Epic Steve Gadd Lick | Study The Greats

[@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.

[@cesaralexis73]

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

[@Seabree]

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

[@jamesbryce9605]

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

[@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.

[@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.

[@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

[@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!

[@aderyonn2015]

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

[@abbdrums]

+ade ryonn :)

[@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

[@jonathanhilliam6560]

You’re amazing man!!!

[@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!

[@angelb3830]

Excellent teacher, thank you

[@pazenmaz]

Epic lick. Dope lesson. Enjoying your channel.

[@farclebaba]

Another great breakdown. Thanks Austin!

[@krashboomboing]

Superbly done!

[@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!

[@Tombrechtlein]

Thanks Austin! Yes that is a great lick!

[@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

[@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!!!

[@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

[@Jburjan1]

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

[@randrade89]

Great lesson. Thanks for this

[@randydoak6638]

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

[@CollinHasDrums]

Aye I see that language of drumming book right there!

[@richardpine8011]

Eurgh. Sickeningly good. Love this lick.

[@retrogore420]

Great lesson.

[@AquaAnim]

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

[@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!

[@mikeevangelista1177]

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

[@roquemusic]

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

[@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...

[@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.

[@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!

[@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

[@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

[@aderyonn2015]

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

[@davidcurtis4478]

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

[@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

[@Andreas-yt9wv]

that was great!

[@13thousandmonkeys]

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

[@abbdrums]

+13thousandmonkeys will do!

[@jarodreddig63]

Well put pal. Fn crazy one!

[@mr.tracygilley2562]

Great vids!!!

[@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.

[@jeraldcuccurullo2497]

Nice work!!

[@rasec3377]

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

[@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..:)

[@MrBostonrobb]

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

[@abbdrums]

+Dog Marley thanks man :)

[@nikitas8744]

Gavin Harrison, please

[@blapis89]

congratulations :P

[@radicalsurge]

appreciate it👍

[@AjithKumar-tb3uy]

Great 👍

[@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😀

[@PuraVidaoriginal]

nice Job!!!

[@Han-Solo459]

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

[@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 :)

[@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

[@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.

[@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!

[@TheBassMan533]

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

[@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 :)

[@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 :)

[@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...

[@JakeKanezo]

A Jon Fishman episode would be cool as hell

[@alandanielw]

PLEASE, help me out with some Dave Dicenso. Please

[@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.

[@jamesbryce9605]

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

[@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 😊.

[@Jpgoeagles]

awesome!! can you do a ronald bruner lick?

[@pdrfurtado]

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

[@abbdrums]

haha for sure bro... no homo

[@mihaidrums5]

Eric Moore please! Thanks for lesson!

[@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

[@Dimebag307]

please make a video of travis barker in the muppets show

[@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

[@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🤙🏼

[@cesquidam]

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

[@hawkeye5035]

Dynamic Expression might very well be the most important aspect of drumming.... Licks are fine, but as I get older I am more and more impress by dynamics and finesse than licks!!

[@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.

[@darthvader6845]

You should do ilan rubin's drum solo

[@jmsheyworth]

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

[@jamesbryce9605]

Jimmy Heyworth digital delay.

[@cymbelin1]

Lee Harris - talk talk

[@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 :)

[@chilluminare]

Drummers suggestion: Trilok Gurtu, Karim Ziad, Mark Guiliana, Peter Erskine, Danny Gottlieb, Gergo Borlai, and Terri Lyne Carrington. I just gave you Nguyen Le's drummers list but especially I am interested in your analysis of Trilok and Karim. Listen to their solo/fills, I always want to rewind/repeat...

[@abbdrums]

+Chi D. Nguyen Great players! I've already done one on Gergo Borlai so check that out if you havent seen it yet.

[@chilluminare]

Will do. Thx.

[@toddm1659]

Austin, are you still adding new lessons on STG?

[@mileyondrumz]

Aja please. Keep up the good work

[@jeraldcuccurullo2497]

Austin I really enjoyed this, but your rim click is to loud compared to Steve playing it,but the transcript is correct, just play the left hand a little lighter and slinky sounding, or another flutter type gaff lick.Peace

[@bigfatpaul1759]

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

[@abbdrums]

+paulj1759 yup!

[@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.

[@emmanuelhird9931]

Was this why you had frustration jam sessions lol

[@abbdrums]

yes lol

[@drumslj]

Lol just love the transcription title

[@jamesbryce9605]

You wanna hear fast cross sticking? Jotan Afanador. Gadd is slow motion in comparison.

[@Crazy3189]

The voting is a great idea. Could you also fix the study the greats playlist. It plays from the newest video trough to the fist one you did so I ended up watching them backwards the other day. Its a very strange thing to be irritated by but that's just me I guess. Love the channel regardless so keep it up!

[@abbdrums]

+Sean Conway Interesting... I guess I just thought having the newest content first made sense but I can see how it would be weird watching them go back through time too. Hmmm, I'll go back and re-assess that. Thanks for the suggestion!

[@Crazy3189]

Its mainly odd when you mentioned something from a previous video that I hadn't seen yet

[@abbdrums]

+Sean Conway I changed it!

[@Crazy3189]

***** That help my ocpd for sure!

[@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.