Jazz Drummer Q-Tip of the Week: 5 Quick Fixes for Beginner and Advanced Intermediate Jazz Drummers

Instagram: Qdjazz
Website: Www.Quincydavisjazz.com
I am a proud endorser of Zildjian cymbals, Vic Firth sticks and Tama drums and used the following equipment in this video:
CYMBALS
22” Dry Complex II
20" Bounce Prototype
14" Custom Special Dry
DRUMS
Starclassic (Maple Molten Brown Burst)
14X18 BD
16X14 FT
14X14 FT
8X12 TT
6.5X14 Snare Drum
STICKS
Quincy Davis Signature Stick (available for purchase at www.Quincydavisjazz.com)
Quincy
University of North Texas
Professor of Jazz Drum Set

[@tomcarr4630]

It takes a special teacher of great talents to be able to produce an informative and entertaining lesson like this!

[@drumqtips]

Wow, thank you Tom! Very kind of you. It's a pleasure for me because I get to talk about and share ideas/approaches of playing MUSIC, my favorite topic!

[@justinshannon9076]

This lesson was for me, I think! Hit on much of what we discussed in my Zoom lesson. Thank you, Quincy. Great stuff here!

[@drumqtips]

Glad it was helpful Justin!

[@peterhaupt6791]

Groovy shades, Q. Love the humor.

[@mcsequoia5107]

An audio-visual compare & contrast makes it quick & easy to understand how these small changes can make a big difference in your sound & feel! Very well done! I look forward to more!!!

[@drumqtips]

Thanks for that feedback Mike. Glad you enjoyed!

[@russellesimonetta9071]

Snare chatter is ok if you got a good swamp shuffle!!! Another great lesson!

[@maikdrummusic7232]

Great

[@maikdrummusic7232]

I think I need more independence on left Hans 😖😖😖

[@bdubzdrumz]

I think #3 is probably my problem with my “comping.”

[@nirakarbrahm8107]

This cracked me up. You even know how to apply mediocre playing. Awesome!

[@drumqtips]

Glad I made you laugh a little! Thanks for watching Nirakar:)

[@SAHBfan]

This video was like, 1. Yep... that's me. 2. Yep, that's me again. 3. Yep... also me... If he'd stuck them all together at the end, he'd have had my technique nailed ;)

[@drumqtips]

Ha! You're too hard on yourself. I exaggerated a lot of things to make a point but glad that at least perhaps keeps you aware of some bad habits you may have.

[@rey250887]

Gold!

[@JulianFernandez]

Great! Thanks!

[@drumqtips]

You're welcome!

[@BobSchoepenjr]

That quick fix#3 is my favorite for shure !

[@mrski4945]

Great info Q! Not to mention hysterical!! LOVE IT.

[@drumqtips]

No reason to take this stuff too serious:)

[@cyberceil]

Quincy, we must have accessibility to that bass play-along track. Mame, please. PLEASE! Not going to the shed until I get it. Thanx. Marvelous as always.

[@drumqtips]

Working on it in a book form! Be patient friend:) In the meantime, you MUST go the shed!

[@JMcNultyDrums]

Great stuff, Quincy!

[@drumqtips]

Thank you Jonathan!

[@luiszuluaga6575]

Q plays so well even when he’s making it sound bad. 😜👉🏼🥁

[@drumqtips]

Ha! I did my best, but I guess I failed. LOL

[@davidpardy]

@@drumqtips I dunno, #5 made me pretty upset 🤣

[@wolowolowolo]

I liked the playing on "no hand indepence" ...sounded kind of like Bill Stewart...

[@drumqtips]

Bill is the man Anibal! Thanks for watching.

[@hatephone]

the sunnies really did it for me !

[@hatephone]

this is a great lesson

[@drumqtips]

Ha! Glad they worked. I think I'll bring them back in an upcoming lesson.

[@tofogarty]

Haaa... so entertaining!!! Great tips

[@drumqtips]

Glad you enjoyed it Timothy!

