Riffing
One of the fundamental elements of jazz is the riff. Most melodies in songs are composed around a basic rhythmic riff. Knowing the riff in any song should be a top priority for any drummer, because the riff is a melodic and rhythmic phrase that can be developed.
Drummers can create their own riffs, or rhythmic phrases that the rest of the band can use. In this lesson we will take a rhythmic phrase used by many jazz drummers, and develop it around the drum set.
The undeveloped riff:
Remember in jazz notation the eighth note is swung, which can be expressed with triplets.
Now let’s develop this riff and see how playing it on different parts of the drum set sound.
The first example splits the riff between the snare drum and bass drum. You can, since your cymbal hand is free, continue to play the standard jazz ride cymbal pattern and keep a steady hi hat on 2, and 4.
Practice this through many tempos while focusing on a steady “chang-a-lang” on the ride cymbal.
The next example can be used in a solo. The beautiful thing about this riff phrase is that it is effective in marking the end of your solo, clearly defining when the band should return. This example is to be played with the hands on the snare drum, rack tom, and floor tom. Playing the last quarter notes on the bell instead of the bass drum adds a nice effect.
