The Ride Hand

The Ride Hand was written by Garey Williams to help the drummer develop contemporary grooves and a solid foundation of four-way coordination in the funk, R&B and fusion styles. It is written for the intermediate to advanced drum student. This book uses an 8th and 16th note “Rhythment” system that all even (i.e., 8th and 16th note) grooves are built upon. There are a total of 15 “Rhythments” used in the book.

• Seven ride cymbal rhythms
• Three hi-hat foot rhythms
• Guidelines on how to practice – including a practice chart
• Importance of listening to develop your musical drumming vocabulary
• Getting a contemporary drum and cymbal sound – set up, drum tuning and cymbal sounds • Hi-hat and ride cymbal playing techniques – tip, side and edge strokes
• Bass drum and hi-hat pedal techniques – heel, ankle and leg strokes
• Snare drum playing techniques – cross-stick, ghost, accent and rimshot strokes
• Musical drumming demonstrations – textures, articulations and dynamics
• Music tracks to accompany each exercise
• Two play-along charts, with and without drums

There is discussion on such topics as how to practice, the importance of listening to develop your drumming and musical vocabulary, how to position the drums and cymbals for the greatest ease of playing, and the importance of playing with music and other musicians. This book will enable you to play funk, R&B, and fusion grooves, develop timekeeping patterns with the hi-hat foot and play accented right hand patterns on the hi-hat and ride cymbal. All of the exercises are written in 4/4 time and use rhythms common to these styles of music: quarter, 8th and 16th notes.

Audio and video examples of many of the exercises and grooves are included.