Growing up in church back in the early 2000s the best drummer would never share these techniques. It was a top dog type of environment. Now with RUclips Ive revisited my desire to learn chops.
my favourite lecturers ive noticed have seemingly completely unrelated hobbies, love making strange analogies that make you remember things way better etc. you remind me of them, and i have learnt a ton from your videos. thanks nate
The only thing missing in this lesson is that i also would apply all that stuff also in triplets and sextuplets cause a lot of these choppers do this especial in tempos where 32nd are too fast
One of the most important guidelines I learned about practicing the drums is to go deep, not wide. Meaning focus on something and drill down very deep until you’re amazing at it rather than practicing what you see in a video for one or two weeks, and then practicing what you see in another video for a week. The greats always go extremely deep. Especially on the fundamentals!
Definitely a great way to explain it and will open way more vocabulary and phrases for when playing chops. You broke it down in a perfect way that makes it simple to connect the dots. You're the man nate!
Nate, this is one of the most informative useful videos I've seen in a while. Thank you!! This is a really great video lesson. Much appreciated!! Great job!! 🙏🥁🎶
If you want to be “authentic” (generic) Berklee/Gospel Chops, make sure to strip out the dynamics and only play forte, so it sounds like a midi file. I guess you get dynamics if you graduate? 🙃 But seriously, I think it might be cool to deep dive into the Yoda of linear drumming, Gary Chaffee Patterns series and how to study a new book (if it’s new to you. You haven’t really talked about Chaffee, if I remember right).
Nate, outstanding breakdown here. Thank you! I agree with whomever said, “this lesson should explode.” I’ve watched you for a long while, but at my playing level, not much of what you’ve said was useful yet. This though, as well as your “ergonomic kit set up” interview a few weeks ago, both hit home for me. To the naysayers, he said right at the beginning, this doesn’t replace fundamentals; chops are fun spice, just remember to eat your veggies first.
I appreciate this info!! I’ve been self taught and wondered what was being played in a lot of this stuff! I can hear the combos and patterns!! I greatly appreciate your gift and input with those inspiring to be where you are at with the craft!!!!!
All good tips. "Practice slow to play fast" is one of my favorites, as it seems to apply in most situations. One other point to consider, is the power of odd-number groupings on a 16th note grid. A case could be made for everything breaking down into 3- & 2-note groupings. The thing that I like best about that concept, is that it facilitates playing across the barline. It also leads to accent patterns that make a run of 16th, or 32nd notes more interesting.
Not that I'm great at this sort of thing, but this is basically my approach as well, although I don't really think of it as linear vs. diddles when I'm playing. In my head, I'm just thinking about short accent patterns and which drums I want to play those accents on. Then I let that guide my hands and feet. It's more like combining singles and (usually inverted) doubles, occasionally substituting some notes with the bass drum, and occasionally adding in short phrases like KRL or RLKK. I didn't get very far with it, but Gary Chaffee's system of linear drumming works for a lot of people. I like his mixed stickings system better - a specific number of singles followed by an indeterminate number of doubles - although you have to figure out how to incorporate the bass drum.
0:20 "OW MY NECK HAAAAAALP" - Ya'know, I actually had ... IMPOSSIBLE😅 ... problems with speed until a couple years back. Like, stuck for a decade problems. My progress flew forward after I got so disgusted, that I flipped my kit lefty-backwards, & played the old punk rock my right hand was trained on. I figured both, my left hand would have nowhere to hide now, & that it would go through the same progression my right hand did. During the time I was stuck, I was trying to copy the thumb on top blastbeat video that a million people have done. I quickly found that you simply can not copy training of dynamic tension. All that going for a cymbal, a ride bell, a travel from hats to ride & back, & all the time throwing the stick or holding it too hard, trains your tension over time. There was no way a pad was going to fix this. It also got me out of obsessing over thumb on top + fingers = speed since on the kit, my german/french/american grip was simply dynamic based on angles. One thing I have found recently, is how I hold the stick. Idk if anyone does this or if there's an name for the grip, but I've never seen a video on it. I don't even hold it between my thumb pad center & my pointer finger anymore. That's where I'm used to seeing the balance point. - Well now, my balance point is almost my full palm. The stick actually rests inside where the thumb+pointer is, & my thumb is almost pressing upward on the stick it's so far on the side. - The tops of my fingers are very curled, & my grip is very closed, but it is also extremely bouncy this way & feels more connected to what my intended actions do. - The exact fulcrum point actually feels like my palm, directly under where my pointer finger starts, but it also seems to spread to the whole grip. - It feels more that I'm pulling the stick into my palm to get a strike, instead of throwing it behind my thumb+pointer fulcrum. This also makes my pinky extremely active when I play. I get a TON more return pressure into my grip (or perhaps just sensitivity), but also, it doesn't feel sharp & wrong, like if you hold way off the balance point or something. What this grip also does, is decrease how effective fingers are at slower consistent tempos (or I need practice) & my wrist has to take over at higher tempos than I used to play using my wrists. At the same time though, I have gained a bunch of speed & control in my fingers. When I do doubles, its like I'm pushing & pulling away from the fulcrum with my fingers on one side of that part of the palm under the pointer, & my thumb+pointer on the other side. It ends up feeling like I'm pulling a "flat" line of pressure into my grip. I found this through experimentation so it probably needs cleaning if it's an existing technique, but it feels so fast , so sensitive, with more control over pressure.
