Introduction

It was in the summer of 1967 that I first heard the Beatles tune “Strawberry Fields Forever.” I had
only been playing drums about three or four years at the time, and didn’t know much, but when
I heard Ringo’s drum fill at the beginning of the third chorus of that tune (at the 1:40 mark), I
knew something special was going on. This is what it looked like:

r
÷ 44 Œ Œ Œ ‰ . œ œ œ œ ≈ œ œ œ œ. œ œ œ œ
audio
track 1

Little did I realize that: a) this was a three-beat phrase, and a perfect example of musical phrasing
on the drums; and b) in 2014 I would write a book on this subject! A few years after that, Peter
Magadini, with whom I was studying at the time, turned me on to the Max Roach drum solo
entitled “Blues For Big Sid” from his album entitled Drums Unlimited. This is the main motif of
this solo:

3 3 3

÷ 44 .. œ œ œ œ Œ œ œ œ œ Œ œ œ œ
audio
track 2
œ œ

÷ œ Œ œ Œ Œ Œ ..
œ œ œ

I realized that this was a more advanced example of phrasing. A basic motif is stated and then
restated with a slight rhythmic variation. It’s then restated again starting on a different beat
in the bar, and with yet another rhythmic variation on the end. At the time of course, I didn’t
understand the technical aspects of all this—I just knew that I liked the way it sounded!
So, what is phrasing?
The dictionary defines a phrase (in music) as a group of notes forming a distinct unit within
a longer passage. As a verb, it means to divide (music) into phrases in a particular way, esp. in
performance: (as noun phrasing) : original phrasing brought out unexpected aspects of the music.
To me, phrasing is everything!

8
Drummers can be particularly guilty of playing a non-stop barrage of notes without leaving any
space whatsoever. This is very boring to the listener! We need to take a breath in the same way
that sax players take a breath, and to make clear, meaningful statements on our instrument. To
me, there are two kinds of fills. There are the ones that make you shake your head and say, “Wow,
that was a lot of notes...what the heck was that?” And then there are the ones that make you smile
and think, “That was very clever, I never would have thought of that!” I prefer the latter. The
clever fill beats the “muscle” fill every time for me. To me it’s akin to the skill of a great artist.
With a few deft strokes of the paintbrush, he or she can create a beautiful statement, while a
lesser artist might waste a whole lot of paint trying to say the same thing.

There have always been drummers with incredible chops who could play a lot of notes without
a whole lot of musicality, but I think that I’ve always leaned towards drummers that employ the
concept of phrasing. Maybe they also happened to have great chops, but they used their chops to
play musical phrases that you could really hear and feel. Jazz drummers like Max Roach, Philly
Joe Jones, Elvin Jones, Lenny White, and Tony Williams were pioneers in this concept. But as
evidenced by my reference to Ringo above, there have been certain rock drummers like Mitch
Mitchell, John Bonham, Ian Paice, and Mike Shrieve, that employed phrasing in a very musical
way. More recently drummers like Gary Husband, Paco Sery, Manu Katche, Gary Novak, Dafnis
Prieto, Billy Kilson, Bill Stewart, Ari Hoenig, and Mark Guiliana, have taken it even further.

There are times that I say to my students “Just play the drums and pretend that you don’t have any
chops!” Let me explain what I mean by this...
I think that in over-studying fancy licks and fills, we sometimes lose sight of the goal of saying
something meaningful on our instrument.
When I was about 25, I played with a great guitarist named Domenic Troiano. There was a tune
called “Rock and Roll Madness” that had some drum breaks at the end, and he complained that
what I was playing was too complicated and not clear. I was young and rambunctious, and a bit
hot-headed, so my remedy for this was to oversimplify to the point of playing something pretty
boring. Needless to say, he wasn’t happy with this either! So I finally said, “Well, what the heck do
you want me to play?” He couldn’t exactly tell me, but years later I realized he wanted me to play
MUSIC on the drums! He wanted me to dig a bit deeper and not just play some memorized licks.
I had a similar experience at the age of 40 when I studied with Peter Erskine. He put on a
sequence for me to play along with, but before I could jump in with guns blazing, he said, “I don’t
want to hear any licks, no doubles, nothing fast. I know you have chops! I want to hear phrases
and motifs. I want you to tell me a story.” Well, I felt quite handcuffed by this and was at a loss for
what to play, but what he said stuck with me. After that lesson, I had a different outlook entirely
and it began to show up in my playing. I owe a lot to Peter Erskine.
I still have the post-it notes he gave me to put up beside my drums in my practice room:
Always Be Musical…Dynamics…Motifs…Tension-Release…And Ask Yourself ➞ “Would
somebody want to listen to this?”

