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Linear Drumming Building Blocks
Warning: this might be a really bad idea. Be careful. Alright, got that out of the way — anyhoo, linear drumming. It’s a hot item in the 21st century drumming world, often referred to by the hipper phrase “gospel chops,” which… whatever. I wanted to include some linear ideas for my “quintuplets 101” article, and…
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“Just When We Start Making It” Drum Transcription — David Garibaldi with Tower of Power
This is my first (and very likely last) article commemorating Valentine’s Day, and we’ll be celebrating the occasion with a look at the outro to Tower of Power’s “Just When We Start Making It” from Back to Oakland, which is, at large, one of my favorite albums, not just as a drummer (although being a…
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Quintuplets on the Drums
Quintuplets (specifically 16th note quintuplets) and broader patterns of five are used pretty regularly in my playing, but I often see the sentiment online that quintuplets are not good for “normal” drumming, which is to say music that isn’t math rock or prog or something. I think that’s a little unfair to the poor quintuplet,…
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“Wade In The Water” Drum Transcription — Ginger Baker with Graham Bond
This is an odd one for today: an attempted look at a Ginger Baker drum solo, on the tune “Wade In The Water,” with Graham Bond, 1963. This is part transcription, part rant & rave, and part 1000-word raised eyebrow. I found out about this recording from Todd Bishop, who found it on a Reddit…
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Drum Rudiments Reviewed — Hybrid Edition
Another rudiment discussion today; we’re approaching the finale of the marching band college football season, and my “rudiments reviewed” article was a pretty fun one, so here’s a spiritual successor, featuring hybrid drum rudiments. There are thousands of hybrid rudiments, and it’s not really practical to list the 40 most popular — most of my…
About Me
The name’s Ben, although professionally I’m known as Benjamin. I’m a drummer and part-time saxophonist in the Colorado Front Range.
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2026 Benjamin Waterson