Nate Smith giving a counting lesson in Chicago

He is so nasty! Take the Nate Smith challenge and clap along to his grooves.

[@thehodgi1]

Counting to seven repeatedly for three minutes has never been this fun

[@bugproductions9050]

I could not agree more.

[@vecernicek2]

Until now.

[@TeezyThaKidd]

Jordan I'm sayinggggg haha

[@420protoman]

Guthrie Govan - Sevens... check it out

[@TeezyThaKidd]

420protoman oooooh throwback!!! good one! almost forgot about sevens!

[@mitchellmccullough4776]

Wow! Yeah! I love it so much, it's so good

[@MaxSenitt]

Wow! This is awesome!!!!!!!

[@mcneeson]

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 ? Nah. What that crowd needed was a little 1 2 1 2 1 2 3 !

[@elix1444]

Ok KZbin i watched this video, are u happy now?! Gosh

[@rossmiller2975]

this is the most underrated and relatable comment ive ever read.

[@IanJamesBeats]

So the one falls on the clap?

[@CristianBaeza-rh7zq]

What did he mean by “this is Chicago man, come on”?

[@Nergal134]

Not being from the US, I'm guessing Chicago is generally known to be a city with a lot of music history so it's pretty ingrained in people's way of life?

[@OwenAdamsMusic]

7/4 with 8th-note triplet subdivisions, 32nd-note paradiddles, and 4/4 metric modulations with the pulse on every other 8th-note triplet! FINALLY, something I can dance to!!!

[@arthurfranca5516]

Hahahahhaahaha

[@OwenAdamsMusic]

@@arthurfranca5516 Lol I forgot I wrote this comment, I feel like I just time traveled back a year. No one seems to have challenged my rhythmic analysis at least 🤨

[@arthurfranca5516]

@@OwenAdamsMusic hope you are still dancing to it lol

[@andreaalexis2937]

I mean come on, if youre not shaking your hip in alternating paradiddlediddles to 7/8th swiss army triplets, are you even really dancing?

[@obedbabington3903]

@@andreaalexis2937 Any tips for a beginner drummer (myself) who understands nothing of the rhythmic analysis you are making?

[@KM-px8cs]

Well that was humbling.

[@hazardeur]

I laughed more about this comment then I probably should. Because it's true.

[@sneakybeaver13V2]

like for real, as a music major, this put me down cuz this was not the standard clap

[@boboloko]

At first I messed up because I expected it to be in 4/4. Then I read the comments and saw that it was in 7/4. I counted 1,2,1,2,1,2, (clap) and got it right every time.

[@samcooke343]

@@boboloko It should be (clap), 2, 1, 2, 1, 2, 1 etc. The clap is the first beat of the bar, not the last.

[@boboloko]

@@samcooke343 okay, how about clap 2, 3, 1, 2, 1, 2, clap 2, 3, 1, 2, 1, 2 ...?

[@Sweeneytv]

My daddy always said if you can get a crowd moving with just a bass drum, high hat and snare you were a *certified bad ass*

[@oldethangoogleacc8484]

just play dotted sixteenths

[@noahnolte7288]

He was playing snare lol

[@satsukikorin]

Nate Smith WRITES the certificates.

[@mickdundee364]

my daddy taught me not to be ashamed of my triplets

[@chrismathewsjr]

sweenytv, the bottom feeding checkmark in the comments!!! love to see it. i bet your dad really did say that you clout chasing goof

[@xydex99]

man just when you start to think you know a little bit about music

[@xydex99]

Caleb yeah you're right man thanks

[@boristerbeek319]

Caleb lol why'd you be this harsh

[@xydex99]

I wasn't aware everyone could play subdivisions like this, but Caleb, he took me to school

[@Kaonashimusic]

i rarely see a guy commenting at youtube willingly taking L , you supposed to clap back bruh

[@maximomastrolia]

wasn't that a little bit tooooo mean? come on..it's a person with feeling you are talking to bro

[@Jimt0n]

Couple of cool things about the part at 2:11, where the clappers lose it. If we're in 7/4, and assuming claps on 1, he throws us off by starting his groove on the CLAP rather than every time before starting really on the 2nd beat. It's still triplet hi-hats like the bars before, but split into groups of 4. This technique is called metric modulation, and it sounds like the tempo changes (tempo-rarily). If you watch his left foot on the hi hat, you can see him counting 3 -4-5-6-7 in the original pulse, while he's playing the metric modulation over the top, so he's still feeling that 7 pulse. Something else, if it helps too. A bar of 7/4 in triplets is a total of 21 hits on the hi-hat (3x7). So if you split that into a four pulse, you can count it as 1234 1234 1234 1234 1234 1 CLAP, or listen for K234 S234 K234 S234 K234 1 CLAP. where K is kick and S is snare hit

[@readyaimfire3454]

James H Dude thank you for this! I get it now. I'd still probably clap offbeat by accident, but I understand why it'd be offbeat now!

