Be at Po s te r

at the prescribed tempo markings. This experience will better prepare you for
contemporary work in a recording studio.

The best way I know to learn and understand a particular style of music is my
listening to recordings and interfacing with live musicians. Check out the recorded
performances for each beat excerpt featured on this poster and pay close attention
to the way each drummer plays time, grooves, and interacts with the rhythm section
and ensemble.
Drummers keep time by playing BEATS. For most situations, the music and musicianship
within the ensemble will determine your approach to beat development.
For contemporary music, the quarter note pulse is the foundation and the
SUBDIVISIONS between each quarter note give a particular style its identity.
This poster features fifty beats for practice organized by genre. They are intended
to provide the player with a diverse collection that can be used in a variety of
musical situations. Practice these examples with a metronome or drum machine
Rock Rhythms
Below are eight variations to get you grooving. To learn more,
explore your own collection of favorite rock and pop recordings.
Swing Rhythms
The following transcriptions are simple beats that really swing! As
you check out each recorded excerpt, listen to how these players
are phrasing their ride cymbal beat. The ride cymbal is a jazz
drummers focal point and the rhythmic information played on this
instrument helps the music swing.
Shuffle Rhythms
Art Blakey and Bernard Pretty Purdie are the KINGS of the
shuffle! As you listen and practice these examples, focus on the
dynamic balance of your upper and lower appendages.
Commercial Rhythms
Below are seven commercial rhythms to memorize before your
next wedding, anniversary party, or bar mitzvah gig
Brazilian Rhythms
Authentic Afro-Cuban and Brazilian rhythms are intended to be
performed on Latin percussion instruments. Within any given
ensemble, there can be four or more percussionists each playing
a different instrument. For example: conga, bongo, guiro, timbale,
and triangle.
Afro-Cuban Rhythms
The Clave rhythm is the foundation for which Afro-Cuban music
is based. This two measure pattern can be phrased 3:2 or 2:3
depending upon the composition. The 3:2 Clave has three notes in
the first measure and two notes in the second. The 2:3 Clave is the
reverse of the 3:2.
Odd Rhythms
The most common time signature in western music is 4/4. The
beats below are constructed in odd time signatures 3, 5, and 7.
Signature Rhythms
These beats helped identify their parent composition
Additional Rhythms
New Orleans Rhythms
New Orleans is known for its music explore the origins and
traditions of this great city by starting with these groove excerpts.
Funk Rhythms
These funk beats have challenging snare and bass drum
combinations! Listening to the music of Sly and the Family Stone,
Tower of Power, James Brown, Booker T. and the MGs, the Funk
Brothers, and George Clinton will provide THE example of what
funky truly means.
Jazz drummer, author, and
educator Steve Fidyk has toured
and recorded with Maureen
McGovern, NewYork Voices,
Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer,
The Capitol Bones, The Taylor/
Fidyk Big Band, an ensemble
he co-leads with Stan Kenton
arranger Mark Taylor, and is
currently the drummer with the
Army Blues Jazz Ensemble from
Washington DC.
As a leader, Fidyks discography includes: Big Kids (U.S.
Roots), A Perfect Match (Write Groove), and Live at Blues
Alley (OA2) and can be heard on over 50 recordings as a
contributing artist.
As an educator, Fidyk has authored: The Drum Set SMART
Book, Inside the Big Band Drum Chart, Jazz Drum Set
Independence 3/4, 4/4, and 5/4 Time Signatures, and an
instructional DVD entitled Set Up and Play! For information
on these methods, please visit www.melbay.com.
He has also recorded over 75 jazz play-along volumes
for the Hal Leonard Corporation and contributed drum
transcriptions to Drum Standards and Peter Erskines The
Drum Perspective.
Fidyk has served on the faculty at Wilkes University, St.
Marys College of Maryland, George Mason University,
The University of Maryland, and is presently a member
of the jazz faculty at Temple University in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. He holds a Masters Degree in Jazz Studies
from the University of Maryland and Bachelors in Music
Education fromWilkes University.
STEVE FIDYK
Notation Key
by Steve Fidyk
A l l V a t e r s t i c k s a r e t o n e & we i g h t ma t c h e d b y c o mp u t e r a n a l y s i s
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