Example 1 - Focusing on Coordination

With
Sophie AllowaySophie Alloway works on coordination - landing the hi-hat and bass drum together in unison without flams, using the chugging rhythm guitar track to keep your timing even.
What's in the course
114 lessons (3h 47m) · 1 free
01. Rock Drumming Introduction
7:55

02. Example 1 - Single Strokes
2:44

03. Example 2 - Double Strokes
1:28

04. Example 3 - Paradiddles
2:37

05. Bonus - Combining Singles, Doubles, and Paradiddles
2:22

06. Rock Lesson 2 - Adding Rests
1:48

07. Example 1 - Rest on Beat 4
1:56

08. Example 2 - Rest on Beat 2
1:36

09. Example 3 - Moving Rests
1:05

10. Example 4 - Piston Bars 12-16
1:56

11. Bonus Exercise 1
1:49

12. Bonus Exercise 2
1:02

13. Rock Section Summary
1:50

01. Pop - Adding the Hi-Hat
1:31

02. Example 1 - Quarter Notes on Hi-Hat
1:40

03. Example 2 - Resting on Beat 1
1:42

04. Example 3 - Two Consecutive Quarter Note Rests
1:28

05. Bonus Exercise 1
1:11

06. Bonus Exercise 2
1:10

07. Pop Lesson 2 Example 1 - Combining the Hi-Hat & Snare
1:11

08. Example 2 - Moving Quickly Between Drum Voices
1:17

09. Example 3 - Two Drum Voices in One Bar
0:59

10. Example 4 - Take It to the Top Bars 1-4
1:10

11. Bonus Exercise 1
1:08

12. Bonus Exercise 2
1:04

13. Pop Music Section Summary
0:51

01. Introduction to Country Music
4:13

02. Skills Checkpoint
1:54

03. Example 1 - Half-Note Rest
1:18

04. Example 2 - Placing of the Half-Note Rest
1:31

05. Example 3 - Bass Drum Phrases
1:29

06. Bonus Exercise 1
1:27

07. Bonus Exercise 2
1:10

08. Country Lesson 2 - Combining Bass Drum, Snare, and Hi-Hat
3:07

09. Example 1 - Combining the Bass Drum & Hi-Hat
1:40

10. Example 2 - Adding the Half-Note Rest in Various Positions
1:10

11. Example 3 - Moving Quickly Between Drum Voices
1:10

12. Example 4 - Borderlands Bars 1-4
1:06

13. Bonus Exercise 1
1:30

14. Bonus Exercise 2
0:56

15. Country Music Section Summary
0:26

01. Metal Introduction - Playing Two Drum Voices
3:35

02. Example 1 - Focusing on Coordination
You are here2:19

03. Example 2 - Bass Drum Variations
1:16

04. Example 3 - Coordinating the Hands
1:09

05. Bonus Exercise 1
1:05

06. Bonus Exercise 2
0:50

07. Metal Lesson 1 Summary
0:25

08. Metal Lesson 2 - Playing Your First Full Beat
1:56

09. Example 1 - Basic Rock Beat Hi-Hat Pattern
1:08

10. Example 2 - Adding the Back Beat
0:58

11. Example 3 - Adding the Bass Drum
0:59

12. Example 4 - Power Trip Bars 13-14
1:32

13. Bonus Exercise 1
1:10

14. Bonus Exercise 2
0:53

15. Metal Section Summary
1:05

01. Indie - Introduction to the Style
1:26

02. Example 1 - Resting on Beat Three
1:01

03. Example 2 - More Variations
1:00

04. Example 3 - Coordinating the Limbs
2:16

05. Bonus Exercise 1
1:10

06. Bonus Exercise 2
0:50

07. Indie Lesson 1 Summary
0:25

08. Indie Checkpoint - Mallets
2:46

09. Indie Lesson 2 - Introducing 8th Note Bass Drum and Snare
1:25

10. Example 1 - Eighth-Note Snare
1:36

11. Example 2 - Eighth-Note Bass Drum
1:04

12. Example 3 - Eighth Note Phrase
0:59

13. Example 4 - 'Big Mouth' Bars 1-4
1:48

14. Bonus Exercise 1
0:38

15. Bonus Exercise 2
0:59

16. Indie Section Summary
0:34

01. Hip-Hop Introduction - Basic Beats and Fills
1:33

02. Example 1 - Snare & Bass Drum Fill
1:10

03. Example 2 - Snare & Hi-Hat Fill
1:08

04. Example 3 - Fill Using Snare, Hi-Hat & Bass Drum
1:09

