Updated 10 October 1998

Welcome to my Lessons Page. I sincerely hope you find some interesting and challenging grooves and ideas here.

I've placed a Previous Lessons archive here. Enjoy!

As an addition to my lessons here, I also offer:

Virtual Lessons

The lessons are on disk and feature written grooves and Real Audio files. You can open them up in your browser, and provided you have Real Audio on your hard disk, you can listen and learn the grooves. Each lesson, with up to 10 grooves and exercises, costs US$10 plus $3 postage.

Although not yet on my order form, you can email me with credit card information and I will process it for you then send the lessons to you. If you like, you can also send a check to my address at the bottom of this page.

Video Lessons

are also available. I really enjoy teaching by video tape. I can take my time, when I've got the time!, and focus on the grooves that you want. Please email me for info about this and audio lessons by cassette.

Audio Lessons

I've had some good success teaching drummers by audio cassette. Once again, if I can be of any help, please write.

Private Lessons

I live in Southern California and am very happy to be able to teach here at my home studio. My students and I are a nice family, the atmosphere's cool, and we play and learn together. See you here if possible!

Developing Accents and Flams using the Up Motion

Recently I had a wonderful lesson with my friend and student, Cary Hitsman, from Ventura County, California. Cary and I are learning about snare drum technique as ttaught by my two teachers, Richard Wilson and Murray Spivack. The basic motions in this technique are the Wrist Turn, Rebound, and Upstroke or Up Motion. With these three strokes, you can play all the rudiments. This technique is also wonderful for teaching you how to relax and play the drumset better. It really works!

Cary and I are working on Flams now, which incorporate the Up Motion in each hand, in an alternating fashion. During our lesson, I devised this exercise which I would like to share with you. The exercise will take some time for some of you to understand, as it deals with groups of 5 notes per beat and also with five beats against two beats. Then on top of figuring out the math behind this concept, you have to add accents and then Flams. This type of exercise challenges your hand-eye coordination, your counting and reading, your sense of time, and sense of groove. Yes, this exercise should definitely groove. There is a pocket here!

Play each level of this exercise many time. Begin at metronome marking ("M.M.") equals 40 beats per minute (BPM).

First we need to figure out how to play 5 against 2 (5:2). This is fairly easy to do. We first find the least common multiple of 5 and 2, which is 10. Then we divide two quarter notes into 10 equal pieces, two quintuplets, one for each quarter note. After this is done, we place a new note every two notes of the 10 notes we have just written. Here's what that looks like. (Forgive the handwritten notation. I don't have time to figure out how to write 5:2 with my Encore software!)

Counting and playing five against two is simple to do. You can see that there are three beats in between quarter notes one and two. (Please put your metronome at quarter note = 40 beats per minute.) If you go back to the first example, you can count the 10 beats (two quintuplets) like this...."1+ 2+ 3+ 4+ 5+". The "and" of beat "3" is counted on the second quarter note in the measure. You can count all the quintuplet notes using the 1+ 2+ method, you just play on every other note. "1+ 2+ 3+ 4+ 5+"(Come on, stretch your brain here and hang with me!!)

Now, play five against two with only one hand (i.e. single-handed). Your other hand will be joining soon!

Now we have to add the accents. Remember you are playing with only one hand. The other hand should be ready to play, above the pad, not resting on your leg. Using the Spivack technique (somewhat similar to the Moeller Method), you raise your forearm first and then follow through, striking the pad. (This concept, very important to this technique, is not easy to explain in text. If you have any questions about it, please email me and I'll do my best to describe it to you.) But, before you make this motion, you bend your wrist slightly, the "bottom of the bead" of the stick will strike the pad. This is the note before the accent. So, with one motion, the "Up Motion", you can make two strokes.

And now we add the other hand, to make alternating flams. The other hand will be playing exactly opposite of what the first hand is playing. While one is playing an accent, the other is playing a tap.

Now we isolate the "other" hand, making the Up Motion and accented notes more clear. Notice that the pattern is opposite of what we were playing before.

Finally, we're back to the first level, 5:2, but this time we are playing with the alternating hand. (i.e. If you began the exercise with your left hand, you would now be playing with your right.)

Now, repeat the entire exercise.

If you enjoy these lessons, and develop your own grooves, please share them with us! You can mail me your applications of these lessons to:

Previous Lessons

Changuito Lessons
Double Bass Cowbell Lessons
Latin Hand Patterns
Latin Rudiments

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