S R List

I will be performing a solo that will show different aspects and techniques of drumming such as hand variations, rudiments and dynamic changes. It will involve various different contrasting genres ranging from reggae to rock, to urban music. Although I will be doing covers of songs, I will be adding drummer ad-libs, or in other words improvised fills and other intricate additions. The difficulty of these pieces will vary due to the styles of the songs. Some may have a small amount of drums but requires a steady hand and tempo all the way through, where as another song may be drum heavy and require energy and flamboyance. All the pieces will be fairly new/well known since the audience I am performing to is a 17+ age group. A few weeks will be needed to prepare for this since I will need to get the songs up to a very accurate standard to achieve the grade I want. I will be using a sound system to play the music as I drum along and a technician or a fellow colleague to operate my source of music as I prepare to play. 


Rick Ross - Maybach Music 2 feat T-Pain, Lil Wayne & Kanye West is a hip-hop song recorded by American rapper Rick Ross and released as the third single from his third studio album, Deeper Than Rap on the 31 August, 2009.

This song contains many element. Although it is a hip hop song, it is done with a live drum kit. The drum beat contains of a steady semi opened hi-hat, frequent uses of a crash and fairly flamboyant fills. The fills move around the kit with different patterns and techniques, such as triplets and flams. The other type of fills are quick and used on the snare during the parts of the verses where all other instruments stop apart from the drums. The drums are repetitive in terms of placement but that means good timing is required to play the fills in exactly same place as they were before. 

Esperanza Spalding - Precious was also released in 2008 in the same album "Esperanza".

This song has very fast and intricate hi-hat patterns. The open hi-hat accents are quite frequent. All together the usage of the hi-hats are flamboyant and require a lot of skill and very good technique to be performed. The bell of the ride is then used during the chorus to show some variation and to highlight what part of the song it is being used on. Fills are fast, light and used in short burst that are followed by a crash. The bass drum is quiet which adds to the lightness of the song, which is also why a cross stick is used. The cross stick is then changed to snare during the chorus because the songs dynamics change by getting louder. When the snare is used, the most of the hits are rim shots

Red Hot Chilli Peppers - Minor Thing was made in 2002 during the making of the album "By the Way". By the Way is the eighth studio album and was released on July 9, 2002.

This song has a similar sounding drum beat through out the song, but that only applies to the hi-hat until the bridge/guitar solo. The quite simple but energetic with sharp fills which keeps the song moving. The use of the bell of the ride highlights the guitar solo and shows a variety of the kit can be used rather than  just the hi-hat being used through out the entire song.

Paramore - Turn It Off was made in 2009 during the making of the album "Brand New Eyes".

This song consists of many rock elements. That means this song is a good song to show a good range of skill and techniques. The song contains just snare rolls accompanied by the bass drum on the verses that will show good control and highlight technique on the snare drum. The 8th notes used on the semi opened hi-hat and crash will show timing while the snare and fills will show variation. The song also shows the ability to change rhythm and dynamic changes. It does this by going into half time and using the closed hi-hat and hitting the snare much quieter than the other sections in the song.

Drake - H Y F R was made in 2011.

This song has a swished hi-hat pattern which is more trickier than a straight hi-hat patter. As well as steadiness, it requires concentration on the hi-hats to maintain correct timing, especially with a 16th switch at some points in the song. This song is a great song to display good hi-hat skills because besides the hi-hat swishing, there are also hi-hat accents. Also you have to maintain good timing of the snare because in the beginning of the song and the verses, just the snare is playing which will show that you have good timing, especially when the rest of the drums are brought in.

Bob Marley - Jammin' was made in 1977 during the making of the album Exodus.

This song uses the reggae pattern "steppers" which means to play this song, it requires a steady bass drum on all 4 beats of the bar. There are crashed used more on beat 2 rather than usually being on beat 1. The drum fills during middle 8 are rim shots on the snare then 4 hits each spread around the toms. This also a stop time effect because the drums stop completely until the fills come in. Like the bass drum, the hi-hats also need to be steady.

Usher - Caught Up  was made in 2004, written by Ryan Toby, Andre Harris Vidal Davis and Jason Boyd and, and produced by Dre and Vidal. The drummer that usually drums for Usher is Aaron Spears. This song shows an interesting hi-hat pattern that requires rhythm to be balanced with the bass drum and snare. The drums are the same through out the song which means it requires to be study but also the beat itself leaves enough room to do fills.

Stephen Marley - Jah Army feat Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley & Buju Banton was made in 2011.

This a modern day reggae song so there are quite a few effects that have been applied to the drums. It is still possible to be covered on a accoustic drum kit, but this song also opens up the oppoortunity to be played on an electric drumkit. I personally would cover the song with an acoustic kit because I perfer the sound of traditional reggae which was played on an accoustic kit. Also it can lead me to experimenting and finding more sounds on the acoustic drum kit. This song has the has the rockers pattern which will help show a basic but steady foundation skill.

Hypest hype was made in 2010 during the creation of the album No More Idols by Chase and Status. The drummer for Chase and Status is usually Andy Gangadeen.

This songs is a very loud and energetic song so it will show and require a lot of energy, speed and strength to be played acutrately. The theme of the song would be soley to get the crowd hyper, hence the name of the song "hypest hype". As well as energy this song also has a few dynamic changes that are used when changing form verse and chorus. It is also used in the intro. The song also changes rhythm when in the verses and towards the end of the song by going into half time.

Esperanza Spaulding - I Know You Know was written during the making of the album "Esperanza". This is her second studio album made in 2008. This song has many variations, techniques, rhythms and dynamics. The hi-hat pattern is closed and quick. This kind of pattern requires speed mixed with correct technique. The cross stick is used instead of the snare head. During the chorus and middle 8, the rhythm  of the drum beat changes to a bossa nova/latin style where the bass drum is involved a lot more alongside the toms. Fills are more frequent and hi-hat accents are also used more. when the fills that involve the snare are initiated, the snare hits are rim shots which add more of a bossa nova/latin feel since it sounds like a timbale. As well as a drum kit, there a few percussion instruments used such and bongos, shakers and tambourines.