Nate Smith giving a counting lesson in Chicago

[@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!

[@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

[@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

[@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

[@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.

[@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..

[@Thechineseyogi]

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

[@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.

[@ronnyraygunz8718]

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

[@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

[@danilosantininiedziejko4426]

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

[@HakanARIK]

Every drummer love this video

[@user-oy7gz5bf2h]

Hakan ARIK aawwhh There's one now..!

[@TheToniz4]

Everyone likes this video

[@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!

[@thejawshop-AdventureRecording]

A great example of someone that listened when he practiced.

[@chrisvouga8832]

Everybody gangsta until Nate starts playing in 7/8

[@dreamopeth]

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

[@w0mblemania]

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

[@dinodeluca6210]

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

[@retro4454]

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

[@aarondrumm2814]

One of de most important drummers, excelent

[@TABBYMUSIC]

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

[@JeremySmith-sx9oe]

Nate Smith good timing

[@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 😂

[@datzdarko9578]

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

[@marcus_mayhem]

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

[@ecashman]

The Ace of Aces.

[@jbenoit1962]

Hiroshi Tanahashi?

[@Hawiianlion67]

Ive been watching this ever since it came out, and im still here

[@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.

[@schnozz87]

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

[@AdrianWoodUK]

I love this, like a musical puzzle game for the audience :D

[@sadhappy8860]

What a great way to make a point

[@rhodeschannel]

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

[@lme36]

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

[@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

[@coolguy8972]

the sax player "O no, not again!"

[@MyplayLists4Y2Y]

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

[@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

[@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)

[@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?

[@jharsch3453]

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

[@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.

[@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?

[@matiasluparia.3971]

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

[@danielmolinar8669]

I find this great rhythm exercise to practice to.

[@tiwantiwaabibiman2603]

OK. Thus is only my 3rd time seeing this Brotha playing and I'm now convinced that he and Larnell Lewis need to have a "drum off". We will all be left skinless and labotomized when it's all over. LOL!

[@jmcbeady8210]

First time seeing this. Very impressed.

[@franzomatu]

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

[@TweedSuit]

Who be on a Nate Smith binge after this?

[@vaughanxaviermusic]

This video will always be legendary. I keep coming back to it. Nate smith is not from this planet

[@Apriccot]

one of the most satisfying things ive ever yootubbed

[@dadecountydevonhapner]

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

[@Big_C_4205]

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

[@drummersnare6276]

Damn that high hat work is insane

[@shibshankardasofficial]

Excellent.. Wonderful...

[@ytubeanon]

I always have the 7/8 beat of March of the Pigs by NIN playing in my head throughout the day

[@harikili]

Never heard of the guy.... Nate Smith is awesome.

[@nickpruett8022]

One of the absolute best

[@slappy2836]

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

[@maxmeier532]

man, this is hard.

[@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.

[@NateSassoonMusic]

magical grooves

[@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

[@Francisco-jk3dg]

this makes me anxious and exited both same

[@ashitakazphiroute2868]

A great lesson

[@j.craigh.3480]

Very entertaining and great beats! 🎶

[@mazdiggle]

fascinating! tricky as heck! I'd love to see more stuff like this.

[@meleketmedia-5596]

Amazing! I made it all the way..thanks for sharing

[@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.

[@pcastag1]

Why is he so good? JUST AWESOME!

[@omarsaleem3076]

The legendary Jaleel Shaw on the saxamaphone lol

[@darnellkirkland784]

Omar Saleem yessir

[@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.

[@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

[@etiennedorsay2308]

Today's best drummer in the world.

[@timokakoun4367]

This is just beautiful.

[@SohaillGandhi]

Keeping count? Easy peasy His drum chops.... OMFG!

[@mitchellmccullough4776]

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

[@LuDux]

"If you must count to keep the beat then count" Saul Williams

[@samhersir]

Nate is truly on top and seems to be a nice person too :)

[@michalkostrej5218]

that was great as well nuts

[@matthewprouty7276]

@2:27 he even got the sax guy

[@bailey.matthewr]

AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@tyler-xo3rb]

Everyday I thank my dad for giving me rhythm.

[@farshimelt]

No one can "give" you rhythm, you're born with it then it's up to you to develop it.

[@TrevWILL79]

This dude is a human metronome!!!

[@GGanzolo]

maaan he is incredible!

[@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.

[@uraharamitchell7250]

That rhythm switch up was absolute KRUD!!! RRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!!!! NATE SMITH FTMFW!

[@dylanpiercey5871]

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

[@heathersmith2861]

The synapse struggle shuffle

[@gravenightghoul]

this is a boss fight for rhythm games irl

[@LBPreviews]

How good is the sound on this video!!

[@ericmsandoval]

I smiled the entire time

[@diegosatori5718]

my favorite drummer

[@jonkiparsky7369]

That is absolutely fucking sick. Amazing...

[@遠藤修-d8f]

こんなに楽しい四分の七拍子は初めてです♪

[@MaxSenitt]

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

[@blu3113]

I missed 2, that is so fucking difficult I love it