Epic Steve Gadd Lick | Study The Greats

In this episode of Study The Greats, we will breaking down the epic Steve Gadd lick from his solo at the Zildjian Day '84.
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[@joesantamaria5874]

I was at Zildjian Day in 84, about eight rows back. Those gasps you hear from the multitude of drummers present were very real. This was after hearing and seeing Cobham, Vinnie, Alex Acuna, et. Al. Gadd just floored everyone.

[@Reyman5054]

such an underrated drumming channel. There's so much quality recording playing and ideas being presented into these well made videos.

[@meekoloco]

Yeah man! One of my fave Gadd licks. The collective "WTF?!" from the crowd is so awesome! Great job, this one's tough!

[@abbdrums]

+meekoloco thanks man

[@kyloken]

It was 1989 when I first saw this lick, I was just blown away! I think the issue with Gadd is that he has a 3 volume dynamic, while Garibaldi teaches 2 volumes. It gives Gadd a FEEL that is almost always replicated in a dry "2 volume" manner by most drummers. Thanks for the video!

[@nickbuniva5952]

"mmmm!"

[@brianwarner308]

I love how the crowd was like….damn…..and then he did it again and they were like...DAMN!!!

[@jamesbryce9605]

Brian Warner The crowd was wowed by the physical theatrics of the open hi hat followed by the quick dynamic change and speedy execution of the riff.

[@VismundCygnus6]

Gadd is my all time favorite, thank you for doing this!

[@rickydrumer]

Excelent! I try this lick few years ago and this is the very first thing i see from Gadd, since then ive been thinking 'bout make a rythm with it, many thanks for your vídeos im a really huge fan of your vídeos!

[@p.c.1019]

Wicked! Austin, thanks a mil for all of the great knowledge you provide. Totally professionally presented, and easily understandable lessons. Way cool. YOU'RE THE MAN!!!

[@DotAHeaD-JamieJupiter-Xander]

Your STUDY THE GREATS series has me hooked! You do an amazing job of recreating and breaking down these amazing drum pieces. I can only imagine the dedication and passion for drumming you must have to pull off these signature moves. Very much impressed by you, Austin! Keep up the great work! Kudos to you, good sir! Kudos!

[@farclebaba]

Another great breakdown. Thanks Austin!

[@newdmbfan]

Very well said, dynamics expressions, I think that is totally true, great work!

[@michaelzimmer4853]

Thank You so much for Your GREAT GREAT work, Austin. Greetings from Germany.

[@SuperBab21]

WOW man i follow you for a while now and you do an excellent job with this ..thank you so much ..all the best!

[@alandanielw]

I, as most drummers, am familiar with this lick. Thank you for doing such a complete and smart video. I'm a disciple of your content now.

[@jamesbryce9605]

It's all about those very fast cross sticks and impeccable execution - basically a 7 stroke roll.

[@gijsish]

Hi Austin! Thank you for all of your great lessons. You make the most complex grooves and fills understandable.... I love your modesty, you always say: "let's see if we can break this down", while you are doing all the work. Hope to see you play live in The Netherlands one time. You sound like an amazing and eclectic drummer! Many thanks again

[@angelb3830]

Excellent teacher, thank you

[@Tombrechtlein]

That lick goes back to the 70's.Used to see him play variations of that lick in NYC many times with John Tropea and Stuff. Great lick!

[@abbdrums]

+Tom Brechtlein Tom Brechtlein! Dude, you're an amazing drummer! I used to love watching those videos of you w/ Chick Corea back in the day... ABSOLUTE MONSTER!

[@krashboomboing]

Superbly done!

[@cesaralexis73]

excellent teacher!!!!! thank you dude !!

[@chilluminare]

Your production is top notch. Your teaching concept is the best I have seen. You are so awesome. Listen to these lightning speed licks and able to break it down, transcribe, play, and apply is just amazing. If this is about makeup, you would have 1 billion subscribers already.

[@abbdrums]

+Chi D. Nguyen lol thanks man. It's true... makeup is where it's at. I've clearly made the wrong life decisions! haha

[@DrSticktrick]

Yeah man! One of the most classic Licks of all time. Steve has so many of these little "Gaddisms", it's quite amazing. More drummers should study Steves stuff in depth. There is so much to learn about phrasing, musicality, applying rudiments to the kit. He seems like one of the godfathers of modern drumming. Great lesson as always.

[@DrSticktrick]

+DrSticktrick Oh and btw if you need material for the next lesson, I happen to have some stuff by all three drummers lying around here. ;) I transcribed a few complete solos by Billy, some really nice licks by Gary and a few grooves from Gavin.

