| rhythm junky |
| (Tiger Talk Pro) |
| Mon May 12 2008 12:39 AM |
| 71.156.58.216 |
Laying it in the pocket
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Hey all,
I wanted to know how all of you devoloped your groove. Not a vague answer like "practice dude" but tips on what you have worked on like playing the click on offbeats and such. One thing I have worked on is learning a groove of a song, playing along with it and after the song is over, I tap the tempo in the met and play the groove as 4 bar phrases getting a good feel for it.
My favorite drummers are starting to become the modern day recording aces like Abe Laboriel Jr, Kurt Bisquera, Matt Chamberland, and even the old school greats like Chester, Porcaro and Keltner. Playing with people is a must but any other tips on a solid groove?
| awfulldrummer |
| (Tiger Talk Pro) |
| Mon May 12 2008 07:58 AM |
| 98.217.143.11 |
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Re: Laying it in the pocket
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i'll emerce myself into the song or style of music. lisson to it nite and day until it's coming out my ears. look everything to do with it up online. write down some basic transcipts of it away from the kit. and just sit down and play it til it's second nature.
| Timsan |
| (Tiger Talk Trainee) |
| Mon May 12 2008 08:22 AM |
| 124.171.162.142 |
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Re: Laying it in the pocket
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When I'm practicing grooves or fills, I make sure the click is programmed with 16th notes and offbeat 8th notes or a funky percussion track (congas, cowbell, shakers etc). I also program bass lines in and groove to those.
I listen to bands like the Spin Doctors, Tower of Power, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, The Meters, The Roots, Liquid Soul, Incognito and Roy Hargrove. My take is that if it grooves nicely and feels good on the CD, it's definitely worth copping.
| James Walker |
| (Tiger Talk Pro) |
| Mon May 12 2008 11:42 AM |
| 4.245.152.82 |
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Re: Laying it in the pocket
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What has helped me:
1) practicing with a metronome...specifically, a drum machine. I like a drum machine better, because you can do things like programming in measures of silence - four bars of click, four bars of silence, etc. - and use that to gauge how well you're keeping the tempo. If you get to that fifth bar before the click comes back in, you're speeding up. I also second Timsan's suggestions: practicing to percussion loops, bass lines, etc.
2) Play along to recordings (with a strong groove, obviously), and try to match the drummer exactly as possible. Gadd, JR Robinson, the usual suspects. Don't just play the same beat - try and match their phrasing as closely as possible.
3) Play with musicians who have a strong sense of groove. This has probably been the biggest advancement for me - feeling what it's like to keep something in the pocket, versus feeling what it's like when you lose the pocket.
| Tea Bag |
| (Tiger Talk Pro) |
| Mon May 12 2008 02:45 PM |
| 142.46.212.62 |
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Re: Laying it in the pocket
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Playing old Motown tunes are great for feeling the pocket. Sam & Dave, Temptations, Wilson Pickett, Aretha, etc. etc.
It's all good!
(also Keith Carlock has a great pocket on the last Steely Dan disc)
| rhythm junky |
| (Tiger Talk Pro) |
| Mon May 12 2008 03:59 PM |
| 64.132.0.250 |
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Re: Laying it in the pocket
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Thanks guys!