Play-alongs

[Cameron_Mahoney]

I need suggestoions for good play alongs. If I could find any files you guys would be willing to share, that would be wonderful. Otherwise, suggest books or cd's you have thought were useful. I'm looking for a good variety of material, in a variety of styles and such.


Thanks, guys!

[GoMan]

the TUrn it upand lay it down series is pretty good.... i think. Its fun and you can fool around with it. Maybe the first one gets a little boring after a while but its all good.

[peter c]

What kind of stuff are you looking
for, Cameron?

[img]cool.gif[/img]

[Cameron_Mahoney]

Well, I listened to some stuff you had played with your group or whatever.. please excuse my ignorance [img]tongue.gif[/img] ... and I really dig the latin stuff. I'm looking for different styles of latin, as well as whatever jazz, pop, rock stuff I can find. I really enjoy playing with these tracks, as I don't get opportunity to play these styles elsewhere.

[Cameron_Mahoney]

Play alongs from bands and popular drummers are always great, too!

[matricks]

You know what i dig... i dig Rhythm magazine cause they include play along stuff. They have great lessons on the CD they include. They have with and minus-drum tracks. Great stuff, cause they include a written tutorial and charts.

Also, electronic music magazines like Future Musician and others of the such, include cool samples that you can loop in something like Sound Forge, speed up, slow down. What is cool is they are totally different and great learning tools. What i really dig is alot of the time the big part of the CD included has drum track samples of various styles that you can use when creating music. What i love doing is playing along and recording myself to see how close i can emulate these tracks. I think these are great learning tools.

I don't know where you live, whether it is the US or UK, but Rhythm magazine, and all the others i mentioned, can be picked up at any Barnes & Noble.

[Dazzler]

Dave Hassell is one of the foremost drummers/percussionists in the UK and this book/playalong is excellent. He breaks down all the latin rhythms into their different parts instead of presenting a 'mabo groove' or a songo, for example. He shows you how they are made up and all the countless variations on all the percussion parts so the player has an understanding of how and why they work. The CD is an excellent backing too.

Latin Grooves playalong

I can't speak highly enough of Dave, he is a good friend and has kicked my arse many times in order to get me to think an play musically. What Dave doesn't know about the history of drums, styles and latin music, simply isn't worth knowing.

He's concerned with making music and not chops for chops sake. He has great technique himself and a mega feel, know matter what style he is playing or what bizarre percussion instrument he is holding! He cares about sound and feel and mucicians flock to play with him. He can be heard on countless film and tv recordings too and travels the world playing and recording. Some of the best drummers in the country have journeyed up to Manchester (in the north of England) to study with him as he is an open, honest and passionate man with a wealth of knowledge.

Sorry to wax lyrical about Dave, he's an amazing man..... so in answer to your question, his latin book is excellent. Also if you are looking for playalongs that cover all and I mean all styles; his Gradded Course books 1&2 are both excellent. The recorded music is very good and the charts are excellent, just as you would be presented with on a professional date. They cover every style from rock, funk, samba, show 2, reggae, one drop, mambo etc etc. I highly recommend all Daves' publications.

[Cameron_Mahoney]

Thanks, Daz! I'll be ordering that soon! I've been looking for a book that explains more of the components and variations of latin rhythms, not just some patterns.

[maxdis]

Dave Garibaldi "The Funky Beat"

[palmerlouie]

indeed. garibaldi's book is very good. as is the billy cobham one and the vic firth CD that was out awhile ago is very good too.

the turn it up and lay it down cd's are great practicing tools.

steve houghton had a book out called "studio drummer" or something that is very good for big-band style reading and playing.

weckl's rhythm of the soul package is great too.