Drummers Quest: Toto

Showing posts with label Toto. Show all posts

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Porcaro and Texas Shuffles Explained

Extending my series on Shuffles, I'm going to provide the patterns to two of the more popular Shuffle patterns: Rosanna (Porcaro) and Texas. If you have not worked with shuffles yet, please take a look at the first two parts of this series: Do You Know How to Shuffle and Groove The Half Time Shuffle

The Rosanna or Porcara Shuffle

This shuffle was made popular by Jeff Porcara, the drummer for the rock group Toto with the song Rosanna; as the names apply.

If you have not done so already, you may want to take a few minutes to look at this article to become acquainted with shuffles and in particular the way in which they are counted: Do You Know How To Shuffle. You may also take a look at this article on Ghost Notes as they are also included in this two patterns: Drum Lesson 7 - Alternated Patterns Part 3.

This pattern can be a little complicated; at least it has been for me. As with all shuffles, this is triplet based, with the count of 1 being a hi-hat and kick drum combination, a snare beat on 2 and another hi-hat on the count of 3. The second triplet starts with on the count of 4 with a hi-hat, the count of 5 is a ghost note snare beat (see this article mentioned above) followed by the count of six with a hi-hat and kick drum. The count of 1 on the third triplet starts out with a snare beat, followed by ghost note snare on the count of 2, hi-hat on the count of 3, hi-hat / kick on the count of 4, snare beat on the count of 5 and ends with a hi-hat on the count of 6.

Rosanna Shuffle Part 1

The next measure in this pattern starts out with the count of 1 of the triplet with a hi-hat, followed by a ghost note snare beat on the count of 2, then a hi-hat and kick drum on the count of 3. The next triplet starts out just like the first triplet accept that the snare beat on the count of 5 is a normal one. The third triplet is the same as the one is the first part and the last triplet is the same as the second triplet; hi-hat, snare and hi-hat / kick combination.

Rosanna Shuffle Part 2

The Texas Shuffle

The Texas Shuffle, while not as specific as the Rosanna, has many incantations and varies through-out its usage. Below I have listed some songs that utilize this shuffle pattern so that you can give a listen to them and get a feelings for this groove.

"La Grange" by ZZ Top

"Collins Shuffle" by Stevie Ray Vaughan

"Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off" by Joe Nichols

"Should've Said No" by Taylor Shift

Lets dive into the specifics of this pattern with the first example. This example starts out with a hi-hat / kick drum on the count of 1, a rest of count of 2 followed by a ghosted snare beat the count of 3. The other three triplets follow this pattern.

Texas Shuffle Example 1

The second example starts out with a hi-hat / kick combination on the count of 1, rest on the count of 2, ghosted snare beat and hi-hat on the count of 3 and this pattern repeats for the remainder of the measure.

Texas Shuffle Example 2

There are many different varies and there is no right or wrong way for the shuffle to be played as the two examples above show.

So, that's it. Now that the Rosanna and Texas Shuffle has been explained, it's time to take it to the kit and apply these three new patterns which will your arsenal of drumming techniques. I have created a downloaded PDF file that you can print and take to your kit; get it here: Porcaro Texas Shuffle Explained.

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Thursday, June 27, 2013

Do You Know How To Shuffle

Blues Drummer

Are you a beginning drummer? Are you a seasoned veteran looking to expand his skills? No matter what the skill level or what style of drumming you play, do you know how to Shuffle?

John Bonham (Led Zeppelin), Jeff Porcaro (Toto), Bernard Purdie, Stevie Wonder, and most of the various drummers that played with the group Steely Dan including Jeff Porcaro, Bernard Purdie and Steve Gadd (See this article: The Drummers of Steely Dan for full list of Steely Dan drummers) can all shuffle.

The Shuffle is ingrained in most all music genres through-out history. In this article I provide an overview of the shuffle and provide what you need to add learn and apply this technique to improve your drumming skill.

