Drum Beat Project

Beat 135 of my #DrumBeatProject 6.28.22 - Swipe for 2 alt vids & notations. This melody came to me while listening to @Elena_Setien as I walked around Madrid while on @Wilco tour. It’s definitely influenced by her - if not outright lifted! I tried it on kalimba, but it worked best on my @MajesticPercussion glock & @zildjiancompany crotales. Its in 11 & the drum part offers both support and counterpoint to the melody. I included the xtra 2 vids to show a bit of my process. If I have the time, I like to try each beat at slightly different tempos or experiement a bit with implements or grips or preparations too - just to see what works the best. The 1st xtra vid here is at 135 dpm, the second at 129 but I went with the one at 132 bpm as the main beat since it felt the best and the aluminum mallets cut better on my phone recorder than my usual go-to poly ones. The DrumBeatProject at its core is about process - but also about exploring beats in a few different ways. The first is thinking of them as mini-compositions. I started this whole project after writing 3 concerti within a year & then wanting to change things up and shift my focus to the most consise, micro-compositions possible: beats. I also want to create beats that other people might want to use to make their own music with. And, I also view this as an educational undertaking - both for other drummers and myself - whether that’s finding something unique or overlooked to focus on or re-imagining things that are already in my vocabulary or the drumming cannon. Most beats touch on more than one of these aspects, but because of the melodic component and even moreso how it was composed (writing an accompanying part to a lead voice), I think this one falls into the first category of being a micro-composition. Solo pieces are up on my youtube channel, link in bio! Past beats at GlennKotche.com/projects- check ’em out! @clark.hubbard @ashwin_deepankar #ABeatAWeek #DrumBeatTheory #DrumBeatImmersion #loveyourneighbor ...

Beat 134 of my #DrumBeatProject 6.24.22 Swipe for 2 alt vids & notations. This one started from the @Wilco song “A Lifetime To Find” from our new record, Cruel Country, specifically a live variation that I was messing w/on stage in Valencia, ES (2nd vid). Nothing flashy or fancy but harder to execute consistently than it might appear. The spot to watch is the + of ct. 2 where SD and BD are in unison. I wrote it riding on HH w/openings but these 3 vids voice the RH on ride, tambo and FT rim respectively - anything works tho. It seems that people are really drawn to the most showy & complicated drumming posts - but the #DrumBeatProject is about process and is educational (for me at least!) at its core, so I really wanted to include this decidedly un-flashy beat since the musicality of the beat really comes out from the slight variations of sound that result from the subtle shifts in playing areas on the Cross-stick and Ride. Those little movements w/the LH get different tones on the rim or @Gruv-X X-Click as does using 2 playing areas on the Ride or FT rim. The motions and minor stroke height differences that result really impact the groove too - all things that I love dorking out on and didn’t really come to appreciate until I was older and more experienced - the more you know, the more you learn. Solo pieces are up on my youtube channel, link in bio! Past beats at GlennKotche.com/projects- check ’em out! @clark.hubbard @ashwin_deepankar #ABeatAWeek #DrumBeatTheory #DrumBeatImmersion #loveyourneighbor ...

Beat 133 of my #DrumBeatProject 6.6.22 Swipe for notations. On a fam roadtrip this week, so here’s a recent-ish compound beat from the vaults. These 2 beats are all about incorporating a fun 4-note embellishment into the beat - basically a 4-stroke ruff split up between all 4 limbs (the interp opens a bit for the last one making more of a 16th-note triplet tho). Both beats/bars have subtle voicing differences at the end between the HH, stack & 2nd SD, giving each a slightly different pitched cadence, even tho the sticking remains consistent. Solo pieces are up on my youtube channel, link in bio! Past beats at GlennKotche.com/projects- check ’em out! @clark.hubbard @ashwin_deepankar #ABeatAWeek #DrumBeatTheory #DrumBeatImmersion #loveyourneighbor ...