[@natecavalieri9321]

This is in the Q tip hall of fame. Might have to talk about those shades tho.

[@drumqtips]

Ha! I agree. I gotta work on my shades game for sure. I'll work on that brother Nate!

[@reinaldo05]

Awesome 👏

[@faridfollowerofchrist]

Great video!!!

[@aymanfadel7770]

Thanks for your efforts.....👍🏵🌹❤

[@themole2024]

Feathering the bass and then accenting from time to time. Gotta do more of that. Thanks for your lessons Q!

[@drumqtips]

Any time Fred!

[@NightmareBA]

This is very helpful. As a beginner, one thing I struggle with is sounding square. Mainly when I play busier phrases. I know less is more but I admire how musical your phrasing sounds.

[@drumqtips]

Awesome to hear Ben!

[@timcline2799]

Woww so helpful Excellent video

[@sambafunk]

You provide us with one of best tutorials ever...Thanks a bunch!

[@drumqtips]

Glad it was helpful Paulo!

[@WarrenHenry]

Great video bro! Tons of great info. 1:56 I remember attending a Barry Harris masterclass and him saying how much he hated the rimshot on 4... memories😂

[@drumqtips]

Oh year. I remember him talking about that too. To each his own I guess. But if it worked for Philly Joe, Art Blakey and Louis Hayes, it definitely works for me. But I LOVE Barry Harris!

[@julianz342]

Thanks for the tips!

[@drumqtips]

No problem Julian!

[@nairnodrums]

All of these are great. I would recommend this to anyone trying a jazz gig for the first time.

[@drumqtips]

Thank you!

[@bobweber4140]

Great lesson I dig it

[@drumqtips]

Glad you liked it Bob!

[@m.vonhollen6673]

I’m a guitarist-bassist primarily, and I became a drummer later in life. I followed your advice on simply playing quarter notes on the ride and really feeling it. I did it for hours every day. Did that ever affect my guitar-playing! Unbelievable improvement in my sense of time! Thanks!

[@drumqtips]

That is awesome Maureen!

[@joshuanelson627]

Thanks so much for these lessons! My son is in his middle school jazz band and I'm going to show this video to him. And I'm also going to show this video to myself while I'm at it. Peace!!

[@drumqtips]

That's awesome! Glad you (and hopefully your son) find these lessons helpful. Cheers!

[@peppertennis]

Tops...! I recognised some stuff ... Thankyou Again 😎

[@drumqtips]

Thank you Tim!

[@MrEmanuelw]

this is great! been following you for years!

[@drumqtips]

I truly appreciate your support Emanuel! Thank you.

[@MrEmanuelw]

@@drumqtips thank you sir!

[@trae1965]

Q, you got the teaching thang d-o-w-n, sir. Love your lessons, dawg!

[@drumqtips]

I appreciate that Tommy. It's fun!

[@lancenicholas8520]

Thank you sir

[@PabloTarantino]

I've made many of those mistakes when I started playing jazz 😂 Man, I love your channel!! pure gold. Keep it up!

[@drumqtips]

Rock on Pablo!

[@thenel2162]

u get such a beautiful sound out of the drums!

[@drumqtips]

Thank you!

[@manuelgchapajr2000]

GREAT LESSON!!! I have my students play the head on the snare drum on every Jazz Standard to build right and left hand independence. Then I make them hum the head while supporting the rhythm on the kit! They hate this practice!!! LOVE MY KIDS

[@drumqtips]

Your students are lucky to have you as their teacher Manuel!

[@mrbtapir]

Play the head on the snare as in a snare drum hit on every note of the head, while keeping the spangalang going on the ride?

[@handyboen]

Hahahaha I like the way you teach 😁👍👍👍

[@drumqtips]

Thank you so much Handy!

[@handyboen]

@@drumqtips Welcome Quincy 😁🙏

[@andylongley6098]

Mr Issue is hilarious . Lol 😂

[@drumqtips]

🤣🤣🤣

[@garysmith3173]

Great lesson sir.