yeah i think the key words here are linear drumming and ghost notes. the way i learned how to play like this is by learning a few linear stickings and playing around with dynamics and the drums you do them on. eventually once you're fluent in these they'll get easier to slide in when you're improvising
I tend to think my right foot leads and my hands just fill in but thinking 3/2, then 4/1, then 2/1, etc.. could be a good practice exercise to build some chops. do that pattern but mix up the sticking and see what happens.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion I personally enjoy learning about chopping. It is just another tool to be used when appropriate also it elevates. our knowledge it is important to learn some thing every day that you don’t already know that’s where growth comes in there’s certain styles of music that I personally don’t like however, I listen to them to better understand what is being played and why so don’t look at this is I hate text from one Drummer to another, let’s keep the groove pushing and keep it on the one. Enjoy your day.
Maybe you should do a video of going between gospel chops, buff hello kitty, and chris dave/ neo soul grooves. I kinda find it hard to go from chopping into hello kitty if you catch my drift
Useful. I’d be patient tho. You might have to master the vocab first before you can do it with the left foot and that’s fine. In musical situations I usually gauge what sound I’m trying to produce and if I need to make it easier for a band to follow me. The guys in the shed aren’t doing anything with the left foot but if you want somebody like Dana Hawkins he uses it a lot.
@@8020drummer Thanks Nate. I've always strived to keep time on the left foot, but with these chop type things, with a lot of players, their left foot seems to do sweet f**k all, just interested to see where different people draw the line.
Is it actually true that if you can play this stuff slow, then you will eventually be able to play it fast? Because I can literally play all of this at 75% speed in any configuration of combinations( including the fancy doubles and cross overs and whatever else I see in the videos). But when it comes to playing it at regular speeds I cannot process the combos. At 100% speed I revert to combos I already know which are much more basic/ ubiquitous. Like the Portnoy fills, single stroke rolls (which I personally don't think are very creative even with interesting orchestrations like Buddy Rich or Denis Chambers use) paradiddles, etc. Because if it's true that in order to play fast you need to play slow then I'll just shed it slower from now on. Otherwise, I feel like it would be a huge waste of time as it wouldn't be getting me any closer to being able to play it at speed. cheers!
I should clarify that I've been interested in getting on that level for quite a few years, but I haven't seriously dedicated to it with deliberate practice and only started a few weeks ago.@@8020drummer
this will be the 3rd week of deliberate practice. But I've been interested in this stuff for quite a few years and haven't sat down to formally get on that level.@@8020drummer
YOU’RE not gonna get calls to play like this on a gig but these are “Gospel Chops” techniques, developed in church basements..It’s normal, perhaps even expected to play like this in many churches..Not frowned upon…It’s “norm de’ riguer “ as a matter of fact..And most of the live clips he shows are of working, touring drummers..Excellent video and breakdown, one of his very best.
It’s vocabulary. Learn as much as you can. Use your words accordingly. Speak when it’s your turn Above all listen to what’s being said and don’t distract with a bunch of unnecessary chatter.
Why drummers cant play normal fills and groove? All of the famous drummers on social media in nowadays can't play a steady groove and fills on point, it's all about these damn chops and furious double bass drumming.
