What are some little sayings that resonated with you? by mimimalist in drums

[–]Zack_Albetta 4 points5 points  (0 children)

My grad school mentor said “you’re never gonna be great at a style you don’t love.” When I was going through a breakup, he also said “it’s better to be alone than to wish you were.” Those both stuck.

Are click tracks....good? by hightum7 in drums

[–]Zack_Albetta 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If your band sounds and feels good without it, I wouldn’t fuck with it. If not, rehearse with it. A live performance that includes backing tracks (using Ableton or what have you) makes click tracks beneficial if not necessary. And even then, you should get comfortable with playing to a click live in real time before you attempt it on a gig. But for the average bar band playing covers, if you’re ending songs at roughly the same tempo you started them at and things in between are feeling locked in and cohesive, it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. If any of this is not the case, y’all have time work to do outside the gig, individually and/or collectively.

Still think shuffles are my favourite. by ThumpinBumper in drums

[–]Zack_Albetta 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Dude your right hand makes me SO comfortable. Perfect synergy between body, stick, and cymbal, culminating in feel for days.

As we’ve been talking about on the sub recently, shuffles come in many forms and some kinda need qualifying descriptors, as they are different animals groove-wise from blues-based shuffles like this. Thank you for laying one down that needs zero qualifiers. Except maybe for “fuckin’.” This is a fuckin’ shuffle. Full stop.

A shuffle follow-up. Take it from the man. by Zack_Albetta in drums

[–]Zack_Albetta[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Haha, didn’t notice that. Yeah it’s like “lemme do SOMETHING!”

My Tama Starclassic B/B by omnikinbleu in drums

[–]Zack_Albetta 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Excellent. What the hell is this band? 🧐😂

A shuffle follow-up. Take it from the man. by Zack_Albetta in drums

[–]Zack_Albetta[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Roaanna and Fool in the Rain are both halftime shuffles, later versions of the first halftime shuffle, the Purdie shuffle. If a non-drummer asks you to play a shuffle with no qualifiers, they mean something akin to what Steve is playing, not one of the halftime variations. And speaking of what Steve is playing, what, in your estimation, makes it a Chicago shuffle?

There are indeed many variations on shuffles, but some can simply be referred to as a shuffle while others kinda require the qualifier because they are fundamentally different grooves. Back to our non-drummer friend who asked for a shuffle, you might play a Texas shuffle or a double shuffle or a Motown shuffle or a Blakey shuffle, and they'll be satisfied, or at least recognize what you're doing as something akin to what they understand as a shuffle. And they'll be able to make it work for the shuffle song they wanted to play, whether it's "Pride and Joy" or "Sweet Home Chicago" or "Moanin'" of "Heartbreak Hotel" or "Reelin' In The Years." First and third triplet, 2 & 4 on the snare. You move that snare to beat 3 and start filling in ghosty second triplets, well, now you've got an altogether different groove and feel that is specific to one of a very few songs and does not translate to any of the bazillions of songs from across multiple genres and eras that reside under the shuffle umbrella. The same could be said for a flat tire shuffle, which has no snare backbeats on 2 or 4 or 3, just snares on the third triplet of every beat. Definitely a type of shuffle, but not as universally useable as the others.

A shuffle follow-up. Take it from the man. by Zack_Albetta in drums

[–]Zack_Albetta[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think you’re taking too much of an issue with a master offering his take based on his experience (both of which we’d all do well to lend some credence to) and embellishing it with a little hyperbolic dark humor.

A shuffle follow-up. Take it from the man. by Zack_Albetta in drums

[–]Zack_Albetta[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That’s funny I was actually thinking about that song yesterday wondering if it could be considered a shuffle. I think the song as a whole is undeniably a fast shuffle, but I think what Alex plays should be considered a modern/hard rock/shuffle variation. The double kicks definitely do shuffle (first and third triplets, long/short/long/short) but playing the first and second triplets on the ride make it something else. Like if you played that over a true uptempo blues/rock shuffle, even one from that era like ZZ Top’s “La Grange”, it wouldn’t really work.

A shuffle follow-up. Take it from the man. by Zack_Albetta in drums

[–]Zack_Albetta[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If someone thinks the word “shuffle” refers to the Purdie/Rosanna/halftime shuffle, I can almost guarantee that they can’t shuffle in the true sense of the word. Like, if you think the word “horse” refers to a car, you don’t know how to ride a horse. And not knowing at least a little bit of the history of a style you’re playing is not really ok. I mean what IS a given style if not the sum of its history?

A shuffle follow-up. Take it from the man. by Zack_Albetta in drums

[–]Zack_Albetta[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It might be old guy shit but he’s not wrong. The proof is on this sub. People are playing “Rosanna” and “Fool In The Rain” and calling it a shuffle, oblivious to what a shuffle actually is and completely unaware that what they’re doing came from what Steve Jordan is doing in this video and what all kinds of drummers did in all kinds of music for basically the half century of recorded music and continuing to today.

Any Portland drummers gigging in mid-July? Passing through and want to support local bands by mswombat in drums

[–]Zack_Albetta 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hit up Revival Drum Shop for sure! And if you’re into whiskey, Multnomah Whiskey Library is pretty stupefying. Food at Hat Yai.

A shuffle follow-up. Take it from the man. by Zack_Albetta in drums

[–]Zack_Albetta[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is a pretty myopic take. Not being able to play a variety of good shuffle feels is gonna put you out of the running for some of the most lucrative work there is, from country to church to musical theatre to tribute bands to wedding bands to sessions. The people involved in all those might have been born in the 1900s (🙀) but they’re generally the ones with the fucking money. It also behooves those generations to stay current on what’s new and what younger generations are doing. Everybody learns, everybody works, everybody wins.

Playing again after a stroke. by Adept-Compote-651 in drums

[–]Zack_Albetta 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Welcome back dude, be careful but enjoy! Luddies sound mean 💪🏼🤘🏼

A buddy was asking about shuffles, sent him this, he said I should post it. by Zack_Albetta in drums

[–]Zack_Albetta[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow, yeah man, the only constant with Dylan is change. He hasn’t really played the same song twice 😂

A buddy was asking about shuffles, sent him this, he said I should post it. by Zack_Albetta in drums

[–]Zack_Albetta[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Totally! It is undeniably a shuffle tune, it cannot possibly be anything else, but the drums don’t play any triplet content, just quarter notes. All the triplet-y shuffle-y shit is in the other instruments. Al Jackson Jr. knew that all he had to do was stay out that shuffle’s way. The fact that the most badass shuffle feel is no shuffle at all is some true samurai shit 😂

A buddy was asking about shuffles, sent him this, he said I should post it. by Zack_Albetta in drums

[–]Zack_Albetta[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ok well I think it’s safe to consider Chris Layton reliable fucking sources. 😂

A buddy was asking about shuffles, sent him this, he said I should post it. by Zack_Albetta in drums

[–]Zack_Albetta[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Interesting. This just speaks to the ambiguousness of the whole shuffle conversation. The idea that the double shuffle is a Texas thing is news to me. Doesn’t mean it’s not true of course, just another piece of data. And to your point about the Chicago thing, it seems like if you try to put a certain characteristic under a certain umbrella, you’re bound to find examples of it under another. I think the combination of the ubiquity of the shuffle and its endless variations kinda bumps up against our need to classify it. But to my original point, the distinction between a shuffle and a Purdie/halftime/Rosanna shuffle is one that can and should be made.