Part 1
PERCUSSION
Stephane Chamberland is a drummer , clinician , educator , and author . He is an independent solo artist that has been playing and recording with countless musicians , performing hundreds of live shows around the world . He is endorsed by Mapex Drums , Sabian Cymbals , Promark Sticks , Shure Microphones , Gon Bops Percussion , and Evans
Drumheads . For more information , visit www . stephanechamberland . com .
By Stephane Chamberland
Applying Rudiments to Open-Handed Groove Concepts
Part 1
Rudiments are at the core of our language as drummers . We often call them the ABCs of drumming . They are the “ what ” we play while technique is the “ how .”
To be comfortable playing the following exercises , I would recommend that you also get more information about the three levels of technique , which are finger techniques ( Billy Gladstone ), arm techniques ( Sanford A . Moeller ), and wrist techniques ( George Lawrence Stone ). Make sure to understand the primary strokes : upstrokes and downstrokes played in both the formal version and informal version as well . These are the secrets for playing at any tempo and any dynamic .
Check out Dom Famularo ’ s book It ’ s Your Move , Jojo Mayer ’ s DVD Secret Weapons for the Modern Drummer , Volume 1 , and Claus Hessler ’ s DVD Drumming Kairo . Also , get the Percussive Art Society Rudiments sheet that you can find online and get a teacher to help you learn everything properly to start the best way possible .
In Practice I have come up with many different exercises that combine rudiments to create amazing phrases that we can then bring directly onto the drumset . Let ’ s break this down into steps to follow so you can then create your own grooves using this concept .
I will be using the open handed position , which means I will not be crossing my arms . My left hand will lead on the hi-hat and my right hand will be playing the snare drum . I put my hi-hat just one to two inches above my snare to keep a very relaxed position . I will start the patterns with my left side . This open-handed position allows us to start moving the right hand around the drums and create amazing melodic patterns .
Step One Let ’ s create with a combination of four half paradiddles , two half double paradiddles , and one more half single paradiddle in 16 th notes . The full paradiddle rudiment is RLRR LRLL , so I will only use half of it and start with the left hand LRLL . For this one , we will be using two-bar phrasing to create more space for possibilities . I will also put accents where I think they sound best but you can find many more options . For now , let ’ s put a bass drum note every time we play a hi-hat note . Ex . 1 is
the first combination .
EX . 1
Step Two In Ex . 2 , I ’ m moving the ghost notes around the toms . I am using a single rack tom and a floor tom only , but it ’ s up to you if you ’ d like to use more .
EX . 2
Step Three Ex . 3 adds the final touches . Let ’ s remove some bass drum notes and use the bass drum as another independent voice .
EX . 3
In part two next issue , we ’ ll look at transitional phrases and improvisation .
28 • CANADIAN MUSICIAN