With Elements, drummer John Favicchia presents you with a comprehensive system to improve your drumming vocabulary, and your ability to improvise with that vocabulary. After presenting you with the Elements- simple one-beat variations of basic 16th-note and triplet rhythms- Favicchia shows you how to practice them in order to expand your abilities and skills in various areas. The exercises contained within the book show you how to apply the Elements in ways that will allow you to:
- Execute accent figures in any place in the measure.
- Play accents in any desired position combined with double stroke rolls.
- Orchestrate all your ideas in more creative ways around the kit.
- Improvise with much more freedom, both in your choice of rhythms and orchestrations on the kit.
- Use the Elements to create more variety in your drum fills.
- Be able to recognize and execute any given ensemble figure encountered on a chart.
- Solo around the hits while playing with a band, no matter where the hits fall.
A separate section deals with using the Elements to increase your four-limb independence while grooving. Also included is a MP3/data disc that is jam-packed with music to assist you in learning how to apply the Elements. There are 20 play-along bass track loops in nearly every style from rock to Latin, along with 8 complete play-along tracks-from easy to very advanced- that contain all the musical context in which to practice applying the Elements in grooves, fills, ensemble figures, and solos.
As an added bonus, note-for-note transcriptions from Favicchia’s Dharma CD are included, illustrating exactly how the author applies these concepts in his own exciting style of drumming.