[@parapaa7323]

haha this is funny af, definitely subscribing. Not my problems tho;)

[@drumqtips]

Glad it made you laugh a little. Thanks for subscribing!

[@olejakob9216]

I discovered the first fix today really, I’m very much a beginner both on drums and jazz and I don’t have an electronic kit, I use an i rig keyboard in superior drummer 3 , and I’m not that good on coordination so when I try to hold the rhythm on my ride and I think I have to “break in” with something and that usually becomes the snare I feel like I just fall out of the rhythm of the ride because the snare is so loud, but the sidestick is indeed a very good sound for this, I also didn’t realize I could use the sidestick as a backbeat like the kick drum, I thought the sidestick was more an on off accent u had to be careful about not over-using, so much learned in such a short time, u got a new subscriber, u also learn away in a great slow tempo, perfect for us beginner drummers, that and the text bubbles are really helpful

[@drumqtips]

Thanks for sharing Ole! I'm glad this video was helpful:)

[@dogmart]

Educational and hilarious! Well done!

[@drumqtips]

Glad you I could make you laugh a little!

[@dogmart]

I’m an educator too at college level and I find humor greatly enhances learning. Plus, this lesson just rings so true for those of us who came to jazz from rock music. Wonderful work on your part!

[@dsteinhil]

Quick Fix #6: Wear Oakleys so that you can be cool like Q.

[@drumqtips]

Ha!!!

[@josephcollura1220]

Another excellent video. Solid!

[@drumqtips]

Thanks again Joseph!

[@mixinkperranporth]

Brilliant lesson thanks 👍

[@victormarshall4542]

Nice tutorial..!!

[@drumqtips]

Thank you Victor!

[@Jazzrob891]

Great Quincy great job!! (Issue#5🤣🤣)

[@drumqtips]

Grazie Roberto!! 😁

[@fuzzylightning]

Amazing videos! I will definitely be showing these to my students.

[@drumqtips]

Awesome Sarek! That's why I made it.

[@elithepitbulldog2209]

You just made jazz easier!

[@drumqtips]

I love to hear that!

[@earthorigins3509]

Question for Quincy... Why are holding the stick in your left hand toward the end of the stick, which is past the balancing point called the fulcrum?

[@drumqtips]

I'm ever changing where I hold the stick for different effects even though I know it's not the optimum place to hold the stick to maximize rebound. Thanks for watching!

[@jimsmallwood1445]

Professor Davis, I love the video. Is that the bass line of "Fallout" by Henry Mancini you are playing to? I'm an old Peter Gunn fan

[@drumqtips]

Thanks for watching Jim. The bass line is some a friend made for me.

[@t3hgir]

#3 was me for a while lol.

[@mattlaceydrummer]

Any extra Qtips or exercises to help on improve that hand independence? Great lessons Quincy, thanks.

[@drumqtips]

I will perhaps do a video on that in the next couple of weeks. Definitely a topic I need to talk about. Thanks Matt!

[@mateuszwiewiora593]

Great video !

[@drumqtips]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@sundog12100]

So helpful as always. Any tips/exercises or previous video recommendations for working on that right and left-hand independence in jazz?

[@drumqtips]

I realized looking back at this video that I need to address that. So I will do a video on that for sure. Thanks for watching Nelson!

[@jeffsavaryego2366]

The Art of Bop drumming by John Riley helped me out a lot with indepedence

[@MrNikolab]

👍

[@drewheardbeats]

The sunglasses tho 😂😂😂

[@drumqtips]

TRYING to be cool 😎

[@Gk2003m]

1:56: now I don’t feel so bad that my 2 & 4 snare hits are not always perfectly precise lol

[@drumqtips]

Haha!!

[@giannispaterakis2991]

Thanks god I have none of these issues

[@drumqtips]

You're the man John! You should be giving everyone some drum tutorials:) Thanks for watching friend.

[@giannispaterakis2991]

@@drumqtips thanks man! I am a 17 years old boy from Greece willing to kill the jazz scene!