9
 So, in the first chapter, before we get into any advanced technical ideas, I would just like to
examine some of my favourite musical phrases as played by some of my favourite drummers. A
lot of these examples are in the funk/fusion/rock vein, because that is where my main musical
passion lies. Someone whose passion is mainly straight-ahead jazz would have a whole different
set of examples. One of the major realizations I had a while back when I started analyzing all
this was that the reason I loved some of these ideas so much was the fact that I could sing these
phrases, and they also conjured up visual ideas in my head. I could “see” the shape of the phrase.
There’s an Allan Holdsworth tune called “Tullio” on the Hard Hat Area recording, and at one
point during the guitar solo the drummer, Gary Husband, and Allan Holdsworth both pause at
the same point and then “re-attack”, and for me it conjures up the vision of someone walking
away from a doorway, and then changing their mind, and turning around and re-entering the
same doorway. That sounds pretty cosmic I know, but I am very serious, and this happens a lot
to me when I listen to music!
Well, maybe you can’t quite get your mind around that one yet, but that’s okay…let’s get back
to the idea of singing phrases.
There’s an old saying: “can’t sing, can’t play.” I think this is absolutely true. One of the ways I
practice when I’m away from the drums is to sing rhythms in my head and then visualize how
I could orchestrate them on the drums.
When you have a clear vision of what you want to play, and you can verbalize it, then you have a
good chance of pulling it off, but if you just let your hands play themselves you’re just skimming
the surface of really making a musical statement of any kind. You’re not going to impress anybody
but other drummers when you play from that headspace. And the more chops you acquire, the
harder it is not to use them in a non-musical way. Sometimes it’s almost a curse! That’s why I urge
students (and myself sometimes) to forget what they know and just play the drums! I will even
venture to say that if you can’t sing what you’re playing, then it’s not worth playing!

So let’s get into some examples of what I’m talking about.

Most of these will consist of drum fills in varying lengths, or intros to tunes. Some of them are
very simple, but all are very musical. You can listen to my recorded version of most of these
examples, but I would highly recommend that you check out the original sources, either by
purchasing them on iTunes, or by looking on youtube.
Also, because these are some of my personal favourites, some of them are fairly obscure, by
drummers that perhaps you don’t know. I think every musician has “lightbulb” moments during
their learning years (well, we’re always learning), when a certain performance or recording
unlocks a new door and reveals a whole new area of study. Well, these are some of my moments.
Some are fairly recent, while others date back to when I first started playing. One thing I’ve found
over the years is that inspiration is always just around the corner!
I’ve written in possible sticking choices where I thought it necessary, and some are just an
approximation on my part, so feel free to use your own.

10
 Chapter One – Examples of Musical Phrasing
TONY WILLIAMS
Tony Williams was a master of phrasing, and he never played a note that he didn’t mean. That’s
why his playing was so clear and musical. You always knew what he was trying to say.
So, here are three examples from Tony Williams’s incredible album from 1976 called Believe It. I
think I went through about two vinyl copies and a couple of cassette tapes of this one, and I know
that Vinnie Colaiuta, and a lot of other drummers of his stature, swear by it too. It is a veritable
bible of fusion drumming.
The first example is the intro for the tune “Fred.” Well, it doesn’t get any simpler than this, but I
think it’s a beautiful and clear statement. The sound of the cymbals, and the fact that he changes
to the open hi-hat for the last hit in bar four, well, I think it’s magical. He could have played
something really busy, but chose to play this simple motif, and it sets up the tune perfectly.

> >j > >j > >j >

q==140 .
4 x x x x. x x x. x x
÷4 Œ Œ Œ X x Œ œœœœ
audio œ . œ œ . œ œ. œ œ
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
track 3

÷ x x œx x x œx x x x œx x x x œx x
x xx x x x x x x x x x œx x xx x x œx x x x x x œx x x x x x œx x x
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ etc.

11
 The next example is from the same tune, “Fred.” These fills occur towards the end of the tune.
The first fill here is very busy, but it’s the accents that make such a clear and strong statement.
The second fill is sparser and polythythmic (with a three-against-four motif), which is a perfect
contrast to the first one. I should have included this one in my first book, DeLong Way To
Polyrhythmic Creativity On The Drumset (shameless plug), but better late than never!
I think that these fills are quite brilliant and perfect examples of great phrasing, and of course,
Tony plays them with his usual ferocity and conviction.

