A Van Down by the River

Drumfield Designs

A Van Down by the River

$8
ID: VA-003
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DIFFICULTY: ADVANCED / RUNTIME: 4'00

With my solo "A Van Down by the River," I decided from the very beginning to branch out and expand my compositional ideas and my abilities as a drummer and performer. As you'll notice, there are no stick tricks in the solo. I wrote this with the sole intent of experimenting with phrasing and rhythmic/sonic taste, as opposed to having a more visually oriented piece. As I usually do when writing solo pieces, I followed a general structure with three segments, or movements if you will.

FAQ's

The first section introduces a motif that can be found woven throughout the piece, then builds into what can be described as an “opening statement.” The next section is much more groovy, with a buzz pattern felt in 5 that gets your head “bobbing.” Also in this section are what are known as irrational time signatures (time signatures with denominators that are not duple based). A used these to change up the motif a bit, adding and deleting small chunks of rhythms to make it more intense and “stuttery.” After reintroducing the motif, the solo heads into a longer final section that showcases harder and faster rhythms, leading to a final statement of the original motif to cap it all off.

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Preview 'A Van Down by the River'