Jazz Drum Transcriptions - an educational resource - newest transcription: Birdland - drums: Alex Acuña

Timo-Germany said:
Dear Community,

I have started a YouTube series called "Real Book Drumming" on my channel, which is always expanding. The Real Book is the bible for all jazz drummers. "Real Book Drumming" is meant to be a learning tool, an aid for aspiring jazz drummers. I transcribe the drum part of the original recording and then play to the themes of the songs, the transcription follows the video for better understanding. Please check my channel.


I look forward to a lively exchange.

Thanks for your time!
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So is this a book people can buy or is this something that can only be seen online?
Thanks.
 
fpatton said:
Watching this with great interest, as it's something I learned in college. I started college life majoring in jazz performance, drums and percussion. All jazz majors were required to buy a copy of The Real Book, "even" we drummers, and never be without it. This was 1982, and I think the legal version had just started being published. (There were lots of tales at school of underground TRB sales, but I got mine at the school bookstore.)

I don't think there were Bb/Eb versions at the time, and I don't recall any of the wind/brass players having any particular difficulty. Concert pitch, everybody! I do remember our instructors discussing how drummers could make use of the melodic information on the chart, and why it was important we be able to read the chart and not just "wing it". We were all expected to learn to read charts fluently.

(I also remember calmly clapping my way through the rhythm for Au Privave in class along with a couple other percussionists while the horn players struggled. :lol:)

Cheers!

Fred
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Those horn guys can learn to transpose to the key their instrument on site reading it’s some of those guy oh my gosh how can those guys are incredible.
 
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moondrum said:
So is this a book people can buy or is this something that can only be seen online?
Thanks.
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Thanks for your interest. It's not a book, the transcriptions are available for free for subscribers of my website. I'm afraid a book publication would be complicated due to copyright issues.
 
gryphon said:
I have played in groups using the real book for over 25 years. Being only a drummer with barely adequate reading skills, my impression of the real book is that it is just a set of lead sheets with chords, melody line and a comment or two on tempo and feel. A drummer playing a note for note transcription of an early version of a song could possibly cause a train wreck depending on what the other guys are doing.

Depending on the players using it, the same tune will sound entirely different every time it's played, and once the head is done and the solos start it's time for the drummer to really start listening to what's going down because the band is now off in the zone.

I guess what I'm saying is that I'm not real sure if a drum transcription of the head is really that useful for most standards. However, I can see where having the groove written out for tunes like St. Thomas, Night in Tunisia, Poinciana, Equinox, Caravan, Song for My Father, etc. would be useful to a young drummer who hasn't grown up with that music. There are other tunes like Four or Stolen Moments where a suggestion for the intro would be useful as well.

Having said the above, your Real Book for drummers would be an excellent way to see how the drummers like Max and Elvin who played those songs approached them. Personally, I would buy it just to study their styles while listening to their recordings, but probably leave it at home when going out for gigs.
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That's the beautiful thing about Jazz as unlike music by tribute bands it's different most times out. A great example is Straight No Chaser. Miles, Thelonius at al play it so much differently. Note the big difference in the drum part interpretation between Jimmy Cobb and Art Blakey. Jimmy really uses his old K as a busy ride interspersed with crashes and an on on off the snare to cymbal and back. Art seems tighter in recordings i've heard but there again i'm sure he played it many times including with his Messengers and betting he played it different a lot. There is even a YouTube version from a group where the drummer used brushes and it works. So if a drummer had to follow a chart could that spontaneity still be there ?
 
David M Scott said:
That's the beautiful thing about Jazz as unlike music by tribute bands it's different most times out. A great example is Straight No Chaser. Miles, Thelonius at al play it so much differently. Note the big difference in the drum part interpretation between Jimmy Cobb and Art Blakey. Jimmy really uses his old K as a busy ride interspersed with crashes and an on on off the snare to cymbal and back. Art seems tighter in recordings i've heard but there again i'm sure he played it many times including with his Messengers and betting he played it different a lot. There is even a YouTube version from a group where the drummer used brushes and it works. So if a drummer had to follow a chart could that spontaneity still be there ?
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I really kind of am wondering if I am misunderstanding what you asking. I mean I’m kinda like understanding of Jazz but really a rocker at heart and like Hal Blaine, any of those guys you don’t think them reading charts could be spontaneous I know it’s not like improvisation but they are great drummers. I’ve seen so many of them on stage with charts and they have no problem being spontaneous. Play between the notes is that what I’m trying to say I mean the notes on the page or the chart are like you scribble 8–8 Dash V Dash C Dash I mean you can’t be spontaneous with a chart OK.