> >
first fill
> >R L R L >R L R 6 L R L R L >R 6L R L >R L R 6L R L
6:10 6
q=140 . x
÷ 44
x x
jœ ‰ ≈≈œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
audio œ. œ œ œ
> >
track 4

> 6
> 6
> 6
> >
x. X
6
x
÷œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ jœ ‰
R L R L R L R L R L R L R L R L R L R L R L R

œ œ. œ œ œ
second fill
j3 3 3 3 3 3 3
3
÷‰ ‰ e œ œ œ œ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ
œ œ œ œ œ
> > >
x. x x
÷ j œ ‰
œ. œ œ œ etc.

12
The last examples from Believe It are from the tune “Proto-Cosmos.” The first set of fills occurs
right at the beginning of the tune.
To me, each one of these fills is pure magic, so clear, so rhythmic and syncopated.

> > >j

first set of fills
> >
x x. 3 X X X
÷ 42 œ ≈ 4 e e e e X e X. œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ e œ œ œ ≈
q=122 x j j

audio œ œ. œ œ œ œ œ.
> > >j
track 5

x x. 3
÷ 42
x
≈ ≈ ≈ ≈
X e X eX œ œ œ œ œ
œ œ. 4
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
œ œ œ œ œ
> > >j
x x. 3
÷ 42
x
≈ œ œ œ œ œ œ ≈œ œ œ ≈œ œ
œ œ. 4
œ œ œ œ œ œ
œ œœ
> > >j
x x . 3 j> >
÷ 42
x
≈ œ œ. ≈ œ ≈œ œ
j
œ œ. 4
œœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
œ œœ œœ

Another thing that I noticed while recording these examples is the “surprise factor” of
Tony’s playing. He might start a fill in a seemingly normal way, but then take a left turn
and end it with something most drummers wouldn’t think of. When you try to play
these examples from “Proto-Cosmos,” I think you’ll understand what I’m talking about.
There was only one Tony Williams!

13
 >> > >> >>
second set of fills

x x x. 3 œ.
÷ 42
1:37 R R L R L R L R L L R L R L R L R L R

œ 4 œœœœœœœœ œœœœœœ œœœœ

audio œ œ œ. œ œ œ
> > >j >R L L R L >R L R L >R R L >R L >R R >L
track 6

x x x. 3 X X !e œ œ e œ e!e œ
÷ 42
LL LL

≈ œ
œ œ œ. 4 œ œ
e œ e e e œ e œ œ œ e
œ
> > >j
. @
L R L R L L R L rL R L rL R L R L R L R
x
÷ 42 3
xx
≈ 4 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œrœ œ œ œr œ œ œ œ ≈ œ œ œ œ
œœ œ. œœ œ
> > >j
xx x. 3
3 3 3 3 3 3

÷ 42
R L R L R L L R L R L R R L L R R L L R R L

≈ 4 œ œ œ œ œ eeœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
œœ œ . œ X œ X œ X œ X œ Xœ

> > >j

last set of fills

x . > > > >

2 3
x x
≈ . 4
j j j j
3:22

÷4 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ≈ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ≈ œ œ œ ≈ œ œ
œ œ
audio œ
> > >j
track 7

> > > j

xx x.
3 3

÷ 42 ≈ 43 œj œ œjœ œj œ . œ ≈ œ ≈ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ≈ œ œ ≈ œœ ≈ œ œ ≈ œœ ≈
3 3 3 3 3

œœ œ.

14
 Chapter Three – Practical Phrasing Applications
Part One - Combining Phrases
So far, we’ve been dealing with three-, five-, and seven-beat phrases, with endless possibilities in
each category. There’s a whole other range of possibilities when we start combining these three
types of phrases.
There’s one thing I want to make very clear. I think when you start to get too mathematical with
this stuff, you spoil the chance of being spontaneous with it. For example, if we want to fill up two
bars with sixteenths, we could plan to play 7+7+5+3+5+5=32, but that’s too much thinking for me.
The way I prefer to approach it is to become so familiar with how these phrases fit in the 4/4 grid
that there’s no thought involved. Then you’re free to improvise without getting lost. But you must
do the necessary studies first to free yourself up enough to forget about the numbers.
So let’s start with a bit of math first. Here are two bars of sixteenths, divided up using groupings
of seven, five, and three. I’m not putting brackets on these examples, because I want you to
identify the groupings without the math, and learn to feel them in relation to the pulse. Because
I feel that it’s important to be able to play quarters on the hi-hat foot while playing the phrasing
combinations, I’ve written them in here. At first you may have to count the usual 1e+a, 2e+a, etc.,
but eventually you’ll just feel it. That’s the level you want to get to.

