Author & Contributor

Owner / Founder / Contributor
Bart Elliott

A degreed professional musician with a Bachelor of Music in Percussion Performance, and Master of Music post-graduate work, Bart Elliott has worked for 40+ years in the music and entertainment industry with over 100 album recordings to his credit. His decades of experience exhaustive understanding of contemporary and classical music makes him a complete and skilled master musician.

Bart continues to work as an active drummer, percussionist, composer, producer, music arranger, director, comedian, MC, educator, writer and visual artist. He is the owner and creator of DrummerCafe.com, which he founded in December of 1996.

www.bartelliott.com

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Billy Cobham is one of the pioneers of jazz-fusion drumming as well as applying drum rudiments to drumkit/drumset. In 1971, Cobham and John McLaughlin co-founded a new jazz-fusion group, Mahavishnu Or...
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One of the hippest drum fills to come out of the 1980s appears on the Simple Minds hit single, " Don't You (Forget About Me) " performed by drummer, Mel Gaynor . The tune, which is best known for its...
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The recipe and necessary ingredients for this delicious drum groove performed by Cindy Blackman Santana; complete with video and music notation.
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PART ONE If you are looking for a deliciously rich, coordination challenge to add to your drumming vocabulary, this drum groove/solo served up by Benny Greb during his drumset clinic at the 2009 Percu...
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"Doncha?" was a Top 10 song by country artist, T.G. Sheppard, appearing on his 1985 album Livin' On The Edge . Doncha? reached #8 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart in 1985 (Columbia...
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Here's my transcription of the intro fill and drum groove, as played by Aaron Comess , on the Spin Doctors tune, " Two Princes ," from the band's 1991 album, Pocket Full Of Kryptonite . Two Princes pe...
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A transcription of John Bonham's drum groove on the Led Zeppelin hit, 'Immigrant Song.'
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This funky drum groove is from "Phantazia" which appears on the 1977 Harvey Mason album, Funk In A Mason Jar . My transcription is from the first four measures of the bass solo, starting at the 3:20 m...
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John "JR" Robinson won a Grammy in 1983 with Rufus and Chaka Khan for Ain't Nobody . The drum groove on the title cut, "Ain't Nobody," was actually played by a LINN Drum Machine. It's a great groove —...
Ben E. King - Supernatural
The R&B/Soul tune, " Supernatural Thing ", by Ben E. King was first released as a single back in 1975 where it reached #1 on the R&B charts. This single version of the tune, with Jimmy Young on drums...
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The Bill Withers hit, " Use Me " , which originally appeared on his 1972 album, Still Bill , reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and was Wither's second biggest in the USA. This funky soul groo...
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This classic Bernard Purdie half-time shuffle groove appears on the Steely Dan tune, Home At Last , from their 1977 album release, Aja (MCA Records). The notated groove (see below) is the basic feel f...
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The Brecker Brothers was a musical duo consisting of the late Michael Brecker (saxophone and EWI) and Randy Brecker (trumpet, flugelhorn), known for their commercially successful jazz fusion albums fr...
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" Lenore " is a track from Chick Corea's 1976 jazz album, The Leprechaun , which features Steve Gadd on drums. It was recorded during the same time Corea was working with his jazz-fusion group, Return...
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The drum groove on Peter Gabriel's " In Your Eyes ", from the So album, is one of those grooves every drummer would like to learn to play. The drum/percussion mix, like many Peter Gabriel tunes, is th...
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The groove on Bustin' Loose , performed by drummer Ricky Wellman , is a classic example of 'Go-Go', a subgenre of funk music popularized by Chuck Brown & The Soul Searchers in the Washington D.C. area...
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Bernard Purdie lays down a greasy groove on " Memphis Soul Stew ", from the King Curtis Live At The Fillmore West recording. Notice the classic Purdie HiHat in which Bernard opens the Hihat slightly j...
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This great odd-meter groove by legendary drummer/singer, Phil Collins , appears on the tune " Dance on a Volcano " from the Genesis 1976 album, A Trick of the Trail . The groove in the 7/8 time signat...
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If you've been licking 'round the bottom of the soul bowl lately, scrounging for every bit and morsel you can find, well check this out! Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings is a funk/soul band that is out...
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In this 5-Minute Lesson, I explain and demonstrate my approach to using and playing the chimes or tubular bells in special situations, like in a pit orchestra, when only one or two pitches are actuall...
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Here are two 5-Minute Lessons on how to play the Sleigh Bells . In LESSON ONE I demonstrate some of my traditional Sleigh Bell techniques , like what I would use in an orchestral or concert/symphonic...
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Glenn Kotche has been the drummer/percussionist for Wilco since 2001, and is known for being an eclectic performer with plenty of taste, technique and creativity. In this lesson I'd like to showcase s...
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Here's a great groove by drummer, Zach Danziger, as performed on " From A Little Croaking Sound " from the Wayne Krantz CD, Long To Be Loose . CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO A SAMPLE CUT OF THIS TUNE The fir...
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For many of us, regardless if you’re a drummer or percussionist, the left foot is the weakest limb (assuming you're right-side is dominant). If you're a drummer, that left foot is probably on a foot o...
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Developing and mastering The Four Basic Strokes , that is Full , Down , Tap and Up , is an essential ingredient to playing relaxed, developing speed, and playing hand-to-hand accent patterns. The reas...
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" Chameleon " is a jazz standard composed by Herbie Hancock (in collaboration with Bennie Maupin, Paul Jackson and Harvey Mason) and first appeared on the Head Hunters album (1973) with a run time of...
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This famous drum introduction, performed by drummer Bun E. Carlos , is from the Cheap Trick tune " I Want You To Want Me ", recorded live in April 1978 at the Nippon Budokan arena located in Tokyo, Ja...
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I believe that " Rock and Roll " is the most famous Led Zeppelin tune of all time, possibly second to " Stairway to Heaven "... maybe. The drum introduction, as played by drummer John Bonham has been...
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When I first created this lesson, I had never actually seen Zigaboo Modeliste play this groove; I only heard The Meters records. I now know that Zigaboo actually uses both hands on the hi-hat when pla...
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Steve Gadd's drum groove on Paul Simon's "50 Ways To Leave Your Lover" Still Crazy has stood the test of time and has earned the status of legendary drum groove. Here's a transcription of Steve Gadd p...