Hermione’s Magical Method

Hermione Granger is very big on 'revisions'. It seems to be her preferred method of preparing for exams. It's definitely a British term -- I've never heard it on this side of the ocean. On further investigation, it turns out to be the age-old process of taking good notes and then analyzing the material and reducing it to the basics ... the essentials.

This is a great way (in fact the correct way) to master a subject. No matter how complex a thing may be, it can usually be better understood if reduced to smaller, more digestible nuggets. That goes for understanding musical and drumming concepts as well.

Reducing everything to its most basic components, aside from making things easier to manage, often reveals a fundamental principle that was not apparent otherwise. And those principles often lead to even greater mastery and more creative opportunities. I like to trim things until they resemble building blocks, which I can then redeploy to other contexts.

Take for example the legendary Bonham Shuffle. I've come across a lot of explanations of how it's done, but as often as not, the originators managed to increase rather than reduce the complexity (one offering had four installments!) The rhythm can be 'revised' to just three building blocks. It’s not actually that complicated when approached from the bottom up.

1. Slow 8th-note rock feel with a back beat on 2 & 4
2. Double time shuffle on the hi-hat
3. Syncopated triplet patterns between the bass drum and snare

These skills can be worked on separately, and then combined into a final product. The building blocks can also be modified, expanded upon and transported to other contexts to create other exercises and other rhythms.

So, revise, reorganize and reduce to the essential building blocks. And then start building your own rhythms.