericles777 ok, time for both of you guys to clip me

[@Q1776Q]

@@8020drummer Yes!!!!

[@jaygee8566]

As a mostly ambidextrous drummer who started open-handed with left hand lead, I don't think I've ever had this particular problem. Quite sure I've had to work through a number of other problems that most of you haven't, though.

[@fepatton]

Started drums at 11 with a teacher who preferred open-handed with left hand lead as well. Fast forward to college, and my drum instructor walks in on my playing something that way - he gives me a withering sneer and says, "Don't do that." 😬 I've only started playing that way again recently.

[@leocomerford]

Dark Nate is really starting to rizz.

[@danielh7104]

When I practice I break the chop into the entrance (the first stroke will be the other hand to the one you just used), the sequence (left to right or right to left through the kit), and the exit, where the last stroke will be the hand you won’t be using for the next stroke). This gives eight possible combinations and I practice them all. Or did until I injured my elbow. Oh well.

[@thatdrummeroz654]

Left Hand Bark with the run down the toms was chef's kiss.

[@ILikeWafflz]

0:40 LOL That's a good way to put it

[@drummermomcjs]

Thanks Nate for an oh so useful exercise. This is just the simple exercise I have been needing for working with my bass drum doubles and chops practice. I have been working with rlrlkk, rlkk, and paradiddles substituting the kick in place of one of the hands. This will fit great with it and expand my skills even further. Great tip, thank you.

[@deanhayes81]

love the new humor aspect....love your vids anyway!

[@kushking420]

I find it helps when your done with the floor tom, i go right back to a single rim shot and continue on, or a snare ,hihat, bass fill, and back to the toms

[@jre9571]

As it’s been mentioned before… just practice LH leads. I started counter clockwise fill and embellishment practice. Mindfulness of my weak side. I also add HH accents when needed to spill the bar and get back in pocket.

[@e13enterprises]

I was practicing something today and thought of this video… Check out Smitty’s Drumset Ritual (and Alan Dawson Rudimental ritual, which it’s derived from). It’s a great way to learn to get around the drumset both R and L lead, which solves the problem described in this video as well.

[@kushking420]

Drum solo's have always been hard for me, i can only come up with about a minute of things for a drum solo, or end up playing parts from famous drum solo's. Never was a solo person, mostly groove and good fills, sometimes surprise myself with new fresh ideas over these 20 years plus of drumming

[@8020drummer]

What have you practiced?

[@mattalling4299]

So, I've been teaching for over 30 years and passing for 60, and my style had developed over the years. I have started teaching all of my students to play completely ambidextrous and thinking outside of the box and approach with a smarter nut harder approach. I play either a 4 or 5 piece kit Sorensen in the gig, abd play with my toms offset so I can keep my ride over the right side of my kick. Most of my fills are double stroke or paradiddle variations. This has allowed for some faster and smoither fills and transitions during songs. In fairness, most of the books we've been taught out of have really put emphasis on the singles stroke rolls, which, in many cases, are not going to be the most efficient way to move around the kit. Every exercise in every book I work on with my students, are practiced leading with both hands. If it starts off on the ride with the right hand and then wants you to do the and thing in the high hats, I have my students also play left hand lead on the hats and right hand in the snare to get them comfortable with both hands leading, which also helps with some of these fills and getting stuck so you can come around and finish on your low tom with your dominant hand, and pick up the high hats with their weaker hand to flow better.

[@G0ATHR0B]

If i have 2 floors, sometimes i like to reverse them just for a nice sonic differential and different options. I.e. 12 high, 16 low, then 14 low Ending on a higher pitch can really make things feel switched up in a good way.

[@aaronbones4290]

I think the kit as a circle the like snare then 1st tom 2nd tom floor tom then kick

[@krusher74]

How about when you move from drum to drum you dont have to take both hands there. Single hits on the toms with either hand. (now we start a case for more toms)

[@sytsew]

I think I get both strategies - but why avoid any ('revovery') doubles/diddles on the toms so strictly?

[@danlc95]

It's similar to the voice. When we make a statement, the voice lowers a bit before punctuation. Listen to Mike Mangini on the Dream Theater albums, and he's following the guitar/keys wherever they may go on their respective instruments. It sounds delicious becaue they nail those passages too. Mike also uses a lot of doubles around the toms, but it takes a minute to develop the second hit on those toms. For me, the doubles on toms was the code breaker. Also, you don't want to be the Logan Paul of drums, you want to be the LA Knight of drums! #YEAH

[@PeterGregoryDrums]

I enjoy your videos, Nate. One general request I have is to put these into context - either with a click, but preferably play a groove to show how you like to incorporate them into your playing. Go back to the groove, repeat. Counting off would also be helpful.

[@PorterWonacottPercussion]

I just insert drum corps vocab, and add bass splits: EPIC

[@gabrieldetoledopayne2836]

is any of this applicable since it’s all odd groupings? Maybe I’m the one that just can’t keep up here, but as far as I could tell, there was barely any examples in the video where you’re playing anything that resolves itself back to 1

[@8020drummer]

I should make a video that's a little more basic, because I agree this can be confusing without context. In very short, everything is combos, and you can plug them into multiple rhythmic contexts. Sorry if that's confusing 😅

[@gabrieldetoledopayne2836]

I think that putting a metronome to the exercises you suggest so we can play along would go a long way towards making it less confusing. Playing the exercise for maybe 30 secs at about 80 bpm would do it (we can slow it down or speed it up through the video options)

[@gabrieldetoledopayne2836]

but I also wanna say that I actually came back here to delete my original comment because I later realized how silly it was, given the context of the exercise. I’ve taken the ideas to the kit, and I’m definitely incorporating that bark on the up beat in to my playing.

