Lessons, Week 57

We watched some youtube videos of Tony Williams.

This one I think:


And this one:


And maybe a couple of others. Then we listened to Footprints on the stereo:


He talked about the fast ride patterns Williams does. And the back and forth 3/4 to 4/4 in the song Footprints. He's kind of playing a polyrhythmic 3 against 4 the entire time...but then the song does actually go from 3/4 to 4/4 as well. He got me playing a simplified version. I surprised myself and was able to pull it off eventually. And it was actually fun. Never thought I could play jazz, much less that it would be fun.

We worked again a bit on my right hand bounce techinique. Playing through the cymbal and using fingers to get the second hit. I'm figuring out that this requires the ride to be relatively low and flat...which is the way it is on my kit at home. But often when I play other people's kits, and at the Foundry, it is too high and/or angled funny. I was having trouble getting the technique until we moved the cymbal last night, and then it came easier. Also...I have my ride at home in a position where I can drop my elbow into open space. On other kits sometimes the floor tom is in the way. I moved my ride to where it is long ago basically just because that's where RD had his...but now I can see that it is a much more functional position than where other people sometimes have theirs. Also, often people will have their ride too far to the right for me, so that I feel like I am straining...pulling my arm out of socket...to reach it. I've happened upon a happy accident of setup. And one more thing that will make it harder and harder for me to play on other people's kits.

Here's a live version of Footprints: