The Sound of Brushes by ED THIGPEN Cofitains fullsize stroke diagrams Exercises for alternative brushes Added strokes and new instruction, Swing, Bebop, Pink, R&B patterns fOF brushes: every pattern is performed onthe oe with play-along tracks >The Sound o Drs _ ED THIGPENINTRODUCTION The use of brushes is not new. | have been told that as early as the 1920s the brushes were becoming an integral part of the drummers’ equipment It would be impossible for any af us to develop without the influence of others, | would like to acknowledge some of the people who have had the greatest influence on my approach to play- ing brushes: my father Ben Thigpen, Jo Jones. Denzil Best, Art Blakey, Buddy Rich, Max Roach, Shelly Manne, and Elvin Jones. One cannat help but be influenced by these great artists. Since the emergence of rack music, whieh for the most part requires heavy drumming, the brushes were set aside or, for most of the young players who began playing during this period, have never been used at all. In 1965 | wrote a book entitled Ed Thigpen Talking Drums in which was included a few pages of diagrammed brush strokes. It was then suggested that | do a book totally devoted to brush tech- nique This book is the result. All of the strokes included herein | use, depending upon the musical sit- ation. It is my sincere hope that The Sound of Brushes will help you in developing effective brush technique.ED THIGPEN Renovined the world over for his exemplary musicianship, brush artistry, and acclaimed teach- ing methods, Ed Thigpen is considered by musicians and critics alike to be one of the finest drummersipercussionists in jazz. Bor December 28, 1930, in Chicago, Ed was raised, however, in Los Angeles where, while studying music with Samuel Brown, he acquired drumset experience with his school's swing band. In fact, his unwavering dedication and skills eared him the Thomas Jefferson High School music award. In 1951 he moved to New York City and jained the Cootie Williams Band, playing at the Savoy Ballroom and later touring the U.S. with a number of well-known A&B performers Serving in the army between 1952.and 1954, Ed gained his initial experience as a drum instruc- tor with the Sixth Army Band Training Unit before doing a tour of duty in Korea with the Eighth Army Band, Itwas between the years 1954 and 1958 while working with such artists as Dinah Washington, Gil Mell, Bud Powell, Jutta Hipp, and the Billy Taylor Tria that Ed laid the foundation for what has become one of the most enduring and respected careers in jazz. It was during the period with the Billy Taylor Trio and working on the TV series “The Subject Is Jazz" when he decided to pursue his concepts in jazz education, Ed first gained worldwide acelaim through his work with Oscar Petersen and Ray Brown in what many still believe to be the greatest piano-bass-drums trio in the history of jazz. His contribu tion to this trio earned him the 1969 Down Beat critics’ Naw Star Award, Ed’s assogiation with the trio lasted six and a half years (January 1959-June 1965). In June 1966 he accepted an invitation to tour with the great jazz vocalist, Ella Fitzgerald, with whom he worked until January 1967. Ed then moved to Los Angeles where he became active in studio recording sessions as well as working with notable singers Pat Boone, Johnny Mathis, and Peggy Lee and the orchestras of Gliver Nelson and Gerald Wilson. In 1968 Edrre-joined Ella Fitzgerald in a trio led by Tommy Flanagan. He remained with Ella and Tommy until September 1972, when he settled in his current home and base of operation Copenhagen, Denmark. From there he has maintained a busy schedule of international per- formances with both European and American artists. Additionally, his role as an educator has continued to expand with teaching pasitions, the publication of several highly acclaimed method books and educational videos, as well as written articles and advisory contributions for Modem Drummer magazine, The Jazz Educators Journal, and the Percussive Arts Society. All of which further serve to underwrite the undeniable value of Ed Thigpen's continuing contributions to the art of jazz drumming—past, present, and future,TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 2 Biography 3 The Brush 6 Brush Technique... 