I recently posted some exercises called “Funk Comping 1” on my personal drumming website. For a different twist on those ideas, I substituted the clave rhythm with the cymbal hand for the more traditional eighth note pulse.
Playing clave with your cymbal hand is a bit of a brain twister at first, but as with any independence idea in drumming, muscle memory will allow it to happen easily with enough practice. There are many exercises on this site that explore clave independence with your cymbal hand (just check out the “Clave” category), but this exercise is one that explores what it would be like if you could play VERY freely and improvise while maintaining Clave with your right hand.
Difficult. Challenging. Rewarding? If you wish to have this capability, then, the answer is “yes.”
Here’s the PDF: clave funk comping 1
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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