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cliff almond

Until Further notice, I will be posting a monthly lesson in a downloadable format. These downloads are in an audio format ONLY.  The price of each lesson will be $15.00. This may change depending on costs from operation, storage or server issues. A credit card is necessary for downloading.

The intention of these downloads is to provide answers to the more common questions I have received, as well as more specific questions in relation to any recorded performance, approach to working with certain artists, hand technique, soloing, styles, sounds, studio techniques, etc. I am encouraging everyone who has a specific question to email me here and I will address the questions in the lessons. This format will enable me to demonstrate and discuss concepts that I would not be able to voice accurately in an email response. Once again, any questions or specific topic suggestions are welcome!

Please: If you enjoy this service and it is helpful to you, PLEASE DO NOT MAKE COPIES OF DOWNLOADS! These downloads will be always be available at a reasonable price. If you wish to comment, question, advise, complain, etc, please email me.

 
Lesson 1
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Lesson 1 6.01.07: This first lesson incorporates some basic discussion on some practice techniques that I use for very slow tempos with a metronome. Also basic tips on approach to recording in the studio at these slow tempos, instrument sound, etc. Slow time exercises for development of speed while staying relaxed. Live Performance: Some discussion on how I approach playing live, a few tips on connecting things developed in your practice sessions to live performance, and a great time exercise for hearing a pulse through anything and focus on longer phrasing.
Lesson 2
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Lesson 2 7.26.07: This Second Lesson is a bit longer than the first one. I have most recently gotten a lot of questions about my playing with Michel Camilo so It discusses various techniques I use to prepare for playing with him. Also some history on how I got the gig, a brief discussion of how I practice and what I practice when i prepare for his gig, and some examples of latin soloing over a piano vamp in 5/4. This lesson is a bit advanced but has some helpful information on soloing, and specifically soloing over a Piano Vamp. It was recorded while I was preparing to play with Michel Camilo in Santa Fe NM in July of 2007.
Lesson 3
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Lesson 3 8.29.07: This Months lesson is part one of an interview with the great Bass Guitarist Anthony Jackson. Anthony and I were in Tokyo Japan playing together for a week in August of 2007, and we had some time to kill backstage while we were waiting to play. I decided to ask Anthony a number of questions related to his opinions of various drummers, producers, and even some more bass related topics, such as his muting concepts, etc. He told some really great stories about Buddy Rich, Tony Williams, and Steve Gadd. Even though this was a drum oriented interview, to hear anthonyÕs stories about who heÕs played with, as well as his bass concepts in his own words was really interesting. Just FYI this lesson is an interview ONLY. There is no drumming performance or demonstration on this lesson. However, Anthony has some very invaluable info to offer on what he looks for in a drummer, as well as how he arrived at his own personal approach to music, as well as his playing style.
Lesson 4
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Lesson 4 10.17.07: In this months lesson I discuss my approach to soloing. After receiving some email in reference to the discussion at the end of lesson 2, I decided to go into a bit more detail as to how I work on soloing. This lesson includes three exercises on framework, form, and a great exercise for hearing odd groupings over the barline. There is also a breakdown of a solo fill from the end of a song called "Caribe" that I recorded on a 1995 big band recording by Michel Camilo, some discussion about how I arrive at some of my ideas for vocabulary in solos, and some of my ideas on improvisation.
Lesson 5
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Lesson 5 1.28.08: After receiving a number of suggestions from everyone writing in, for this lesson I decided to expand a bit and try something different than the previous lessons. In my past lessons I broke down some concepts of how I work on things, soloing concepts, etc. This time I decided to put up one song in my lesson as a Play-along. Often people sent me emails suggesting this format, however I was not able to get to my studio in California to actually record it and discuss it in the proper environment up to this point. So, in this lesson there is a song that I recorded in my studio and played along with, followed by a version WITHOUT drums that you can play along to. There is also a 2 page Chart for this tune that comes in a PDF format. Both versions of these songs are included inside this Mpg lesson along with some discussion of the song, practice techniques for it, etc. I should mention that this song should be quite challenging. If you are up for something difficult than this is the lesson for you! The style is a Pro-tools based slow Shuffle that may be a bit out of the ordinary as far as what you may have experienced. There is also a brief solo section that you can play over. I played all the instruments in my studio and wrote the tune as well. The Level of difficulty is quite advanced on this one, but I feel it really offers a great format for learning and working on a style that you may not often see, and this can be a very valuable tool for your improvement. When you purchase this lesson you will receive the 2 page Pdf chart along with the mp3 file.
Lesson 6
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Lesson 6 2.5.08: This one came up quickly I know, but I recieved so many questions about this topic recently, that I thought it would be a good Idea to just quickly put a lesson up while I had time to do it. Over the years I have had many questions related to Michel Camilo's gig. In past lessons I have addressed some soloing concepts for this gig, and some practice techniques I use to prepare for it. I have recently recieved a number of emails asking me to discuss the grooves on some of the records I played on, and also people have been requesting that I break down the grooves themselves rather than just discussing the soloing concepts. Here I have chosen two of the grooves that have been requested the most by people writing to my site, and broken them down. The songs discussed will be Camilo's versions of Impressions and On Fire. In this lesson I break down the concepts behind these tunes, discuss how they came about, and provide 2 simple written examples of what I played on these songs, and the concepts behind them. I did not play on the studio version of On Fire, however I discuss how we approach it live, and the key points of performing these grooves.
Lesson 7