Beat 132 of my #DrumBeatProject 7.15.22 Swipe for notations, alt notation, xtra vid and pic. I was listening to my morning playlist yesterday and @Thirdcoastpercussion “Aguas da Amazonia No. 4 by @PhilipGlassMusic from TCP’s beautiful album “Paddle To The Sea” came on. It was still in my head a few mins later when I went out to drum, and this came out. It sounds like the aforementioned is actually in 15 - but mine came out in 16 - but broken up into these cells: 4+3+2+2+2+3. I included 2 vids since a very minor difference seems to have had a much larger impact. On the 2nd vid the Guiro stax on my main SD is between 12 & 3 o’clock causing me to concentrate a little more to angle my rt. arm properly in order to get a good scrape. In the 1st vid it’s mounted between the SD and RT and is oriented more flat to me - no angling necessary, which frees me up physically to “dance” a bit more while I’m playing. Little ripple-effect stuff like that totally fascinates me! There are so many subltle complexities in what we do that just hide under the surface but are ultimately elemental to the feel, sound and our experience of playing. The kit is full of fun flair/preparations currently thanks to Gruv-X, Creative Percussion, Upcycled Percussion, DrumGees, Meinl Percussion and Keplinger Percussion - so many cool sounds that are integral to this beat - not to mention the Dem Sticks prototype fan and CP shaker mallet - see xtra pic. When I started, if you wanted these sounds you had to dream them up, find them or make them - but thanks to these hyper-creative and driven musicians / entrepreneurs, there’s a wealth of sounds that no single person would ever have been able to come up with alone - I’m so thankful for you all! If you’re hearing this one with a different count 1 - listen to the TCP piece then listen to the beat again, you might hear it differently. New solo piece is now up on my youtube channel, link in bio! Past beats at GlennKotche.com/projects- check ’em out! @clark.hubbard @ashwin_deepankar #ABeatAWeek #DrumBeatTheory #DrumBeatImmersion #loveyourneighbor ...

Beat 131 of my #DrumBeatProject 6.24.22 Swipe for notations & xtra beat vid. Like last week, another sound check-Purdie shuffle variation in Valencia w/ @Wilco. For this one, I'm tagging on 4 16ths for a mix of 3 and 4 note cells. It’s a half time feel w/ a little implied double time or glitch at the end. Along the same lines, the extra beat vid is just a funk shuffle in 6. Enjoy! New solo piece is up on my youtube channel, link in bio! Past beats at GlennKotche.com/projects- check ’em out! @clark.hubbard @ashwin_deepankar #ABeatAWeek #DrumBeatTheory #DrumBeatImmersion #loveyourneighbor ...

Beat 130 of my #DrumBeatProject 6.20.22 Swipe for notations & 2 xtra vids. Was messing around w/a funk shuffle aka Purdie shuffle at sound check and seeing how it flowed after taking some subdivisions out. This is the first one I came up with (more to come likely) in San Sebastian. The next time I tried it in Valencia, I added a BD note on the “a“ of ct. 1. which I actually like better (see the xtra 2 vids for this: faster & not so fast) but the SS one has looks better thx to
@ashwin_deepankar - so I made that one #130. This kind of reminds me of the RHlead variation for Ted Reed’s classic Syncopation book - it’s all about locking in the right side & keeping all the SD ghost notes steady & just loud enough to solidify & anchor the whole groove. New solo piece is up on my youtube channel, link in bio! Past beats at GlennKotche.com/projects- check ’em out! @clark.hubbard #ABeatAWeek #DrumBeatTheory #DrumBeatImmersion #loveyourneighbor ...

Beat 129 of my #DrumBeatProject 6.4.22 Swipe for notations. Got this one down just before leaving on @wilco tour in Europe. I typically do these the week of so I can keep a sort of loose log of what I’m up to with my drumming & ideas over a long period of time, but no backstage kit on this tour & limited stage time so rolling w/it this month. Scroll to the bottom for more philosophical meanderings on this! This one is about the interplay between the 2 SDs and HH. Since it’s hand to hand, those 3 sounds can be placed anywhere - & this is one of a series of variations - all with those small differences ultimately determining the cadence of the beat. It can easily be done with one snare or incorporating stacks or other sounds too. OK thoughts: I love to go to art museums when I’m on the road & wonder if one of the seeds of the #DrumBeatProject is seeing how some artists did series of self-portraits over decades, documenting not just the development of their technical skill but more their vision & insights too. Not comparing my DBP to high art - but perhaps that’s one inspiration behind this whole thing. I honestly went into this project blind with no aim at all but to follow a gut feeling. Reasons for embracing it & continuing it are slowly being revealed tho... New solo piece is now up on my youtube channel, link in bio! Past beats at GlennKotche.com/projects- check ’em out! @clark.hubbard @ashwin_deepankar #ABeatAWeek #DrumBeatTheory #DrumBeatImmersion #loveyourneighbor ...

