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How to be a Jazz Drummer

If you are like me, you started out with an interest in drums, and you probably were attracted to more simple drumming like Rock. But eventually, you realize that many of the best drummers out there, including Rock, Soul, and R&B have a back ground in Jazz. Some examples I can think of right now are Neil Peart, and Carter Beauford.

The reason that Jazz drumming is so important for any drummer to know and understand is that you have to really understand a few things when you play jazz. For starters, you really need to understand the basics of being right on time, or in the pocket. Then, the other important part of jazz drumming is you need to learn a lot of coordination, and different rhythms. There are the same rhythms that make up the corner stone of all drumming genres. Anyone who can play jazz well can play other styles well.

Jazz drumming is also appealing because jazz is all about expression, and being able to emote musically. Everytime a jazz musician plays, even the same song, the outcome can be very different. It is very in the moment.

Although jazz drumming seem to look very complicated, in reality, it is not that difficult to learn. The main difference is that most drummers are used to the 4/4 tempo of drumming where jazz is played with plenty of triplets and has a different feel from most other types of music. So the drummer may have to relearn some drumming techniques. Many Jazz songs can be in a quicker tempo, espcially some swing, and bebop. But this can be learned, and will really improve on interdependence, and stick control.

The first thing a new drummer needs to learn when playing jazz pieces is the basic jazz swing tempo or sometimes called the "swing groove". A jazz drummer's main role is to keep time for the rest of the band just like in any genre of music. This should be any drummers main priority...not soloing! The drummer should never overpower the rest of the band unlike when playing rock songs. To do this, simply use your hi hat and ride cymbal.

Ok. Let's start with your hi-hat. The hi-hat is hit on the 2 and the 4, if you are playing in 4/4 time. It is critical to keep this count over top of everything else that you play. Everything is built around this pattern, and everything must fit into this pattern. Next, add ride the cymbal with a triplet tempo and feel. Before moving on, this should be a main focus. Do not move on until this is solid.

Now that you have mastered how to keep the swing tempo with the hi-hat and ride cymbal, let's move on to the bass drum or sometimes called the kick-drum. Jazz drumming techniques are sometimes very subtle and because of this, the bass drum should not be too dominant. So do make sure that you do not play the bass drum too loudly. This again is unlike most other form of drumming. Many drummers use the heel down technique which gives you a softer attack. In this way, you are more in position control the strength of the kick more easily. A technique jazz drummers often use is the feathering the bass drum. This is done by lightly tapping the bass drum on the quarter or eighth notes. In general, the bass drum tuning in jazz is higher, so you should tighten up the bass head. Also consider getting a coated bass drum head so you have a warmer tone. Think off the bass drum as an extension of the tom toms.

You will probably know that is highly common for the bass drum to follow the bass guitar player. So you may need to know what kind of rhythm progression the bass player is playing and try to follow him. The bass drum should be played with more of a feel rather than powerful thumping like those in rock music. If you listen to drummers like Max Roach, and Gene Krupa, you will note that the bass drum is played as an over all part of the drummer expression, and there is not a recurring pattern, like in Rock drumming.

The snare drum can be used to help as an accent for the band or can be used to play straight quarter notes. In general, for jazz drumming, stay away from the recurring straight quarter notes. On the snare, the up beat is great for feel, and using ghost notes also helps color the sound.

Take the time to really get good at the hi hat 2/4 pattern, and the jazz ride swing. Everything else follows from there. Once that is good, and you are a solid time keeper, jazz soloing is the natural part of the progression.