Uptempo Ritual (PDF)

The Uptempo Ritual is a series of comping ideas that are inspired by Alan Dawson's legendary Rudimental Ritual. I've always loved and been continually inspired by the Rudimental Ritual, and I found myself wishing that there was a similar kind of exercise for developing and maintaining uptempo swing technique and phrases. So, I made one!

Organized into 4 general categories (Quarter Notes & 8th Notes, Triplets, Tuplets, and Unisons), the Uptempo Ritual presents 26 phrases (from A-Z) to be played and repeated daily. These phrases are musical and applicable to real timekeeping, yet challenging from a coordination and technique perspective. Much like Alan Dawson's ritual, these phrases are also logical and easy to memorize so that the player can focus more on details like sound, beat placement, and kit balance.

I hope that you'll enjoy working on these phrases, and that they'll help you to play uptempo swing the way that you hear it!

Jacob Wutzke