Shortcut to Play The Tony Williams Ride Cymbal Beat

[@LukeeMurrayy]

“There’s a difference between knowing what to do and actually being able to do it”- the most important drum lesson right there.

[@anthonylawrence523]

There's a great exert from a TW interview where he talks about focusing his control with the back three fingers (middle, ring, pinkie) when playing the ride cymbal. I used this to help with control, speed, articulation - all the important ingredients for a tasty ride beat. LOVE YOUR LESSONS NATE. THANK YOU!

[@patricktiglao]

I love these videos. Humorous, knowledgeable and humble.

[@BB.156]

I want to do my work... but Nates talking about Tony Williams again.

[@Tekkerue]

I have a nice mnemonic for 5 syllables (which I got from an old episode of Whose Line Is It Anyways 😁): Can-ta-loupe to-night Cantaloupe is also a nice self contained three syllable word so it's easy to separate that out and go from groups of three to groups of five.

[@paaao]

I'm coming, I'm coming, right now!

[@caffeineadvocate]

Terri Lyne Carrington taught this pretty much the exact same way. Super useful. Thanks, dude!

[@randyhiiip]

I like this new style of video

[@Keith135]

After spending a long day today with this video I've learned the true meaning of your phrase "a dance between control and bounce"! As someone who likes to practice new things very slowly (to form good habits), I need to keep reminding my hands that once the tempo raises I cant just "control" strokes like I would while playing slower. The super up-tempo bounces feel a lot different in my hands than even something like typical bounces from double strokes. Its almost like dropping the stick down on the cymbal, see how many times it bounces, make a note of how much pressure you applied, then do it a billion times for memorization to gain control. It seems like at some point its necessary to ditch your comfort zone and the attitude of "my technique isn't perfect so I'm not ready to speed it up yet" and make way for the BALLS-OUT-Jump-Right-Into-The-Deep-End-Approach even though it kind of feels like going to college before kindergarten. Thanks for another great vid!

[@parafizzle]

Awesome lesson! What you say about the difference between knowing what to do and actually doing it, reminds me of my own approach to learning: kennen, kunnen, voelen. Which is Dutch for knowing it, doing it and feeling it (roughly translated).

[@genebrohan2401]

Its impossible he used it so well and created the most awesome patterns as well as putting it all over

[@thejrummer7297]

God Vinnie's snare drum sounds like a buttered poptart with a tall glass of milk

[@joetrollson]

Hells yea

[@TupDigital]

Dude, if i could reply w a pic i would do so to share how odd it was to read your comment AS i was buttering these unfrosted strwbry 'tarts. I didnt know anyone else knew the delight of these. GREAT METAPHOR!

[@DZNTZ]

Why are adult humans eating Poptarts? They’re not even good when you’re 4 years old. Now, you wanna talk about some Toaster Strudel then we can talk. The refined mans morning meal.

[@thejrummer7297]

Dan G don't you dare shit on poptarts you breakfast elitist

[@DZNTZ]

thejrummer I wouldn’t EVEN shit on a PopTart! Or as they’re euphemistically known “cancer shingles”. Artificial flavors, preservatives and neon colors in my first meal of the day? Thank you, but no. The Toaster Strudel is two meals in one - it feeds the senses and the body. As the delicate pastry caramelizes and the apple-cinnamon filling warms, the aromas tantalize. You lay the toasty, flaky strudel down gently and snip off just the smallest corner of the icing pouch - it must be drizzled in a zig-zag pattern on two axes so every bite has a generous coating. Any remaining icing is squeezed directly into the mouth so as to tease the palate. Then the first bite.... mmmm, the layers of flaky pastry crumbling toward a molten center of epic apple filling. That sir, is a toaster breakfast done properly, the veritable filet mignon of breakfast pastries. Poptarts aren’t in the same league, shouldn’t be mentioned in the same breath even. Surely they’re better suited to sticking under the leg of a wobbly table, or propping a door open than they are to ingestion. Not good.

[@CozBoogie]

Loved the shout out to Dave...still waiting for you 2 to team up for some drum talk, jazz and b.s.! Cheers from the PNW!

[@tophergonzales6778]

those exercises are fresh beats in their own right

[@bishopoftroy]

Great lesson Nate, i like that you put the technique into musical context. Maybe make a video with 2 3 techniques like these combined and apply them in some musical exercises?

[@dikbeats2720]

Great lesson. Even the bit of saying practice it 10mins a day is a lesson in it's self!

[@robertryder1097]

Great lesson - really helpful the way you organized the breakdown. Thanks!

