Blushda (and apology)

[Kurtis]

isn't the blushda as old as the single stroke?

when i was living in hollywood i roomed with steve (holmes) for a bit (mid 1994). we set up our kits in the apartment for a few weeks. didn't play them just set them up. think we might have used those hot rods a few times on them. i wasn't into licks at all. i just played phrases and what ever came to mind during those days. steve had quite a few licks down pat. so i asked him about the blushda one day in the apt one late afternoon and asked him what the heck is that sticking. i was sitting at my kit with the hot rods waiting for this cool lick. he didn't even play it. he was standing just outside in the courtyard and said left hand then right hand and then... i had it. took about 2 minutes to grasp it. i never used the lick for about 10 years from that moment cause i thought it was over used and very old. the only time i don't cringe when i hear the lick is when vinnie or novak play it. they get the blushda pass. it's so effective you just can't help yourself. vinnie plays it the best out of everyone. i don't care who invented it. his spacing on the phrase is just perfection. novak is a close second. he murders it. tony plays it pretty straight forward, sort of. it's all about spacing the phrase. tight, loose and every space in between.

i asked ralph humphrey a few times what is in between 5's and 6's. quintuplets and sextuplets. he said something like 10. i can't remember the answer cause he really didn't have an answer for me. just want to know what is in between 0 and 1. is there a time signature for it? can you just slightly slow down to play in between 5 and 6 for example. like 5 1/2. not quite 5's and not quite like 6's. i guess you can space your notes in phrases that way. make them loose as a goose. can the human mind grasp this slight increase or decrease? us simple humans can only hear certain frequencies and see a small fraction of the light spectrum. what the... i know. thoughts that come to mind while traveling along the new jersey turnpike. i'm not driving by the way.

[Josiah]

cool instructional mike, the more the merrier is how i see it.

Kurtis, the elasticity of notes, and controlling that is rad stuff. stretching phrases to fit, starting on odd notes in weird places, to be played with for sure.

check out the UnReel Drum Book, there are some great transcriptions of vinnie's playing that pretty accurately transcribe how he manipulates time. stuff like accenting every 4 in a group of 11:8, that starts on the E of beat 3. mind wrenching stuff.

also you might want to check out Illusions in Rhythm by by Osami Mizuno in collaboration with Vinnie Colaiuta. sick little gem that covers some heavy note/time manipulation material - http://home.att.ne.jp/delta/osami/engli ... /books.htm

[Sebastian]

Thanks Mike for that video!
All of the videos that are out there aren't great, but it's up to the viewer/listener to decide. As is music.
I think what you're doing is great! When I started playing ages ago, there was a few "hip" books, but I was mostly handed snare drum etudes and basic independence/rhythm reading. This was great and all, but where was the inspiration, what could I do with this?

And now the internet is swimming in inspiration no matter what you're into. It might not be the blushda, but then click away, and (as you probably would put it Mike,) BOOOM, there's a whole bunch of sixnote roll-vids aswell! Or Gadd triplets, or padaflafla donuts or....You name it!

I'm thankful to you, Mike, very inspirational! Keep spreading knowledge, I'm learning a lot and only wish that I had more hours to spend with the drums.

Seb

[Jean-Paul]

Jean-Paul wrote:
Hi Mike, thanks for the lesson. I dig your lessons and your concept. But in general with a lot of your lessons, IMHO, it would be cool to show more variations than one only in a 10 vid. No offense. But once you have the pattern down, the sky is the limit. I would love hearing your variations too. I am not asking for 5x 10min variation lessons but throw in a couple during one vid to show your ideas you're working on. BUT, still good and cool though. Thanks JP


Hey Jean Paul, great point my friend. That's why I offer the "Live Lesson" service on my site. It's much easier to show variations while doing a 45 live broadcast compared to a 10 min YouTube video. Especially with how much I talk, lol.

Hi Mike, sorry if I wasn't too clear. I mean, show some variations on the lick without explanation in order to create curiosity to sign up for your lessons. I hear what you are saying though but it's a bit like the chicken or the egg. Do I sign up to see what he has to say (much more) or wow ... cool variations, let me sign up to get the variations too.

[james]

http://www.youtube.com/user/drumteacher76#p/u/0/FJAJFJEWCkc

as for the variation, i think it's neat. hadn't thought of that one before. thanks for the idea

though personally, i like my blushdas with wider flams .

was thinking the same thing. nice idea but to me the blushda should sound more fluid and organic. playing it with a tight flam and the double kick just makes it sound too robotic. i really like the production quality of these videos. mike is definitely leading the way as far as marketing yourself as a drum instructor.

[langmick]

mike is definitely leading the way as far as marketing yourself as a drum instructor.

Bullshit.

[Jean-Paul]

mike is definitely leading the way as far as marketing yourself as a drum instructor.

Bullshit.

Can someone please do a lesson on what he plays from here 1:41?

Walter Sobchak: Forget it, Donny, you're out of your element!

[dwdrummer]

mike is definitely leading the way as far as marketing yourself as a drum instructor.

Bullshit.

You gotta help me out on this one, are you saying B.S. to me or to Jeff?

[Steve Holmes]

Pretty sure he's sarcastically saying Jeff is leading the way with educational vids.



Great production on the vid Mike. You've got a good thing going with your studio, congrats.

[Julián Fernández]

mike is definitely leading the way as far as marketing yourself as a drum instructor.

Bullshit.

You gotta help me out on this one, are you saying B.S. to me or to Jeff?

Come on, man... It was clearly a joke about Jeff leading the whole online teaching thing... Don´t take this forum so seriously.