Bill Powelson's
School of Drums
PRIVATE E-MAIL DRUM LESSON 4E-M:
QUARTER ROCK VARIATIONS
Copyright 1996 Bill Powelson all rights reserved
QUARTER ROCK VARIATIONS (Permutations)
Remember, there are 65,536 of these babies. The average drummer
will normally memorize and develop about 15 of them to top
speed. The Worlds BEST drummers are probably using only a few more than that .
Don't worry about the awesome 65,536. Many of
those permutations are non-functional because they tend to reverse the
polarity of the backbeats, and others are virtually impossible
for us lowly, single-brained humanoids, haha.
We will be focusing on the MOST IMPORTANT
'easy' beats in this lesson. Later on, when you get into permutation theory,
a VERY BIG picture will form in your minds eye. You will easily understand these,
and zillions of others in the remaining 'modified time signatures'. Learning to play them
ALL may require several lifetimes.
TRY THESE IDEAS!
Each needs to be memorized and developed to maximum speed.
REMEMBER
We are ALL, 'ONLY' human. Start at a very, very
s l o w speed with each idea and build gradually, over a period of 20 or 30 minutes practice (with each pattern.)
This is the most basic form of Quarter Rock
Hear it!
VARIATION #1
Begin slow & gradually build speed. That quick second bass is
BETWEEN the cymbals!
Hear it and play it!
VARIATION #2
This is the same idea really but it will produce a different rhythm.
Hear it!
VARIATION #3
Now we are doing it on the snare.
Hear it!
VARIATION #4
This is one of the most popular Quarter Rock variations. It
is really a quarter note form of 'Fatback'.
Hear the Quarter-note Fatback beat.
Hear all of them back to back.
Here is the Quarter Fatback beat with an added Single Fill.
Once you have these few patterns cooking . . . try playing them end to end, and mix them around. You should begin to realize that your are beginning to sound a lot like some of your favorite monster players! From that point . . . get the creative juices flowing, imagine other configurations of the bass/snare in this framework (or signature modification).
Also try to drop fills into this rhythm structure. Since these beats are geared for quick tempos it may be difficult to cram in the complex rolls at first.
VIDEO: Click here to 'Play', see, and hear the this entire lesson.
Each of the above patterns is one full measure of Quarter note 4/4 . . .or (street name) 'Quarter Rock'. Any measure of a song CAN be different than the one before it (theoretically). Wild drummers tend to take advantage of the theoretical rule, where most 'generic' drummers tend to play one single permutation pattern repetitiously . . . all the way through a song. This sounds like pretty lame philosophy, from a drummers perspective . . . but there are BIG and IMPORTANT reasons for playing the simple and boring 'generic' way. It is a debate that has been raging for years and deserves a full webpage later on. See the online lesson, 'How to beat the Monster Drummers to the Dream Gigs' . We've touched on this subject a little there.
OK, that is enough for now!
The secret to becoming a killer drummer is a matter of dedicated and persistent practice mixed with a heavy diet of jamming fun. So, learn little bites of new knowledge, one bite at a time, then adapt the new info into your own playing style gradually, by jamming for hours. The objective is to make each morsel of new knowledge, a part of your daily jamming routine!
Try to spend about three hours on the above beat patterns. It may seem boring at first! The boredom factor tends to make it difficult for many students to realize the value. Practice the 'boring' routines in your easy chair while you watch TV, or at the computer while you wait for URLS to load. This will help make the studious routine more enjoyable. A few days later, your ability as you jam with recordings, will surge to new levels.
Smoke 'em!!
Copyright Bill Powelson 1994 all rights reserved.
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