Saw the 1 o’clock lab band play and darn they all had charts so they didn’t get to be spontaneous or whatever. Ok.
 
David M Scott said:
That's the beautiful thing about Jazz as unlike music by tribute bands it's different most times out. A great example is Straight No Chaser. Miles, Thelonius at al play it so much differently. Note the big difference in the drum part interpretation between Jimmy Cobb and Art Blakey. Jimmy really uses his old K as a busy ride interspersed with crashes and an on on off the snare to cymbal and back. Art seems tighter in recordings i've heard but there again i'm sure he played it many times including with his Messengers and betting he played it different a lot. There is even a YouTube version from a group where the drummer used brushes and it works. So if a drummer had to follow a chart could that spontaneity still be there ?
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At the risk of repeating myself, the transcriptions are meant to be inspirational and to help better understand the drum part within the music. I specifically say not to use the transcriptions as a chart to then apply them 1 to 1 in a musical setting.
60's Drummer said:
I really kind of am wondering if I am misunderstanding what you asking. I mean I’m kinda like understanding of Jazz but really a rocker at heart and like Hal Blaine, any of those guys you don’t think them reading charts could be spontaneous I know it’s not like improvisation but they are great drummers. I’ve seen so many of them on stage with charts and they have no problem being spontaneous. Play between the notes is that what I’m trying to say I mean the notes on the page or the chart are like you scribble 8–8 Dash V Dash C Dash I mean you can’t be spontaneous with a chart OK.

Saw the 1 o’clock lab band play and darn they all had charts so they didn’t get to be spontaneous or whatever. Ok.
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I'm also all about @60's Drummer . There is improvisation not only in jazz, but also in all other styles that come originally from jazz or African-American and also beyond that in other musical cultures. Even if there is a chart, the space to improvise is always there, the space to set your own nuances, no matter what music you play, the dead sheet of music always has to be brought to life by the player, this can happen in many ways. But again, my transcription is meant as an inspiration!
 
60's Drummer said:
Those horn guys can learn to transpose to the key their instrument on site reading it’s some of those guy oh my gosh how can those guys are incredible.
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Franz Liszt was said to be able to read an orchestra score and translate it on sight to a piano version.
 
KCJazz said:
Why would you do that?
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I didn’t! Hochenadle just liked test himself and push the limp brains like mwah to be more than we ever thought we could be.

It took 4 of us following, watching to accept he really could.

ETA: We were tripping the universe of music *heavily*, cruising the cosmos. <grin>

ETETA: not when we were evaluating his playing ability. That was done on the straight and narrow .
 
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60's Drummer said:
I didn’t! Hochenadle just liked test himself and push the limp brains like mwah to be more than we ever thought we could be.

It took 4 of us following, watching to accept he really could.

ETA: We were tripping the universe of music *heavily*, cruising the cosmos. <grin>

ETETA: not when we were evaluating his playing ability. That was done on the straight and narrow .
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I'll bet he transposed to easy keys. :)
 
Timo-Germany said:
Dear Community,

I have started a YouTube series called "Real Book Drumming" on my channel, which is always expanding. The Real Book is the bible for all jazz drummers. "Real Book Drumming" is meant to be a learning tool, an aid for aspiring jazz drummers. I transcribe the drum part of the original recording and then play to the themes of the songs, the transcription follows the video for better understanding. Please check my channel.


I look forward to a lively exchange.

Thanks for your time!
Click to expand...
Well done! Thank you.
 
Timo-Germany said:
Thanks for your comment. Would you like to share with us how the melodic information should be transferred to the drum set?
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He says "making use" of melodic information, which may not be the same than "transfer" the melody.

You can use the chart to learn the tune and know when any phrase ends to throw an accent, for example. Or knowing when there's going to be space to fill in or transition to another section.

Being able to sing the tune while soloing is important to develop form awareness. Very difficult exercise btw. It's like the 5th way of independence.
See: John Ramsay, Alan Dawson: The Drummer's complete vocabulary, p. 48

But you could even "transfer" as you say, the melody to the drumset by playing in it on the snare only first, and then develop from that to the whole kit.
See: Modern Drummer, Sept. 2013, p.80.
Elvin Jones' take on understanding the melody :
 
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