Video Lesson: Using Syncopation To Create Accent Patterns

I’ve been prepping for a physically demanding gig (details coming soon) and I noticed that my left handed accents were not feeling good. I’ve been getting tired, quickly.

To help with that issue, I started playing through Ted Reed’s Progressive Steps To Syncopation For The Modern Drummer, or just Syncopation for short.

My first focus has been left-hand lead, so I’ve been playing most of my warn-ups starting with the left hand (or non-dominant hand if you’re a lefty), including Great Hands For A Lifetime.

In Syncopation, I’m playing a constant 16th note rhythm, with left-hand lead, and using the rhythms written in the book as accent patterns.

For example, the first line on page 38 looks like this:

Transcription from Modern Drummer Magazine (https://www.moderndrummer.com/article/february-2018-bebop-syncopation/)

And here’s how I am playing it:

As you might be able to see in the video, I am probably playing this exercise too fast to be able to isolate what my left hand is doing.

It’s really important to focus on getting the left hand to open up during the upstroke so that it can be followed up by a solid downstroke. The stick should move straight up and down, pivoting at the fulcrum of the grip.

I seem to be using a bit of a wave action to get the accent - starting at my elbow and coming through my wrist. I don’t really want that in this exercise because it’s a sure-fire way to injure myself.

I guess that’s why I practice!