7 Grips for Playing Brushes - 7 Brush Sounds and Rhythmic Feels . 8 Rhythmic Feels/Ground Pulse and Mini-Pulse ... 20... 0.20..0. 9 Recommended Study and Practice Procedure cecmmaxceaetO ‘Sweep, Lift, and Tick/Tap Signs : 1 Ride Rhythm in Jaze... exmed Brush Strokes for Playing Time anne Basic LeftHand Stroke 22.0.0... ee 1B Basic Right-Hand Stroke. 14 ‘Combined Basic Right- and Left-Hand Time Strokes 15, Phrasing in Time (Tempo) Right-Hand Punctuation {on “let” count of thitd G.P. beat)... 0... v7 ‘Combined Right-Hand Punctuation With Basic Let-Hand Brush Stroke . 18 Left-Hand Punetuation {on “let” count of third G.P. beat) 19 Combined Left-Hand Punctuation With Basic Right-Hand Ride Pattern ..... .20 Accented Right Hand {on “let” count of first G.P. beat) a 24 Accented Left Hand (on “let” count of first G.P beat)... 2... 22 Accented Right Hand (on “et” count of second GP. beal) .......23 Accented Left Hand (on ‘let’ count of second G.P. beal) ...... 24 ‘Accented Right Hand (on “let” count of fourth GP. beat) ....... 25 ‘Accented Left Hand (on ‘let’ count of fourth G.P. beat) ....... 26 Basic Lett-Hand Sweep With Right-Hand “Tap” or “Tick” ......... 27 Left-Hand Half Circle , : Left-Hand Full Circle... Right-Hand Hock Stroke. ‘Combination Left-Hand Half Circle With Right-Hand Hook Stroke .......5..5 31 Combination LeftsHand Full Circle With Flight-Hand Hook Stroke... Right-Hand Zorro Stroke Right-Hand Zorro Strake With Left-Hand Half Circle Right-Hand Zorro Strake With Left-Hand Full Circle Combination Right- and Left-Hand Full Circles Basic Ride Rhythm in 3/4 Time Accented "Let” Count of First Beat in 8/4 Time Sixteenth-Note Triplet Punctuation Sixteenth-Note Triplet in 3/4 Rhythm Stroke for Doubla-Time Feeling Altered Triplet Shufile . Tight Shuffle Sweep Tight Sweep and Taps Strumming (Guitar Strake) Tap-Sweep-Tap (Time Stroke) Dit-Dash, Dit-Dash, Dot-Dash ,..., Adapting Brushes to Latin American Music .........05 Brush Sweep Exercises for Samba or Bossa Nova .... Guira, Gabasa (Simulations) Exs. 2 and 6 Notated Brush Sweep Patterns Single and Double Strokes and Flat Sound (Execution Suggestions) New Ed Thigpen Signature ‘Multi-P” Brush. Single-Stroke Exercises Double-Stroke Exercises Flex and Multiple-Bounce Strokes (Wire Brushes) _ The Ed Thigpen “Alt” Model Brush - (Ed Thigpen Signature Wire Brush) Action Photos Showing Wire Flex and Use for Brush and Cross Stick "Clave" Funk/R&B and Fusion Patterns for Brushes 4/4 Grooves: 8/8 Grooves , Artists’ Comments Raviews: 36 37 38 33 49 a 42 43 4 45 45 ana 48 45 49 50 a nin 8 . 55 . 57 58 - 58 59SOUND OF BRUSHES-CD1 Track Ot .. Inteduston Track 2.1 Page 18, Track 02. Page 1 “Wack 04 Page 15 ‘ack 05. Page 16-17 Wars 08 -- Page 1a ‘Waek oF Page 18 Track 08. ‘Wacko Track 10, Track | Page 24 Track 12. Page 21... Track 13. Page 22 ‘Track 14. Page 23 Track 18. | Page 2¢ Track 16. | Page 25 “Track 17. Page 26 Trace 18. | Page 28 Week 19 “hae 20. Page 27 Track 21. Page 28 Track 22 | Page 28 ‘ack 23. Page 22 Track 24 | Page 25 “rack 25. Page 30 ‘rack 25... Page 30 rack27. Rage 37 Track 28. Fage 37 rack 29. Page 32 ‘Track90 |. Page 92 ‘Track. . Pages 27-22 Track:2 | Pages 27-92 SOUND OF BRUSHES « Treek ot 29 Traci 02 | Page Se Tiaeko3 | Pege 34 Track 04... Page 25, Track 