[@marceloBAdARI]

Funny issues! 😂😂

[@anichkov.zagrebin]

After watching this video, I began to understand the phrasing more. Do you have any other content about phrasing?

[@drumqtips]

I'll definitely be putting out more content about phrasing. Check out my video on comping Elvin Jones, Art BLakey and Art Taylor. I think that will help you.

[@jcushon]

Great lesson and very entertaining in a good way! Where do you get your bass lines? Are they available for purchase? Thanks and keep on swingin’!

[@drumqtips]

I had a friend lay down some bass lines to practice and play to. They're not for purchase but look out for a book by YOURS TRULY with lots of play-a-longs!

[@ArturoHintze]

Hey Quincy! Great youtube channel, some real content! Is the bass track recorded or what app are you using?

[@drumqtips]

The bass track is my friend playing. It will be a part of play-a-long book I'm working on.

[@rodneyvandenoever]

Missing the slipper cam for the feathering :-)

[@drumqtips]

The slipper cam isn't always in a good mood so it only comes out when it's feeling good:) 😂😂

[@felixrocque5276]

Thank you so much for this, Quincy! I have a problem with my drumming and it’s about keeping time. So when I’m at home and practicing, I tend to rush a bit but while I play with an ensemble or at a Jazz Jam, I do the opposite and drag a bit. Do you know of any fixes to this? Thanks 🙏

[@drumqtips]

I appreciate you sharing this Felix. I have ways of addressing using a metronome, playing with albums and dealing with the physiological state of our bodies. I'll do a video on that soon. Thanks!

[@davidpardy]

Hi Quincy, thanks for your videos. I have a question re. bass drum comping, should I be doing it feathered, or is it ok to use a bit of heel-up, low volume technique? My heel-down has always been appalling and I'm having a lot of difficult especially playing double strokes. I've been working through the Art of Bop Drumming and Drummer's Complete Vocab by Alan Dawson. I am trying to work on heel-down technique but it doesn't really seem to be improving, possibly I use too much spring tension (I mostly play rock and metal so it's set up for that). I'm also trying to rebuild my traditional grip, and finding rimshots to be difficult - I played solely trad grip for about 6 years when I was younger but know now that I was playing it wrong and not really utilising any rebound - I used to be able to hit like a hammer with it, but that's long gone! I am finding that I'm getting impact pain either on the webbing, or on the side of my thumb. If you have any advice it would be greatly appreciated.

[@drumqtips]

Hi David. Feathering is ideally done with your heal down so that you can really control the volume without putting too much strain on your calf muscle. But if you are struggling with it, it's ok to omit it all together. I don't recommend feathering with your heal up as it will most likely be difficult to play the bass drum quiet enough consistently. For traditional grip, your whole hand MUST stay relaxed. You most likely have some inner hand tension going on that perhaps you are unaware. I see that a lot. Please have a look at my video on traditional grip. Hopefully that will help. Thanks for your questions and thanks for watching David!

[@davidpardy]

@@drumqtips Thanks Quincy! I appreciate the advice. I'm glad I can forgo the heel-down as it's never been comfortable or natural for me. I saw your trad grip video the other day and got a lot from it. So I will keep working on it! Cheers

[@santanadrums]

any idea where we can get music without drums and just the jazz bass?

[@drumqtips]

Go to my website and I have a bunch of play along‘s with just bass. The link is in the description box above. Thanks for watching!

[@FRNKNSTNmusic]

Dope. Why doesn’t everyone switch grip. Bruce Lee would’ve.

[@drumqtips]

Ha! The image of Bruce Lee playing drums or using the kit as a prop in a fight scene...wow!!

[@LinusE]

Why does 0:56-1:15 sound illegal

[@drumqtips]

Illegal? How do you mean?

[@LinusE]

@@drumqtips I can’t explain it 😂 It just feels… *strange* 🤔

[@drumqtips]

Not sure what you could be talking about. That’s some of my best playing🤣🤣🤣

[@tracktuary]

I thought Quick Fix #3 was "Switch to traditional group."

[@drumqtips]

Ha! I guess it could have been:)