[@abbdrums]

+DrSticktrick Of course you do! haha... I'd love to see them. I was scoping potential Gavin material last night and I think I may have found what I'm gonna do. Not really certain yet, though. Gotta see if I can play it first! haha

[@randrade89]

Great lesson. Thanks for this

[@pazenmaz]

Epic lick. Dope lesson. Enjoying your channel.

[@bittudrums]

it will help me a lot..thanx austin

[@13thousandmonkeys]

always clean concise and very entertaining my friend! Keep up the good work!

[@abbdrums]

+13thousandmonkeys will do!

[@mikeevangelista1177]

And ya man thanks for all the great lessons. I can't wait to work this one out!!

[@amaltoadie]

Sickest lick you've made a video on, hands down. I think it's safe to say, most of us would've had to make a lot more frustration-groove Instagram videos than you did to get this lick down. Keep it up Austin, you kick ass.

[@abbdrums]

+Brian Waldorf haha thanks man

[@jonathanhilliam6560]

You’re amazing man!!!

[@mr.tracygilley2562]

Great vids!!!

[@jeraldcuccurullo2497]

Nice work!!

[@retrogore420]

Great lesson.

[@roquemusic]

Such a great lesson! Cross stick doubles are so different because the lack of rebound!

[@aderyonn2015]

i watched you brother..you have a great job!i love your lesson...

[@abbdrums]

+ade ryonn :)

[@nathanarndt8370]

I love watching all of these videos! There are times where I watch a solo, and I wonder what the hell is going on, but your transcription and execution are so freaking great! Ps, are you going to do any more dirty loops covers??? PLZZZZZ

[@abbdrums]

+Nathan Arndt haha not sure man, haven't really planned on it

[@Tombrechtlein]

Thanks Austin! Yes that is a great lick!

[@AquaAnim]

Another awesome vid! Would love to see one on Eric Kamau Gravatt

[@BrianTCarter]

Awesome work Austin!!! Keep it up. Transcribing is something I've rarely done, especially with solos or licks. It did start to transcribe Aja by Steely Dan which I think is one of the most beautiful drum parts I've ever heard, and of course the solo ain't too bad either😀

[@aderyonn2015]

i really2 like.your lesson...thanks,good luck

[@petestix46]

that voting thing is the next most awsome thing I've seen next to your channel this year.

[@abbdrums]

+Pete Davis awesome! hopefully it catches on and becomes a thing

[@Jburjan1]

Thomas Lang Your one of best drum licks what he do often

[@richardpine8011]

Eurgh. Sickeningly good. Love this lick.

[@Jburjan1]

You are great drummer and great person always give me job to do:)every our drummer age learn mozambique 50 ways etc from S.Gad.

[@jarodreddig63]

Well put pal. Fn crazy one!

[@Andreas-yt9wv]

that was great!

[@randydoak6638]

The lick sounds good at any tempo. That's nice for us mortals.

[@radicalsurge]

appreciate it👍

[@PuraVidaoriginal]

nice Job!!!

[@davidcurtis4478]

Hey Austin, that was awesome bro! Oh and I voted Cobham :) David Curtis Drumming

[@ryancurtin9256]

Reminds me of "Steve Gadd 32nd note Groove" put up by Sacha with School of Music online, great video

[@abbdrums]

+Ryan Curtin yea, a lot of his grooves and licks are built off the same foundation of diddle combinations. he just uses them in much tastier ways than most drummers would though...

[@leoschneider8089]

Absolutely great man! Awesome lesson!! You just got a new subscriber (: hope you keep it up

[@abbdrums]

+Leo Schneider thanks, i have no plans to slow down :)

[@AjithKumar-tb3uy]

Great 👍

[@CollinHasDrums]

Aye I see that language of drumming book right there!

[@adjesbr]

Holy shit...you just opened the Pandora's box for me...I was curious about this Gadd's grooving and now I got it..:)

[@tdrum21]

Great episode. Love this lick! How bout some Larnell Lewis or Robert Sput from Snarky Puppy?

[@abbdrums]

+tdrum21 yea I've gotten a few requests for them... I'll eventually get around to em!

[@MrBostonrobb]

From one stick man to another - I'm digg'n your channel bro.

[@abbdrums]

+Dog Marley thanks man :)

[@juanjosegutierrezramirez2284]

Amazingn dude! So many thanks for the video maybe you should make some of Ronald Bruner from the dvd. It's crazy

[@abbdrums]

+Juan Jose Gutierrez Ramirez Yea he's a beast. I'm sure I'll eventually get around to making a vid on him

[@rasec3377]

man would love for you to break down a Horacio Hernandez lick.Keep up the good work!

[@xenprovence6126]

I think the hihat close is a 32nd earlier than shown on the transcription. Also, it may benefit to practice the L r r l l kk as 6 notes of a sextuplet to feel Gadd's flow, then back to practicing 32nd notes. I believe this lick is a fundamental to a lot of Gadd's playing, get this and who knows what possible...thanks for your work.

