Due to popular demand, I am re-posting my video "Buddy's Left Hand". To see more, or to request a Skype drum lesson, go to my website at metrodrumschool.com.
Back in the late 60's and early 70's I was fortunate enough to see Buddy at Lenny's on the Turnpike north of Boston about 10 times and one time, I was fortunate enough to be seated on the left and to the side of the piano, right smack dab in perfect sight of Buddy's right side and saw the man do stuff that no man should have been able to do on drums. The most amazing thing to me was how he blended his fantastic bass kicks which brings to mind how no one ever mentions his foot work! Simply amazing!
I am a huge BR fan; I saw him 50 times over the years. He was my idol of course. This is the real deal on what buddy was working on. He never perfected stuff he liked to be the best at it but he liked to play what he wanted to play, I love that man. He launched my career at 11 years of age. I am now 67. Thank you for this. It's the first time I have heard anyone actually sound like Buddy while demonstrating some of his thinking in playing.
A great example of this technique is when Buddy performed it on the chart Three Day Sucker. He keeps a steady single stroke roll for a while all the while filling it in with bass drum beats and cymbal crashes. Just incredible.
Probably one the best videos that explains Buddy’s technique and the one handed roll. I have watched countless videos of Buddy’s playing and this explanation is spot on.
My Great Uncle Benny was a drummer and friend with Buddy and what he shared with me when I was young and learning almost exactly what Buddy focused on. Seeing this made me feel young again working with my Uncle. Huge thank you for the lesson/ memories .Great vid loved it.
I met Buddy Rich after a show in Toronto at Ontario Place Forum in June 1982. I had happened to see his the same week only days earlier at another show in Toronto. In the audience I had a view behind and slightly to the side of Buddy's drum kit and was in awe of what I consider the best drummer that existed. I commented how great his show was earlier in the week and that this show was almost as good as the Minkler show. Buddy looked at me and said, "Oh, so you could hear a difference in my playing between the two shows"? I stood there not knowing what to say and he patted me on the shoulder and said, "it's ok, I know what you meant, thanks". Buddy was standing outside his tour bus after playing the Ontario Place Forum which was an outdoor show. Of course, knowing he was in town and that I had tickets for both shows, the earlier one at MInkler Auditorium in Toronto, I brought my brother's Remo practice pad hoping Buddy would sign it if I met him. He did, so my brush with drumming greatness happened that day. I've been to countless drum clinics, Billy Cobham, Bill Brufford, Ed Thigpen, Lenny White and more. Meeting Buddy Rich was the pinacle and he didn't flinch when I asked him to sign the pad which he saw me holding the whole time so he knew I would ask. Great left hand control. I don't have the capability at least not yet. Buddy's playing was so fast that you would have to literally watch in slo mo playback to see the stick control. So watching this video is very interesting and is all about technique.
Back in the day you would have needed a Sony video recorder that cost 250K to tape it and "slow it down" to see the brilliance of his singles to doubles moment.
Excellent! Very talented! I saw Buddy once and got his autograph and shook hands with him in 1974. I was hoping that the "magic" would rub off - lol. I am starting off again trying to learn the one-handed roll and this time I am going to get it. I stopped trying after a while the first time and that is why I have not learned it yet. Keep up the good work and thanks for your time and effort in helping those of us out who need help and direction! NeddyRich
Very cool. I like seeing how others explain Buddy's technique. I also notice on a lot of video of him, he holds the left stick very close to the middle of the stick. Closer than I've seen demonstrated. He was just awesome.
Thanks to the guys offering support and advice after my index finger was virtually severed but I'm glad to say I have after 12 months getting enough feeling back to resume my old way of playing,however I've also started using trad.grip and mixing it up ,It's quite a revelation ,I recommend it.Once again thanks.Persistence pays.
good stuff man! Thanks! I am a guitar player, but a drummer at heart. Never had enough time to practice and just messed around on the old beat up kit I have. But, the older I get I am wanting to learn the proper way to play and these tidbits of advice are golden nuggets! Thanks again.
That's some fantastic technique you've got there. I studied with Joe Morello and was always amazed by his ability to play left-hand triplets at significant speed; this is somewhat similar although in 4.
i have played matched grip for years, and dabbled in traditional. now i am changing over to traditional only as i can do more with it. anyway, this is a great instructional video, and thanks for sharing!!
Paul Robson - The Ontario College of Percussion - Toronto. People from all over the world come to learn how to play drums good and proper, the real thing. it is still going strong today and better than ever. When I attended so long ago I was taught along the same lines as is put forth in this video. This is a form of the Henry Adler technique being put forth here. Technique without interfering with natural musical talent was a big part of the instruction provided. Real good stuff on this vid, man. Its a big compliment, man!
Well explained!This is a reason why the drum grip is perfect for Jazz as opposed to the matched grip. The stick between the ring and middle finger lift the stick and take advantage of the bounce. the only trick is that the middle and ring finger must move alternatively back and forth.Using your wrist you change the attack to the skin (or the hi-hat - nice hi-hat solo you can do this way) and that is the basic,as MetroD explains experiment with thumb & index My teacher called this a "buzz roll"
Wow - that last comment was really hateful! This is actually a very useful video. I am a drummer who is always looking to grow, and this video has certainly been very helpful. In addition, the maker of this video is quite masterful with his technique. The internet is full of trolls! Don't listen to them, and keep up the good work!
