What Is This Thing Called? - John Riley: The Art of Bop Drumming

[nadir6661]

exellent 2 me

[NerfLad]

Are you sure that's an A? It doesn't seem to have the hard-edged A temperament... in a good way.

[willdrums711]

@NerfLad It's an 18" A Custom Crash. It's mainly seen orchestral use, but I love it on the kit.

[NerfLad]

@willdrums711 Well it sounds good too, but I'm referring to your main ride? Unless I was mistaken reading somewhere below.

[willdrums711]

@willdrums711 My mistake. The ride's a 60s Avedis model, and that's all I know unfortunately. I love it for jazz though.

[magikarpp]

awwwwwww yeaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh

[noisefight]

you are so faking it -.-

[willdrums711]

@atks22 The kit's tuned fairly normally. The shell sizes are strange, but I usually go for a higher tuning on the resonant side and slightly lower on the batter side, usually with an intervalic difference of roughly a major 3rd. I try to get the toms in 4ths, but that proves nearly impossible with the sizes. The bass drum is much the same, except I tune each head just past the lowest possible point of tension, then bring up the batter side a little more from there.

[mariasmyles]

you know, I actually prefer listening to you over John Riley. He wrote the book on bop (!), but there's a kinda relaxed smoothness in you that he never exhibits. I mean, all the drive & commiment is there in your playing no mistake, and the sig bop licks n stuff, but it's kinda smooth too, which I like

[MrBrightside547]

very nice! i have been trying to get this song down and i just have so much trouble keeping in time and playing as musically as Riley does and as u have done in this video as well. can u explain what u are doing with ur left hand most of the time on the snare and also what u are doing in those breaks in between the ensemble hits when u hit those lead ins??

[willdrums711]

@MrBrightside547 It's difficult to say in a comment. With the left hand I'm just comping arbitrarily, whatever feels right at the time. A lot of those sorts of figures can actually be found in the book. For me this kind of playing is about driving the time but keeping things light and interesting at the same time.

[pdiben]

Very well done.

[trankuser9]

Nice work kid!

[PurcellTV]

Great video my friend, everything sounds great. I never thought to use the play-alongs in book, I will have to now.

Love the simplicity in your fours!

[vyse75]

what. ride. is. that? its breathtaking

[willdrums711]

@vyse75 Thanks! It's difficult to say exactly what ride that is, it's a vintage cymbal, part of Zildjian's Avedis range, from the 1960s.

[DrumEmaHer0]

About how long did it took you to be able to play that?

[willdrums711]

@DrumEmaHer0 There's a chart in the book, so I played it a few times with the chart open, and then once I'd done that, I had memorised it, and so I took the video then.

[metallicatsa]

Playing this tommorrow for a Highschool district jazzband audition :)

[TravisBarker1236]

awesome job

[jeronimoringo]

maybe its because of my boxes but when you play solo in the breaks (3.23) for example, i can here a hihat going on two and four but you actually dont play anything

very odd

do you know why that is so?

[willdrums711]

@jeronimoringo The Hi Hat on 2 and 4 is on the backing track, it's there as an aid to keep you in time if needed.

[jeronimoringo]

@willdrums711 yeah youre right i heard that too today

while jamming to this track ;)

[ZackPomerleau]

Hey man, great playing. How many tracks are on that CD?

[ZackPomerleau]

You're a great drummer, totally made me wanna get this book.

[TrommelTijger]

watch out for that left hand, i dont really know how to say this in english, but i mean putting your thumb against the side of your pointing finger ?!

[ZackPomerleau]

@TrommelTijger Seems correct...

[airsignguy]

wildman! EXCELLENT playing, bro! Really swinging, fluid, and in the language of the style! What is that cool main ride you are playing. A cool old vintage "A"? And what diameter is it? Looks a little smaller than what I play and it sounds hip!

Keep up the great work. Thanks, Airsign

[dvision23]

Best jazz drumming I've heard on youtube.

[willdrums711]

@dvision23 Wow, thanks man!

[jenjis556]

yes.... very nice... nice drummer! bad hihat

ghghgh

[cheemooo]

So where do you get the music to play to? I dont play with a band and would like to practice playing to something other than solos. Help if you can.