[@gabrieldetoledopayne2836]

I’m new to the channel and have been enjoying the content so far man, especially appreciate the easily accessible transcriptions, keep it up ❤️🥁

[@drumsticksusa]

Paradiddle turnaround . . . and in both directions, from both ends of the toms.

[@8020drummer]

I agree! the only twist is for a really clean sound play the unaccented strokes on the snare.

[@Drew_Rumble]

Thanks for this one

[@thepractisepadchannel]

Nice! Thanks for the tip.

[@cfusilier2]

Very cool. Sometimes I feel like I’m cheating by using three toms. But, if the goal is to create more sounds, this is an easy solution.

[@goodtimejohnny8972]

I'm waiting for Kramer to come crashing through the damaged blue door. Then hops behind the kit and says "ohhhhh yeah" . Suddenly a pissed off cool-aid man busts through the wall and says "that's my line!".

[@NoRizz4238]

Very smoothe (like ERIC MOORE)

[@kevinb9790]

Rather than ending in 16th notes, play a different rhythm on the floor time (3 e + a, ..e..a..e..a, then work up to another drum/cymbal on 2 + 3 + . Or something.

[@samuelbarsi]

making me want to practice

[@38zech]

my two cents: if you only ever think about drums from a conceptual side of shapes and "right and left side," or just think about how you can orchestrate stickings, you might forget to stop and listen to what kind of melody you are shaping.

[@8020drummer]

“If you open the hood to repair the engine of your car you might forget to smell the flowers while you drive”

[@Bozha_Kapetanovic91]

Great point!

[@TomaszCiokiewicz]

In my experience ghost notes work better when you do not hit the center of the snare but closer to the rim. Makes them more ghostly.

[@8020drummer]

@@TomaszCiokiewicz depends what you’re going for. If you want that modern “clean” sound, center is crucial. I recommend everybody master the center first, so they have control, then they can do what they want

[@theofficialdrumcovers]

unique

[@jmw1409]

Hilarious stuff but also … back to the woodshed

[@YOUARESOFT.]

thank you for this great video and instuction and ideas. helps me out alot. what are the ear pods for . click?

[@TimHuesgen]

You must add extra notes at the end of phrases to keep these in 4/4, correct?

[@rstoeckler]

I joined the newsletter for this... in the free PDF it says: RLRLR LRLRLL - 5 + 6 04:30 when he plays it slow he only plays RLRLR LRLL - 5 + 4 either way you can play it in 5 and 6 Tripplets, one half note has 5 and the other 6 evenly spaced notes...//OR a 5 stroke roll? So the first strike of both groupings is on the downbeat. Feels very wonky to me when played to a metronom. He switches up tempo and licks all the time, very hard to tell...

[@pgoindi]

You are both crazy and onto something...boom.

[@theopinson3851]

Ok are we gonna talk about how hihats are cymbals or…nah?

[@russellesimonetta9071]

Just do a double and cross over. I always lead from the right side.

[@8020drummer]

#clipme

[@russellesimonetta9071]

@@8020drummer I worked Joe Cusatis,s around the drums with triplets and sixteenth note when I was a kid. Uhh, 1964 and 65', still playing Jazz, Blues Rock and even hip hop!! Bailing out is,nt a problem. It just happens.

[@goodtimejohnny8972]

Logan who?

[@brianzembruski5485]

This only happens when you insist upon playing continuously with your hands.

[@8020drummer]

don't you want that option if you feel it musically? You really want the geography of the kit to dictate artificial "stops" in your phrase?

[@brianzembruski5485]

No not at all. I was looking at it from the opposite angle of assuming it's necessary to play every note despite whatever awkwardness comes up. Oddly enough, I was thinking about Carter Beauford who, when playing live, doesn't always play the last couple notes of a fast "roll" down the toms before a cymbal crash. It doesn't involve the same motion you were doing here, but it can be tough to get up to the crash in time with any kind of power behind it.

[@sacredguineapig9397]

Perhaps the issue is the Western music belief that things should have to resolve? Just a thought.

[@TTFMjock]

David Bruce just used Nate as a punch line in his Dilla video…

[@8020drummer]

welp I probably had it coming after all these years

[@ofdrumsandchords]

You talk about chops disconnected from music. That's why I rarely listen to drum channels. Why do you need technique ? How is it relevant to run through your toms at 16 notes/sec ?

[@8020drummer]

That's like telling a restaurant reviewer they talk about restaurants disconnected from meditation and exercise

[@ofdrumsandchords]

@@8020drummer Your analogy doesn't make sense. That's like telling a restaurant reviewer that he doesn't talk about the food which is served. But I understand you need that kind of stuff to reach enough subscribers. No offence meant, all channels do the same. Which ones talk about music ? This seems to be a specialty of drummers and guitarists.

[@8020drummer]

@@ofdrumsandchords so I’m not allowed to talk about the component skills that make up music?

[@ofdrumsandchords]

@@8020drummer If that's what you understood, I'll have to work on my English. Anyway, it was just a thought, I won't waste more of your time.

[@jeremysmetana8583]

I mean... I can't think of a rock drummer in the last 40 years who didn't habitually crack the snare at the end of a cycle down through the toms. It was standard for Hair Metal and Prog back in the day. Totally mandatory for Grunge and especially Funk. Not a huge revelation or anything. Maybe you need to get out more.

[@grooveroid]

What is the purpose of your comment here? You seen to be suggesting that a habitual ending of a fill is the be all and end all and anything else, duh..why even experiment because just crack that snare, job done? I'm sure he gets out plenty.

[@kinrhor792]

I find the change in speed off putting. I find myself questioning if you are using a metronome.

[@radoslavdragnev8797]

Metronome is not mandatory to use all the time when you are exhersizing. You should use it most when you actually play to a song. If you can do that you are good to go.