[@TehJaytius]

Love the new lick that plays when you transition to the transcription :)

[@abbdrums]

+James Lyon :) glad someone noticed! I was getting bored of the old ones so I just sat down last night and made a couple new ones... I'll probably be refreshing them every so often

[@TehJaytius]

+Austin Burcham Sweet! I wish I was able to record on demand. I have to wait weeks before I can make new videos :'(

[@abbdrums]

+James Lyon boooo

[@wernergm5779]

Hey Austin, I really love your videos! Such a great inspiration source. I´d love to know which program do you use to transcribe things ! =D

[@abbdrums]

+Werner Gonzalez Molina thanks man, I use Logic Pro X for everything.

[@cesquidam]

That's Sick, nice playing!, off topic question, which shoes are those?, they look great.-

[@JigsHidalgoMusic]

Austin! pls make a study on steve's swing grooves in Autumn Leaves from Chet Baker & Paul Desmond's album, "Together". Lots of sweet swung stuff!

[@76JStucki]

A former teacher of mine was talking about Gadd's feel, and remarked that it had to do with the way he hits the drum--it's almost like he's dropping the sticks on the head. Not that that's the whole story, but I do think that's part of it.

[@kollerupsorensen]

Hi Austin. I just bumped into this video. It sounds to me like the hihat in the foot is going down on the 32nd note after beat 1, in a lightly heel-down way. Keep up the good work.

[@kollerupsorensen]

Well - maybe not with the heel down, but with the hihat cymbals being close together on beat one.

[@brandonmackiedrums]

Love the vids & channel man! 🔥one question, do you need permission to use clips of someone else’s upload like in your ‘study the greats’ vids?! With love from the UK🤙🏼

[@TheBassMan533]

I need a soundboard of you making those good stuff sounds...

[@davehunt2082]

Keep up the great work. For jazz fans Bill Stewart work on Earth Tones Tune is Matamorphosis he trades 8's at the 7:50 mark still trying figure it out. Thanks

[@abbdrums]

I see that you supported through the fan funding option! Thank you so much, I really appreciate that :)

[@Jpgoeagles]

awesome!! can you do a ronald bruner lick?

[@JarrodDSchneider]

Hey Austin, great job as always. Maybe you could do a STG on DeathBain from MIB. Anyway, keep up the great work Snodgrass, you deserve an Emmy ; )

[@abbdrums]

+JarrodDSchneider lolol I'd rather listen to ABBA than sit through an amateur Deathbain production... either way, I'm still gettin an Emmy for my work here...

[@csm3535]

Hey! Great video, I have a question, how do you build speed in the cross stick doubles?

[@abbdrums]

+Bigote by doing cross stick doubles! haha... for real though, just do double strokes split up between cross stick and hi hat

[@bigfatpaul1759]

Hey Aust, great stuff as always. Are those the evolution hats you're using in this video?

[@abbdrums]

+paulj1759 yup!

[@stevehannon9979]

Wow it’s been awhile since someone has commented on this video I hope you still get this Austin Steve Gadd is the bomb probably in my top three drummers there is a lot of talent out there no doubt Austin are familiar with a Steve Gad product called Steve Gadd band drum scores volume one and two I found them on my Apple Music and they’re amazing however I would love to find the sheet music to go along with it it might be very cool as part of your channel to do reviews on drum products Thoughts?

[@TrinidadQG]

Great lesson Austin:)

[@abbdrums]

+Amanda Paterson thanks :)

[@Han-Solo459]

5:30 What he is trying to say is... "play with some feel..." 😊

[@grantmoretti]

This reminds me of Stewart Copeland a bit. Any chance you could do a study the greats video on anything he's done? Excellent video by the way!

[@jamesbryce9605]

Grant Moretti How? Copeland could never execute this lick. He has a very well recorded cross stick - probably the best in the business but no, I could not see him playing this.

[@toddm1659]

Austin, are you still adding new lessons on STG?

[@twelge15]

I love this channel & the clear concise Logic transcriptions, man. Awesome channel! But a little more work in getting your left hand doubles closer together, and more articulated is in order to get through these exceptionally fast, oddly distributed 32nd note Gadd syncopations, probably. It is easier for me tho (matched grip) But I used that old Weckl stroke pull technique. Accenting the second bounce of the left double stroke in time with the right double 32nd note roll with an increased speed roll. Accenting that second stroke by pulling up on the second stroke with middle, ring and pinky fingers on each hand (first stroke using wrists) or with trad grip the index & ring fingers. Eventually you do it without thinking, smoothing and evening out your rolls and getting those left hand doubles spaced as tightly together as you want in whatever situation. I say this as a drummer/teacher since the 1980's. Your a great drummer! I have no doubt you will get that completely down.