> > R L R L rL> R L rL> R L rL> R L rL> R L

÷ 44 œr œ œ œ œ œ œr œ œ œ œ œ œr œ œ œ œr œ œ œ œr œ œ œ œr œ œ œ
q=120 rL R L R L rL

audio
track 117
x x œœ x œx œ x œ œ x œ œ x œ œx
You could also practice the same combination in a fast 4/4 jazz tempo with upbeats on the hi-hat
foot. This gets a bit more difficult, but if you want to play these ideas in that type of setting, then
it’s a useful skill to develop. You don’t want to have to stop the hi-hat every time you play a fill,

> R L R L > R L R L > R

unless that is your intention.

h=120
÷ 44 œj œ œ œ œ œ
rL rL rL
j j
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
audio
x œ œx x œ œ x
> R L > R L > R L
track 118

L rL rL rL

÷œ j
œ œ œ œ
j
œ œ œ œ j
œ œ œ œ
œ œx œx œ x œ œ x

79
 Here I’ve taken the triplet versions of the John Blackwell fill from the previous five and seven
sections, and combined them randomly. Note that I ended with some regular triplets to resolve
the fill more naturally.

3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
x x x x
÷ 44 œœ œœ
q=120 x x x x
œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ
audio œ œœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
track 119

3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
xx xx xx
÷ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
We can make some great fills by combining random combinations of the blushda sticking using
seven-, three-, and five-beat phrasings:

> > > > >> > > > > > >
q=92
÷ 44 œrœ œ œœ œr œ œœ œ œrœ œœ œ œrœ œ œœ œr œ œ œ œ œr œ œœ œ œr œ œœ œ œ œr œ œ œœ œ œœ
rL R R L rL R R L rL R R L rL R R L rL R R L rL R R L rL R R L R rL R R L R R L

audio
track 120 x x œ x xœ x x œx xœ
Here’s a triplet blushda combination:

>rL R3R >L rL> R 3R L rL> R 3R L R 3 rL> R R 3L R rL>3 R R L 3R rL> R3R L

q=116
÷ 44 œj œ œ œ œ œj œ œ œ œ œj œ œ œ œ œ œj œ œ œ œ œ œj œ œ œ œ œ œj œ œ œ œ
audio
track 121 x x x x œ x œx x œ x
> 3
>
3
>
3 3
> 3
>3 3
> 3

÷ œj œ œ œ œ œj œ œ œ œ œj œ œ œ œ œj œ œ œ œ œ œj œ œ œ œ œ œj œ œ œ œ
rL R R L rL R R L rL R R L rL R R L R rL R R L R rL R R L

x œx x x œ x œx x œ x

80
Another great possibility is the Dafnis Prieto choked-cymbal combination of fives and sevens:

R R R R R R R R R L R R R L
q=114
4
÷4 œ œ x œ x œ x œ œ x œ œ x œ
audio
track 122
œ œ œœ œ œœ œ œ œ œ œ œœ œ œ œœ

Here’s the Steve Gadd phrase from page 59 played as both fives and sevens. Note that the last
phrase on beat four of bar two is something I came up with to resolve the whole thing.

>R L R >R L >R L R >R L >R L >R L R >R L >R L >R L R >R L >R L R >R L R >R L
÷ 44 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
q=100

audio œ œ œ œ œ œ
track 123

And here’s a triplet combination of the same Gadd idea:

>R L3 R >R L3 >R L >R 3 L R >R3 L >R 3

>R >
3 3
> >
3

q=114
L L R R L R L R R L

÷ 44 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œœ œ œ
audio œ œ œ œ
>R L3 R >R L3 >R L >R 3 L R >R3 L >R L3 R >R L3 >R L R3 >R L R3 L
track 124

÷ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œœ œ œ œœœ œ œ œ œœ œ œ œ œ
œ œ œ œ

81
 You could also take my sixteenth-note triplet idea from page 78 and intersperse some five-beat
variations like this:

>L R3 >L R3 >L R3 R3 >L R3 >L R3 >L 3 L >L R3 >L R3 R3 >L R3 >L 3 L >L R3 >L R3 >L R3 R3 >L
q=110
÷ 44 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
audio
track 125
œ œ œœ œ œ œœ œ œœ œ œœ œ œ œœ

> 3 > 3 >3 >3 > 3> 3 > > 3> 3> 3
RL
3
LLR LR LR
3
RL RL
> 3
L LR LR
3 3
RL RL RL
> 3
>
LLR LR
3

÷ œœ œœœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœœ œœ
œ œœ œ œ œœ œ œœ œ œœ œ œ œœ œ œ
etc.