I give it a shot to stay open minded but i still hate chops. I hate how it sounds and i hate how it kills the groove. But it’s a great list of exercises.
The right drummer can use chops while still keeping the foundation of groove, but yeah many drummers lose that groove for complex chops and that gets old quick
I am sure I’m going to get him lots of negative comments for this but I really despise this style of drumming I really don’t see the point of this when the drummer’s job to sit back play the groove pill when you need to and service the song over one’s self OK let the hate mail start.
This may not be applicable in every scenario but I would believe learning this will complement your overall playing, because you may be able to do small improvisations enhancing the song. Or what do you think?
I think you do have a point and it's definitely got value, but I think the more important thing for drummers to focus on is practicing and diving deep into what kind of drumming they specifically need and want to improve on to achieve the music they want. For a lot of music like funk and gospel, feel and groove matters. Whereas for progress metal and blast beats, having good understanding of time signatures and intervals is really important to hold it all together. Resistricing is never good. learning and adapting to different styles us definitely beneficial. But as you said, it's definitely good to be told what is more useful and more practical in the general band situation
I mean the hate mail is deserved, honestly. The greatest drummers in the world have both pocket AND chops. Not just chops, and just pocket. They can do both. And that's why their vocabulary, even with their grooves, can become so complex, out of the box, and make them stand out. I'd argue knowing how to play chops has helped me play pocket better because it made me more aware of my note placement, and how I phrase my ghostnotes in between the grooves I'm playing in pocket. And allows me to stand out, with a little extra spice. But hey, if you wanna stay mid forever, do you!
@@thaddiusthedark576 Did you see anywhere in my statement where I said not having chops was not a good thing, or either did you see in my statement that I said I didn't have them, which I do???? Pretty sure I did not say either! I asserted that this type of playing is far too prevalent and, in most cases, way over the top and not needed; it is a matter of taste, I again will assert the statement "service the song and not your ego"! so I will do me and you keep looking for new gigs because you haven't figured this out yet!
You are the kind of guy that will dumb down his drummer asking for keeping the beat/time, and then when you both happen to be somewhere where a drummer with these chops shows up, you will say - wow check that guy, can you play like that..?
This episode will probably explode. Everything is spot on as usual but with a content "everybody" want.✌️👍
Probably one of the most useful videos I’ve watched on the topic of chopping and soloing
I agree. amazing lesson
Growing up in church back in the early 2000s the best drummer would never share these techniques. It was a top dog type of environment. Now with RUclips Ive revisited my desire to learn chops.
You right about that! Or, they’ll show you but do it real fast so you couldn’t pick it up.
my favourite lecturers ive noticed have seemingly completely unrelated hobbies, love making strange analogies that make you remember things way better etc. you remind me of them, and i have learnt a ton from your videos. thanks nate
The only thing missing in this lesson is that i also would apply all that stuff also in triplets and sextuplets cause a lot of these choppers do this especial in tempos where 32nd are too fast
RllK Is the JP bovet special, he really goes deep on that. Great video
One of the most important guidelines I learned about practicing the drums is to go deep, not wide.
Meaning focus on something and drill down very deep until you’re amazing at it rather than practicing what you see in a video for one or two weeks, and then practicing what you see in another video for a week. The greats always go extremely deep. Especially on the fundamentals!
As ever, a great breakdown. Really appreciate your shared insight to the possibilities.
Definitely a great way to explain it and will open way more vocabulary and phrases for when playing chops. You broke it down in a perfect way that makes it simple to connect the dots. You're the man nate!
Thanks Nate your explanation is spot on.
As someone who has the Solo Course- this was a great refresher and if you liked this, you’ll LOVE the course!
Nate, IMO, this is the BEST instructional drum channel on RUclips. Keep up the great work. I love your videos.
Nicely done. Thnx Nate 🔥👌🏽🥁
Thank you so much, this opened a part of my brain that I couldn't reach before...
Love the videos
Amazingly useful explanations and ideas. You are amazing at this. Props!! 🎉
Thank you smart drummer man
Nate, this is one of the most informative useful videos I've seen in a while. Thank you!! This is a really great video lesson. Much appreciated!! Great job!! 🙏🥁🎶
Really inspiring and informative - thanx Nate 😃🥁💕
Kudos for breaking it down so logically into useful concepts!! Great great great video, Nate!! Thank you!