[@Sherrydrums]

@8020drummer Did you get the band-aid on your head from practising the Tony Williams ride? I once hit myself in the eye after working out on snare technique to take better advantage of the rebound. Proceed at your own risk!

[@tdrum21]

Nice put that killing eve clip in there 👌🏽. Tony is the maestro

[@nicholasserrambana]

I appreciate that you said “wham bam thank you SIR”

[@philipmcevoy7206]

The first idium is melting my coupon Love it Nate

[@james22939]

Your kit sounds amazing your chops and timing is amazing

[@joeb9600]

is that a daikin thermostat in the background? you've got some nice hvac equipment. oh... the drum video was nice too

[@MikeMastropierro]

Sometimes you remind me of Jim Carrey the Cable Guy. This is not a bad thing.

[@janetremsing6988]

Mike Mastropierro 👍😂

[@marcfellis7508]

(:

[@ShowsOn]

I think peak Tony Williams is his playing on Petits Machins (Little Stuff) from Filles De Kilimanjaro.

[@Scooped_Orange]

sometimes i mix it up with an "im coming im coming im coming to town"

[@fhciskabdjsdjfjskan152]

Man, I love calesthenics, parkour, jiu jitsu and drums. Pretty weird to see you mentioning all of it in one video👀

[@__trav__]

I watch all the time - but right now I feel compelled to let you know that your channel intro is 🐐

[@ChristopherSmithNYC]

Thanks so much for all the incredible help!!!!

[@dannorris642]

I just sort of figured out that tuchadas (which are kinda like displaced flam accents) help with this. Drumline really is an endless well of creative ideas.

[@PietroCalafiore]

Very clear and informative - good work!

[@Paulswindellsdrummer]

Super useful thankyou Nate!

[@TurtleTurtlez]

I'm sure no one will do anything with the audio at 8:35

[@Tekkerue]

Roll the channel theme song....... 😏😁

[@_beatslayer_]

3-2 and smooth the accents. Thanks Nate! :)

[@evanfurrow7115]

Just started learning Tony's solo on Walkin' from "Four and More" and I think his time keeping would have been a lot harder to learn...

[@MVO884]

I allready study this stuff, but its a very good lesson. Keep going.

[@groovolog]

Thanks for your job, bro!

[@antonquintela7344]

Hey Nate! Can you share the link to the b&w performance of the young tony? it has some great angles to check hand positioning :D

[@hollowify_tensa_zangetsu]

I loved jimmy chamberlin, thru ne looking up his influence. found elvin jones then I saw Williams and my mind was FUCKING BLOWN AWAY

[@DaveFromVh1]

Random but I’d love to hear nate’s take on extreme metal drummers some day, like Lyle coopers recent cover of levitation 21 by Tigran

[@topa1798]

I'm coming 😍🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻

[@loucontino4804]

Nate, how do you rock tip to shoulder on that hi-hat with holes in the top?

[@dirk-lorenz.matthiesen]

Is the band-aid the point where you injected some drumming concept into your mind? :-)

[@mharbaugh]

Chef's Table BBQ was awesome! All I want is to eat a salad cooked over a fire now...

[@markvandivier]

🤣😂 Nate trying not to laugh while saying “I’m coming I’m coming to town” while thinking of it as “I’m cuming I’m cuming to town. 🤣😂

[@d36williams]

what I want to know is what Roy Haynes and Williams and their peers were thinking when they started coming up with open beat stuff. Roy and Williams are both so tight too, when they do rudiments its with militaristic accuracy, and then they do their turn arounds on the ride cymbal and they're dancing like butterflies around my yard. I guess I can go read contemporary reviews of the material.. I hope there's at least one hater "bepop should not be stomped on with all this percussion!"

[@chikakumask4693]

Why are the notes not swung?

[@shootdangnj]

is that a buddha machine to muffle your snare?

[@webstercat]

What does it feel like in your hands? Difficult to Explain.

[@pickinstone]

Odd question. When practicing rhythms, are words better than numbers (ands and e and a's I consider to be numbers)? Show me my sur-prise or 1-2-3-4-5? Another youtuber once spoke of counting out rhythm and demonstrated while playing a certain figure. Oddly enough, I think it's easier to lock in with words than numbers--even if we supposedly keep great time by just counting aloud. Thoughts?