82
Part Two – Modulations
Another variation is to pick a phrase and try “modulating” it between two different subdivisions.
Going from sixteenths to triplets gives the effect of slowing down, while the pulse actually stays
the same. Here’s my five-beat double-stop fill played first as sixteenths and then as triplets:

3 3 3 3
q=100 xx xx xx xx xx xx
÷ 44 œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ
audio
track 126
œ œœ œ œ œœ œ œ œ œ
Conversely, you could move from triplets to sixteenths, which gives the illusion of speeding up.
Here’s the Tony Williams five-beat Swiss triplet hand-to-foot phrase, modulating from triplets to
sixteenths:

3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3

÷ 44
lR R L lR R L lR R L lR R L lR R L
q=116
j œœœ j j j j
œ œœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œœ œ œ œ œ œ œ
audio
track 127
x xœ œ x œ œx xœœ x œx œ x œ
lR R L lR R L lR R L lR R L lR R L lR R L L

÷ œ
r
œœœ œ
r œ œ œ œrœ œ œ œ
r œ œ œ œr œ œ œ œr œ œ œ œ
œx œx œ x œ œ x œœ x œ œx œx œ xœœ
This is the blushda seven, modulating from triplets to sixteenths:

>rL R3R >L rL> R 3R L rL>3 R R >L rL>3 R R L 3 rL> R R >3L rL> R R3 L rL> R 3R >L
÷ 44 œj œ œ œ œ œj œ œ œ œ œj œ œ œ œ œj œ œ œ œ œj œ œ œ œ œj œ œ œ œ œj œ œ œ œ
q=100

audio
x x œx x xœ x x œ x
track 128

> > >> > > > > > > > > >
÷ œr œ œ œœ œr œ œ œœ œr œ œœœ œr œ œ œ œ œr œ œœ œ œr œ œ œ œ œr œ œ œœ œr œ œ œœ œr œ œœ œ
rL R R L rL R RL rL R L rL R R L rL R R L rL R R L rL R R L rL R R L rL R R L

x œ x x œ x xœ x œx x œ

83
 Another point I wanted to make is that these modulations sound best when they don’t always
start on beat one. To illustrate what I’m talking about, here’s the seven-sixteenth flam phrase from
page 74, modulating on the last beat of bar two. I also decided to play the last beat of bar four as a
triplet, just because I think it sounds good. Don’t forget to also try adding the bass drum to every
accented flam.

> 3 >3 3
> >
3 3
> 3
> 3
> >
q=104
÷ 44
lR R L lR R L R rL L R rL L R L lR R L lR R L R rL L R rL
j j j j
œœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œjœ œ œ œjœ œ œ œ œrœ œ œ œr œ
audio
track 129 x x x x x x x x
> > > > > > > > 3

÷ œ
L R L lR R L lR R L R rL L R rL L R L lR R L lR R L R rL L R rL L R L
œ œ œrœ œ œ œr œ œ œ œ œrœ œ œ œrœ œ œ œ œrœ œ œ œr œ œ œ œ œrœ œ œ œrœ œ œ œ
x x x x x x x x
If you’re feeling adventerous, you could try modulating between three different subdivisions! In
the next example I’ve taken the Tony Williams five-beat idea we looked at, and moved it through
eighth-note triplets, sixteenths, sixteenth-note triplets, and back to sixteenths to finish off. Note
that with something like this, there is only a small range of tempos where all three subdivisions
will sound good. I’ve written in a tempo that works for me on this modulated phrase. Obviously
you must be able to relate all the subdivisions back to the 4/4 pulse, so I’ve also written in the
quarter notes on the hi-hat foot just to make it clear. Practice with a click, count the quarter notes,
and/or play the hi-hat foot. Whatever it takes, just make sure you always know where you are in
relation to the beat.

3
q=100 3 3 3

÷ 44 œ œ œ
3
œœ œ œœ œ œœ œ œœœ œœ
audio
track 130 x œx œ x œ œx x œ œ x œ œx œx œ
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3

÷ œ œ œ œ œœ œ œœ œ œœ œ œœ œ œœ œ œ œ œ œ œ
x œ œ x œ œ x œ œ x œ œ x œ œ œx œ œ œx œx œ

84