Drum Set

Play along with this master drummer Jimmy Cobb. Notice how sparse he plays, hardly ever playing a fill, but when he does, its simple, in time, and tasty!! Listen to his dynamics, notice how he changes volume under the soloist. His hi hat is rock solid the whole time, his ride pattern quarter note is completely solid, for the whole track, but he plays with the 8ths notes to create a "lilt" or a swing. And it all fits neatly inside the bass sound. His fills are generally on the snare, on off beats, occasionally on bass drum. Play along with this whole tune -- as many times as you can. Try to memorize when his fills happen, really listen to his pattern, instead of just playing what you feel. Try to "lock in" with Jimmy Cobb & Paul Chambers (the bass player).

This is a 5 minute play along. Start with just Right hand then add left cross sticks on the snare. Get that comfy. Now just right hand and bass drum. Get that comfy. Now just snare and bass drum. Get that comfy, this may be the trickiest part so if you get frustrated, do only 1 bar at a time: do the first bar both bass and snare, then take a slight pause, play the second half. Do this slowly until you can put the 2 bars together. Once bass and snare are fitting together, try to get your right hand in the mix. If that is hard, go back to Step 1: Right Hand and Left Cross Stick, Step 2: Right hand & Bass Drum, Step 3: Left Hand and Bass Drum, Step 4: Put them all together. If you've gone through the steps and still cant get through step 4. Sleep on it, your brain will figure it out while you're sleeping, seriously, it will.