Connecting the Bass and the Drums: The Ride Cymbal and Walking Bass

Master drummer Alvin Atkinson, joined by bassist Eric Wheeler, show you how to sync up the bass and the drums in a rhythm section. Starting with the ride cymbal, Alvin shows you how to connect the ride cymbal with a walking bass line's quarter note grooves.
Learn more at the Jazz Academy by visiting academy.jazz.org
Alvin Atkinson - Drums
Eric Wheeler - Bass
Eric Suquet - Director
Bill Thomas - Director of Photography
Jessica Paz - Sound Engineer
Richard Emery - Production Assistant
Seton Hawkins - Producer
Recorded May 24, 2013

[@aristin62]

This kind of thing is so essential, what bass players and drummers can do for an actual band and for one another.

[@Me-zt8gy]

I miss playing with you Alvin. Sounding great, man.

[@jaycampos666]

Hannibal, your multi talented bro!

[@boomerguy9935]

I've been playing since the 60's and I've ALWAYS made sure that I can hear the bass clearly and hopefully, see the fingers.

[@rhythmfield]

Great discussion on concepts that are actually not easy to demonstrate. These are really pretty advanced concepts, explained and demonstrated very nicely.

[@Deagledrumzz]

Love the sound of your ride.Beautiful. Thank you for this video.

[@leonmegerdichian4349]

im very glad to see this drag and rush dignamic presented by pros good example and thanks

[@drummermikeclark]

Yes Sir Alvin this is great thank you!

[@FreddyHernandezbass]

Yes great demo......Bravo

[@boomerguy9935]

Regarding the drag/rush issue, I once played with a bassist who constantly dragged and I felt like I was in a "tug of war" with him. He wasn't even aware that he was doing it! Once you're in the groove, life is wonderful. However, if you let someone else try to pull you out by rush or dragging, the feeling is painful.

[@tonybillly01]

great drummer and bassman

[@bagolyandrasboldizsar5662]

this is not the place for jokes, but can I call it: Vintage Drum and Bass? 😂😂

[@paulclifford9008]

Dragging is not the same as playing behind the beat. Rushing is not the same as playing ahead of the beat.

[@mattstieb1809]

Ethan Moore different placement

[@lucianlarghi5402]

Ethan Moore basically rushing or dragging is changing the actual tempo of the tune. playing ahead or behind the beat is how you feel the pulse in time, and also how you make phrases.

[@pietzsche]

Rushing and dragging are accidentally out of time, playing ahead or behind are intentional and consistent. So to play ahead, you're hitting the drums, at the correct tempo, just ahead of the beat, lie fractions of a second, same goes for behind but slower.

[@monkeyonthedrumz]

He's just being nice to all the drummers that are off tempo.

[@quorthonsinferno5119]

who cares just play to a click and learn to feel it out man.

[@LucasZawacki]

Really good and easy to grasp explanation of not so easy concepts :) Thank you!

[@thwombat576]

thought this was Hannibal Burress

[@heribertomorales8068]

Gillen Kiernan iii

[@houseof192]

Is that his real dad and Hannibal changed his name

[@DIGITALSWOON]

race

[@wilmaambrose5014]

lovely

[@quadrant2012]

Eric is too cool 😎

[@ebersaenz3264]

Hey! thank you, great lesson...

[@user-mv9xm9rd4w]

you guy make the best videos for music lessons thank you

[@MultiScoffer]

Also, I forgot to request that I would love to have the youtube link of the bass line run of this song! If you don't have one please make one LOL. Now I've been playing bass for a while lot of Funk and messing around but now that I have gotten older my biorhythm is leaning more towards jazz

[@Drummersfield]

Thank you very much!

[@St0phatred]

Ladies and Gentlemen, please give a warm welcome for Dr Dre on bass!

[@josteinv.jordet257]

Isn't he dead, and locked up in slim shady's basement?

[@rudyzulkarnaen1633]

2:17 and 2:32 cool drum licks. Transcribing these😁

[@FodderMoosie]

I'll be honest - I didn't hear the rushing/dragging all that much, especially on the bass. Is there a way to, like, train myself to hear/feel that?

[@powbobs]

Listen to the quarter note on the ride cymbal in relation to the notes played by the bassists right hand.

[@cuevalaua3394]

Thank you !

[@stefanodomeni]

Bassist is slighting all drummers who can't stay on tempo. lol

[@privatesnowball3032]

I just wish that ride didn't sound so harsh....

[@quorthonsinferno5119]

Yeah, not a huge fan of Zildjian rides for jazz. I have a z3 mega bell 21 inch, perfect for metal and hard rock, but horrendous and brutal for anything besides blasting, bell patterns, and fast tempo riffs.

[@thethatthisguy1110]

@Kapālin yea I thought it sounded beautiful

[@yesembiring8049]

is that batik from indonesia he is wearing?? nice

[@bernardegreteau]

nice demo

[@manditorygaming6566]

3:00 LISTEN TO THIS IF YOU ARE A JAZZ DRUMMER!!

[@bagolyandrasboldizsar5662]

ManditoryGaming i am

[@thomasregis8604]

Thanks for this great video. For my ears, the feel with both players right on the beat was the swingiest and most comfortable. I think I tend to play on top or square on the time, and have found it frustrating when the bass player is in the drag mode behind the beat,. It can feel clunky and like I have to pull some weight. Then I'm deciding whether to fall back with the bass player to make it sync more, but it feels like this can affect the tempo negatively. I'm more experienced as a pianist than drummer - wondering if there are any other thoughts on this . .

[@Gornagik]

I was surprised by how good the drums lagging behind the bass sounded there was definitely a tension

[@MultiScoffer]

Please tell me what is the size of your ride cymbal and is it a thin thick or whatever? please tell me the name of the company as well. Also I need a big big favor from you guys. I need for someone to listen to the song by Donald Byrd called "places and spaces". Please check out the ride symbol in this song and tell me if you can guesstimate what size and what type of ride symbol it may be where there's a thin or whatever. As you can tell just started playing drums and I love it picked it up again started at eight years old and I waited 49 years to get back into it again but amazingly I have not lost my technique and my rhythm and I am so thankful for instructor such as yourself back in the day that even to this day after almost forty years I still remember the basics of how to play a drum and I have a drum set a 5 piece drum set my first 5 piece and I could not believe that I knew how to play The Ride cymbal and a snare drum together and with a simple beat on the bass drum but the other stuff I must admit is very complicated so I thank God for you too and video such as this one thank you very much!

[@drew-cf9bm]

What kind of ride do you use

[@vihanamarasinghe1102]

what ride are you using?

[@Bati_]

Where was this bass walking from? It’s so familiar... I mean at the beginning.

[@JazzAcademy]

It's pulled from partway through the lesson

[@Bati_]

Jazz at Lincoln Center's JAZZ ACADEMY so, is it improvised as a whole? I thought it is a bassline of a standard? Thanks

[@bassocanario]

👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽

[@mohamedmakram111]

i didn't got the difference between drag and rush !!

[@jello-tarzan]

Here is my amateur question: Aren't you suppose to BE the beat? As in "rythm session". Isn't the rest of the band relying on you 2 to lock together?

[@chromaticswing9199]

Here’s a very late response but in music, especially jazz, everyone’s got their own time. Every musician has a different feel that adds to the overall sound, from the drums to the horns to the keys. We aren’t metronomes, and in a collective improv, we shouldn’t be.

[@Sebi0301]

Didn't know Hannibal Buress knows his drums so well

[@Mfothergillable]

I can only rush by accident. I must be a natural.