The New Breed

Over the past week I have been trying to plan out my practice routine and trying to figure out what areas of my playing I really want to focus on. While my practice routine does change from week to week & month to month, two basic concepts that always stick with me are groove and coordination. I feel like these are two points that often help me on my gigs and make my constant jump from genre to genre much easier. While thinking about all of this, I decided to revisit Gary Chester's great book The New Breed (an amazing book for both coordination and groove!). My copy is worn in and falling apart, but still full of information and a ton of fun! One of my favorite things about The New Breed is how it forces me to see the drum kit in a different light. Gary Chester writes the book with special attention to both the left and right sides of the kit...in fact, he recommends putting a hi-hat and floor tom on both the left and right sides of the kit. While I do not add a second hi-hat or floor tom, I do set up multiple ride cymbals and use my side snare as an extra drum. The first 39 systems Gary presents are great for coordination and really help integrate both the left hand (as a lead hand) and the hi-hat as a fourth voice. While some of the systems feel a little "out there", I always enjoy the success and improvement I feel when I've finished a system. I know that for the gigs I'm on, most of these systems represent grooves that I am not called on to play a lot. One of the biggest things I have found with this book is that the concepts seep in to my playing very comfortably. While I may not use a system for a whole verse or chorus in a song like I would a basic rock groove, the coordination and independence gained makes the simpler grooves sit much better. I look at The New Breed like going to the gym on the drums. While some of the systems are a little bizarre (and may not be needed on every gig), the skills gained makes everything else much easier. The harder systems are like heavy weights, they're awkward, they make your arms burn, and they push you to your limit...BUT, the next time you play your favorite groove or fill (aka the light weights) it is much, much easier!

Also, be sure to play to a click or metronome! Locking in all of the 8th and 16th subdivisions are key to getting the most out of the book! If you're looking for an added challenge, try moving the click around as you read through the systems. I'll often put the click on the upbeats or the "e" and "a" of the beat...for a real timing test you can have the click play only play on beat one (or any other beat)! These metronome games are tons of fun and will help your timing and subdivision.

Let me know how these methods work in your practice sessions in the comments!