The Drummer’s Complete Vocabulary as taught by Alan Dawson

by John Ramsay

drum transcriptions, music editing by John Ramsay

text edited by Paul Siegel

Cover photos: Nick Puopolo Cover & book design: Wm.R.Brinkley & Associates Project Manager: Howard Goldberg

Stream or download the audio content for this book. To access online media, visit: www.alfred.com/redeem Enter the following code: 00-123B_228822

Produced by Alfred Music P.O. Box 100 0 3 Van Nuys, CA 91410-0003 alfred.com

Printed in USA. No part of this book shall be reproduced, arranged, adapted, recorded, publicly performed, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without written permission from the publisher. In order to comply with copyright laws, please apply for such written permission and/or license by contacting the publisher at alfred.com/permissions. ISBN-10: 0-7692-6524-3 ISBN-13: 978-0-7692-6524-7 Contents

About the Author v

Introduction vi

George Alan Dawson viii

Discography xi

1 The Rudiments 1 The American Rudiments 1 The Swiss Rudiments 4 New Innovations 6 Chopsbuilders 8 The Rudimental Ritual 11 Gary’s Flams and Arvin’s Diddles 22, 23

2 Four-Way Coordination 25 The First Three Ways 25, 26 Filling In Triplets 27 Acknowledgments Eight Triplet Ways 30 Special thanks to Julia for her unwavering support. Advanced Four-Way Coordination 31 Thanks to my father Percy; my sons Corey, Shaka, Triplet Partials 31 Niko, and Evan; and my sisters (all three of them) Odd-Time Blues 32 Joy, Leslie, and Sandy. My deepest gratitude to Even Eighth-Note Ideas 34 Florence Dawson and the family for making this Jazz Mambo 34 book possible. Samba 35 Special thanks to Paul Siegel for his continued faith and support in this project, and to Rob Wallis, The Kirby Special 36 Joe Testa, Howard Goldberg, Dave Olsen, Fred Cut-Time Rock 36 Anton and everyone at DCI/Warner Bros.; Andy The ParaBossa and RuffBossa 37 Zildjian and Steve Oksenuk at Sabian; to John Good “Oleo” 40 and Don Lombardi at Drum Workshop; Carol Excerpts from Ted Reed’s Syncopation 41 Calato and Vanik at Calato Regal Tip; John Floros; Jonathan Gorman; and Ron Savage. Thanks to Joel 3 Single-Stroke Roll Exercises 45 Dorn and Michael Weiner at 32 Records for “Blues Mixing Singles and Doubles 46 for Lester.” Thanks again to Wm. Brinkley for design; Nick Doubles, Paradiddles, and Singles 47 Puopolo for the beautiful photography; Ken Fredenberg, Kenny Updegraffe, and Jerry Steinholz Soloing 48 4 at Toca Percussion; Dean Anderson and Shawn Soloing Over an AABA Tune 48 Brown for the biography; Peter Kontrimas; and Solo Ideas 49 world-famous PBS Studios. Boston Eights 59 Photography: Nick Puopolo, Winthrop, MA. Mr. Puopolo has been a freelance “Blues for Lester” 62 jazz photographer for the past thirty years. Trading 66 Cover and book design: Wm.R. Brinkley & Associates, Somerville, MA

ii About the Author

John Ramsay has been playing and studying the Tel Aviv, Israel; and Heek, Germany, as well as drums for the past 36 years. In addition to studying toured the Baltic countries. He is in his fifteenth with Alan Dawson, he has studied with Max Roach, year of teaching at Berklee College of Music in Art Blakey, Ed Soph, and Bob Moses. He is currently Boston, Massachusetts. studying piano with Charlie Banacos, whose stu- John is featured with Art Blakey and the Jazz dents have included Danilo Perez, John Scofield, Messengers Big Band, on the Blue Note Record Michael Brecker, Billy Pierce, Red Rodney, Mike compact disc titled Te History of Art Blakey and the Stern, Larry Goldings, and countless others. Jazz Messengers, and the 1980 Timeless Records For the past four years, John has traveled to release Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers Big Band Havana, Cuba, where he studied drumset timbales Live in Montreux and Northsea. In addition to the and tumbadoras (congas) at the National School for Blakey Big Band—which included Wynton and the Arts with Enrique Pla (of Irakare), José Eladio Branford Marsalis, Kevin and Robin Eubanks, James Amat, and Jose Miguel. In addition, while in Cuba Williams, and Billy Pierce—John has performed he attended seminars with famed Cuban pianist with Sonny Stitt, James Moody, Terrence Blanchard, Chucho Valdez and percussionist Jose Luis Wallace Roney, Donald Brown, Kenny Baron, Cecil “Changuito” Quintana. McBee, Eartha Kitt, Gregory Hines, John Hicks, Most recently, John has traveled to Europe, the Walter Booker, Dave Liebman, Harvey Schwartz, Middle East, and Asia, performing with Donald and the Clifford Jordan Big Band. John endorses Harrison, Billy Pierce, and Mick Goodrick. He has Sabian cymbals, Drum Workshop drums, Calato taught and conducted clinics in Paris, France; Regal Tip drumsticks, and Toca Percussion. Rome, Italy; Helsinki, Finland; Athens, Greece; John is also the author of the drum book, Art Blakey’s Jazz Messages, available from Warner Bros. Publications.