Going to have to listen to this one a bunch of times. Rarely will I use it with the band. But when I do it will really be exciting. Thanks!
If you want to be “authentic” (generic) Berklee/Gospel Chops, make sure to strip out the dynamics and only play forte, so it sounds like a midi file. I guess you get dynamics if you graduate? 🙃
But seriously, I think it might be cool to deep dive into the Yoda of linear drumming, Gary Chaffee Patterns series and how to study a new book (if it’s new to you. You haven’t really talked about Chaffee, if I remember right).
Yep, Gary was on this stuff decades ago.
Glad to see you over 100k subs now. You were so close for ages. Well done you deserve it.
every clip I see of Giribaldi that I've never seen is more inspired than the next. Thanks for sharing.
You are my favourite teacher ❤
Loved this video and the transcription
Great lesson
Nate, outstanding breakdown here. Thank you!
I agree with whomever said, “this lesson should explode.” I’ve watched you for a long while, but at my playing level, not much of what you’ve said was useful yet. This though, as well as your “ergonomic kit set up” interview a few weeks ago, both hit home for me.
To the naysayers, he said right at the beginning, this doesn’t replace fundamentals; chops are fun spice, just remember to eat your veggies first.
I appreciate this info!! I’ve been self taught and wondered what was being played in a lot of this stuff! I can hear the combos and patterns!! I greatly appreciate your gift and input with those inspiring to be where you are at with the craft!!!!!
What amazing content you've produced! Thank you for taking the time to break this down and share it with us. Love your channel!
Great video! Love the decoding terminology as well. Very clear, tangible and has utility. Thank you
This might be the most helpful vid on this topic 😭 thank you Nate!!! You sound so crispy doing this stuff!
Really inspiring Nate. You are a great drummer; congrats.
I love this... Thanks for explaining it in this way.
All good tips. "Practice slow to play fast" is one of my favorites, as it seems to apply in most situations. One other point to consider, is the power of odd-number groupings on a 16th note grid. A case could be made for everything breaking down into 3- & 2-note groupings. The thing that I like best about that concept, is that it facilitates playing across the barline. It also leads to accent patterns that make a run of 16th, or 32nd notes more interesting.
Love it! Much appreciated. Thank you.
we can only admire you
Loved it, so well put and displayed!thank you
Not that I'm great at this sort of thing, but this is basically my approach as well, although I don't really think of it as linear vs. diddles when I'm playing. In my head, I'm just thinking about short accent patterns and which drums I want to play those accents on. Then I let that guide my hands and feet. It's more like combining singles and (usually inverted) doubles, occasionally substituting some notes with the bass drum, and occasionally adding in short phrases like KRL or RLKK.
I didn't get very far with it, but Gary Chaffee's system of linear drumming works for a lot of people. I like his mixed stickings system better - a specific number of singles followed by an indeterminate number of doubles - although you have to figure out how to incorporate the bass drum.
0:20 "OW MY NECK HAAAAAALP" - Ya'know, I actually had ... IMPOSSIBLE😅 ... problems with speed until a couple years back. Like, stuck for a decade problems. My progress flew forward after I got so disgusted, that I flipped my kit lefty-backwards, & played the old punk rock my right hand was trained on. I figured both, my left hand would have nowhere to hide now, & that it would go through the same progression my right hand did. During the time I was stuck, I was trying to copy the thumb on top blastbeat video that a million people have done.
I quickly found that you simply can not copy training of dynamic tension. All that going for a cymbal, a ride bell, a travel from hats to ride & back, & all the time throwing the stick or holding it too hard, trains your tension over time. There was no way a pad was going to fix this. It also got me out of obsessing over thumb on top + fingers = speed since on the kit, my german/french/american grip was simply dynamic based on angles.
One thing I have found recently, is how I hold the stick. Idk if anyone does this or if there's an name for the grip, but I've never seen a video on it. I don't even hold it between my thumb pad center & my pointer finger anymore. That's where I'm used to seeing the balance point.
- Well now, my balance point is almost my full palm. The stick actually rests inside where the thumb+pointer is, & my thumb is almost pressing upward on the stick it's so far on the side.
- The tops of my fingers are very curled, & my grip is very closed, but it is also extremely bouncy this way & feels more connected to what my intended actions do.
