Metronome Studies for Drummers (PDF)
If the goal is to develop an excellent sense of time, the conventional wisdom is to “play with a metronome”. And this is great advice! But I see a lot of drummers not understanding just how deep metronome practice can be.
Being able to hear the metronome as “the beat” and playing along is certainly step one, and one that should be mastered. But it does go deeper than that.
What if the metronome plays on the “off-beat”? What if it plays less often? What if the metronome plays a polyrhythm while you hold down the groove? Each of these approaches will give you a new perspective to the rhythm. I think of it much like viewing a painting — depending on the angle and distance from which you view it, you’ll certainly notice different aspects of it. And to truly understand that painting, you’ll want to view it from a variety of perspectives to see what it’s really about. Rhythm works exactly the same way.
This book is a collection of variations to practice with the metronome, organized more or less “progressively”. For each metronome variation, I’ve provided 1-2 grooves to learn against the click. These grooves will get your foot in the door, and from there you can practice any grooves, exercises, or improvisations that you like. The point is not to play only the grooves that I’ve written, but rather to use them as a way to understand this particular metronome variation and to then add it to your practice arsenal from there.
In working through this book, you’ll develop your sense of “macro” (big) and “micro” (small) timing, and your ability to feel the groove and choose your timing carefully will become deeper. I also hope that you’ll take these exercises with an open mind, and explore your own ideas as they come up. This book is thorough and covers many possibilities, but not all of them.
I’d like to thank several of my former teachers, notably Mark Kelso and Larnell Lewis, for planting the seed of rhythmic discovery with the metronome. From their foundation, I’ve crafted my own way of considering the role of the metronome. And through the mastery of this approach, you’ll understand time in a much more profound way.
I sincerely hope you enjoy it.
If the goal is to develop an excellent sense of time, the conventional wisdom is to “play with a metronome”. And this is great advice! But I see a lot of drummers not understanding just how deep metronome practice can be.
Being able to hear the metronome as “the beat” and playing along is certainly step one, and one that should be mastered. But it does go deeper than that.
What if the metronome plays on the “off-beat”? What if it plays less often? What if the metronome plays a polyrhythm while you hold down the groove? Each of these approaches will give you a new perspective to the rhythm. I think of it much like viewing a painting — depending on the angle and distance from which you view it, you’ll certainly notice different aspects of it. And to truly understand that painting, you’ll want to view it from a variety of perspectives to see what it’s really about. Rhythm works exactly the same way.
This book is a collection of variations to practice with the metronome, organized more or less “progressively”. For each metronome variation, I’ve provided 1-2 grooves to learn against the click. These grooves will get your foot in the door, and from there you can practice any grooves, exercises, or improvisations that you like. The point is not to play only the grooves that I’ve written, but rather to use them as a way to understand this particular metronome variation and to then add it to your practice arsenal from there.
In working through this book, you’ll develop your sense of “macro” (big) and “micro” (small) timing, and your ability to feel the groove and choose your timing carefully will become deeper. I also hope that you’ll take these exercises with an open mind, and explore your own ideas as they come up. This book is thorough and covers many possibilities, but not all of them.
I’d like to thank several of my former teachers, notably Mark Kelso and Larnell Lewis, for planting the seed of rhythmic discovery with the metronome. From their foundation, I’ve crafted my own way of considering the role of the metronome. And through the mastery of this approach, you’ll understand time in a much more profound way.
I sincerely hope you enjoy it.
If the goal is to develop an excellent sense of time, the conventional wisdom is to “play with a metronome”. And this is great advice! But I see a lot of drummers not understanding just how deep metronome practice can be.
Being able to hear the metronome as “the beat” and playing along is certainly step one, and one that should be mastered. But it does go deeper than that.
What if the metronome plays on the “off-beat”? What if it plays less often? What if the metronome plays a polyrhythm while you hold down the groove? Each of these approaches will give you a new perspective to the rhythm. I think of it much like viewing a painting — depending on the angle and distance from which you view it, you’ll certainly notice different aspects of it. And to truly understand that painting, you’ll want to view it from a variety of perspectives to see what it’s really about. Rhythm works exactly the same way.
This book is a collection of variations to practice with the metronome, organized more or less “progressively”. For each metronome variation, I’ve provided 1-2 grooves to learn against the click. These grooves will get your foot in the door, and from there you can practice any grooves, exercises, or improvisations that you like. The point is not to play only the grooves that I’ve written, but rather to use them as a way to understand this particular metronome variation and to then add it to your practice arsenal from there.
In working through this book, you’ll develop your sense of “macro” (big) and “micro” (small) timing, and your ability to feel the groove and choose your timing carefully will become deeper. I also hope that you’ll take these exercises with an open mind, and explore your own ideas as they come up. This book is thorough and covers many possibilities, but not all of them.
I’d like to thank several of my former teachers, notably Mark Kelso and Larnell Lewis, for planting the seed of rhythmic discovery with the metronome. From their foundation, I’ve crafted my own way of considering the role of the metronome. And through the mastery of this approach, you’ll understand time in a much more profound way.
I sincerely hope you enjoy it.