I’m a drummer, percussionist, composer, and music producer based in Budapest. This is my drum blog, a collection of sheet music, transcriptions, exercises, books, and other stuff related to the drums.
Let’s start the new year with a top transcription! It took an entire week to transcribe, edit, and revise “Lingus (We Like It Here)” by Snarky Puppy, from the live DVD We Like It Here (2014). Now I’m very proud to share with you the complete drum transcription for the legendary Larnell Lewis performance, transcribed … More Snarky Puppy – Lingus (Drum Sheet Music)
It was an intense and productive year. Thank you to all for buying my transcriptions and books, the transcription commissions, and the donations. Your support is amazing and truly appreciated. The blog reached more than 30,000 visitors and 100k clicks, with organic traffic from all over the world (a warm thank you goes to the … More 2021 Recap
Here’s the full drum sheet music for “The Last Mall” by Steely Dan, from the album Everything Must Go (2003) with Keith Carlock on drums. The main rhythm is an 8th note triplet groove played with two hands on the hi-hat (backbeat falling with the left hand), and a simple bass drum-snare pattern. The most important elements … More Steely Dan – The Last Mall (Drum Sheet Music)
In the previous post, I talked about creativity in developing the left foot hi-hat to create new rhythmic solutions and grooves. In this article, I’ll show you how to create new grooves starting from rhythmic patterns in 16th notes. The same idea can be applied in 8th notes triplets and odd meters. In this first … More Creating New Grooves on the Drums
A way to develop creativity on the drums is to use the left-foot hi-hat to create new rhythmic solutions. Drummers like Steve Gadd, Bernard Purdie, David Garibaldi, and Jason McGerr, to name a few, have experimented a lot with playing the left-foot hi-hat to create new memorable grooves. To achieve this, we start with some … More Left Foot Hi-Hat Development – Groove Workout
Here’s the transcription of Carlos Vega’s drum solo on “Oasis” by Dave Grusin and Lee Ritenour, featuring Dave Valentin on flute, Larry Williams on saxophone and keyboards, and Abraham Laboriel on bass. The version of this tune was recorded at the Record Plant Studio C in Los Angeles in 1985 and included on the album … More Carlos Vega – Oasis (Drum Solo Transcription)
Here’s the full sheet music of Max Roach’s famous drum composition “For Big Sid” from the album Drums Unlimited (1966). The transcription is included as extra content in my new book Max Roach: 5 Drum Transcriptions, which is now available for purchase on Amazon, Apple Books, Gumroad, and many other stores.
My new book “Max Roach: 5 Drum Transcriptions” is now available on Amazon, Apple Books, Gumroad, and other stores in paperback and eBook format. Max Roach was one of the drummers who most contributed to forging the modern drumming style. He was active as a drummer, composer, and bandleader throughout six decades of cultural and … More Max Roach: 5 Drum Transcriptions – Available Now!
Here’s the full drum sheet music for “Make Somebody Happy” (Live in Mexico, 1993) by Santana, with Walfredo Reyes Jr. on drums. The original song is included in the album Milagro (1992), produced by Carlos Santana and Chester D. Thompson. This tune is perfect to practice on pop-rock/latin-rock ballad. Walfredo Reyes’ drumming is nice and … More Santana – Make Somebody Happy – Live Version (Drum Sheet Music)
The second part of the quarter note triplet exercises adds the left-foot hi-hat to the combinations seen in the past month. With the left hand we play the snare cross-stick on “4” and then we move the quarter note triplets by one 8th note, as shown in the image below. Once comfortable with the previous … More Quarter Note Triplet Exercises Part 2
Francis' Drumming Blog 