[@dadyjoe9721]

thanks for explain this..

[@hughkills]

Counting along, I really want the clap to be on the 4. I feel super awkward clapping on the 1 in general regardless the time signature.

[@troopjunior]

​@@hughkills ​I totally hear you about wanting the clap to be on 4 (or 7)! Even George Collier's analysis of this video comes from that perspective. I'll direct you to 0:41, though. Nate starts conducting a bar of 4/4 with the clap on the downbeat (that's my interpretation at least). I see him dividing the groove into 4/4 + 3/4 with the clap on beat 1 of the 4/4 bar. I'm not throwing any shade! This discussion is just SUPER interesting to me! I have a hard time hearing the clap on beat 7 and I come back to this video often to try to train myself to be able to hear it that way.

[@joshuawilfred264]

@@troopjunior just count 13/8 clap on 13

[@RambunctiousVA]

holy shit he's really doing those 16ths on one hand

[@franckmarronier130]

Lol

[@galebh9715]

it wont take long just keep at it bud

[@futurfry]

Lol no one could find the clap when he accented the offbeat triplets

[@GhANeC]

Yeah hehe. They still did good, considering in most shows, when there's a quiet part in 4/4, the crowd can never clap on tempo for even a single bar.

[@Shane988]

except the bassist

[@tehxperience]

@@Shane988 and that man was called adam neely

[@Dev1nci]

Yeah I watched that part a few times- I can’t get it either 😂

[@thedrummererik99]

I lold

[@bazeblackwood]

3:12 "nasty"

[@schnozz87]

She's not wrong

[@MeD1z]

If he tried this in Sweden he would get 0 timed claps lmao

[@indiepoetic]

lmfao

[@_banja]

lol why

[@MrGenedancingmachine]

MK Piano white people lol amirite

[@drageben145]

Though i am guessing russians would be fine Heard theycare good with this

[@robminder]

Meshuggah is from Sweden.

[@w0mblemania]

So I failed the first clap, and the second. And then the rest.

[@VansSk8r990]

Yeah I wouldn’t be surprised if the general Chicago resident knows how to count in 7/4

[@snxwfield]

@S Tra bruh

[@christopherjamesblackwell]

Tool fan from Chicago checking in

[@WebsterA]

This is like a test for yourself. I wish there was, like an album of this for the listener to get involved like this. I'd love to rest myself on this shit all day and in turn, feel complex groove modulations more naturally. I get what's going on when he does it. It's just alot to actually FEEL and not actually count. Lol

[@jamesonowens4562]

It’s called Pocket Change by Nate Smith. It’ll change your life.

[@retro4454]

This video had just ended and I’m still counting to seven. Send help.

[@sunnowo]

And this is why no matter the experience you should always count the beats as a drummer. Feeling will only get you that far.

[@farshimelt]

@@andrewmitchell8 And they years of experience he/she has.

[@morbidmanmusic]

it can work both ways equally well. in the end, being able to feel odd time is better than counting it./ I learned all the prog songs i liked when i was a kid,. perfectly before learning to count them. Yes, now I can count.. but as I said, both work..

[@jermainelong1843]

I wasn't meant to be a drummer😁

[@nathanwalsh3028]

How many of y'all sit here and watch this dude and just stare at your phone or your computer and just shake your head back-and-forth in disbelief because I know I do...

[@sethcashman1011]

*raises hand*

[@javiceres]

Nathan Walsh How could I shake it in disbelieve because you do?

[@tempojesus5928]

I feel personally attacked by this relatable content.

[@johnnyfrank6934]

lmao you spyin on me dafuq

[@GVilleAnarcho]

I shake my head back and forth cause it helped me keep rhythm.

[@Thechineseyogi]

I both smiled and cried at 3:06 that High-hat and stick combination is legendary.

[@ronnyraygunz8718]

I've never heard a bass drum tuned so perfectly.

[@PKMartin]

one two three four five six sev.. what? one two three four five six clap one two three four i get it now clap one two three four five six clap one-and and and whatthe hellis goingon and-clap one rest rest rest rest rest clap YEAHH

[@GhANeC]

lol (though the clap's always on the one)

[@AwesomeMan2696]

@@GhANeC not sure about that

[@J450NAv3ng3d]

@@AwesomeMan2696 what are you sure about then?

