How to Play Jazz on the Drums Introductory, Beginner Drum Lesson

Feathering the Bass Drum: Comping Course (Coming Soon): Im going to break down the basic Jazz pattern into 4 easy steps. Click the link above download a free PDF of everything Im demonstrating in this video. Step 1: The Ride Cymbal The ride cymbal is the calling card for all Jazz drummers and is vital to the feel of the music as a whole. For the last 60 years or so, the ride cymbal has been a standard in all Jazz. So when youre first learning this, make sure that you are playing solid triplets on the ride cymbal pattern. Dont use a triplet subdivision on a metronome, but keep them going in your head. There are two main schools of thought with playing the ride cymbal. The first is to take the quarter notes, and then add the skip notes in between as a pickup. This is more in line with what I learned from Peter Erskine, and it can be a very effective way to keep a strong quarternote pulse.