Beat 128 of my #DrumBeatProject 6.6.22 Swipe for notations and 2 var. vids. I was listening to some African drumming earlier that day which influenced this one. It’s basically a call & response between hands & feet w/the hands doing x-stk the 2nd time/call. I’m so used to my limbs working in concert to play beats that it’s a nice change to divide things up in a little conversation like this. 1st var. vid is just with snares on, but that one simple sonic change really affects the character of the beat. The 2nd vid is an earlier iteration w/out the x-stk. I like positioning that lower right side stack so the x-stk is striking both the stack and the @gruvxpercussion x-click for a beefier sound. New solo piece is now up on my youtube channel, link in bio! Past beats at GlennKotche.com/projects- check ’em out! @clark.hubbard @ashwin_deepankar #ABeatAWeek #DrumBeatTheory #DrumBeatImmersion #loveyourneighbor ...

Beat 127 of my #DrumBeatProject 6.6.22 Swipe for alt beat vid/notations and 2 diff. balance example vids. This a longer one in 15 but is super repetitive so not complex as it might seem. I think of it in smaller, 16th note cells = 4+3+4+3+4+3+4+3+2 OR a+b+a’+b+a+b+a’+b+c. Using 2 snares here but can be done on 1 and the LH stack can also be played on a rim or anything else. This popped in my head while dropping the kids off at school and I was able to take a couple of quick vids when I got home, but I really hear this with the RH parts on something pitched too - since I’m back on tour w/ @Wilco though, that’s going to have to wait! The 2nd & 3rd vids are a var. w/out LF but w/LH on HH and interpreted 2 ways: @creative_percussion shaker mallets w/ @zildjiancompany metal castanets & w/my @promarksticks #ActiveWave570 sig. stx and sizzle pang hit thx to @gruvxpercussion. The last 2 vids show how certain voices/sounds/limbs tend to naturally emerge and retract while playing this continuously for a long while. 1st one I’m emphasizing the toms and 2nd the LH on stack, whereas the main post vid focusses more on the SDs. Each interpretation has its own charm. New solo piece is now up on my youtube channel, link in bio! Past beats at GlennKotche.com/projects- check ’em out! @clark.hubbard @ashwin_deepankar #ABeatAWeek #DrumBeatTheory #DrumBeatImmersion #loveyourneighbor ...

Beat 126 of my #DrumBeatProject 6.1.22 Swipe for a diff. mix & notations. This is a composite beat constructed from layers of percussion for the live version of Sold Out Sky, an #OnFillmore song that’s in the works. I came up with something similar for our show last weekend at #SolidSoundFest - but added the BD part and better sounds for this vid thx to the @MorfBeats mini marvin. Some of my most fav beats to play are ones that arose from live interpretations of multiple overdubs on the recording - it forces me to come up with creative solutions that are often challenging and push me to do something that’s not yet in my vocabulary... The BD is playing off the dotted 1/8 pulse & the HH = the anchor. Using my threaded spring rods on cyms, guiro stax & @meinlpercussion birds for fresh colors in plaa a ce of a SD. That closest cym is a super cool @Keplingerdrums btw. 2nd vid is the same beat, but has a louder FT but quieter CBell. New solo piece is now up on my youtube channel, link in bio! Past beats at GlennKotche.com/projects- check ’em out! @clark.hubbard @ashwin_deepankar #ABeatAWeek #DrumBeatTheory #DrumBeatImmersion #loveyourneighbor ...

Beat 125 of my #DrumBeatProject 5.14.22 Swipe for notations - This is a beat based on a melody, specifically Undiu by Brazilian legend Joao Gilberto. I’m playing a hybridized but stylistically passable foot ostinato with hands doing a new rhythm pattern/melody set to his pitches - all possible w/ @Sunhouseinc #SensoryPercussion to play the @Morfbeats metal plates. This is a partial reduction of sorts of my solo adaptation of this tune - which will go up on my youtube channel (link in bio) next week. Past beats at GlennKotche.com/projects- check ’em out! @clark.hubbard @ashwin_deepankar #ABeatAWeek #DrumBeatTheory #DrumBeatImmersion #loveyourneighbor ...