05... Page 35 Track 06... Page 35 Track 07 Track 0B. Page 37 Track 08. | Page 37 Track 10. Page 36 Track 11 Paga 36 Track 12. Page 38 Tack 19. Page <0 Track 14. Page 41 Track 15. . Page 41 Track 16. Track 17. Paget Teck 12 Track 19... Page 42 Trark 20. Page 2 Tine 21. Page 43 Thaex 22. Page 42 Trae 23. Pages 42,43 Track 24, Page 44 Track 25. Page 44 Track 25. | Page 45 Track 27, . Page 45 Track 28. | Page 48 Track 29. Page 46 Track 30. Page 47 Track 31. Page 49 Track 32. Page 55 Traek 99. Pages 55-62 Seures 3 Bavsres Brush Bitches for Playing Tine Lol Hon Besic Right Hand Fide Patorn (Combingd Basic Fight-and LeftHand Tine Srases Phrasing in Time (enact Explanaion and Dera ‘ip and Purcluston — Besic Lat-Hend Brush Seep Dera, snd Play-Along With Paro ane Bass LeftHand Puretuaten oth hand Puretuaton — Rigr-Hand Fide rythm DDemns ens Ply. Along With Piano 20 Bass ‘Accortes Fight Hand (on Te cauntct Hest. best) Play-Along Acari Lek Hand fon ei" court olf ©. baat) Aeccarind Figt Mena (on et eourtc! second G Peat) ‘ccerted Left Hand (on “ie cour ol second GP. bea Accertad Rig Hons (on “se” eourtol foun GLP bea) Accor Let Hand (en "le count of fours GP. beat (ema and Fiay-Aeng Fandom T-Bar Phrase Play-Along ith Plano and Bass Base Latthand Sweep With Fight Hand Tap Tak Soure Leftland Hat Cree Hal-Croe Tine Swoop: 2 Fee! With Piano and Bass. att Hand Fal Gc suc) ema and Play-Along LeftHand Ful Cle Wih Par and 214 Walking Bass Right Hand Hook Stroke struction) Demo ung Play-Along With Pano and Bass Righttiand Hook Svoke/Le-Hars Mal! Cicle Demo and Playesiong (2 Fes ns Full CrosiRight Hara Hook Stoke With Biona ard 42 Weng Base Lna pA (2 Faal ans 64 Walking Bass} iad Stones Ragrt-Hand Zorn Steke and Lol-Hand elf Ciele Demo ard Play- Alon: ignt-Hand Zara Ste emo and Play-Along Play-Aleng Med 10 Fast Ternp0s Play-Alang Track Wthowt Drums Basic Ride Rhythm in aa Time Damo enc Play-Along Win Parc and Bass “Agpantes ‘Lar Count of One in 3 Time Damo and Pay-Atong With Piano. Bass, and Voice Inewuction of Shear Nota Triplex Funcustion 244 Time: Shteaneh Nota Treat Punerustion # 44 Time Stroke for Boublo-Tinw Feeling {Insbuetion) Dama and Pay-Acng ‘Bonus Tiack Allenaia Double-Tme Feel, Zorro Strcke (Bema and Pay-Acng Fandom Play-Along Track for Douze-Time Feeling ‘tered Trislet Snufle (instruction) Play-along ‘Tight Shuifio Sweep (Inetwen) Dame ard Play-Along Play-Along lor Shute Siokes ‘arush-Tap-Tiek-arush (Ineuetion Short Play-Along feurmsng — Gullar Stoke (lostruction) Soon Play-Along Tap-Swnep Tap Tene Stro¥e (instuctln) Stor Demo and Play-Along Dit Bash, DirDasn, OleDash Bush Stoke for Leun Arrarican Mucio(Inetuction ans Dem} Funk, R&B, Fucon alters (instruction and Dero} (Dernd and Piay-Aang — Slaw Groove Woh LettHard Full releThe Brush The wire brush is constructed with thin wires bound together in the shape of an open fan. There are different types of handles made, to which the brush is connected, Below are pic- tures of two types: one with a wood handle and the cther with a hard aluminum shaft covered with a rubber sleeve. Most models are made with an open shaft handie so that wires can be retracted inte the han: dies for protection when not in use. Plastic and nylon materials are also being used for making brushes and, as an alternative sound and fesl source, are quite effective. As with sticks, the choice of the type of brush you use is a personal one. | prefer a brush with thin, very flexible wires as my main brush, Nevertheless, | use stiffer wire and plasticinylon types as sources far alternative sounds and feels as well.Brush Technique Both sticks and brushes should be thought of as an extension of the hand when in use. The one difference is that the wires of the brush are flexible, whereas the stick remains rigid since