[@davidcipolla4036]

Using words is essentially pointless if one were to ask me, the reason being b/c when one is actually playing/practicing, either along or with other musician (band, chamber type ensemble, orchestra) you should be counting TIME. Not words that can throw off where one is in the music. Sure using words might be slightly helpful when initially, yet why complicate it b/c eventually if one wants to use that technique in music, you're already counting time, therefore throwing in some random word in the middle of counting time, where 1/8th, 16ths, triplets, or any note rate, makes absolutely no sense & only increased the chance of messing up counting in the middle of the music. It would make more sense to just count "1e&ah 2" and that's it! That's 5 16th notes, and if one wants to cycle it, b/c at the core of the 5 note pattern it would take 6 beats to resolve b/c there needs to be a space of at least 1 beat to be able to prepare of the pattern again, therefore resulting with "1e&ah 2" "&ah3e &", the 2nd pattern starting on the "and/&" of 2, and ending of the "and" of 3. Therefore the 5 note pattern (really a group of 6) resolves & cycles perfectly in 3/4 or 6/8. Or one can move it into 4/4 and it just goes over the bar-line.

[@pickinstone]

@@davidcipolla4036 Definitely some great points, but I wanna hear what 80/20 has to say. There are a lot of teachers who teach rhythm with words as a way to ingrain them in the body. Great sight readers look at music as one might look at a book. They've learned the words before and now they are able to read complete sentences, paragraphs, chapters, and so on--while being able to look ahead. I think that when you get into Vanguard Big Band outfits or playing under Karajan (great conductor, maybe not a great person) you have memorized rhythms, phrases, patterns, even before you learn a specific piece. This also brings up learning rhythms by sound versus learning rhythms by math. Doing the math helps you get into the mechanics of how the rhythm works, but learning by sound is more instantaneous and encourages audiation. Grunting, squealing, screaming rhythms. When you learn a rhythm by hearing a master musician play it, instead of just relying on the math, there's more power that sets the rhythm into memory. A more vivid sonic memory can elicit more confidence in playing the rhythm on the bandstand. Words, to me, have more of a sonic (musical?) quality to me than numbers (but math can definitely be an utterly beautiful endeavor). So using words to engrain those rhythms and phrases might not be a bad idea in that case. Then again, I'm not a drummer--but shouldn't all jazz musicians think like drummers?

[@8020drummer]

The word is meant to convey how I'm hearing the beat, but also bridge the gap if your brain is fighting to hear the beat in the "old place", by piggybacking on the internalized rhythm of language. If you're an English speaker, you can't help but hear "I'm ready to eat" as triplet pickup, three triplets, and a downbeat, just as you can't help but hear "show me my surprise" as four 8ths or 16ths then a downbeat. There's a difference in the way a technique feels depending on where you perceive the "catch" of the "drop catch". It's certainly not my science, but it's also uncontroversial that we humans aren't wired to perceive the world as is actually is, but rather to build a useful "model" that helped our ancestors hunt and gather. That means our brain "adjusts" and "fills in things". It probably accounts for why we have "time biasses" we have to correct for - rushing offbeats, speeding up tempos if we're feeling the big beat without subdividing, dragging when we're thinking quarters or going from beat "4" to beat "1, etc, and I believe it's why the same choreography "feels" different when we think the downbeat is in different places. I believe we can leverage this "wrinkle" to trick our brains into playing the physical part of the beat better while we think the beat is in a different place, then muscle memory will carry us when we go back to thinking "show me my surprise".

[@mariorossipuzza]

11:46 i do hope dave will come back...

[@kylemcdonald8180]

We can only dream...

[@philipmcevoy7206]

I'm stuck it sucks worked all yesterday on first idium I can play the groove and quarters on the hats it's the I'm ready to eat bit that's gettin me errrrrrrked ..Great lesson though

[@VansSk8r990]

why do you defile the period “.”

[@jimfarey]

I think if you're going to mention Moeller and some names then you could mention Claus Hessler or even Jojo, Gordy and others don't play like Moeller did, according to some of Chapin's students at least. I do enjoy the grey area between pure rebound and controlling the stick. Top banana.

[@davidmcdade4288]

Thanks mate more jazz please

[@tdrum21]

Yes bring back Rational Dave 👌🏽👏🏽

[@neeksquez]

Nice cave drum man.

[@ThePaulmirto]

Did you bang your head on your cymbals great lesson btw. Thank you

[@drumroll420]

I see a lot of vids showing how to play "The Tony Williams Ride Cymbal" technique that have it all wrong, because it's not at all what he taught me (took lessons with Tony when he taught out of Drum World in San Francisco, and his drum tech at the time also worked there too).

