COLUMNS
Doubles Plus 1
By Ted Warren
Double strokes are one of the first things most drummers learn to play . Because of our familiarity with this rudiment , we tend develop the ability to play double strokes without having to think about it too much . This muscle memory will come in handy as I demonstrate some ways we can spice up double stroke ideas to make them more interesting and a little less symmetrical . It ’ s a very simple concept . Simply add one extra beat to any double stroke idea by adding one stroke with the foot , specifically on the bass drum .
If we look at exercises 1A and 1B , we see that the idea is one set of doubles in either hand , and one bass drum note . I ’ ve written these first examples in 5 / 8 just to stress that all the notes in the bar are of equal length and all the notes should be eighth notes , with no break between the bass drum note and the next set of doubles . The rest of the examples will be in 4 / 4 , both because we get some great over-the-bar line phrasing , and it occurs much more frequently .
will help us hear the phrase in 4 / 4 and , as promised , I have only written out four bars of the pattern even though the five-beat pattern keeps moving thorough the phrase . Take your time with this as the coordination involved might be tricky at first .
Ex . 1E , 1F , and 1G are some possible orchestrations of this idea with the hands on different surfaces . Then in Ex . 1G we have substituted the hihat for the bass drum in the idea with the bass drum now playing quarter notes . Play through the previous examples this way too . Finally , I have the original idea written out as triplets and you can go through all the previous examples using this rhythmic grid ( Ex . 1I ).
Ex . 1E
Ex . 1F
Ex . 1A Ex . 1B
Ex . 1G
Now , as we move both the stickings over to 4 / 4 , it may be difficult at first to hear where you are in the home time signature . I would recommend counting out the quarter notes in the bar at first , until you start to hear how the five-beat figure goes over the bar line . Ex . 1C
I think it ’ s important to note that even if you don ’ t end up using these ideas on a gig tonight ( and if the gig is a country or R & B one , please don ’ t !), you will gain a greater sense of freedom in your phrasing and coordination . Always play for the music , and have fun ! Ex . 1H
Ex . 1I
Note Ex . 1C : In this case , I have written out the full ten bars it takes for the idea to come back to where it started , but this is the only time I ’ m going to do this . I ’ m approaching the phrasing this way because : 1 ) As we get into seven- and nine-note ideas , the whole pattern written out gets extremely long ; and 2 ) More importantly , it ’ s better to develop the ability to hear how the five-beat idea works in four- , eight- , and 12-bar segments , rather than simply counting to 10 and starting over . There ’ s not a ton of tunes out there with 10-bar forms ! Also , play Ex . 1C starting with your left hand .
Ex . 1D
Now with Ex . 1D , we are getting the hi-hat with our left foot involved , which
Ex . 1J
Ted Warren teaches at the University of Guelph and is a well-regarded clinician and adjudicator . Ted has worked with many acclaimed performers , including Mel Torme , Rob McConnell , Slide Hampton , Bob Newhart , Maynard Ferguson , Lew Soloff , Chuck Mangione , Jeff Healey , Norma Winstone , Sheila Jordan , Howard Johnson , Nick Brignola , Kenny Wheeler , and Jerry Bergonzi .
60 CANADIAN MUSICIAN