itis made from a single piece of wood. The flexibility of the brush affords us other effects and sounds that cannot be made with a stick. Beeause of the flex of the wires, an additional technique must be developed to get the ss maximum use from the brushes, Grips for Playing Brushes The brushas are held basically the same as the sticks. Either the conventional grip or the matched grip can be used. | use the canventionat grip most of the time. I have found slight alterations in the position of the left hand necessary for some strokes. (This point will be men- tioned when necessary on the instructional CDs.)Brush Sounds and Rhythmic Feels There is no standard notation or sign for a spacific brush sound. When brushes are desired in an arrangement, the word "brushes" or initials "Br." or "W.B." are generally written in at the beginning of the section of the arrangement in which their use is desired. In most cases, it is up to the drummer to decide when the brushes will provide the best effect. As a guide, | suggest you will be safe in using brushes whenever the music calls for very soft playing: piano, pianissimo, and so on, There are times, however, when brushes can be very effective in a forte (loud) dynamic range. The sound and special feeling the brushes generate is quite noticeable, particularly when they are baing used to play a strong basic swing ride rhythm. Six basic sounds will be applied when practicing the strokes and pattems illustrated in The Sound of Brushes book and on the accompanying CD: the ‘tick" sound, the “tap” sound, the ‘slap” or “flat” sound, and the “shhhhh," “brushhh," or “tchh" sounds. | suggest you speak or sing each of these sounds vocally first and then try to duplicate your vocal sound with the brush on the drum or whatever surface on which you're playing. Good dynamic reference points to use for each of the sounds could be the following: “tick" = soft, “tap" = medium-loud or “accented” {listen to these sounds on CD 1, Track 1) Next , speak and/or sing “shhhhh,” “swishh,” and “brushhh,” vocally demonstrated an CD 1, Track 1 Rhythmic Feels The style and rhythmic feel of music when played in tempo can be determined and executed by the use of two fundamental pulse beats: We will call these two basic pulse beats the ground pulse and its dominant mini-pulse. The ground pulse is designated by the lawer number in the time signature, for example 4 = quarter note G.P. 18 = eighth note G.P. The dominant mini-pulse can be any note or rest sign of a shorter duration than the G. for example: 1 en oan TT oo (erm am f f f f a4 an 1 tip-tet 2 triplet t 1 © an ah 2 @ an ah 3 @ an ah 4 @ an ah 1 pot a — — r r r f p rRhythmic Feels/Ground Pulse and Mini-Pulse Whereas all af the various notes, rest signs, or combinations of mini-pulse beats can be used to create various rhythms, the overall rhythmic interpretation af a musical style or segment of any music being performed can be determined by activating a basic ground pulse beat and its dominant mini-pulse simultaneously. count toa 2 mm 3 an & ht an 2 oan mini-pulse ne ee ee "camilit ne le | Bp Ground Pulse f f f py OHS “2.0. Int Ca ary 1 tip-let 2 p-let 3 tip-lt 4 Yp-lt 12 tise 3 tip count - P pee = t mini-pulse ra er T | 7 eke ag Ground Pulse ~ 7 f f Basia “Swing Fie Ahythrn count 1 @ an ah 2 @ an ah 3 © an eh 4 e@ an ah 1 e mini-pulse PS = es OO 13. A os 3 7 Ground Puse ~ f r f gis = Ls Sister note m-o stylistic grooves vary Tap the G.P. with your foot in a steady tempo, Count out the mini-pulse beats while tapping the graund pulse beat with your foot. Use a metronome or click track to check the steadiness of the G.P, foot tap. These mini-pulse beats are always active whether sounded or not. Thay are expressed in the breathing and or vibrato of the instrumentalist