[@weeweegordy]

Clap 2 3 4 5 6 7 Clap 2 3 4 5 6 7 etc

[@tonemoreno763]

lol 😂

[@HakanARIK]

Every drummer love this video

[@user-oy7gz5bf2h]

Hakan ARIK aawwhh There's one now..!

[@TheToniz4]

Everyone likes this video

[@chrisvouga8832]

Everybody gangsta until Nate starts playing in 7/8

[@aarondrumm2814]

One of de most important drummers, excelent

[@danilosantininiedziejko4426]

I love the musician on the right claps on bit effortlessly every single time

[@axollner6722]

clap 7/4 is nearly impossible for germans, if its not 2/4 or 4/4 we get confused and start to bite the drummer :DD

[@Ikarus63LP]

Glaub nicht dass das woanders nicht auch so ist bei den meisten... Verhältnismäßig gibts auch nicht so viele songs in 7/4

[@La_sagne]

then marco minnemann must be a spy

[@parapickle]

TheLasagne As is Thomas Lang

[@parapickle]

Oh, wait, kommt er aus Österreich?

[@michaelwiley1429]

Tell that to Wagner and the Ride of the Valkyries. (in 3)

[@datzdarko9578]

If I had a musical career of any kind i would be questioning it right about now...

[@TABBYMUSIC]

My day be so fine, _then boom.. 7/8 beat_

[@aqs90]

I counted this more like a 1-2 1-2 1-2-Clap as opposed to a 1-2-3-4-5-6-7. Idk why lol. Just found it easier.

[@tsmores]

i mean you're basically right. it should be counted as three beats then four beats and keep repeating. 1-2-3-1-2-3-4 based on how he conducted it

[@aqs90]

tsmores Oh yeah I didn’t even notice that. You’re definitely right.

[@matthewprouty7276]

@2:27 he even got the sax guy

[@chaoticgood9297]

I love the guy recording (or maybe close to the camera), laughing his ass off at the beginning. I love it

[@Shedthemusic]

Chaotic Good that was me!

[@chaoticgood9297]

@@Shedthemusic Didn't know you responded! Everytime I come back to this video I laugh along haha!

[@matiasluparia.3971]

If it weren't for the saxophonist, no one would clap in time 🤣

[@rippindrummer666]

This is so much more impressive to me than dumb chops(which most of the time are useless). Dudes like Nate and Steve Jordan that play groove are much more stimulating to the ear imo

[@brendanmcgrath4831]

rippindrummer666 especially when they’re this good at it !

[@PorkchopSandviches]

I mean this took a ton of chops plus it was in an odd time so like I'm not entirely sure your point lol

[@brendanmcgrath4831]

PorkchopSandviches I think this dude’s talking about like Gospel Chops style stuff. He’s just expressing a preference! :)

[@PorkchopSandviches]

@@brendanmcgrath4831 I mean yeah obviously that's fine, people have different tastes and that's what's cool about music. My point was just that he said he doesn't like dumb chops yet that's kinda exactly what this video was haha

[@rippindrummer666]

Chops are fine within a groove which he’s doing here. I’m just not into the standard gospel chops style. Notice how the groove never stops even when he is throwing in those small fills. Also none of his fills in this use anything other than kick snare hihat, he didn’t touch his toms once. For an example of what I’m not as in to, go watch a Thomas pridgen video. That’s a good example of the kind of chops I’m talking about.

[@ecashman]

The Ace of Aces.

[@jbenoit1962]

Hiroshi Tanahashi?

[@thejawshop-AdventureRecording]

A great example of someone that listened when he practiced.

[@stevechrollo8074]

You just watch Dennis Chambers play the fatback groove in the last video

[@dinospumoni663]

I'm trying to wrap my head around this. Is the clap on the 7 of each 7/4 bar? Am I hearing the rhythm correctly?

[@mhilton19]

It's the one

[@mhilton19]

Nope, sorry, it's the 7, that's making the beat make sense (a little...)

[@dinospumoni663]

@@mhilton19 Yeah I was trying to imagine the clap was on the 1 but I couldn't get it to work in my brain lol. The beat is intentionally rhythmically misleading so I wasn't sure.