05. Bonus Exercise 1
1:38

06. Bonus Exercise 2
0:47

07. Hip-Hop Lesson 1 Summary
0:32

08. Hip Hop Lesson 2 - Introduction to Eighth Note Beats
3:53

09. Example 1 - The Basic Eighth-Note Beat
1:19

10. Example 2 - Snare Drum Variations
1:28

11. Example 3 - Bass Drum Variations
1:09

12. Example 4 - 'The Dogg' Bars 13-16
1:56

13. Bonus Exercise 1
1:04

14. Bonus Exercise 2
1:09

15. Hip-Hop Section Summary
0:32

01. Introduction to the Pieces
1:04

02. Piston (Rock) - Walkthrough
4:57

03. Piston (Rock) - Performance
0:46

04. Take it to the Top (Pop) - Walkthrough
3:58

05. Take it to the Top (Pop) - Performance
0:50

06. Borderlands (Country) - Walkthrough
3:49

07. Borderlands (Country) - Performance
0:48

08. Power Trip - Walkthrough
5:04

09. Power Trip (Metal) - Performance
0:51

10. Big Mouth (Indie) - Walkthrough
5:26

11. Big Mouth (Indie) - Performance
0:52

12. The Dogg (Hip Hop) - Walkthrough
6:14

13. The Dogg (Hip Hop) - Performance
0:51

14. Overload (Rock) - Walkthrough
5:23

15. Overload (Rock) - Performance
0:50

16. Slam (Metal) - Walkthrough
4:28

17. Slam (Metal) - Performance
0:51

18. Under the Radar (Indie) - Walkthrough
5:02

19. Under the Radar (Indie) - Performance
0:50
Lesson transcript
Developing Coordination: Example One
So, with Example One, we're going to start developing our coordination to make sure that we're able to play things in unison. This means hitting two or more things at the same time.
Key Points to Remember:
-
Avoid Flams:
- We don't want any flams, which are unintentionally out-of-time notes.
- A flam is a rudimentary technique where we purposely play notes slightly out of sync to add depth and weight, but we do not want this when aiming for unison.
-
Maintain an Even Pulse:
- It's essential to keep a nice, even pulse.
- When you play a bass drum with a hi-hat, commit to landing them at the same time.
- The same applies when playing a snare with a hi-hat; make sure they land together.
Coordination Focus in Example One
- We will focus on coordination by playing:
- Quarter notes on the hi-hat.
- The bass drums as written, aiming to get them to land together.
Let’s Try Example One
- Count along: 1, 2, 3.
Additional Tips
- Guitar Part:
- The rhythm guitar part, with its chugging along, is really useful.
- It acts as our metronome, providing a good feel and a nice musical backdrop, which helps us play in time.
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Meet your guru

Meet your guru
Sophie Alloway is a session and touring drummer at the heart of the London jazz scene. She has performed with Jason Rebello, Yazz Ahmed, Laurence Cottle and Tony Allen, and notably played for Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace shortly before he became King.
Touring credits include Roots Manuva, the Thriller musical and Paul Stacey (Oasis / The Black Crowes). She is also the drummer in original fusion band Lydian Collective, with over six million Spotify streams.
Sophie has recorded sessions at Abbey Road, AIR and Angel studios, and her television appearances include Later… with Jools Holland, Glastonbury and two series of Adrian Dunbar’s drama Ridley. She is featured on Abbey Road Masters: The Drum Sessions and performed for the BBC Young Jazz Musician 2024 finalists, broadcast on BBC TV and Radio. Jon Newey of Jazz FM dubbed her the “goddess of groove”.




















