Barry Altschul

Part 1: Hi-Hat Comping Riffs in 4/4 Jazz drummers depend on the hi-hat to help propel the band and provide strength to the weak beats of 2 and 4. When played in sync with the ride cymbal, a dynamically controlled hi-hat pulse helps expand your sound and reinforces the swing feel. In modern music, the hi-hat is also used as an accent texture within a phrase, stressing rhythms and creating syncopations generally reserved for the snare or bass drum.

The Collapsing Concept Crushing Roll Rudiments to Create Contemporary Swing and Solo Ideas by Steve Fidyk The late, great author and educator Jim Chapin gave me this exercise in a lesson a number of years ago. It deals with the seven-stroke roll and Jim’s concept of collapsing the rudiment to create a six-note grouping. In our meetings, Chapin would encourage me to be creative with each rudimental idea and to come up with beat patterns and solo ideas that were my own.

The Root Rhythm of Jazz and Beyond The Charleston was a popular dance rhythm during the 1920s that got its name from the popular composition of the same name by pianist/composer James P. Johnson. The syncopated Charleston rhythm is one of the most fundamental figures that makes up the DNA of jazz, as well as many different types of music from around the world. All of the great jazz drummers throughout history utilize the Charleston.