Welcome to Vinnie Colaiuta land! Here is the first of five killer Vinnie licks, also to be known as “Nasty Drum Licks 92 – 96.”
There are two videos for this first of five licks as follows:
“5 Killer Vinnie Colaiuta Licks Part One: Slow to Fast” — in this video, I break down just the “germ” of the lick and play it very slowly a whole bunch of times so you can see how the sticking works and how it sounds. I follow that by speeding it up and then playing three versions of the lick as one measure ideas. All of this is transcribed in the PDF which you can download below.
“5 Killer Vinnie Colaiuta Licks Part One: In Context” — this second video focuses on five applications of the lick. I play a groove and then play each application and go back to the groove. Each fill/application is one measure long (except for the last one), and again, everything is transcribed in the PDF below.
Part of the beauty of this drum lick is it’s simplicity. That’s one of the things about Vinnie’s playing that I love–he often takes common ideas and moves the accents around or changes them slightly so that they sound really unique. This is a good example of that. The essence of this idea is two single paradiddles with two eighth notes in between them. This is a good time to open the PDF with all the transcriptions on it. The PDF is organized according to the videos….each idea I play in each video is transcribed in order. So print out the PDF and review it with the videos, and you’ll be all set!
The PDF can be found here: 5 Killer Vinnie Colaiuta Drum Licks Part One PDF DOWNLOAD
Between the PDF and the videos, all should be clear and you should have all the info you need to get this idea together. Write me with any questions, thoughts or opinions!
Here are the Videos:
PS – Imagine that you could regularly get these Nasty Licks delivered to your email inbox every time we post one. Great drumming vocabulary to raise your drumming level–free. Go do it–just type your email addy into the form below, and click that button.
He first gained attention as one of the winners of Modern Drummer magazine's very first drum solo contest, judged by Rush's Neil Peart.
He's played with Oz Noy, Will Lee, Alison Krauss, Curtis Stigers, Emily Remler, Joel Hoekstra, GE Smith, Andy York, Marshall Crenshaw, Tony Shanahan, The Drifters, The Marvelettes, Big Brother and The Holding Company, and many other artists.
For more info: onlinesessiondrummer.com
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Thank you for the videos. In addition to your extreme level of talent, I love the tuning of your drums. I tune to a very open sound like you have here.
Hi Bob-
Thanks for your kind words. Yes, I love open tuning, too. The drums in the video are Yamaha. The toms are Stage Custom Birch with Evans G2 coated heads on top and clear Remo Ambassadors on the bottom. Thanks again for writing.
Regards,
Mark F