- The exact fulcrum point actually feels like my palm, directly under where my pointer finger starts, but it also seems to spread to the whole grip.
- It feels more that I'm pulling the stick into my palm to get a strike, instead of throwing it behind my thumb+pointer fulcrum.
This also makes my pinky extremely active when I play. I get a TON more return pressure into my grip (or perhaps just sensitivity), but also, it doesn't feel sharp & wrong, like if you hold way off the balance point or something. What this grip also does, is decrease how effective fingers are at slower consistent tempos (or I need practice) & my wrist has to take over at higher tempos than I used to play using my wrists. At the same time though, I have gained a bunch of speed & control in my fingers. When I do doubles, its like I'm pushing & pulling away from the fulcrum with my fingers on one side of that part of the palm under the pointer, & my thumb+pointer on the other side. It ends up feeling like I'm pulling a "flat" line of pressure into my grip.
I found this through experimentation so it probably needs cleaning if it's an existing technique, but it feels so fast , so sensitive, with more control over pressure.
Awesome, thank you very much!
so great, thank you!! gonna rock these proper
Thanks I signed up for more Trasncriptions
Great video! Thanks!
Thx for the time & effort you put into this!👌
Great class
yeah i think the key words here are linear drumming and ghost notes. the way i learned how to play like this is by learning a few linear stickings and playing around with dynamics and the drums you do them on. eventually once you're fluent in these they'll get easier to slide in when you're improvising
Yup
Excellent🔥🔥🔥
Thanks nate keep the info coming
Thxs Nath. !😃👌🏻
I tend to think my right foot leads and my hands just fill in but thinking 3/2, then 4/1, then 2/1, etc.. could be a good practice exercise to build some chops. do that pattern but mix up the sticking and see what happens.
I grew up on skate rock drumming (hardcore punk speeds) so that helps speed if you start early.
Great lesson 80/20 TY!
Really helpful🙏🏽
Sounds good nate. Now hit em like you mean it
My favorite song with fast chops is Tool - Pneuma,, Danny Carrey killed it with this one
lol I see what you did but also love Danny
Everyone is entitled to their opinion I personally enjoy learning about chopping. It is just another tool to be used when appropriate also it elevates. our knowledge it is important to learn some thing every day that you don’t already know that’s where growth comes in there’s certain styles of music that I personally don’t like however, I listen to them to better understand what is being played and why so don’t look at this is I hate text from one Drummer to another, let’s keep the groove pushing and keep it on the one. Enjoy your day.
Thank you.
Another awesome video ❤
unique
Lovely. 👌🏻
Maybe you should do a video of going between gospel chops, buff hello kitty, and chris dave/ neo soul grooves. I kinda find it hard to go from chopping into hello kitty if you catch my drift
Its would be cool to hear your set cranked up a bit. this kinda sounds jazzy. Lets see you get that fusion kit out. more toms!!
Could you do a video on CJ Thompson?
Great vid
This is soo good!!!
Excelent!
The king of chop's Keith moon
Nate, what's your view on keep quarter/8th notes on your left foot while shedding this type of material? Useful coordinator or Achilles heel?
Useful. I’d be patient tho. You might have to master the vocab first before you can do it with the left foot and that’s fine. In musical situations I usually gauge what sound I’m trying to produce and if I need to make it easier for a band to follow me. The guys in the shed aren’t doing anything with the left foot but if you want somebody like Dana Hawkins he uses it a lot.
@@8020drummer Thanks Nate. I've always strived to keep time on the left foot, but with these chop type things, with a lot of players, their left foot seems to do sweet f**k all, just interested to see where different people draw the line.
dynamics, dynamics, dynamics.
ruclips.net/video/9Ct4uxli9SQ/видео.htmlsi=6Ioc4VO7G2lopyE9
they play a lot of single notes right!!
I call hitting the hi hat a flare and not a bark but I will allow it this time I suppose
lol
Is it actually true that if you can play this stuff slow, then you will eventually be able to play it fast? Because I can literally play all of this at 75% speed in any configuration of combinations( including the fancy doubles and cross overs and whatever else I see in the videos). But when it comes to playing it at regular speeds I cannot process the combos. At 100% speed I revert to combos I already know which are much more basic/ ubiquitous. Like the Portnoy fills, single stroke rolls (which I personally don't think are very creative even with interesting orchestrations like Buddy Rich or Denis Chambers use) paradiddles, etc. Because if it's true that in order to play fast you need to play slow then I'll just shed it slower from now on. Otherwise, I feel like it would be a huge waste of time as it wouldn't be getting me any closer to being able to play it at speed. cheers!
