Sample lessons from The New Breed & The New Breed II.
The focus is on time, feel, coordination, and awareness.
Systems are basic beats played with 3 limbs (exp. RH, LH, & LF) To be memorized.
Bonuses are advanced beats played with 3 limbs. (exp. RH, LH, & LF) To be memorized.
Melodies are reading pages to be played with your 4th limb (exp. RF), along with system or bonus.
System #1 (from The New Breed)
This is a warm up exercise used to focus on time and feel. It is the only system that does not require 4 way coordination.
Set click to QN=60. Play as shown. (play both hands together, at the same time, on closed hi hat. It should be an even, gentle,16th note groove.)
Add Melody shown here (play with RF/bass drum).
Focus on time and feel, placing each bass drum note in its proper place, aligning comfortably with hands. (Melodies in books are longer for increased mental & physical endurance.)
Add Singing
After playing System #1 with the melody, play again, this time adding 'singing'. This means to say or sing rhythmically aloud. Basically like counting only, don't say numbers, find a syllable sound that feels comfortable for you to say (sing), and use that sound (exp. use the syllable "ah")
Begin by singing QN's (metronome click). Locking right in with click, sing "ah" "ah" "ah" "ah". Next play again and this time sing the Melody (bass drum part). You don't have to sing "ah", you can imitate the sound of the bass drum, just sing along with the notes you are playing on bass drum.
This can be a tad trickier then you might think, but an important step. Be patient.
For more details on 'Singing', see pages 6 & 7 in The New Breed, and pages 10 & 11 in The New Breed II
Systems #2 & 3 (from The New Breed)
Bonus #13 & 14 (from The New Breed II)
Follow same instructions, however use more patience in memorizing these systems and bonuses before adding melody on bass drum.
Here are some melody warm ups that you can try before going to the melody page.
*TIP*—tape yourself and listen back for time and feel. Are you playing even and relaxed, or do you hear tension in your playing? Are your bass drum melody notes aligning with hands and LF, and is everything in sync with the click? If not, be patient and keep at it until you achieve desired results.
Private correspondence lessons with Chris
For information on studying by correspondence with Chris Adams, former Gary Chester student, and co-author of The New Breed books, please contact Chris by clicking here::
Bonus lessons will be changed periodically on this site, so do come back!
(examples from The New Breed by Gary Chester, copyright by Modern Drummer, used with permission. examples from the New Breed II by Gary Chester & Chris Adams, copyright Drummers Intensive, used with permission)
