In this workshop we looked at different techniques and ways to vary the basic rhythms, to fill them out and make them a bit more interesting.
The basic theory behind rhythm is working in subdivisions. We looked at the "longa" rhythm which is simply 1/4. The first subdivision is into 4 beats - counted 1 e & a. In any rhythm the individual beats can be subdivided this way but the character of the rhythm is determined by where the strokes are played for eg.
Maqsum 1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a D T T D T or (basic) D T k T D T k T T k or (variation) D T T k T D T k T T k or (variation) D T k T k T k D T k T T k or (variation) D k T k T k D T k T (try this one at the end of a 4 bar phrase)
As you can see there are several variations on a basic rhythmic framework, which come about by simply adding strokes to the empty beats. The variations also come about by substituting the beats with different strokes, and for this we used the Andy Busutil double ka technique (this takes some practise so don't expect it to sound great straight away).
1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a D C k k C D k k C k k or D C k C D k C k k (this version for faster maqsum)
We also learned a couple of different methods of rolls. The first ones were just alternating between tek and ka either 4 times, 5 times, 6 times or 7 times. Try these rolls slowly (always focus on the tone and the timing) by squeezing them into a bar for example a 4 roll would fit the maqsum like this.
1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a
D T 1 2 3 4 D t k T T k
Other rolls will also fit you just need to play them faster to fit them in within the time. The other roll I showed you was the finger roll. This is a bit of a cheat but still effective if done properly. The principle is you start with your lead hand ring finger (Tek hand) and roll up through you middle and index (like you would on a desk but flat) and end on ka. This makes the perfect 4 hit roll with half the effort.
Try these rolls as exercises making sure you keep the timing evenly spaced and the tone clear. An exercise which will help you increase your rolling speed would be to start say a 4 hit roll slowly, then speed up until it starts to fall out of time or sound bad (accent the one beat)- slow it back down again - then go flat out briefly and then back down. Make sure you don't tense up too much and stay relaxed.
Hope this helps if you need me to clarify anything from this workshop or if you have a drumming question, email me at mike@bamedamcamp.com.