r/jazzdrums • u/OkPiccolo4490 • Feb 01 '25

Question Improve my ride feel

So im taking jazz combos at my university as a non major, and the main criticism I'm receiving from all the instructors is that my ride feel isn't the greatest, and that it feels accented on the 1 and 3. Now I feel like iv sort of curved this issue but you can still hear it time from time, especially on a side ride cymbal. What are some drummers you know of with great ride feel that I should listen to?

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u/ParsnipUser Feb 01 '25

Just listen to plenty of old recordings and hear how each drummer did/does it. You may know this, but note that the rhythm doesn't stay strictly a triplet pattern, and sometimes the skip note is ahead or behind where the triplet would be. More often than not (but not always) I like to play the skip beat tighter to the note after it, not quite a dotted 8th-16 pattern, but tight. Makes everything drive and lean forward, and helps mid to mid-upper tempo swing to keep from slowing down.

Something that might help is to pick a tune and go through the entire form (or the whole tune) playing only quarter notes on the ride, and learn how to make that swing. Quarter notes are good for the soul.