Mastering improvisation & Interpretation

Composite Reading Situations in Drumming

In what I would like to call a composite reading situation, we're looking at different parts of the drum kit. This can involve various rhythmic styles, such as:

• Eighth note rock grooves
• Sixteenth note funk grooves
• Triplet shuffle grooves
• Jazz rhythms
• Odd time grooves

These styles would be represented on a staff.

Practicing and Familiarization

The best way to practice this is to:

1. Look through your pieces and get familiar with them.
2. Understand the styles in the various pieces.

Working through this material with your teacher can also be helpful. Make sure that you're interpreting the information the right way.

Notation and Groove Representation

What you'll see, for the most part, is a sense of notation as a representation of the grooves or styles that you're playing. For example:

• In typical pop and rock grooves (whether it's commercial rock, heavy rock, or heavy metal), it's often written as eighth notes.
• In jazz, shuffle, and swing blues, you will be exposed more to triplets, such as eighth note triplets or swung eighth notes (a concept I won't elaborate on here, but swung eighth notes are great for sight-reading).

Funk Grooves

When you move into funk, expect to see:

• More sixteenth notes
• Additional bass drum notes
• Short fills consisting of sixteenth note phrases around the drums or just on the snare drum.

This rhythm is representative of a funk groove.

Hip Hop and Latin Influences

In hip hop grooves or funk shuffle grooves, you might encounter more:

• Sixteenth note triplets
• Variations of those sixteenth note triplets.

In Latin tunes, you will likely play a lot of:

• Cut time rhythms
• 2/4 rhythms

You'll need to read flam notes as well.

Melodic Lines and Non-Drum Charts

Consider grabbing some melodic lines from various instruments:

• A trumpet part
• A piano part
• A saxophone part

Look at those single line rhythms and see how they differ from drum notation. In melodic parts, you will encounter many ties because those notes are held. This often makes phrases look different.

Importance of Melodic Charts

Sourcing material from non-drum charts, such as melodic charts or lead sheets, can greatly assist in your interpretation and improvisation skills for chart reading.

Exploring Additional Material

Why not look at some pieces you're not performing in your examination? Check out:

• Stylistic requirements
• Tempo ranges
• Phrasing

Evaluate the individual rhythmic lines, such as ride lines and bass drum parts. It can help enhance your overall reading perspective.

Quick Study Pieces

Finally, at grades 6, 7, and 8, you'll encounter quick study pieces. These are unprepared sight-reading pieces that:

• Are longer
• Are very specifically stylistically based

If you've practiced and prepared on the previous grades and pieces, familiarizing yourself with this system will ease the way for tackling these quick study pieces.

This combination of single line phrases, fills, improvisation, and development in specific styles will be invaluable.

Closing Thoughts

I hope this helps with your sight reading. I wish you the best of luck!