Beat 124 of my #DrumBeatProject 5.7.22 Swipe for notations & 2 more vids. This is a sibling to last week’s beat - same rhythms but the RH is playing 3 sets of pitches on the #octobans w/an A-B-C-B form. Again, this originated in the drum part for the forthcoming “In A Sad Kind Of Way” @Wilco song - this and the 2 xtra vids all feature 2 intertwined feels: duple based 4 against triplet based 3 is my best explanation of it. The difference this week is, these all have a pitched RH part. 1st xtra vid beat is a pivoting chord change, 2nd xtra vid beat is a loop using distorted vibe samples. Between the 8 var. last week, these 3 and some more that I didn’t share - you can see how one simple idea (duple:triple juxtaposed with 3:4 here) can lead to vast, new territories - some of which can really be worth exploring deeper. New solo pieces are up on my youtube channel, link in bio. Past beats at GlennKotche.com/projects- check ’em out! @clark.hubbard @ashwin_deepankar #ABeatAWeek #DrumBeatTheory #DrumBeatImmersion #loveyourneighbor ...

Beat 123 of my #DrumBeatProject 5.10.22 Swipe for notations & 7 more vids! Ok, I started obsessing on this when I began practicing a new @wilco song, “In A Sad Kind Of Way”. It’s a beautiful acoustic folk song that I play a rhythm part on an Indian dholak throughout except for the 2 bridges where this shuffle-esque cross-rhythm is happening to the dotted 8th pulse on kit. So basically drums are playing an implied, triplet-based, faster sounding meter under the 4/4 of the rest of the band - It’s super subtle on the recording but when extracted from the song and played on its own - countless variations present themselves. This beat is an attempt to illustrate the band 4/4 part with the right hand while the other 3 limbs play the implied meter. 2nd vid is more like the drum part on record. Vids 3-6 are all variations of the main beat. I included them because I found different aspects of the beat either emerge or blend depending on how they’re voiced which impacts how they're interpreted, felt and experienced. New solo pieces are up on my youtube channel, link in bio. Past beats at GlennKotche.com/projects- check ’em out! @clark.hubbard @ashwin_deepankar #ABeatAWeek #DrumBeatTheory #DrumBeatImmersion #loveyourneighbor ...

Beat 122 of my #DrumBeatProject 5.2.22 Swipe for notations. As promised, here’s the precursor to last week’s beat. It’s got a consistent hand pattern (RH on temple blks instead of octobans this time), but w/an evolving foot pattern - the rhythm stays the same, but the HH gradually gives way to the BD. Again, a broken triplet pattern between the LF, LH & RH - starting on ct. 2 reverses direction for cts. 3 & 4. I like zoning in on each individual limb on this one - each voice seems like it could be the primary one, but they all sound best in concert. Using @creative_percussion shaker mallets, see tags for all the other preparations. New solo pieces are up on my youtube channel, link in bio. Past beats at GlennKotche.com/projects- check ’em out! @clark.hubbard @ashwin_deepankar #ABeatAWeek #DrumBeatTheory #DrumBeatImmersion #loveyourneighbor ...

Beat 121 of my #DrumBeatProject 4.26.22 Swipe for notations - I found a cool but forgotten 4 bar loop/sample on my SPD from a past solo show the other day and started to play over it - this beat is what came out. There’s actually a slightly earlier incarnation that had a changing foot pattern - maybe I’ll post that next week if I have the time to capture it. I only need to trigger the loop every 4 bars so I added the little octoban melody in place of a stack/HH sound. The @creative_percussion Z shaker hits on the upbeat of ct. 1 so both are adding a little sonic variety that works well with the electro sample. At the core of this beat is a broken triplet pattern between the LF(HH), SD x-stk (using the @Gruvxpercussion x-click for that) and RH - starting on ct. 2 and then reversing direction for cts. 3 & 4. Either way, it retains that rolling 3 motif under the 4/4 time - I’m a sucker for that. This is actually easier for me to execute evenly when it’s a bit faster - but am locked into this tempo due to the loop. A lot of these beats come from writing & then executing them, but it’s always fun to let the body “write” the groove and then notate it afterwards. Using lots of fun xtra sounds on the HH and SD and finger too - see tags. I found that the customized @Promarksticks #activewave570 sig stk really brings out the tone of the low octobans more than a stick or trad mallet as well. I love messing around with miniature sound variations like that. New solo pieces are up on my youtube channel, link in bio. Past beats at GlennKotche.com/projects - check ’em out! @clark.hubbard @ashwin_deepankar #ABeatAWeek #DrumBeatTheory #DrumBeatImmersion #loveyourneighbor ...

