Changing Subdivisions 50% Speed

I posted the video above on Instagram a few days ago and quite a few of you requested a transcription of the fills and stickings I played. This video is me playing several different subdivisions and feels over a steady quarter note kick drum. I love playing freely over a quarter note because having the pulse on the kick drum makes your playing accessible to someone in the audience (or on Instagram) but enables you to get REALLY crazy with your playing without losing them. 

Since so many of you were asking about different stickings and aspects of this video I figured: “what the heck, I’ll transcribe the video.” 

It felt VERY strange to transcribe my own playing. I’ve spent so many years transcribing, but really only transcribing other players. When I sit down to transcribe I always have to get in the mind of someone else. Think like they think. I assumed, since this time it was ME doing the playing, I would have an easier time knowing exactly which stickings and subdivisions were being played. 

Surprisingly – it was just as hard to transcribe myself as it was someone else. I think this is because stickings are so ingrained in our brains that ,when you are playing in real time, stickings don’t even enter your mind. Or they don’t for me. While transribing this video I would assume that I used a certain sticking because “that’s the logical sticking”. But when I really dug in, I was using some other strange sticking – because in the moment that is what I needed. 

While figuring out stickings was challenging, I was encouraged by how solid my time was. When transcribing people’s drumming, if they lack solid timing, it becomes VERY difficult to accurately represent their playing on paper. There are some drummers you will sit down to transcribe and because they lack good internal timing their subdivisions and downbeats are all placed in slightly different and uneven ways. Thankfully that wasn’t an issue.

If you want to work on subdivisions and are wanting to learn a few slick new fills and groove ideas, download the transcription below and have fun!