The Shuffle

The shuffle is a pattern that is applied to the playing triplets. The triplets are played in what is called "swing" or "swung" and according to Wikipedia Swing (jazz performance style), it is “...notes with equal written time values are performed with unequal durations, usually as alternating long and short.” Triplets however, are played in a 4/4 time signature, meaning that there are eight eighth notes to the measure and a max of 24 beats (eighth note x 3 beats = 24 beats); see Triplets Example image below. Unfortunately there is math in music.

However, in order to make triplets shuffle or "swung", the notes are played in a 12/8 time signature; meaning that there are 12 eighth notes in a measure or simply just 12 beats per measure. If you need a refresher on what an eighth note please check out my Musical Theory and Applying Theory articles and for triplets take a look at my Eighth Note Triplets article.

Triplets Example

Shuffle Example

As you will notice while comparing the two examples images above, the shuffle has twelve notes per the measure, however the middle note is left out or note played. This what is meant by the note is swung, leaving out a note.

There are several types of shuffles patterns that have been developed over the years, some of the most notable are “The Purdie Shuffle” developed by Bernard Purdie, the Melbourne Shuffle and the Rosanna Shuffle or Jeff Porcaro Shuffle developed by Jeff Pocaro. John Bonham also used a lot of triplets in his technique and is noted for using them on the kick drum. See the resource section at the end of the article for links that will provide you more information on shuffles and drummers listed above or click on the links included above.

Below I've listed a couple songs that are on YouTube that utilize the shuffle as the groove of the song:

Toto - Hold The Line

Stevie Wonder - Higher Ground

Steely Dan - Black Friday

Now lets move on and I will provide the same exercises that my instructor Jack Hall provided to me at my lesson at his studio at the Willis Music Store here in Louisville Ky.

Prerequisites

There is no real prerequisite for this lesson however it is recommend that you have worked with triplets.

In my previous article Eighth Note Triplets I cover everything that you will need to get you going with triplet. If you find the below exercises to difficult to work through. Link to previous article: Eighth Note Triplets.

Lesson Objectives

To build upon the triplets article and introduce the shuffle in a 12/8 time signature a long with providing exercises that assist in developing the technique.

PDF document is now available for downloading: Shuffles

Exercises

A note about the notation and how to count shuffles in 12/8 time verses the eighth note triplets in in 4/4 time. Since there are 12 eighth notes in a measure, some people will count them 1, 2, 3, etc to 12. Doing it this way becomes somewhat awkward when you get the 10, 11 and 12 counts. A much better way that my instructor introduced me to is to count them, 1 to 6 and 1 to 6 as in the first example image below Shuffle Exercise 1 or line one of the PDF document.

The first example starts out with three notes with the first being a hi-hat and kick drum on the count of one and hi-hat on the count of two and three. This is followed by the second set of triplets starting with the count of four which is a hi-hat and snare drum followed by hi-hat on the count of 5 and 6. The measure is subdivided so the same two sets of triplets repeat the same beats.

Shuffle Exercise 1

The second exercise is the built upon the first and there is an added kick drum on the count of 3 and the second count of 3.

Shuffle Exercise 2

The third exercise is built upon the first two exercises with an added kick drum on both the count of six.

Shuffle Exercise 3

The forth exercise again builds on the previous exercises, but this time the kick drum on both counts of six is moved to the count of five.

Shuffle Exercise 4

The fifth exercise builds upon the previous exercise, but this time the kick drums on the counts of 1 and 3 are removed and replaced with a kick on both counts of 2.

Shuffle Exercise 5

The sixth exercise once is similar to the fifth exercise, but this time we add another kick drum to both counts of 3.

Shuffle Exercise 6

The seventh exercise is where things change up and the true shuffle comes into play. As you will notice in the exercise below, it looks like the first exercise, however the second and fifth notes are removed on the hi-hat line. This is what gives the triplets that swung feel that was discussed earlier. Basically we are playing two beats, then skip a beat and then play two beats on the hi-hat. Like the first exercise, the kick drum in on the beats of one and the snare drum on the beat of four and like the exercises, the measure is subdivided.

