My practice log

[Timbata]

Here's a sheet I put together for a few of the exercises from Stick Control. The first one (#5) is just a paradiddle ...

[Odd-Arne Oseberg]

Thanks. I'll just work on one at a time and get them into my vocabulary.


Will have a break for a few days now. I'm moving out of my apartment tomorrow and will be in my hometown until Sunday. If I work on a pad while watching a movie or something, I'll make a point to focus only on my feet.

Today I'm just having fun bashing away to the whole Jeff beck at Ronnie Scotts recording. I'm halfway through it, so I'm just finishing off and not touching the drums for 4 days. I'm getting a bit too addicted these days. My body actually does need a rest. In my mind I know, regardless of how fun it is, a bit of rest will probably just help my chops.

My routine is starting to take form and it's really just a matter of keeping it going.

I'm playing more along to real recordings now.

For all sort of funk and linear stuff I'm just putting Watermelon Man on repeat.

For anything with samba feet I'm using a couple of Gordon Goodwin tracks.

For jazz some various Oscar Peterson stuff.

If tempos are a bit too uncomfortable I just put the tracks through Amazing Slowdowner.

Some short term goals are definetly getting my double pedal playing more up to speed, but also general brush playing. Not just traditional jazz stuff, but also developing that left hand back beat like Vinnie has. That's some serious power on those ballads.

After watching a few tips from Matt Patella I came up with about a hundred different ways to work my hands with that first Stick Control page. I'm just having fun doing different stuff. The point is to have flexible hands right, so doing different things all the time, as long as I don't forget a bit of standard singles and doubles work should be good.

[Matus]

Another SC variation, based on the good old six stroke roll (RllrrL).
Take on pages 5, 6 and 7, R as RLL and L as RRL. Enjoy.

[Jim Richman]

You can play along with whatever and think you are doing great. But you need to record yourself and listen.
It is the truth when you hear yourself in playback. Otherwise it's fantasy.

Changing tempo is not good. If it's too fast, play half time. Tempo are like notes. You need to play all of them.

[Odd-Arne Oseberg]

Another SC variation, based on the good old six stroke roll (RllrrL).
Take on pages 5, 6 and 7, R as RLL and L as RRL. Enjoy.

Thanks

You can play along with whatever and think you are doing great. But you need to record yourself and listen.
It is the truth when you hear yourself in playback. Otherwise it's fantasy.

Changing tempo is not good. If it's too fast, play half time. Tempo are like notes. You need to play all of them.

There will be more recording, life just well....... life

I generally have pretty good what I cal back row seat or in front of the PA speaker -ears, though.

Anyway. No job here and no job up north. Looks like the factory back home which fine. More money, friends and family, my cat and the city of Ålesund is offcourse full of attractive young ladies with similar dialect.

This is a rather long personal story in all of this which has made me have a very low tolerance. Things here are bad, but I would have pushed back instead of becoming a victim. during the Easter holiday it seems these things have pretty much passed. Basically it involves a work situation a few years back with some true abuse combined with all sorts of family tragedies and loosing 4 of my pets in a very short time span. This employer getting away with it because I didn't have the energy left to go to court and her costing me jobs by lying and so on........ This after missing out on most of my studies due to illness. Some ok time in the middle somewhere, but all in all a pretty crappy 8-9 years.

As long as I get a job, I'm able to practice and finally pick up those US Customs things will be good now.

2 weeks left here. Moved out of my apartment today and I'll just be sleeping at work. That basically means constant practice.

[Julián Fernández]

Sorry to hear, man. Try to stay strong. I found that music and drumming always helped me during tough times.
Art is a rare thing, where you actually get out what you put in. Hang in there!

[Odd-Arne Oseberg]

Thanks man, I'm hanging in. There is a correlation here with what's happening to the value of music in general. These types of leaders I'm talking about are just like some rare kids who think they're hot s***, but are quite clueless. At that point it's a political game to cover that up. Pretty much sacrificing the Whole towns musikal culture and the quality of what the kids will get for their single simple minded ego.

Anyway............


Most old conditioning exercises are down to a minimum now. It' mostly Stick Control and reading texts along with just sitting down and trying to br creative and make things swing/groove.

