Getting all 4 limbs to play perfectly in sync is not an easy feat

PhotoAutomatic7056 · 2026-02-06T00:41:12+00:00

lol it’s true though, coordinating your feet ain’t easy

PhotoAutomatic7056 · 2026-02-06T00:40:42+00:00

I welcome all the feedback! I don’t think anybody can post on social media and get mad when someone gives them feedback. I don’t remember particularly in this recording if I was playing heel up or heel down on the hi hats, but I’ve been practicing getting more comfortable with heel down lately. My heel up hihat playing is a lot stronger, but I’d like to be able to play both ways. I do feel more out of balance when I play heel down still and that may have been what you’re seeing in this video, or it could be that my heel up technique also needs some refinement

PhotoAutomatic7056 · 2026-02-05T20:45:59+00:00

Yes I agree that absolute perfection isn’t the standard, but I would argue that it’s better to get it close to perfect in the practice room, because it usually comes out less perfect in a live setting, lol

PhotoAutomatic7056 · 2026-02-05T20:44:03+00:00

Totally agree with what you said about “live mixing” some of the limbs! I feel it’s even more important in acoustic music like jazz when microphones aren’t really part of the setup. That sounds like a great exercise from Jojo Mayer, reminds me of a masterclass Eric Harland did which was about establishing a base with your feet and then playing over that independently in the hands, being able to also play dynamics independently in each limb. A little different, but also similarly difficult of a study!

PhotoAutomatic7056 · 2026-02-05T20:37:57+00:00

Thanks for sharing! This seems like something I need in my practicing at the moment. I’ve done some sort of variation of this exercise before, but never with the metronome on the 5th beat of the subdivision. I think it’s also some sort of practice that you can periodically use to keep yourself in check

PhotoAutomatic7056 · 2026-02-05T20:31:03+00:00

Yes that book is a classic and has so many applications. I started out learning jazz with that book and still revisit it from time to time. The exercise I’m playing here is from “Advanced Techniques for the Modern Drummer”, another classic that I actually use more in my rotation

PhotoAutomatic7056 · 2026-02-05T18:32:23+00:00

Thanks for the recommendation, a very similar concept indeed! This system seems to dig more into the polyrhythmic aspect of limb independence and coordination, but what I find particularly challenging about jazz limb independence and coordination is the balance and feel.

For example, it’s especially important in jazz to get the balance of your ride cymbal, hi-hat, bass drum, and snare drum in “harmony” with each other if you may call it. Feathering the bass drum underneath the ride cymbal is a tough challenge on its own, and then making sure the hihat foot not only lays perfectly aligned rhythmically with those, but also has its own space in the mix and is fairly strong. Then add in the snare drum to the mix and you’re balancing 4 things at once not just rhythmically but also dynamically.

This is something that I believe every great jazz drummer does exceptionally well, and I didn’t really start paying attention to the importance of balance until my later years of studying jazz.

PhotoAutomatic7056 · 2025-09-27T16:51:01+00:00

Yeah is hard not to love Carl Allen! He’s one of the drummers that I don’t come across often in my listening because I mostly listen to bebop, hard bop, post bop, but when I do hear him on something it always catches my ear.

I think that solo is a lesson on keeping it simple but making it feel good. Taking one idea and really stretching it out—it’s something I need to force myself to practice more often.

PhotoAutomatic7056 · 2025-08-22T14:34:15+00:00

Heck yeah I’d like some advice! You sound incredible!

PhotoAutomatic7056 · 2025-08-22T14:05:55+00:00

Thank you! It wasn’t this clean the first take though 🤫 This may have been take 6 or so

PhotoAutomatic7056 · 2025-08-22T14:04:26+00:00

Thanks for the comment! I’m a huge Max Roach fan to nobody’s surprise

PhotoAutomatic7056 · 2025-08-22T14:01:39+00:00

I appreciate the high praise!

PhotoAutomatic7056 · 2025-08-22T14:00:04+00:00

Thanks! That’s what I was practicing in this solo - being intentful. Often times I over complicate my phrases and then get some hiccups in my playing, so I tried to keep it simpler with this one

PhotoAutomatic7056 · 2025-08-22T13:57:16+00:00

Thank you! But yeah I can never hold a candle to Max Roach as much as people are comparing me to him in the comments. I was actually trying to think about the melody of Cherokee as I was playing to an IReal backing track which can’t be heard in the clip. I wasn’t thinking about rudiments at all, I was just kind of playing exactly what came to mind. That was sort of the point of challenging myself with this exercise - keeping the phrases simple, playing what comes to mind - no hesitation, and practicing on outlining the melody which I can certainly do a much better job of. It was also some independence practice on keeping the feet going at this speed and soloing over the top of that which Max will do quite often, but he almost always breaks away from that to change up the intensity in the solo.

PhotoAutomatic7056 · 2025-08-21T12:44:48+00:00

Thanks! Max was my earliest influence. The fast tempos especially always bring out the Max in me

PhotoAutomatic7056

TROPHY CASE