(Facing page) Alan at Harvard University, with Benny Carter.

v Introduction

I was a skinny kid from the hills of northwestern Massachusetts going to find this special training? Massachusetts, growing up two miles from the This was the ’70s, and the music was changing; Vermont border. It was in the 1960s that I discov- there was this new thing called “fusion” with awe- ered the drums. I knew very early that this was some drummers like Billy Cobham and Tony what I wanted to do for a living, and so I did what Williams. I had heard that Max Roach was teaching many kids of the ’60s did—I joined a rock band! at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, Since I was lucky enough to join an already estab- which was not far from where I lived. I had to seek lished working band (whose drummer had just him out; I was thirsty for drum knowledge. If quit), I had an immediate induction into the world fusion was a melding of jazz and rock, I thought I’d of getting paid to play. better find out what this jazz thing was all about. For the next 10 years I played the music of the Max Roach—a living legend! There he was— Kinks, Led Zeppelin, Grand Funk Railroad, the living and teaching in Amherst, the town I was Beatles, Traffic, the Spencer David Group, Jimi born in. To my disappointment, I discovered that Hendrix, and others. I was a self-taught rock Max didn’t teach private lessons. He directed a drummer. small group ensemble and a percussion ensemble The group became the center of my life. We but gave no lessons. I needed more. lived for the group and for the music. We bought a I had heard about this guy named Alan Dawson. van, a P.A. system, and a wardrobe, and we played He taught at the famous Berklee College of Music colleges, night clubs, and high schools. Life was and had taught some famous drummers like Tony good; we were happy; everybody in my home town Williams, Harvey Mason, and others. Maybe he knew my name. It was the ’60s: “Peace & Love,” and could make me famous, too! Boston was about 100 “Tune in, Turn on, and Drop Out.” We were the miles away from where I lived, but I didn’t care; epitome of the counterculture—“rock stars”! I figured it would be well worth the trip. But the ’60s ended and reality set in. Like with I found Alan at Berklee on the second floor of most groups, personality conflicts arose, and eco- the 1140 Boylston Street building, where I have nomic pressures came to the forefront. People grew been teaching now for 15 years. It was 1971, and weary of long road trips in crowded vans, tired of Alan had been teaching at Berklee for about 18 carrying Hammond B-3 organs up fire escapes, years. When I knocked on his door that fateful day, tired of lifting Marshall amplifiers as big as refriger- I was met by a friendly, smiling gentleman. When I ators, and yes, even tired of carrying around those asked if he accepted outside students, he informed two 24-inch bass drums. The band broke up. This me that I had come at a good time because in a few would become a recurring theme for me—the band months, he would be leaving Berklee to start his always broke up. I finally got the message: If I was own private teaching practice at his home in going to survive as a musician, I would have to Lexington. This was the beginning of a relationship learn other skills, other styles, and I’d have to learn that would last until the time of his death in 1996. to read music. In other words, I needed a formal I began studying with Alan in 1972, driving 180 education. But where was a kid from western miles round-trip for my lessons in Lexington.

