Drummer’s Guide to Odd Meters IV-VI
Ed Roscetti
$14.95
Hal Leonard Corp.
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This
review appeared in the Feb. 2001 issue of Percussive
Notes:
With Drummer’s
Guide to Odd Meters, Ed Roscetti has developed a unique system of learning odd
rhythmic patterns and applying them to virtually any contemporary style on the
drumset. The book is divided into seven chapters. Chapters one through five
cover meters in 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11 respectively. Chapter six deals with
“composite” meters, or larger meters (such as 10/8) made up of smaller
meters. Chapter seven is called “Playing Through and Over the Barline;
Changing-Meter Charts.”
Each chapter begins
with a rhythmic guide, or a set of typical rhythms in the meter being covered.
These are performed on the accompanying CD. The student is instructed to play
these rhythms repeatedly until they are internalized. This is done with a
metronome and by using one rhythm as an ostinato while playing the others.
Students are also encouraged to write out their own rhythmic guide on the blank
score paper provided.
The next step is to
apply these rhythms using the “Five Steps to Musicality.” This process
gradually transforms the selected odd-meter idea into an orchestrated groove
based on that idea in whatever musical style is desired. This process is clearly
illustrated in the book and the CD provides charts that function as musical
examples and play-along tracks. Roscetti reveals how relatively simple ideas can
be transformed into complex-sounding grooves and solo ideas in odd meters.
By
providing an open-ended system that inspires creativity on the part of the
student, this book follows the approach of all great drum books. Rather than
merely a set of beats to learn by rote, Roscetti has outlined a thinking system
that will lead students to discover their own odd-meter ideas and apply them in
a musical way.
Tom Morgan
Modern
Drummer magazine review appeared in the July/2001 issue, released
mid-May.
This book is for
the drummer who’s comfortable with the standard pop grooves – most of them
in 4/4 time here in the Western world – and is ready for the paradigm shift that Roscetti proposes: Thinking of 8th notes in groups of threes rather than twos. Roscetti has been teaching an odd-meters class at Musician’s Institute
for twenty years, so he has an idea of what he’s talking about.The author is out
to show what a wealth of rhythm we miss out on in the West, and his teaching
methods, which also cover composite meters and playing over the bar line, are
fun and hands-on. First he creates
a set of exercises for each of the eight time signatures he discusses, asking
the drummer to tap an ostinato pattern with the feet while playing different
patterns on a snare or hand drum, just to internalize the rhythms before
applying them to the kit. Roscetti
gives basic and increasingly advanced grooves in each meter, then asks the
reader to write his own beats out in the workspace provided. His “Five Steps To Musicality” – technique, time, time feel,
phrasing, and form – help cement the meters. And the CD, which features rhythm section tracks, ties it all together
and promotes musical interplay. (Hal Leonard)
Robin Tolleson
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