:: Welcome to Jack Bennett's Big Drum Video Newsletter! ::

Feb 2nd Issue, 2008

In this issue..

1) Video testimonials from happy UDS 2007 customers!
2) Short Preview of the brand new Split Screen Ezybeats from Funk & illusion Drumming! Click the pic below
3) On With The Show - lesson on breaking up Linear Beats between Bass, Snare and Hihats.

1) Video testimonials from happy UDS 2007 customers!

I wanted to start out with a couple of new video testimonials we received regarding UDS 2007. Many thanks to everyone who has sent in videos and kind emails!

Alexander - Netherlands

Steve - Scotland

2) Click the picture to view the sample Ezybeat video!

This week I got stuck into the editing of the Great Ocean Rd footage for Funk & Illusion Drumming. Some pretty funny behind the scenes footage is in there, which will make a nice addition to the instructional side of the DVD pack.

The new Ezybeat backing music is sounding great! My favorites to jam along to at present are 32nd Note Grooves and Odd Accent Beats. This time we will be giving away not only the backing music (Groove Tracks) but I will also throw in the Groove Tracks PLUS drums. This gives you the best of both worlds. With drums, without drums.

2) ON WITH THE SHOW - LINEAR BEATS

Today's lesson is on how to break up Linear Beats between the bass drum, snare and hihats. Linear Drumming is covered in depth in Funk & illusion Drumming in both 16ths (beginner, intermediate & advanced) and in Triplet Beats.

What are linear beats? Basically they're "broken up" beats, where at no time do you ever play 2 or more drums/cymbals on any given subdivision. This is unlike most common jazz / rock / latin beats where you often play drums together, like for instance a snare and hihat backbeat in a pop feel etc.

You can see in this linear beat, there is only one drum being playing on each subdivision. These broken up patterns give the beat a weightless feel, since they're not so dense. They have a really nice flow about them, IF they're perfectly even and the internal dynamics are in check. If they're not even and every note is of monotone volume, they can sound clumsy.

The next beat is NOT a linear beat, since it plays 2 instruments on the same subdivision (hats and snare, hats and bass)

Internal Dynamics? Make sure you play all the non accents a LOT softer than the accents. There are a few schools of thought on how much of a difference, and what you chose to do helps make up "your sound", since it's a conceptual choice. One of the most common approaches, which I use in this video (and most of the F&ID DVD), is to play the accents as half stroke rimshots, and the non accents as ghost strokes, dropping the stick from roughly 2cm from the drum. This approach suits funk/fusion and other styles of playing well, both live and in the studio. Where I wouldn't use this approach is if I was playing in a situation where it would be too overpowering dynamically to play rimshots, even soft ones - ie an intimate setting with lively wooden acoustics.

BASIC LINEAR UNIT PLAYED IN 16th BEATS

Today we look at some of the many units from Funk & Illusion Drumming. This is from the beginner 16th beat section.

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