[@twelge15]

Same thing on the kick drum, too. Accenting the second stroke by stepping into it with the ankle/leg by utilizing the angular momentum of the rebound of the first.

[@twelge15]

+twelge15 But doubles on bass drum. I can't do em as fast as Gadd here either, and probably never, ever will...haha 😊.

[@rickydrumer]

can you make and advance video to this and use this lick on a rythm? like change the rim for the snare on a ghost note? i think would work too?

[@abbdrums]

+rickydrumer Yea you can definitely play it on the snare too and apply it in a lot of different ways. I was just wanting to break down this specific lick so I'm not sure I'll make another video about it but you can definitely apply this in other ways.

[@diedraak1]

Dude your kit sounds amazing. Question: what is the interval of your tom top and bottom heads?

[@abbdrums]

+diedraak1 I don't really tune to intervals or specific pitches or anything. I just go off instinct and feel now but I usually have the bottom head a little higher than the top to get a slight pitch bend sound.

[@Borromean]

Austin, I see your studio has what looks like a space heater next to an air conditioner... are you Canadian by chance? haha. Love your videos!! I have wanted to see this lick taught out for a long time! Thanks so much!

[@abbdrums]

+Jeff whelan haha nope. I'm from Ohio but live in Cali now

[@radicalsurge]

hey brother...superb lesson...gadd at his best....which transcribing software are you using there?😃

[@abbdrums]

+Glen Paul Gonsalves It's just Logic Pro X. I've got a couple videos showing how I use it and how to set it up if you want to check those out.

[@Dimebag307]

please make a video of travis barker in the muppets show

[@mihaidrums5]

Eric Moore please! Thanks for lesson!

[@jmsheyworth]

Can you break down Stuart Copeland's HH lick on "Walking on the Moon"?

[@jamesbryce9605]

Jimmy Heyworth digital delay.

[@alandanielw]

PLEASE, help me out with some Dave Dicenso. Please

[@nikitas8744]

Gavin Harrison, please

[@blapis89]

congratulations :P

[@TakisT888]

How can you play the transcription in Logic? which Format is thatxD

[@abbdrums]

I have a couple videos going over how to setup Logic for drum notation and how I use it to transcribe if you wanted to check those out.

[@pdrfurtado]

man youre the best i think i love you on a very mature masculine way

[@abbdrums]

haha for sure bro... no homo

[@darthvader6845]

You should do ilan rubin's drum solo

[@vodzdrums]

now i get your latests posts on instagram hahaha those diddles on the rim are WAY more difficult than it looks like! (for me, at least lol)

[@abbdrums]

+Vodrum haha yea dude... they're tough to pull off that quick if you don't do them very often. it was driving me nuts trying to film this thing...

[@vodzdrums]

***** wo man, i can only imagine. congrats on actually pulling them off! i'll definetely tryit. i'm having tons of fun with the licks you teach on the series man, thanks a lot for that. keep up!

[@abbdrums]

+Vodrum for sure man! will do

[@JakeKanezo]

A Jon Fishman episode would be cool as hell

[@mileyondrumz]

Aja please. Keep up the good work

[@jamesbryce9605]

And get yourself a Rim Riser cross stick enhancer. It makes holding the stick so much easier.

[@mikeevangelista1177]

How do you feel about doing the 6+ minute drum solo from track 2 of Rich-vs- Krupa????

[@abbdrums]

+mike evangelista is that from a cd? not sure I'm familiar with that one

[@mikeevangelista1177]

+Austin Burcham yes it is. Sorry it's called Krupa and Rich. I've listened to it a million times and I'd never be able to figure it out. It's the second track it's out in the car now I can't remember the track name but it kicks ass. I would think it's both of them exchanging back n forth. I really appreciate the work and passion of your video lessons. You are an extremely talented player and you have shown and taught me some great lessons. If I only had more time to spend on them life would be perfect ha haaaa ... So it takes a little longer ohhh well. Us drummers have nothing but time!!! Check out the solo on that track. I'm by no means a jazz player but I love to pretend and love the swing style of drumming. Thanks again for your videos. Great chatting with you.

[@abbdrums]

+mike evangelista for sure, I'll see if I can find it somewhere

[@LGUMI]

Keep the awesome lessons UP! hahahahaha from Jonathan

[@abbdrums]

+Jonathan Chen Dude! I see that you supported through the fan funding! Thank you so much man, I really appreciate it :)

[@LGUMI]

You are very welcome! And you deserve it :)

[@alexanderk.hulshoff2366]

Which metronome and headphones do you use? :)

[@abbdrums]

+Alexander K. Hulshoff The app is called Tempo Advance and I use the Direct Sound EX-29 Headphones

[@cymbelin1]

Lee Harris - talk talk

[@jamestorres9012]

JP Bouvet, please