Adding a Touch of New Orleans
PERCUSSION
Zach Sutton is a JUNO-nominated drummer and percussionist from Toronto , ON . You can find him performing with The Devin Cuddy Band , Jane ’ s Party , and Nomadica . He also teaches all around Toronto and can be reached at zsuttmusic @ gmail . com .
By Zach Sutton
I ’ m Walkin ’
Adding a Touch of New Orleans
Fak
“ We ’ ll take a boat to the land of dreams , come along with me to New Orleans ” Spencer Williams
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As the drummer of The Devin Cuddy Band , I have had the pleasure of playing music that crosses over many American musical genres . Though the music is rooted in country , many of the rhythmic elements are influenced by New Orleans piano players such as Professor Longhair , James Booker , and Dr . John . Drummers such as Earl Palmer , Herlin Riley , and Stanton Moore have been invaluable in capturing the percussive essence of New Orleans music . Listening to these players has provided me with a few ideas about how to incorporate traditional New Orleans rhythms into my playing .
In this lesson , I ’ ll be discussing how I use the floor tom to add a bit of New Orleans to a basic country drum pattern .
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Here , we have two examples of a traditional country music backbeat . The first bar is just bass and snare and the second bar adds hi-hat in the left foot on 2 and 4 . Get comfortable with both . Once you ’ re ready , we ’ ll be adding the floor tom to provide some rhythmic interest that you would hear the bass drum playing in a traditional New Orleans brass band . Here are five examples :
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Practice these from slow to fast . Have fun and come up with your own . As I always tell my students , move your hands around the kit to discover new sound possibilities .
Some songs to check out : Fats Domino – “ I ’ m Walkin ’” ( Earl Palmer on drums ) Professor Longhair – “ Walk Your Blues Away ” ( Al Miller or John Woodrow on drums ) Stanton Moore – “ Spring Monkey ” ( Stanton Moore on drums )
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