How To Approach Odd Time Drumming (Simon Phillips Lesson)
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Do you struggle with drumming in odd time? š¤
Simon Phillips (Toto, Jeff Beck, Pete Townshend) says thereās one thing he does that makes it feel just as natural as 4/4.
Itās called āoverridingā, and heās going to show you exactly how to do it..
But if you want a quick description, hereās what that means:
- Overriding keeps a steady pulse so the listener doesnāt get that awkward ājerkyā feeling.
- Play odd meter as if itās in 4/4 ā that means counting in 4/4 until you have a few extra notes that complete the odd time signature.
- For example, if you have two bars of 7/8 and count 7/4 against it, the odd time will be even after two bars (7*7=14). If youāre thinking in 4/4, the first bar will sound like itās on the beat, and the second bar will sound like itās off the beat.
To demonstrate, Simon plays and breaks down two classic songs:
1. āDaveās Gone Skiingā by Toto
A silly name for a song, maybe, but thereās a good reason for it: the day the band got together to track the song, Totoās vocalist, David Paich didnāt show up to the studio. When they called around looking for him, all they were told was āDaveās gone skiing.ā
āSo we cut it with just Luke, Mike and myself,ā says Simon. David did eventually lay down piano on the track.
Youāll find three time signatures in this tune: 9/8, 7/8, and 4/4.
2. āUndevigintiā by Simon Phillips
āUndevigintiā means ānineteenā in Latin, so itās a fitting title for a song in which the main phrase is in 19.
19/16, in fact.
Donāt let those big numbers give you a heart attack. Forget about the bottom number for now, and just focus on counting to 19. You can divide 19 into groups of 2s and 3s to make it more manageable.
Pretend youāre playing in 4/4, then after four bars youāll add three more 16th notes (4*4=16 3=19).
Sounds mathy, but itās much simpler than you might think.
(If you want the full song transcriptions, you can find them in the Drumeo members area. Free trial here: )
Donāt worry if youāre still having trouble. It takes practice to recognize, identify, and play different meters. Simon has been grooving in odd time for years, so while he makes it look easy, it does take time. Keep going!
(But in the meantime, if you want to watch Simon rock out in 4/4, hereās his breakdown of āSpace Boogieā featuring a legendary double bass drum shuffle: )
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Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction
00:31 - Overriding
02:46 - āDaveās Gone Skiingā Story
03:53 - āDaveās Gone Skiingā Performance
06:11 - āDaveās Gone Skiingā Analysis
07:08 - Counting Complex Time Signatures
07:54 - āUndevigintiā Clave & Exercise
08:34 - How To Make 19/16 Groove
09:12 - āUndevigintiā Performance
15:58 - āUndevigintiā Story
16:49 - Final Thoughts
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