[@drumroll420]

@@Odthean You position the ride cymbal higher is one, you use the back three fingers to hold the stick is another., there is no finger control is also another, and it's all generated from the wrist. It's almost like casting a rod and reel while fishing. That's the movement going towards the cymbal. Then at the end of the spang a lang, you oull back the stick towards your shoulder (Tony would say "You can almost hit your head with the stick, but that's to show you that your doing it right). Tony sat behind me while I was at the kit, grabbed my wirst that was holding the stick, and literally played the ride with my entire arm. The bead of the stick had to hit the bow of the ride at the sweet spot in order to draw the sound out. Tony then got behind the kit, played the ride at blazing tempo, ardly any fingers involved as far as releasing the back fingers, maybe just a tiny bit where the index was the fulcrum, and looked at me in a manner almost bored and said "I can do this all day". The ride was a 22" K Custom Dark Ride, the stick of course was the Zildjian Tony Williams model. The ride was just because it was the ride in the practice room over at Don Sfarzo's Drum World in San Francisco, that is no longer there. Tony lived in Pacifica, California, and drove a white Mercedes ( at least that's what he pulled up into the driveway with, sometimes with his wife).

[@natewoodmusic]

@@drumroll420this post should be a sticky on KZbin. Thanks for the story!

[@stkittsdave1]

9:37 for shed

[@drumsamerica6158]

Thanks man! 🤙🏽

[@condundrop]

Good stuff, Nate. I like the advice about triplet counts. It's like the way Billy Ward hums a ballad for uptempo swings.

[@eboyeman8457]

Where is the pinned comment?

[@mullrump2]

that was a fuckin great lesson....seriously...

[@stevevicious6911]

It is about feel. If your band is in the same feel , it will be awesome. Feel. That's all it is.

[@8020drummer]

Yup. So I'll be eagerly awaiting the clip of you playing the ride cymbal as fast as tony, projecting over a band, just "feeling it", without the decades of practice Tony put in, which were apparently wasted time. Feel free to link it in a reply when you've posted it on Instagram 😜

[@JohnJohn-ir5hw]

@@8020drummer After pausing your video, I was scrolling through the videos to the right of the comments. Steve Vicious's comment happened to catch my eye. I still don't know exactly what Steve Vicious is referring to. I am, however, convinced that I did the correct thing, for me, when I silenced you by-way-of pausing your video; incidentally, I did that because after suffering through your 'pistol squat' comparison and the like, the pain of attempting to suffer your uninspired playing was extreme enough for me to 'get the message.' You might consider creating videos focused on personal fitness or something that you are actually passionate about. You self-absorbed love of the sound of your voice and defensive reply to Steve Vicious's non-confrontational comment are pathetic. There are, however, some great clips of Tony Williams here. Good job with those. 🙂

[@TheLastRunners]

1:23 someone send me a link to this because that’s swinging dog

[@a5dr3]

GOAT

[@joniarenasdrums]

the video starts at 4:55

[@8020drummer]

4:20 actually

[@warren_r]

Swanky digs, better microphone, multiple camera angles.... you've become the 1% drummer!

[@devonkenny889]

Man, at first was like...WTF? Is this some B.S? All the extra vid stuff; but this was kool as F!!! Great instructor, and some funny ass.....💩!!! 💥🧠✌🏾🥁

[@rolandroblejo9987]

thank sam rivers for tony williams

[@bradbianco]

haha! I'm ready to eat. Yes.

[@magn8195]

I find this technique hard to grasp!

[@webstercat]

MagN8 Always ask when practicing, how can I make this flow/bounce better?

[@magn8195]

@@webstercat thanks!

[@davidcipolla4036]

Probably b/c he doesn't describe it that well if one were to ask me. There's another drummer by the name Brandon who I believe posted the first vid on KZbin explaining this technique and he describes it much better. Yet I may make a vid on this technique b/c there very much technicality that both videos. lack

[@jimfarey]

Splitting infinitives is sometimes mandatory in English. It's a silly Latin grammar rule :). Noice

[@trashboy9517]

Think when you are breaking a block in minecraft

[@derris3989]

im coming im coming to town im coming im coming to town im coming im coming to town

[@Ian_P]

I'm hungry.

[@susanmaggiora4800]

Ian P I want some bbq....At 5 am...

[@rrparker12]

I don’t usually jazz but I’m going to try this; it speaks to me. I have A LOT of trouble counting so usually I’m just skatting nonsense. Squidley doop a doop a hey and a boppity boppity boppity zang.

