Master Series: Antonio Sanchez

Hudson Music
presents

Master Series

ANTONIO SANCHEZ
Transcriptions & Text by Joe Bergamini
Engraving by Willie Rose
PDF Design by Joe Bergamini and Willie Rose
DVD Produced by Paul Siegel and Rob Wallis

DRUM KEY:

Copyright 2008 Hudson Music LLC

All Rights Reserved
www.hudsonmusic.com

Master Series: Antonio Sanchez

CHALLENGE WITHIN
This is the 5/4 clave that underlies this tune:
1

And here is the 5/4 clave with cascara pattern:

2

PRACTICE: AREAS OF FOCUS

Here are some of the areas that Antonio recommends drummers devote attention to during practice, as discussed on the DVD:
1. Identify and work on your weaknesses. Dont just stay with what you are already comfortable with.
2. Work with a click track:
A. Use click on all four quarter notes of the bar.
B. Click on half notes only.
C. Click on whole notes only.
D. Move the click around so it only plays beats 2, 3, or 4 in each bar.
3. Hand Technique:
A. Dont rely completely on bounce.
B. Practice on different surfaces.
C. Split hands with right hand on one surface, left hand on another.
D. Practice rudiments on various surfaces.
4. Practice playing simple.

Master Series: Antonio Sanchez

INDEPENDENCE: PRACTICE ROUTINES
To develop independence between the limbs, practice the following ostinatos with various
hand/foot patterns played against them. This will give you the physical capacity necessary
to express ideas in various styles.
To develop jazz independence with the left hand, play the following ostinato:
3

And against it, play various patterns with your left hand to develop independence. On the
DVD, Antonio plays the following phrase as an example:
4

Antonio recommends using the book Syncopation by Ted Reed as a source for left hand
practice rhythms. Almost any book with eighth-note rhythms could be used. The Art of Bop
Drumming by John Riley and Advanced Techniques for the Modern Drummer by Jim Chapin
are also great resources.
You can then move on to working on independence with the bass drum. Play the following
ostinato with right hand, left hand, and left foot:
5

And then play patterns from Syncopation (or other books) against this ostinato with your
right foot on the bass drum. For clarity, here is what this example would look like if all the
parts were written out together:
6

Master Series: Antonio Sanchez

Sometimes it is helpful to write the exercises out in this fashion so you can see where
things line up.
You can also work on independence with your left foot on the hi-hat. Play this ostinato:

And then play your independence figures against this with your left foot on the hi-hat.
You can also approach independence in other styles in the same fashion. For Samba, play
the following ostinato:
8

Against this, play independence figures from your books both as written (with a half-time
feel), and in a double-time feel. Antonio demonstrates the same 4-bar phrase (from Example 4) against the Samba ostinato in this manner. Heres what the snare part looks like:
9

Master Series: Antonio Sanchez

Here is an ostinato to achieve independence in the Afro-Cuban style. It consists of the
Bongo bell pattern played on the ride, with a 3-2 Rhumba clave played by the left foot and
a tumbao played by the bass drum:
10

On the DVD, Antonio plays the Syncopation phrase (Example 4) against this ostinato with
both a half-time and double-time feel on the snare:
11

Again, use the figures in various books like Syncopation to practice against these ostinatos.

Master Series: Antonio Sanchez

INDEPENDENCE: USING PERMUTATIONS
Another effective way to work on independence is by playing rhythmic permutations that
train you to be able to play on any beat in the measure. For instance, when working on
Samba independence, use the following ostinato:
12

On the DVD, Antonio plays the following excercise, which uses sliding/displaced rhythms,
and gradually adds more notes until the entire measure is covered. This is played on the
snare drum along with the above ostinato:
13

Master Series: Antonio Sanchez

Use the same sliding/displaced excercise with ostinatos in the Afro-Cuban and Jazz styles.
Here is an Afro-Cuban ostinato against which the above patterns (Example 13) can be
played on the snare:
14

Here is an Afro-Cuban ostinato against which the above rhythms (Example 13) can be
played on the bass drum, to develop independence with the right foot:
15

ROY HAYNES LICK

Below is a left-foot hi-hat idea that Antonio demonstrates which was inspired by the great
Roy Haynes:
16

