00:00So, currently, right now, I am the drummer with Nile Rodgers and Chic, which is a really,
00:10really great gig.
00:12What's so great about it is that we're looked upon as a disco band, but the truth of the
00:18matter is that we play R&B, disco, funk, pop, and we cover a lot of different styles within
00:25our show, and it's always a lot of fun.
00:28So what I'm going to demonstrate to you, the first thing I want to do is I want to show
00:31you the groove that I play on Good Times.
00:34Now, if you listen to the original, I think everyone knows that song, but if you listen
00:38to the original recording, what you'll hear is claps, and that's a group of people coming
00:43in and doing claps.
00:45I actually have to play the claps when I'm doing that groove.
00:48So I'm holding down the groove, and I'm bringing in the claps when it comes to the chorus.
00:54So in the beginning of the song, it starts out with just bass and drums, and then the
00:59keys come in, and then I come in with the claps on the chorus, and I'll demonstrate
01:04that.
01:05Here we go.
01:24Now, what I'm doing when I'm playing that groove, when it comes to the claps, my left
01:51hand is actually staying within the 16th notes, and I'll show you, it's going.
02:09If you see, I'm getting the claps in the middle of the upbeat 16th note, because I want to
02:22get that consistent 16th note sound coming in on the snare, which is a lot of fun to
02:37get it in there, and try to get it on time with the kick, the snare, and the hi-hat.
02:44Takes a little bit of practice, but I think anybody can do it, all you just got to do
02:48is put in the time.
02:50One of the next songs that we do in Chic is the opening song, which is called Everybody
02:54Dance.
02:56That is basically a straight disco song, it's the same type of groove, because back when
03:00disco started, what was consistent throughout the songs that were written in was a quarter
03:06note bass drum.
03:09That was consistent throughout most of the songs, because when you went to the club,
03:14that big sound would basically hit you in the chest, and you would just want to get
03:18up and dance no matter what.
03:21Now, depending on the song, I will, again, utilize the claps, along with holding down
03:27the groove, doing a two-four pattern on the snare, also with grace notes, with ghost notes,
03:34and I'll demonstrate that, okay?
03:36Now, when I first started playing in bands in New York, I didn't know what I was doing,
04:07it was essential to try to get the sounds of the records that we were playing, and back
04:12then, a clap machine was just one little machine with only claps, there wasn't percussion or
04:18any other thing on there, so now you can play whatever you want, because you can sample
04:23any sound, which is great, but to emulate that particular sound, I usually use claps,
04:30and then on other songs, I will use congas and do conga fills and conga patterns.
04:35Now, when I'm playing, and I'm doing the conga sounds and conga patterns, I'm holding down
04:43the groove with my right hand on the hi-hat and the snare, my foot is doing the same thing,
04:48but my left hand, luckily I'm a left-handed, open-handed drummer, I'm holding down a conga
04:54pattern on my left hand and doing different type of syncopated fills in the middle, and
05:01I will start out slow first, and then I'll show you the tempos that will do it when I'm
05:06playing with Nile Rodgers and Chic. Okay, so, you start out...
05:31And then, after you do the conga pattern, you throw the hand claps on 2 and 4 with the snare.
05:43Okay, so I'm going to do the whole pattern together. I'm laughing because I remember
05:48when I started learning this, it was a mess. Yes, it was a head explosion, exactly. So
05:55the nickname in the band for me is Octopus, because I'm doing all of this stuff at the
05:59same time. So I'm going to show you how it first is to be slow, and then I'll show you
06:04the tempo we do it, which is about 120, 125. Okay.
06:29Okay, so now, I'll show you the tempo we usually do it, which is about 120. Here we go.
06:59Now, if I'm doing that same exact groove without the hand claps, I'm doing more of
07:15a syncopated pattern with the conga sounds. So I'll show you what I'm talking about.
07:30Ah, fun. I have a lot of fun doing that. So that is how I play a disco groove with Nile
07:37Rodgers and Chic.
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