[@angelic_slayer]

Please just do a 20 minute jam video flat out. Please...

[@SteveRockstein2]

Shimmy shimmy Koko bop shimmy shimmy Bop

[@Iamadrummer]

One thing with Tony Williams it is not just how he plays patterns. Tony Williams also had his own "non traditional" way of holding the sticks. Tony Williams also did not let the bounce of the drum head ot cymbals to help his playing. Tony Williams sort of death gripped his sticks and played every note rather than let the bounce of the drum head or cymbal help. Tony Williams way of playing is way harder. If you play Tony Williams patterns with a "traditional grip" it is much easier than if you try the patterns with his stick grip style he uses. For instance drum rolls to an extent rely on the bounce of the drum head. Tony Williams did not let the sticks bounce but played all the notes. The Tony Williams way is way hard. All that said...great video as always.

[@dikbeats2720]

Spang-a-lang-a-spang

[@cobaingrohlnovo]

Cops coming after him at 3:21

[@ARGBlackCloud]

What no on screen transcription !! Lol , oh yeah download !! The question now is the Tony 5 really actually linear , he play's it different ways. Yes Im full of moot points today sorry !

[@8020drummer]

Does French laundry have a drive through? 🤣

[@elithepitbulldog2209]

I go “one two three four five” 5 syllables No need to make it to complicated. I’m a bulldog with limited abilities. I don’t have any thumbs

[@8020drummer]

"no need to make it complicated" huh? No need to practice hitting pads. Just punch the guy. The whole backflip choreography I spent an hour tracking and editing? That's just bullsh#t. No reason for coaches in any regime, probably. You want to hit a 3? Just put the ball in the net. You want to hit the bullseye with a bow and arrow? just fling the f#$%ing arrow. Guess we're wasting billions on developing military curricula, when if we were as smart as Eli we'd just tell people "I dunno - just attack that target. Why are you bothering me." 😜

[@elithepitbulldog2209]

The 80/20 Drummer Are you serious or just trolling?We learned that shit on our desk in high school. My grandmother was huge Tony Williams fan and a music teacher and wouldn’t buy us a drum kit until we learned the basics, including the TW roll. The response wasn’t meant as criticism., obviously. There are different ways of learning things. Driving the music teacher mad by practicing on the desk, which is an excellent playing surface, is how we learned it. Maybe it’s time to escape the liberal hell you’re living in, move to the suburbs or countryside and get you your own practice space. I still appreciated the video as always though.

[@harryhagman6063]

FAST POOCHES IN THIS APARTMENT

[@toddmorganofficial9333]

One of the first drum celebrities??? One of the first????? I love Tony, but he's far from being one of the first drum names that the lay public knew of. There's of course the swing era giants like Gene Krupa, Chick Webb, Buddy Rich, etc. But even before them, there were bandleader drummers you've probably never heard of now, like Abe Lyman and Ben Pollack, who's names were definitely known by non-drummers in their day, as they had numerous hit records under their own names. Heck, even Ringo Starr was a household name before most people knew about Tony.

[@andreasbreitwieser1449]

6:50 go ahead and tell them to shut up … just kidding!

[@bobegnops75]

You'll give me a handy??

[@flotuc]

please stop using that exploding head !!!!! thank you for the fine lesson !

[@ambroulard]

Sorry,, but you’re working against yourself here........ you’ve got this wrong-- in your demo you’re playing 3 notes lift then two notes--- which gives you the required 5 notes. HoWEVER- if you reverse your order of effort ie. Play 2 notes, lift then 3 notes, you have then the proper formula,, why you ask? Because the effort to “lift” after 3 notes is greater than the effort to lift after 2- go ahead,, try it and practice it,,, you will find that I am correct in this AND that once you get this into your muscle memory you will be able to play those 5 notes up to “Tony” speed,,, which is to say Really damned fast. YOu can thank me later, just GO practice now.

[@magn8195]

I thought that Tony's technique was called push-pull.

[@macvoutie]

Good lesson. You're shaving too high.

[@lifeonmars4151]

:(

[@yesdude3914]

I wanted to learn tips, not spend13 mins skipping through memes and quirky jokes.

[@8020drummer]

Plenty of other channels for that then 😉

[@neighborofthebeast4060]

PLEASE cut out the goofy shit and just show us the pattern!

[@8020drummer]

never

[@neighborofthebeast4060]

@@8020drummer It would help if it was actually funny rather than something to wade through.

[@8020drummer]

@@neighborofthebeast4060 no it wouldn’t