The Pulse of Jazz: Drumset Book & CD

Marcy builds a genuine jazz language for drumset rather than presenting drumming as accompaniment. The progression from simple time lines to polyrhythmic comping and metric modulation mirrors how jazz drummers actually develop their craft, and the included video demonstrations let students see hand and foot techniques in real time—something no notation alone can convey.

You're learning the actual language that Elvin Jones, Tony Williams, and other innovators used to reshape what a drummer could do. Each new time line opens a different way of hearing the pulse, and suddenly your hands and feet are saying something you couldn't say before.

Intermediate to advanced jazz drummers who want to systematically build their comping vocabulary and deepen their understanding of jazz timekeeping beyond the basics. This method suits players who study jazz through transcription and listening and are ready to connect what they hear to what they play.

• Record yourself playing each time line with the included play-along tracks, then listen back with a focus on whether your pulse sits slightly behind, on top of, or ahead of the beat. Consistency in placement within the pocket matters more than absolute precision.
• Work independence exercises at a tempo slow enough that you can hear each limb clearly before increasing speed. Rushing these sections teaches bad habits that become hard to unlearn.
• Study the video demonstrations alongside the written exercises. Watch how Marcy's grip, height, and rebound change between different time lines and comping approaches.
• Apply each new time line to a tune you already know before moving to the next one. Hearing the concept over chord changes makes it real in your ears.

Use this as the core material for jazz ensemble drummers during sectional rehearsals, or assign it to students preparing for jazz combos. The exercises translate directly into better comping during tunes, and students often practice them more consistently when they hear how dramatically the results improve their ensemble playing.

• Jazz shuffle and swing interpretations
• Linear comping and polyrhythmic approaches
• Independence between hands and feet in jazz context
• Metric modulation and displacement concepts
• Elvin Jones and Tony Williams vocabulary
• Comping in odd meters (3/4 and beyond)
• Three-way and four-way interdependence