I got the Drum Jam app which has generally replaced the metronome for most things.

Summer vacation starts in 3 days. Think I'm gonna just start working through the Malabe book.

Seems there are some opportunities for work back home. Got some tips from the headmaster at the music school in my home town. Might get a teaching job in the nearest city of Ålesund. We'll see. Last date for application was today, so I expect to get a call for an interview pretty soon.

Gonna see if I can put together a band of some sort. It's a small town, but there are a couple of venues to play. Won't get rich, but it might be fun.

[Odd-Arne Oseberg]

Think I got a routine down for the summer now.

Warm up:
Standard samba ostinato(I'll vary this over time) with:
- Stick Control
- Chaffee compound stickings
- Reading
- Slowly adding in the rudiment ritual switching between sticks and brushes.


Main practice:
- Standard jazz playing, comping, soloing, different tempos, brushes, adding in different suggestions etc.. (Pickering and Riley books)
- All sorts of Afro, Afro-Cuban and Brazilian stuff, which is what will get people gigs(in addition to traditional jazz) around here.
- Soloing/Hand foot combinations w/LF ostinato

Independence:
- Fat back exercises as shuffle
- One open handed round of some sort

Hand stuff on the pad at home:
- Slowly going through all of "All American Drummer." (Might take a couple of years.)
- General brush stuff( Finally found a use for my crappy Catalina snare.)

Conditoning(evening workout):
- Double bass routine 30 mins of rhythms scale with hand ostinato
- Singles and doubles between different limbs
- Hands and double bass: Differnt groupings and the Vinnie crossing thing.

If I get a full time job over the summer I''l probably keep a similar routine but do stuff like reducing the conditioning thing to 3 times a week and split everything over 2 or 3 days and spend more time learning/practicing songs. Currently I'm just working on some Paul Simon and Al Jarreau stuff.


I'm curios about those new quiet Zildjian cymbals. I really only need a ride and a pair of hats. Seems if I have my snare for brushes, put different pads on top for sticks, pad for bd pedal and add those I'd have a nice little quiet practice kit. Those epdad things might be good for toms if I need them.

[langmick]

I recommend powering throught the Wilcoxon book rapidly. There is so much good stuff in there to not get to it as quickly as possible is a waste. He was a genius. Every bar is unique and when strung together in those solos really good for the hands and mind.

[Odd-Arne Oseberg]

Done. I've put it into my main routine.

I now have two clear sections. General fundamental stuff in the morning and then the main section slowly adding in new stuff and simulating a jazz/latin gigging situation.

Morning workout(about 2-2 1/2 hours):

Wilcoxon AAD etudes.

Over samba ostinato:
- Rudiment Ritual step by step
- Stick Control (first 3 pages)
- Chaffee compound stickings
- Reading

Independence(fat back exercises + a couple of reading pages.):
Day 1
Offbeat 8th notes w/LF, 16th note shuffle feel
Splashing 8th notes one way w/LF, 16th note shuffle feel
Straight 2 handed 16ths
Simple ostinato w/ melody on LF.
Day 2
Offbeat 16th notes w/LF, 16th note shuffle feel
Splashing 8th notes other way w/LF, 16th note shuffle feel
Shuffle 16ths w/right hand on hats.
Straight 16ths w/left hand on hi-hats or aux snare.

Conditoning:
Day 1
- Double bass routine 30 mins of rhythms scale with hand ostinato
Day 2
- Singles and doubles between different limbs
- Hands and double bass: Differnt groupings and the Vinnie crossing thing.


LUNCH


Main practice(no time limit):

Jazz: Going for the complete Alan Dawson experience + extras using the Erskine apps

Brazilian, afro, afro-cuban: Slowly adding new ideas from by book collection.

Soloing and linear stuff


Att home on pad:
Brushes
Jazz time
Left hand finger control

I'll change this post as my routine evolves. The idea is to have a general routine that works on anything that should be useful. It's all about control, endurance, time and feel. All parts requering full concentration. The conditioning part being the only slightly thoughtless part, but the rhythm scale aspect and slow tempo makes it less so. Focusing on shuffle rhythms as they are harder and seem to help with everything.