Been doing drums for a little while now maybe a month or two and with that tutorial and lots of practice i think i may be able to get it quite good, thankyou
Very good! spot on the flam tap is in my opinion the best way to develop the technique quickly. Once you pass the finger blistering during development practice which a small strip of masking or a band-aid can assist in relief is fine.
Holy Crap! I took a lesson from this guy in that very room years ago! Good guy, it was free. Some good pointers, and ultimately i still use those pointers today. I just now watched this video, and man what a good description of the left hand technique. Similar to what he showed me for right hand technique. good stuff here.
Rating somebody the best in the world is an impossible task. There are so many that are so good at their own style of play. But I would also agree that Buddy Rich is the best of all time behind the kit. That we know of.
Great! The 3’s, 5’s and 7’s make what Buddy did almost an illusion that his left hand was cruising right through. But those right hand hits give that left hand just enough rest to come back at it again to sound continuous. This is well done cause Buddy solo’d in this fashion a lot.
GREAT! Whether it is EXACTLY like Buddy did it is not as important as how you demonstrate YOUR beautiful technique and mastery of traditional grip! YOU cook! I had the opportunity to take lessons from a rudimental master that had developed snare technique much like Buddy's. His name was Howard Gilbert and was a principal percussionist with The Seattle Symphony Orchestra in the early and mid '60's. Very thankful I studied with him! George Clark Drummer
I experimented with the military style grip Buddy used for awhile, but I found there was little I could do with it that I couldn't do with the matched grip. That left hand style was originally developed for marching drummers with a snare slung to the left. When the trap set became popular that grip seemed to migrate to it, possibly because former military drummers were the ones playing. Interesting the way it has survived and become the "jazz grip" today, and is still preferred by some drummers.
Very nice demo sir. Buddy had an interesting Paradiddle thing. Left hand on snare. Right hand on Floor Tom. Then he would toss in the bass drum on the 'and' of the 16th note combinations. It took me years to figure out, then one day, there is was! You can see it on one of Buddys old videos when he filled in summers for Jackie Gleason on Away We Go.
@@vgr112261 I really like how you put that. I've never heard better either. But there is always someone out there that we will never hear about who is phenomenal
@@markgill7138 very true. I remember being in New Orleans many years ago and watching a guy in a dive bar that blew me away, just as Rich did. Buddy never said he was the “best,” only that he could hold his own with the best.
Joe Morello taught how you flipped your hand over and used the two top fingers. Joe was such a great teacher for drum camps. Wouldn’t it be a wonderful world if we had drum and small band camps instead of school. All through life.
My dad was a HUGE Buddy Rich Fan (R.I.P.) I have his old drum set from the 40's and myself are a drummer....I've been practicing/messing around with some Rich ...until I've seen this...I've been doing it between my thumb and index finger and just Bouncing it ...it worked but, took too much energy and straining! This seems way easier!
Will do! I'll tag it in this thread...as soon as I get the kit from my Uncle's place...I'm guessing it's going to need newer Cymbals...as the original ones were what they called "Garbage lids" (shitty). I'll throw on some some skins etc..keeping the original bass skin (still good) The snare just needs some adjusting...my uncle is more of a guitarist, than a drummer..and EFFED it up! See ya soon guys!
Not a drummer myself but always fancied having a go, and I imagined to get a good roll going I'd also hold the sticks (both hands) via the thumb and middle finger and getting a good bounce rhythm going. Weird to see I'm not the only one that would do it like that. I watched a few BR videos and saw the left hand grip and thought I'm way off in thinking that's the way to do it. Seems like I'm not terribly far off. Now I just need to have a go somewhere :)
Also had one of Buddy's old sets which my father used in the forties and fifties. Was pretty beat up when I got it in the sixties. Father got set in NY decades ago. He knew Buddy well enough to loan him money for lunch once back in the day - some deli near NY musicians local.
I switched to traditional grip a couple of years ago. I love having to work on something so simple as grip. It really smacks your ego right back down. I constantly work on it everywhere I sit. When I drive, and at my desk, and in front of the tv. It's tough, but I can see improvement. My grip is getting stronger, but I think it's going to take longer than I expected. These videos are great.
You are a professional through and through! Incredible technique, very, if not ludicrously, modest and you have the golden pipes of a 1960s/70s radio man (yes a DJ, but before it got ruined). Wish I lived in Colorado, as I would love to be student:) Down in here in Georgia. Dangit. With the devil and all.
Nice hands. I think what you are showing is very close to the Murray Spivack fixed pressure finger control. He was a master of snare drum technique. One of his students Ralph Collier also mastered this technique and went on to teach Bill Wilson who learned and mastered this technique as well. Bill taught and ran Drum City in Hollywood. You may know him.
beautiful left hand guy. just beautiful. that's the main reason I quit playing a long time ago never developed a good technique and by the time I realized what was up that you really do need to learn paradiddles ect. to much time has passed me by. good vidio
Buddy was walking up Charles St. in Baltimore after playing a free outdoor at Charles Center and I met him. I asked him specifically about finger control and his exact response was "it's bullshit and don't do it". I liked your video and I'm very aware that Buddy could say anything on any given day but he looked me straight in the eye and told me that.
