Want To Learn Brushes

[bigbonzo]

I want to learn how to play brushes.

I'm currently looking at this book, which includes a couple play along CD's:

The Sound of Brushes: Book & 2 CDs: Thigpen, Ed: 0654979012719: Amazon.com: Books

The Sound of Brushes: Book & 2 CDs [Thigpen, Ed] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Sound of Brushes: Book & 2 CDs

www.amazon.com

Do you guys recommend any particular book?

 

[JDA]

if you have brushes is a book necessary?

 

[JDA]

go right to the songs if you don't have a band that plays them

Ella and Basie! - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Squirrel Man]

if you have brushes is a book necessary?

So from my uneducated viewpoint I'll go with this.

After I get an hour or two in on my kit working on what I work on and I'm winding down and feeling groovy I pull the brushes out. And the bourbon, maybe and just play around.

Knowing nothing about brush playing I can get some really cool grooves in, not trying but just playing and messing around. It's like the wind-down period just kicks in and I just want to mellow with brushes.

Could be some of my best work.

 

[crash]

I’m in the clearing mode. This is a highly recommended set. 2 dvds and play along cd. $10.00 and shipping…..

 

[JDA]

there you go.



I can remember maybe it was week on brushes at berklee private lessons in 75/79

it's a years on the job thing

 

[BoomBoom]

I have recently decided to work on my brush playing. I had hadn't played them in 30+ years. I watched a few YouTube videos to get back into it.

I found this one easy to follow and get you started pretty quickly. If you want to get started with brushes I highly recommend it.

Playing brushes is fun.

 

[Matched Gripper]

I want to learn how to play brushes.

I'm currently looking at this book, which includes a couple play along CD's:

The Sound of Brushes: Book & 2 CDs: Thigpen, Ed: 0654979012719: Amazon.com: Books

The Sound of Brushes: Book & 2 CDs [Thigpen, Ed] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Sound of Brushes: Book & 2 CDs

www.amazon.com

Do you guys recommend any particular book?

There are so many possibilities limited only by your imagination. Try singing a sound that you like and then work it out with the brushes. As a starting point, try a clockwise circular sweeping motion with your left hand while tapping out a swing beat with your right hand. What ever you do, a clear quarter note pulse should be audible.

Here is the great Greg Hutchinson demonstrating the basic brush technique except he sweeps counterclockwise with his left hand first, and then demonstrates clockwise.

 

[jb111]

I’m in the clearing mode. This is a highly recommended set. 2 dvds and play along cd. $10.00 and shipping….. View attachment 566843

Can't go wrong with that!

 

[dingaling]

This is an amazing brush player that does a series from the start.
Best way to learn is to watch videos and copy. Books will only help once you know how to play them.

 

[pwc1141]

I play brushes a lot and yes, there are some good Youtube vids that will get you started, However, the keys to good sounding brushes to me is NOT to play them as quiet sticks but be a little subtle and try more horizontal/lateral strokes rather than straight up and down and try to keep as much of the brush on the drum head as is practical. Because there is no sustain sounds such as a ride cymbal with sticks gives you, keeping one brush moving on the head at all times also helps smooth thinga out. Have fun and good luck with it.

 

[Blue Zurich]

Stirring the soup requires independence. Getting to that point can be done with anything, brushes, sticks, rutes...Lots of great lessons out there on that. Drumeo especially.

 

[cworrick]

The Ed Thigpen book is the first one I used to expand my brush vocabulary.
It's a great book to get started with by teaching the fundamental movements.

*BUT*

It leaves out a few finesse things that I learned in the Ed Soph videos (listed above).

In addition, I've also learned from the Clayton Cameron video.

Ed and Clayton are the masters of the brushes so you might as well learn from the best.

However, I still had a few questions about using brushes outside of the standard swing/jazz area that I just wasn't finding information on...until I found the Jason Sutter video on Youtube. He hits the area I was missing at the 34:00 mark. (although the rest of it is pretty good to check out as well)

 

[NobleCooleyNut]

Florian Alexandru Zorn has an excellent book/DVD package available . It is a great book , maybe the best I have experienced. He does some very modern things with brushes .

The Complete Guide To Playing Brushes (Book & DVD) by Florian Alexandru-Zorn (1-Jan-2011) Paperback https://a.co/d/9D6XSrR

Steve Fidyk created some cool brush overlays you can place on your snare drum and they have diagrams for various beats . Highly recommended .

 

[mtarrani]

This one requires a real commitment and if best suited if you want to play jazz:

This is way better suited to learning if you want to apply brushes to genres other than jazz (and the one I recommend to folks who are interested in learning the basics and applying them to pop, country, etc.)

 

[jptrickster]

Learned all about brushes in 5th grade private lessons(‘68) We were lucky the band teacher Mr Dana was an exllnt. drummer. Stir the soup!

 

[mtarrani]

Learned all about brushes in 5th grade private lessons(‘68) We were lucky the band teacher Mr Dana was an exllnt. drummer. Stir the soup!

One can stir the soup:

Or go crazy

 

[paul]

Good advice from pwc1141, especially the suggestion that they're not just for ballads and soft playing. Brushes can drive, too. During pandemic quarantine I did a lot of playing with brushes, mainly because I really love playing with brushes. In my trio gig I'm almost as likely to pick up brushes as sticks for a given song, although some, like Ladybird, seem to call for brushes most days.

 

[Fat Drummer]

I'm winding down and feeling groovy I pull the brushes out. And the bourbon, maybe and just play around.

Well THERE'S my problem at brushes, I missed the bourbon part!!!!!

 

[Hop]

Don't overlook this great Philly Joe Jones resource: http://www.volusiagig.com/music/BrushArtistry.pdf