help with fills and licks for church services

[lockslie1]

A few years back, I went to a clinic by J.D. Blair.  J.D. gave a young man the opportunity to play on his kit.  He said to the young man, "give me a 5-minute groove."  The young man proceeded to play a beat, and then started adding all of these fills and even changed the basic groove up every so often.  J.D. just walked around the stage patiently not saying a thing or even reacting.  He let the guy go for a full 5 minutes. 

Once he was done, the drummer kinda sat there like "yeah, I just put it down" and even a few in the crowd showed approval for what he just done. J.D. simply said, "you can play, but I asked you to give me a groove.  Not bragging, but I already knew what was up.  He didn't outright dog the guy, but he basically went on to touch on the subject that seems to be a constant sore spot for a lot of the younger players. 

I suggest as always that you study the art of groove from Clyde Stubblefield and John "Jabo" Starks.  They may not "blaze" all of the time, but there is a reason that they are two of the most sampled drummers of all time.

It doesn't matter how cold your licks and fills are if you can't come back in on the one.
    

I met J.D and Derico at one of Vic's concerts. Those dudes are amazing and excellent people to learn from. True musicians....Masters of Dynamics and sensitivity to the music they play.

...excellent!!  Now "this" is LGM.  

Like a breath of fresh air !!

R L R F F

[SabianKnight]

A few years back, I went to a clinic by J.D. Blair.  J.D. gave a young man the opportunity to play on his kit.  He said to the young man, "give me a 5-minute groove."  The young man proceeded to play a beat, and then started adding all of these fills and even changed the basic groove up every so often.  J.D. just walked around the stage patiently not saying a thing or even reacting.  He let the guy go for a full 5 minutes. 

Once he was done, the drummer kinda sat there like "yeah, I just put it down" and even a few in the crowd showed approval for what he just done. J.D. simply said, "you can play, but I asked you to give me a groove.  Not bragging, but I already knew what was up.  He didn't outright dog the guy, but he basically went on to touch on the subject that seems to be a constant sore spot for a lot of the younger players. 

I suggest as always that you study the art of groove from Clyde Stubblefield and John "Jabo" Starks.  They may not "blaze" all of the time, but there is a reason that they are two of the most sampled drummers of all time.

It doesn't matter how cold your licks and fills are if you can't come back in on the one.
     

So true.

I just want to support your statement by pointing out that the book The Drum Set Musician and the DVD - Bass Drum and Hi-Hat Technique both focus on the ability to play groove. The are by Berklee and L.A. Music Academy instructors respectively.

[kunteg]

appreciate you all on the advice

[SabianKnight]

appreciate you all on the advice

You are welcome and WELCOME TO LGM!

One more VERY IMPORTANT piece of advice...
"If you can say it you can play it." This is a golden rule in music and life. It is speaking things into existence.

If you can count aloud a riff/pattern/phrase/melody in proper time then you can play it in time. So sing the idea out with all the tonalities that are in your head then apply it slowly to the drum kit finding and matching the tonalities. Make sure your tones match the melody tones of the song you are applying the fill at the time.

If you stutter or loose you breath saying/singing it then you will also loose your breath/balance playing it. This is a fact I have proven through my past students. Don't cause the music to "hyper-ventilate" place each nnote/hit of the pattern in it's own proper space. if you crowd or rush of even slow down inconsistantly or out-of-context then it will cause the song to fall apart because the drums are the heartbeat.