Shuffle Exercise 7

The eighth exercise starts the repeat of building off the previous with an added kick drum on both counts of 3.

Shuffle Exercise 8

The ninth exercise only difference from the eighth is that there is a added kick drum on both counts of six.

Shuffle Exercise 9

The tenth exercise, we change the feel quite a bit by first removing the kick drum on the counts of six and we place a snare on the counts of two.

Shuffle Exercise 10

The eleventh exercise once again builds upon the previous by adding back the kick drum that appeared on the counts of six in the ninth exercise.

Shuffle Exercise 11

The final exercise (twelve) removes the kick drum on the counts of 1.

Shuffle Exercise 12

Your Assignment

It's your turn now! Download the accompanying exercises here: PDF. Now take it to the kit and start working on your shuffle. By learning this technique, it will add depth and dimension and some serious skills and greatly expand the type of music that you will be able to play. Remember to start out slowly and gradually increase your speed when and only when you can play them without errors and comfortably. Always use a metronome so that you can hear the spacing between the notes and make sure that each note sounds evenly.

This wraps up another lesson, which built upon my previous article eighth note triplets and presented another technique to boost your skills behind the drum kit. Keep it real and about the music! Until next time--Thanks for reading!

Resources

1. Wikipedia Swing (jazz performance style) Article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swing_%28jazz_performance_style%29

2. Bernard Purdie Shuffle by Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Purdie

3. Melbourne Shuffle by Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melbourne_Shuffle

4. Rosanna Shuffle or Jeff Porcaro Shuffle Article by Drummer World: http://www.drummerworld.com/Videos/jeffporcaroshuffle.html

5. John Bonham Triplet Article by Drummer World: http://www.drummerworld.com/Drumclinic/johnbonhamdazedconfused.html

6. The Drummers of Steely Dan by Modern Drummer

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Monday, June 24, 2013

Eighth Note Triplets

Eighth Note Triplet

Triplets are a funny little grouping of notes. They find themselves throughout all musical genders from rock, to the blues, and jazz. This material presented here is based on the notes that were presented to me by my drum instructor Jack Hall on May 22^nd, 2013 at his studio at the Willis MusicStore on Hurstbourne Lane here in Louisville KY.

To quote the book “The Total RockDrummer” by Mike Michalkow published by Alfred, “Lots of songs by Elvis Presley, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Ray Charles and other use triplets beats. One very popular song using this rhythm is “Hold the Line” by Toto, featuring Jeff Porcaro on drums.”

Another rock song that utilizes triplets in the main groove of the song after the into, according to the book is “Hot For Teacher” by Van Halen featuring Alex Van Halen on drums.

Steward Copeland of the Police, using triplets on the “Walking on the Moon” for the main groove of the song.

If you have not heard these songs or it's been a while, I would recommend going back and taking a listen to assist understanding this lesson after you have finished reading. I have provided the links to the song videos below that are on YouTube.

Toto - Hold The Line

Van Halen - Hot For Teacher

The Police - Walking on the Moon

The notation for triplets are a grouping of three notes together with a beam above it with a "3" (refer to above image Eight Note Triplet). For common time signature (4/4) there will be 24 notes to a measure (refer to the below image Eighth Note Triplets - Exercise 1). If you do not know music notation or need a refresher take at my Music Theory and Applying The Theory articles that I have previously developed.

Eighth note triplets are counted, 1-trip-let, 2-trip-let, 3-trip-let, 4-trip-let and 1-trip-let-&-trip-let, 2-trip-let-&-trip-let, 3-trip-let-&-trip-let, 4-trip-let-&-trip-let.

Now that you know what triplets are, let me present to you some exercises that will help to get you playing them on the drum kit.