or vocalist,Recommended Study and Practice Procedure In my teaching experience, I have found that many students, advanced as well as beginners, do not thoroughly read the written text included in most instruction books, Therefore, | ask you to please read the text in this book carefully, The same applies to listening: Please, listen to the recorded instructions and sounds of the varicus brush strokes on the CD carefully, Listen to each recorded track at least once or even twice before attempting to play along with it. Look at the illustrated diagrams and try to follow the instructed hand movements, visually first. Next, trace and/or tap out the rhythmic pattem of the illustrated diagrams with yaur finger tips only. The idea is to transfer the feeling of the strakes and pattems from your hands to and through the brushes. The brush should be thought of and felt as an extension of the hand—not a foreign object. | also recommend that you practice all of the strokes accompanying yaurself with a steady pulse on the bass drum andior hi-hat. After you have practiced with the play-along tracks on The Sound of Brushes CD, try playing along with some recordings from your personal collection. | highly recommend listening to and playing along with old and new recordings by jazz mas- ters performing in various styles of this evolving music in bath small and large ensemble set- tings, for instance, early blues, R&B, Dixieland, swing. and bebop. This can be a great help for becoming familiar with different jazz styles, which make full use of the eighth-note triplet mini-pulse, an important element in jazz interpretation. Listening to well-performed music can also help increase your song repertoire Ed Thigpen Selected Available Discography” As Leader: Out of the Siorm — Verve/Polygram (Verve Master Edition) Young Men and Olds — Timeless Easy Flight — Reaction Records/Stunt (Re-issue) Mr. Taste — Justin Time it's Entertainment — Stunt Records ‘As Sideman: Night Train — with Oscar Peterson — Verve/Palygram Westside Story — with Oscar Peterson — VerveiPolygram Ben Webster Meets Oscar Peterson — Verve Master Edition Complete Set — London House Recordings — with Oscar Peterson — Verve Jazz at Santa Monica Civic— with Ella Fitzgerald — Pablo All of these CDs have excellent tracks on standard and original melodies that may also be used for play-along practice with the illustrated brush strokes. Songs on the recordings are played in medium to fast tempos, as well as slow to medium tempo ballads with groovesitests, in 2/2, walking 4/4, 2 teel, and 3/4 time The rhythmic patterns and strokes illustrated in The Sound of Brushes will give you more than enaugh brush strokes to adapt to any style or situation where the use of brushes might be suitable. * Remember! It is very, very important that you listen te a variety of recordings with different drummers using brushes in various musical settings. This will help you to develop your own taste and eventually your own style.Sweep, Lift, and Tap Signs The dark shadow represents the general area {0 be played on tha drum head. An arrow pointing right means that the brush sweep starts on the left-hand side of the drum head and sweeps to the right An arrow pointing left means that the brush sweep starts on the right-hand side of the drum head and sweeps to the left. Right Hand Tap “an’ or “let” count on left-hand side of drum head and sweep 10 the right, pass the "2" or whichever count is marked to the next ‘count, i.8., “let 3.” Left Hand Tap “an” or “let” count and brush back to the left, pass “4” or whichever count is marked to next count, ‘A broken line means to lift brush to next beat or count mark in the direction of the arrow. ‘Adark filled circle means that the beat is tapped (tick or tap sound).