Master Series: Antonio Sanchez

THE GATHERING SKY
Here is the basic 3/4 Samba groove that Antonio uses under the guitar solo:
17

Antonio builds his closing solo on various clave patterns, some in odd meters. Here is the
basic 3-2 Rhumba clave, which the odd-meter patterns are based on:
18

Here is the first odd-meter pattern, a clave in 5/4 time. The right foot plays the downbeat
of each measure on a cowbell played by the right foot. Antonio solos over this pattern.
19

The last two examples show the 7/8 clave. This clave is composed of two bars of 7/8. The
first example has the bass drum playing the downbeat of each bar of 7. The second example shows the right-foot cowbell playing only the downbeat of the first bar.
20

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Master Series: Antonio Sanchez

PROFESSIONALISM
As Antonio points out on the DVD, your playing skills must be complemented by your professional skills in order to succeed in the music business. Some of the things that top-level
musicians and bands look for are:
- Punctuality.
- Returning calls and e-mails promptly.
- Having reliable equipment.
- Being humble and easy to work with.
- Having an approachable and friendly personality.
- Having a good attitude and respecting the music.

ANTONIO SANCHEZ SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY

Antonio Sanchez
Pat Metheny Group
Pat Metheny Trio
Chick Corea Trio
w/John Patitucci
Michael Brecker
Gary Burton Quartet
w/Pat Metheny, Steve Swallow
David Sanchez
Danilo Perez
Miguel Zenon

Avishai Cohen
Scott Colley
Donny McCaslin
Alex Sipiagine

Rodriguez Brothers
Diego Urcola
Victor Mendoza
Paoli Mejias

Migration (CamJazz)
Speaking of Now (Warner Bros)
The Way Up (Nonesuch)
Day Trip (Nonesuch)
Dr. Joe (Independent)
Wide Angles (Verve)
Live at Yoshi's (Concorde)
Travesia (Sony)
Melaza (Sony)
Motherland (Verve)
Looking Forward (Fresh Sound)
Ceremonial (Marsalis Music)
Jibaro (Marsalis Music)
Unity (Stretch)
Colors (Stretch)
Architect of the Silent Moment (CamJazz)
Soar (SunnySide)
In Pursuit (SunnySide)
Out of the Circle (SunnySide)
Returning (Criss Cross)
Prints (Criss Cross)
Conversations (Savant)
Viva (CamJazz)
Black Bean Blues (Ram)
Transcend (independent)

Master Series: Antonio Sanchez

RECOMMENDED LISTENING
Miles Davis
John Coltrane

Charlie Parker
Chick Corea
Michael Brecker
Pat Metheny

Kenny Garrett
Branford Marsalis
Danilo Perez
David Sanchez
Chris Potter
Gonzalo Rubalcaba
Tito Puente
Joshua Redman
Conjunto Clave y Guaguanco
Michel Camilo
Kenny Werner

Kind Of Blue
The Complete Concert 1964
Dear Old Stockholm
Giant Steps
A Love Supreme
At Birldand
Now He Sings, Now He Sobs
Elektric Band
Pilgrimage
Bright Size Life
Trio 99-00
Question and Answer
Black Hope
Crazy People Music
The Beautiful Ones Are Not Yet Born
The Journey
Sketches of Dreams
Traveling Mercies
Supernova
Top Percussion
Back East
Vale Todo
Through My Eyes
Lawn Chair Society

RECOMMENDED BOOKS
Syncopation by Ted Reed (Alfred Publishing Co.)
Rhythm and Meter Patterns by Gary Chaffee (Alfred Publishing Co.)
The Essence of Afro-Cuban Percussion and Drum Set by Ed Uribe (Alfred Publishing Co.)
The Art of Playing Timbales by Victor Rendon (Music in Motion Films)
Stickings and Orchestrations for Drumset by Casey Scheurell (Berklee Press)
The Drummer's Complete Vocabulary as Taught by Alan Dawson by John Ramsay (Alfred Publishing Co.)

Copyright 2008 Hudson Music LLC

All Rights Reserved
www.hudsonmusic.com

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