From The Practice Room:
October 01 – 2023

Geometric Phrasing

This is a great exercise inspired by what I learned from my teachers Joh Ramsay, Gary Chaffee, and Alan Dawson. Alan & John showed me many ways to interpret a rhythm. Gary Chaffee worked with me on his oblique motions, paralleled motions and contrary motions on the drum set.

My Alan Dawson studies on this was primarily dealing with specific orchestrations.
Both Alan and Gary got the similar results with different approaches. Gary was teaching me more on how to move, while Alan and Ramsay, were teaching me how to go certain ways by giving me specific instructions on each orchestration, in conjunction with reading, and sight reading then improvisation.

This video lesson today is part of this week series which I will be talking about my approach of teaching orchestration combining Alan Dawson & Gary Chaffee approach into one.


Today the exercise is very basic, involving playing paradiddle in all 12 Geometric positions.
This week we will be taking this a little further each day.

I have used this with my Berklee students, and my TDSC online school students and my live in person students at The Drum Set Coach Academy. This is very helpful in assisting students to move around the drum set and get better navigating the geography of the instrument.
This exercise will also encourage the students to explore the use of rudiments for fills, and solos and time keeping (more on this later)

Hope you enjoy this lesson!

To get my Modern Drummer Magazine PDF On “Geometric Phrasing”
go to the link below and get it for free.
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Hope you enjoy this lesson!
Have fun with this!
H-TDSC

Henrique De Almeida -Professor / Berklee College of Music
Music Director - The Drum Set Coach Academy
Author, Drum Set Artist & Clinician/Sonor Drums/Vic Firth/LP/Evans drumheads/HQ Pads/Earthworks Microphones/Carl Fischer/Berklee Press/Hall Leonard/Hudson Music
Web: www.TheDrumSetCoach.Com