[@ludoprieur6240]

@@dinospumoni663 nope sorry again it's definitely on the one, look at his hands at 0:40, when you count like this and no matter what the time signature is, down always means 1. and his hands go down on the clap (basically he's counting 1234123 so on hand mvt it's down int ext up down int up if you get what i mean, hope it helps)

[@markwang8581]

Dino Spumoni yeah he starts playing on 2 which makes it kinda confusing

[@dreamopeth]

This dudes drumming is just so inspirational. Love everything he does.

[@dinodeluca6210]

Incredible! You know that Nate is also a fantastic human being....he means every note he plays!

[@Wagon_99]

That shit was fun as fuck. Reminded me of the Pokemon Stadium mini game with Drowzee. When the chips were down I always picked that game for an easy win.

[@theboogie_monsta]

2:05 anyone using this to practice groove counting - it's easier if you forget numbers and just feel the count - in your body

[@steveshu2009]

This has got to the wildest drum grooving I have ever seen in more than three decades of playing drums. What makes it so wild to me is that the reference point of time seems to morph like mid-phrase or mid-section or something. It’s as if Christopher Nolan made the movie Tenet into a drum groove.

[@mikekane6642]

3:01-3:04 that’s the magic right there

[@sushantguha407]

Gotta respect that saxophonist! Didn't get it wrong once!

[@tomaspabon2484]

I mean if you play the saxophone and cant count in weird time signatures what on earth are you supposed to play?

[@bonzolo2358]

I could just hear pink Floyds “money” for the whole thing.

[@feelinghealingfrequences7179]

kinda interesting that he leaves the drum solo on a sloppy quiet note like a wave in the ocean has five parts and he climaxes the audience then brings them down very kind to the singer who has to follow him

[@schnozz87]

So much better than any of the thousand shredding drum solos I've suffered to watch, this guy is the boss

[@遠藤修-d8f]

こんなに楽しい四分の七拍子は初めてです♪

[@franzomatu]

Savage! This is Chicago man... haha stunning demonstration of pocket, time and odd meter playing

[@Apriccot]

one of the most satisfying things ive ever yootubbed

[@GhANeC]

this aint nuttn for that sax guy

[@jooja]

The sax player is cool as nitrogen... thinking what's for dinner yet hitting the 7th spot on.

[@marcus_mayhem]

Love Nate Smith!!!!! Amazing drummer and a real class act!!! 👏

[@MyplayLists4Y2Y]

For the love of the counting gods! this dude is amazing!

[@house-ghost]

How f#@king cool is this?!?!

[@robertstitt4004]

Haha, I was at this show! I sat in the first row of tables on the left end. It was a blast!

[@TT-zi7hi]

This the jazz showcase or where was it?

[@manifestgtr]

Oh, damn! Is that an acrolite he’s playin? If so, I love it....I’ve gone through all manner of snares from no names to black beauties and still....nothing barks quite like the little silver acro I bought off this dude for $60

[@TweedSuit]

Who be on a Nate Smith binge after this?

[@coolguy8972]

the sax player "O no, not again!"

[@dadecountydevonhapner]

Been playing drums for 18+ years.. and some of his counting structure still doesn’t make sense to me 😂😂 gotta love Nate man

[@NathanWDrums]

Can anyone explain the timing of the beat he plays at about 2:11? I think his hihat is playing triplets but the bass drum and rim click give a polyrhythmic feel? It clearly throws the crowd off the count! Threw me too :D

[@CptFunkyFist]

What he's doing is called 'metric modulation'. You are correct in that he's playing triplets, but accents every 4th triplet with BD and SD alternating. Essentially he's using the original triplets as 16ths for a new groove. It's a beautiful concept that totally messes you up if you don't hear it coming, specially with a simple groove. Your ear immediately re calibrates to the 4/4 it's used to.

[@NathanWDrums]

Jojo Schwarz thank you for explaining that so well.I think part of me ‘knew’ that but couldn’t put it into words 😄 better get practicing!

[@midinerd]

Nice job Jojo Schwarz. I think some people also call it the 'hemiola' but your description is to the T. You can take any subdivision (triplet, regular 16th) and then impose the Xth element of that set to psychologically train the audience, and the original beat boundary (the quarter note or whatever) disappears.

[@jomarizavalla8200]

is it possible that the groove he did is polyrhythmic feel or just accents on the triplets?

[@KimTuckerFr]

ah ah it's quite simple to master, but you can totally loose your guitarist and bassist on this type of modulation. I do that on simple beats with my band on rehearsals, and if i don't accent on the 4/4 beat at the end of the bar they're totally lost ! Funny to do ;-)

[@Hoscitt]

How enjoyable was that?! 😁👍

[@Lehmann108]

Here's a trick from the Middle East. Count odd meters in sets of 3 and 2.