[willdrums711]

@cheemooo Well this is from a book by John Riley: The Art of Bop Drumming. It's got a load of backing tracks on it for playing with. There are loads of book available with simiar sorts of things in other styles too.

[cheemooo]

Hey I play drums but I dont know a thing about electronics, what is that electronic gizmo next to your kit? I need to invest in one!

[willdrums711]

@cheemooo That's my mixer, it mixes all the signal from the mics to create the overall drum sound that you hear.

[benvarnam]

Come on, lovely jazz, but this is a solo piece, play with a little more love!!!!!

[augustoilbatteraio]

you great man.... very jazzy thing... the real stuff....

[Guardela]

Nice played man . Good tune by Master Riley also . Please show ather videos .

[shraunbone]

I'm going to get that book. Nice job.

[wilmount]

Nice PLaying. It seems John's book has done you well !

Kepp it up !!

[jasonfifi]

great book. i work in music retail(drum department manager for my local guitar center), and the art of bop drumming is my go to recommendation for drummers of any skill level looking to polish their chops or become more proficient readers.

[sweetfly66]

guitar center sucks .... not only have they put all the local music stores out of business but they really only cater to mid level and entry level players ...yes you can order top of the line shit but for the most part it is pacifica , catalina , and entry level cymbals ..... I understand that mid level shit is where the money is but so what .... fuck GC man .... having said that , i have a GC prefered player guitar and i shop there ....only because they have put all my local places out of biz

[jasonfifi]

GC has not put anyone out of business in my town. i still shop all 3 of the other music stores, because they all offer things that we can't sell. not high-end things, but old things... no-body's making dirt or vintage guitars. haha.

[sweetfly66]

Well , maybe not in your area but in my area ... providence , R.I. ... GC has decimated the local music stores . I used to teach at a mom and pop music store which went under a year and a half after GC appeared . Ocean State Percussion , the locally owned drum store fell on hard times because of GC . The owner , a friend to every drummer in the area , committed suicide . I have no choice but to shop at GC now , but I do so with a very bad attitude .

[ZackPomerleau]

@sweetfly66 Catalinas are great sets, man.

[sweetfly66]

@ZackPomerleau ... they are not great sets ... they are good drums for the money .. nothing more , nothing less .... but a year of doing gigs with a set of Catalina`s and they will be so much worse for the wear .... contrast that with a really nice set of top of the line Gretsch or whatever .. you can do gigs for years and years and they just keep sounding better and better and better ..

[ZackPomerleau]

@sweetfly66 No idea where you are hearing this as I know people who have used the sets for gigs, recording, everything, and they hold up perfectly and they sound incredible. If you can't afford American Gretsch this is the way to go I think.

[brock786]

@jasonfifi buried for working at guitar center

[Ismlor]

5 stars -Great stuff Will! Check out my vids

[godzuki444]

Great job and this book is the shit, seriously.

[tylerg15]

niiiiiiiice! I have yet to get this book so I now know it's worth getting.

[TamaDrummer5309]

Very nice playing- classy!

[tmcases]

wow very nice! bravo!

[jenjis556]

yeah! very nice man!

[Beauxdeauxfinglok]

Nice job man. I have been playing along with those tracks for ages now, they are fantastic for practicing the material in the books, or just for playing Jazz when you feel like it, regardless of whether anybody is actually around.

[GraphicParty]

Man you are good dude. I picked up the book this week. I have only been playing jazz for a few months (got my drumset in January) This is exactly what I'm wanting to do.

[willdrums711]

Cool - it's a great book - if you need any tips just PM me!

[moderndrummer88]

Lol dude is this sped up?

[willdrums711]

haha - nope!

[karmi32]

love it! 5 stars! :)

[Ismlor]

Nice little set up there and great feel. Check out my jazz vids. Heres some stars for you Will

[BaardKolstad]

Well done!!

[InnerBeatDrumSchool]

Tasty playing!  Interesting soloing choices too...bravo!

[fuzzfactory]

A little bit more bass volume would be good.

[dani3drum]

nice

[LORE132]

You're good :)

[Olliedodge1991]

Awesome...as always