New Orleans Drumming - Lesson One: Fundamentals of Rhythm

Hi and welcome to this series on New Orleans drumming.

Introduction

This is lesson one, and we're going to start right at the beginning: the fundamentals of the rhythm of New Orleans.

The In-Between Groove

• Understanding the Groove: We're talking about the "in-between" groove here. It's not swung, like "Humpty Dumpty, Humpty Dumpty" rhythm. It's also not straight; it's somewhere in between. This is one of the most challenging parts of playing New Orleans music, understanding how that feels.

• Listening: You can't write that down; the only way to really understand this is by listening a lot. We'll discuss some tracks to listen to later.

Playing the Pattern

• The pattern can be played with the hands on the snare drum.
• We'll try both swung and straight to get a feel for those two sounds and rhythms.

Finding the Groove

• Swung Tone: (Doo badu, badu, badu)

• Straight Tone: And straight.

• In-Between Sound: (Doo badu, badu, badu)

When you say "do ba," you're sort of accenting the "ba."

Example:

• "Do badoo, badoo, badoo, badu, badu."

You can see it's sort of in between. That's what we're after!

Adding Complexity

Sometimes you can throw in some flams and drags when you get comfortable with that. Always think of phrasing and sing rhythmic melodies, it's really important in New Orleans music.

• Vocalize the Rhythm:
  • Try phrases like:
    • "bu, do bad and bat and boo"
    • "Badoo badoo and ba."

Don't worry about sounding silly; it's part of the process!

• Melodic Focus: If you can say it, you're a lot closer to being able to play it. Always try to sing it and be melodic, this is crucial.

Recommended Listening

Here are a couple of tracks you can listen to:

1. "Going to the Mardi Gras" by Professor Longhair:

   • Professor Longhair is a piano player and singer, and a crucial figure in all rock and roll and New Orleans music.

2. "Don't You Just Know It" by Huey Piano Smith:

   • You can hear the rhythm very clearly, especially on the snare drum.

Conclusion

• Have a look at the PDF for more resources.
• Keep practicing, keep listening more importantly, and keep singing and vocalizing these ideas.

When it clicks, we can move on to lesson two.

I'll see you there!