[@boboloko]

1,2,1,2,1,2, (clap)

[@farshimelt]

Unless the phrase is 123 1234 or 1234 123. You could still count it 3 & 2 but would lose the phrasing of the music.

[@farshimelt]

@@boboloko That works for counting but it's not the phrasing of the music.

[@La_sagne]

nate the grenade smith... i just felt like writing this (didn't put much thought into it if you wondered)

[@johnkirk.]

it's good

[@JeremySmith-sx9oe]

Nate Smith good timing

[@omarsaleem3076]

The legendary Jaleel Shaw on the saxamaphone lol

[@darnellkirkland784]

Omar Saleem yessir

[@joshuaadams181]

My mind is pregnant

[@dylanpiercey5871]

I was counting it in seven with the claps on six. . .

[@zhenweichew1281]

Could someone give me an overview of what he did at 2:12? From what I can see he played a kinda 5/4 beat beginning on the clap. Is there a simpler/more correct way to explain it?

[@WILLIFM.]

it is still 7/4. he is just moving the kick and cross sticks/displacing them over the bar. they are still evenly spaced, which makes it sound like a new tempo/groove because instead of it sounding like 'base 3' it sounds like a 'base 4' groove. the triplet check never changes, when he moves the kick and snare it makes it sound like it's a slower tempo 16th note based groove. hopefully that makes sense

[@artysanmobile]

The real trick is writing music that makes 7 groove in the mind of a listener. Melody is what drives rhythm for most people. There have been mainstream hits in 7/4. Think “Money”, “Solsbury Hill”. The melody and the lyric are what make ‘odd’ time so intoxicating.

[@helenzlazzli]

Rhythm Doctor irl

[@Big_C_4205]

He didn’t learn the drums, the drums learned him

[@inchskater]

2:12 onward he gets me every time as he slows down or something..

[@mdlassel]

yeah ill stick with 4/4

[@lme36]

Nate Smith is the J Dilla of drumming, perfect! I would say it’s the Smith-time-groove-polyrhythm-Maschine. ❤

[@TrevWILL79]

This dude is a human metronome!!!

[@905jay]

Time is a wonderful thing. I'm not a musician, but I can appreciate how hard it is to count to seven, for three minutes, with varying speeds of music playing Great vid

[@dabiga2315]

See, that's the thing. He didn't change the speed at all. He was just messing with the rhythms to make it _sound_ like he was changing speeds (or tempo, as the cool kids call it)

[@oliverefremov6633]

Always brings a huge fuckin' smile to my face. Watched this thing as many times as I've watched 50% of all other videos together... that's the count! :D

[@sadhappy8860]

What a great way to make a point

[@connectivitytissues1429]

Woah, i... I'm beside myself... he's not...using a drum machine?! I need to lay down process this information... the world is a lie!!!

[@vedabou]

It's easier if you alternate the counting between left and right.

[@lareonpulliam2443]

The claps kinda went off , but Nate did good

[@josephsolari3259]

This is what watching too many Vulfpeck videos does to your feed. Not complaining tho

[@Iplayquad]

Im confused why the phrases were 4/4 and 3/4 clapping on the 3 of the 3/4, rather than 2 4/4 bars and clapping on the down beat of each phrase

[@siyabongathembinkosimngome8869]

First exercise to Polyrhythms as an African due to a African rhythms such rhythms are our daily food, But this is a good exercise for mental independence

[@slappy2836]

Buddy miles did something similar in his solo tour in ‘71 during his drum solo in the song wrap it up.

[@RADSQUID123]

1 thumb down=Chicago audience member who couldn't keep the beat

[@bharatsnair]

Pro tip: the word 'seven' has two syllables, sev-en. Say 'sev' and you'll find it easier to count!

[@stevieb89]

For anyone interested, here's a great lesson in displacement drumming: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hpSmZmarbtaYbZo

[@maxmeier532]

man, this is hard.

[@2ego]

Dawn, someone loses a watch recently!? We just found: it's in Nathan's head

[@rhodeschannel]

Saxophone in the top right standing there like „yup, just another Thursday“

[@johndoe-bw6pj]

Tried this once, broke both thumbs and cracked couple ribs.

[@cremist2317]

Hahaaa lol.

[@jharsch3453]

love that little swung shuffle he threw in there, nice mixup

[@CarlDoesMusic]

Look ma... I can count to G