A New Project: A Transcription a Week!

Sunday, June 22, 2025

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A new project!

The fastest way I've improved my own playing is by finding a piece of work (a song, groove, phrase, etc.) and plugging it into notation software so I can have a visual element to compliment audio. This method of practice, albeit time-consuming, strengthens two senses and helps digest information in a new way. Transcribing forces you to be thorough, scrubbing through a track or video second-by-second to make sure you're hearing everything and notating it as accurately as possible. In grad school at NYU, I came across this method with my individual lessons professor, James Saporito. We were searching for something that would expand my playing, get me feeling more comfortable in a wide variety of genres and increase the pace at which I could dig deeper into the different realms of playing the drums. The first tune I ever transcribed in school was "Senhoras Do Amazonas" from Sergio Mendes' 1992 record Brasileiro. According to Sap, my samba improved within seconds of him hearing me play. Absolutely killin' tune.

Now that I'm more comfortable with the process, it's time to challenge myself. One piece of media a week, starting from scratch. No previous work completed on the transcriptions (no cheating)! First up is one of my favorites: the Ben Rector tune "Let the Good Times Roll" from his 2011 album Something Like This. The studio version is great, but my favorite version is Ben and the band's live version. Specifically, the YouTube video uploaded by his drummer, Jared Kneale. It's so funky, and Jared is effortlessly filling in the spaces with tasteful fills, ghost notes you can feel in your soul, and some seriously punchy backbeats. My favorite configuration to play is one high, one low, and Jared makes it seem like there's 8 toms decked out on that stage -- doing more with less. Ben's sound stems a little from the contemporary Christian world/Nashville sound, so the cymbals Jared's using are on the larger side, and a touch dry and dark. Looks like he's rocking some Constantinoples and Keropes, and I'd recognize those 15" Kerope hats anywhere. Some of the best sounding hats out there. Perfect for the style of music.

Without further ado, below is the PDF of my transcription (which you can download for FREE!) and a link to the performance I referenced. Happy practicing!