Beat 120 of my #DrumBeatProject 4.12.22 Swipe for notations - Keeping with last week’s post @Wilco is wrapping up our 20th anniv. shows this weekend for my 1st record w/the band, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. This beat is from the song “Pot Kettle Black” it’s a 2 bar phrase w/ the LH covering the kit part & the RH covering the overdubs: ceramic tiles & electro-buzz sounds on the SPD. This one took me a minute since the RH is doing a counter-clockwise 3-note pattern (w/tag) & the LH is doing a 4-note lateral pattern - lots of targets! The BD also has a 2 bar rhythm & HH opens every 2 repetitions. Again, just trying to stay true to the record for these shows w/strings & horns. I’ve also never played it live this way before this run, so again, counting it as a new beat, although not sure if #120 is actually 120bpm… Using @tackle_instrument stick topper & customized @promarksticks #activewave570 sig stk. New solo pieces are up on my youtube channel, link in bio. Past beats at GlennKotche.com/projects - check ’em out! @clark.hubbard @ashwin_deepankar #ABeatAWeek #DrumBeatTheory #DrumBeatImmersion #loveyourneighbor ...

Beat 119 of my #DrumBeatProject 4.11.22 Swipe for notations - @Wilco is playing 20th anniversary shows this week for my 1st record w/the band, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. I’ve been listening to it to try and represent what I did on the record the best I can live and a lot of the time that means covering my main part and some overdubs simultaneously. The songs morph over time live with parts changing and things being added to make for a more exciting live experience, but since we’re using an expanded band for these shows, it’s been a lot of fun and a nice challenge to stay true to the record. This beat is from the 2nd verse of Kamera - it’s a 4 bar phrase w/ the LH covering the kit part and the RH covering the ceramic tiles that I overdubbed. When the tiles are placed on foam and played with medium rubber xylo mallets, they get a cool percussive pitched (but not precisely) tone. I loaded samples of those into the SPD since the tiles are too fragile to take on the road. Since I’ve never played it live this way before, I’m counting it as a new beat for me… New solo pieces are up on my youtube channel, link in bio. Past beats at GlennKotche.com/projects - check ’em out! @clark.hubbard @ashwin_deepankar #ABeatAWeek #DrumBeatTheory #DrumBeatImmersion #loveyourneighbor ...

Beat 118 of my #DrumBeatProject 4.5.22 Swipe for notations and 2 alt vids. Using @sunhouseinc #SensoryPercussion to play some house sounds on SD X-Stk and my own samples on BD to give this beat a new direction. I love how the acoustic drums w/accessories blend w/the electronic and pitched chords here. This one almost sounds like a cousin to a 1/2x funk groove or something vaguely South American, but with it being in 5 & having those sounds - it ends up somewhere else. Using an @MeinlPercussion finger shaker w/ @Creative_Percussion shaker mallet & my #ActiveWave570 stk. The 1st alt vid shows how the x-stk is cycling between 4 chords and leaves out the BD samples & the 2nd alt vid is just w/proper SD instead of the x-stk. New solo pieces are up on my youtube channel, link in bio. Past beats at GlennKotche.com/projects - check ’em out! Thx @clark.hubbard @ashwin_deepankar #ABeatAWeek #DrumBeatTheory #DrumBeatImmersion #loveyourneighbor ...

Beat 117 of my #DrumBeatProject 3.29.22 Swipe for more vids & notations. This one came about after watching the ending ostinato from the new solo video that I posted this week of “Fantasy On The Fifth” - it’s on my YouTube channel - link in bio. I took that right side pattern and added a LH melody to it courtesy of #Sensory Percussion by @Sunhouseinc - I loaded samples of some super cool @morfbeats tuned metal plates that the wonderful @ashwin_deepankar commissioned to get some nice, vaguely-gamelan tones. The second vid has the alternate ending & the 3rd vid has RT to SD sweeps in place of the SP sounds. Using customized @Promarksticks marching tenor mallet in the LH and #ActiveWave570 sig stk in the RH. Past beats at GlennKotche.com/projects - check ’em out! @clark.hubbard #ABeatAWeek #DrumBeatTheory #DrumBeatImmersion #loveyourneighbor ...