How long have you been playing it slowly
Not long. Maybe a total of like two weeks cumulative. @@8020drummer
I should clarify that I've been interested in getting on that level for quite a few years, but I haven't seriously dedicated to it with deliberate practice and only started a few weeks ago.@@8020drummer
this will be the 3rd week of deliberate practice. But I've been interested in this stuff for quite a few years and haven't sat down to formally get on that level.@@8020drummer
Berkley Chops
YOU’RE not gonna get calls to play like this on a gig but these are “Gospel Chops” techniques, developed in church basements..It’s normal, perhaps even expected to play like this in many churches..Not frowned upon…It’s “norm de’ riguer “ as a matter of fact..And most of the live clips he shows are of working, touring drummers..Excellent video and breakdown, one of his very best.
Wait do you get cancelled for saying gospel chops now? Yikes
Yeah since when is that a thing lol
I did indeed get a cease and desist letter from the founder in 2016. not for political reasons; for copyright ones
It’s actually gospel chops before Berkeley chops
It’s vocabulary.
Learn as much as you can.
Use your words accordingly.
Speak when it’s your turn
Above all listen to what’s being said and don’t distract with a bunch of unnecessary chatter.
Why drummers cant play normal fills and groove?
All of the famous drummers on social media in nowadays can't play a steady groove and fills on point, it's all about these damn chops and furious double bass drumming.
It's called worship
I give it a shot to stay open minded but i still hate chops. I hate how it sounds and i hate how it kills the groove.
But it’s a great list of exercises.
The right drummer can use chops while still keeping the foundation of groove, but yeah many drummers lose that groove for complex chops and that gets old quick
@@Dsullivann i have yet to see that happening 😅
non-pkayer?
F*cking Zac Grooves... I can't even tell what he's playing.
amphetamines?
Everyone is so fascinated by how fast people play. Yes, it's cool but a lot of times it's way too much and not practical.
I am sure I’m going to get him lots of negative comments for this but I really despise this style of drumming I really don’t see the point of this when the drummer’s job to sit back play the groove pill when you need to and service the song over one’s self OK let the hate mail start.
This may not be applicable in every scenario but I would believe learning this will complement your overall playing, because you may be able to do small improvisations enhancing the song. Or what do you think?
I think you do have a point and it's definitely got value, but I think the more important thing for drummers to focus on is practicing and diving deep into what kind of drumming they specifically need and want to improve on to achieve the music they want. For a lot of music like funk and gospel, feel and groove matters. Whereas for progress metal and blast beats, having good understanding of time signatures and intervals is really important to hold it all together. Resistricing is never good. learning and adapting to different styles us definitely beneficial. But as you said, it's definitely good to be told what is more useful and more practical in the general band situation
I mean the hate mail is deserved, honestly.
The greatest drummers in the world have both pocket AND chops. Not just chops, and just pocket. They can do both. And that's why their vocabulary, even with their grooves, can become so complex, out of the box, and make them stand out.
I'd argue knowing how to play chops has helped me play pocket better because it made me more aware of my note placement, and how I phrase my ghostnotes in between the grooves I'm playing in pocket. And allows me to stand out, with a little extra spice.
But hey, if you wanna stay mid forever, do you!
@@thaddiusthedark576 Did you see anywhere in my statement where I said not having chops was not a good thing, or either did you see in my statement that I said I didn't have them, which I do???? Pretty sure I did not say either!
I asserted that this type of playing is far too prevalent and, in most cases, way over the top and not needed; it is a matter of taste, I again will assert the statement "service the song and not your ego"! so I will do me and you keep looking for new gigs because you haven't figured this out yet!
You are the kind of guy that will dumb down his drummer asking for keeping the beat/time, and then when you both happen to be somewhere where a drummer with these chops shows up, you will say - wow check that guy, can you play like that..?
Secret step 0. Be black?
😳😳😅
This style of “chopping” sounds like random nonsense.
Very helpfull. Thx