vi I would study on and off with Alan for the next Stick Control to the drumset while singing the mel- seven years. In 1982, I began teaching at Berklee, ody to various standard song forms (AABA, ABAC, and at that time, I went back to Alan for some ABAB, etc.), and then soloing over the tune while “graduate work.” There was always something to still singing aloud. learn from a master drummer like Alan. You might have the impression that Alan was I remember one of my earliest lessons with Alan. more than just a teacher to me—and you’d be right. I asked him for an assessment of my abilities (since He was a role model in the truest sense of the word. I had been playing professionally for 10 years). He He showed me by example that you could be a said that although I was a proficient drummer, I musician and have control over your career and life was really a beginner—I couldn’t read music, I by being educated and having true knowledge didn’t know many rudiments, and I knew little about your craft. He showed me that if you had real about four-way coordination. He told me the truth. skills, you could make choices about when and That’s one of the things I’ll always cherish about where you played, and who you played with, and Alan. He had a way of telling you the truth about equally important, how much you got paid! He yourself that wasn’t hurtful, but made you want to showed me that if you wanted to be a musician, you work harder to become a better drummer. If you didn’t have to be a scuffling, starving artist type. He hadn’t practiced enough, he knew it, and he would was a model of confidence, dignity, and integrity let you know by telling you that you’d be working for all drummers who knew him. on the same material until your next lesson. You Were it not for Alan Dawson, I probably would couldn’t cut corners with Alan. not be where I am today, which is a pretty good Alan knew more than 80 rudiments (American, place to be for a kid from the hills of western Mass. Swiss, New Innovations, and Chopsbuilders), and he gave you three a week to work on. If you Thank you, Alan. couldn’t play those satisfactorily, you didn’t get the next three—and you wanted those next three because after you learned them all, you got to learn the Rudimental Ritual. This was an application of all the rudiments played in 4- and 8-bar phrases over a Bossa Nova foot ostinato. The Rudimental John Ramsay Ritual was one of the things that led me to view Associate Professor Alan as a genius of playing and teaching the drums. Berklee College of Music Another stroke of genius was the way he created more than 40 ways to interpret Ted Reed’s eight pages of syncopation exercises, using different com- binations of four-way coordination. Everything about his teaching was original and extremely creative, like the way he applied George Stone’s

vii The Drummer’s Complete Vocabulary

Lesson 2

Single ratamacue Double ratamacue 3 3 3 3 > > œ œ > œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ > 2 LL RR 3 LL LL RR RR ÷ 4 œRLœ œRLœ œLRœ œLRœ 4 œR œRLœ œRLœ œL œLRœ œLRœ

Triple ratamacue 3 3 > > œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ 4 LL LL LL RR RR RR ÷ 4 œR œR œRLRLœ œ œ œL œL œLRœ œLRœ

Lesson 3

Drag paradiddle #1

Track 6 > > œ œ œ œ 3 LL RR ÷ 4 œR œRLœ œRRœ œL œLRœ œLLœ

Drag paradiddle #2 Lesson 25 > > > > œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ÷ 4 œR LLœR LLœRLœ œRRœ œL RRœL RRœLRœ œLLœ 2 œR L L œR œL œR L L œR œL 4 4 L R R L R L R R L R

Lesson 4

Flam Flam tap Flam accent 3 3

j j j j j j œ œ œ œ œ œ ÷ 2 L œR L œR L œRRœ R œLLœ L œRLœ œR R œLRœ œL 4 R L R L L R R L 2 The Rudiments

Lesson 5

Flamacue Flam paradiddle

j > j j j œ œ œ œ ÷ 3 L œR œL œR œL L œR 4 L œRLœ œRRœ R œLRœ œLLœ 4 R L R L R R L 4

Flamadiddlediddle

j j œ œ 3 L R ÷ 4 œRLœ œRRœ œLLœ œLRœ œLLœ œRRœ

Lesson 6

Five-stroke roll on the beat Five-stroke roll off the beat Seven-stroke roll on the beat > > > > > ÷ 2 œRRœ œLLœ œRLœ œLRœ œRLœ Œ‰œRRœ œLLœ œRLœ œLRœ œRLœ œRRœ œLLœ œR œR œL œL œR œR œL 4 L L R R L L R Seven-stroke roll off the beat Nine-stroke roll > > > ÷ ‰ œL œL œR œR œL œL œR œL œL œR œR œL œL 3 œRRœ œLLœ œRRœ œLLœ œR œLLœ œRRœ œLLœ œRRœ œL R R L L R R L R R L L R R 4

Lesson 7

Ten-stroke roll Eleven-stroke roll Thirteen-stroke roll > > > > ÷ 3 œR œR œL œL œR œR œL œL œR œL œR œR œL œL œR œR œL œL œR œR œL 4 œRRœ œLLœ œRRœ œLLœ œRRœ œLLœ œR 4 L L R R L L R R L R L L R R L L R R L L R 4

Fifteen-stroke roll > > ÷ œLLœ œRRœ œLLœ œRRœ œLLœ œRRœ œL œR œR œL œL œR œR œL œL œR œR œL œL œR œR œL L L R R L L R R L L R R L L R

3