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Lesson 7 W/Wayne Krantz 2.12.08: I've been wanting to do this lesson for a while now, but we never got around to getting it together until recently. This is a topic that I have received a number of questions about from drummers and other musicians as well. Basically this lesson describes the concepts associated with playing the Wayne Krantz gig. I have played this gig off and on now for about 3 or 4 years along with a number of other drummers in New York and I'm constantly getting questions about the format, what it's like to play with wayne, etc. So, in this lesson we discuss the improvisational format that Krantz uses and then Wayne and I play a couple of duo pieces with just Drums and Guitar. Wayne also discusses what he looks for in a Drummer, as well as what he looks for in a Bass player. If you are a fan of Wayne's Music this will help to explain the improvisational concept that he uses.
Lesson 8
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Lesson 8 Soloing #2 2.25.08: Here is the follow up to Lesson #4. This is basically the other side of the concepts discussed in lesson 4 which was a soloing lesson. After lesson 4 was posted, many people emailed me asking for a lesson that was based more in vocabulary. I felt that it was necessary to first voice the concepts of soloing from the standpoint of construction and arrangement, before I did a lesson on licks or vocabulary. This lesson is based more on the concept of developing a vocabulary, and how to come up with some ideas of your own. In this lesson there is a discussion of two exercises that are broken down to very basic sticking on a snare drum, and then a demonstration of how to orchestrate them in a soloing context. This Download includes a PDF file that has notation of the exercise as well as the sticking.
Lesson 9
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Lesson 9 Vamps #1 3.11.08: This lesson is the first in a series of lessons where I will be posting practice based vamps for students to play along with. Over the years I have developed a small library of vamps to practice with for my own use. They are all quantized and have a click with them so they are easy to play to. I've found this to be a very useful tool when practicing and they are much more fun to play with rather than using a just a click track. I've decided to start putting them up in lessons to try to provide a way for students to play along with some styles that they may not have access to otherwise. Hopefully this will give you an idea of what it feels like to play some styles in some areas that you may not have much experience in. There are 2 different vamps in this lesson and each of them are at 3 different tempos (80, 95, and 110 BPM). They are both based in Latin concepts. This lesson is much longer than normal (50 Minutes or so) and it is meant for more advanced students.
Lesson 10
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Lesson 10 Vamps #2 3.19.08: This is the second in a series of vamp based lessons. This particular lesson deals with the basics of practicing and becoming familiar with Odd Time Signatures. I start off with some discussion of playing in 5/4, then I give some examples over vamps in 5/4 and 5/8. There are also versions of the vamps at different tempos so you can play along with them. This lesson is geared more tword the advanced student.
Lesson 11
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Lesson 11 Vamps #3 3.21.08: This lesson is basically a continuation of lesson 10. In it, we continue the discussion of odd time playing and practicing with vamps that are in 7/8, 9/8, and 11/8. There is discussion on the breakdown of groupings within these time signatures, then I demonstrate the examples of how to play around them and get comfortable with the concepts associated with them. Each of the three vamps are given in various tempos so you can gradually get used to the time. This lesson is a bit longer than normal. It's around 40 minutes.
Lesson 12
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Lesson 12 - What it takes (and other thoughts)... 3.24.08: I decided to do something different this time. Up to this point i've been focusing on exercises, soloing concepts, and various topics related directly to improving your ability on the drums. I thought it was important to take a pause from the usual format and do a lesson based on the topic of what kind of other things you need to be aware of and focus on if you are going to be successful in this business. We touched on this a bit in the interview lesson with Anthony Jackson. I think there are a number of things to consider if you decide to make a living in this particular profession. I grew up being told a number of things in relation to this topic, but I when I started out in this business alot of it was still a mystery to me. In this lesson I talk about some of my experiences in the business, what I think it takes to be successful, getting gigs, issues on confidence and how it relates to your playing, and what kind of things you'll have to consider if you decide to play professionally.
Lesson 13
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Lesson 13 - Practice Concepts 4.4.08: In response to the feedback I received from lesson 12, I decided to do a lesson that would serve as a follow up. There were a number of emails asking for more elaboration on some of the topics addressed in that lesson. Specifically the concept of a practice schedule and how to create one that will work the best for you. Much of the email i received in reference to lesson 12 inquired about my practice routine. The objective of this lesson is to provide information on how to construct a practice schedule that will allow you to achieve the best results, as well as tips on concentration, discipline, and breaking down exercises.
Lesson 14
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Lesson 14 - Sight Reading 5.14.08: This is a lesson on Sight Reading. I always get questions about this topic. As drummers we can get away with faking things more than other musicans. Quite often this keeps us from really getting down to business when it comes to learning to read. The process of sight reading is a simple one, but like any other skill it takes some dedication. In this lesson I share some of my concepts for practicing sight reading, interpretation, and how to really work on making a piece of music sound as if you have been playing it your whole life, when in reality you are seeing it for the first time. This lesson includes a PDF of exercises as well.
Lesson 15
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Lesson 15 - Introduction to Styles 6.20.08: The topic of this lesson is how to learn to play a style of music when you have no experience in it. Many times I have been in situations where I had to become quite fluent in a style quickly, and I receive a number of questions on my site about how I learned to play different styles, such as latin music. In this lesson I discuss my techniques for approaching a new style and what I choose to focus on when I do so. This is the first in a series of lessons that I will be doing on styles. In the next few lessons I will choose some styles and show how to break them down more specifically, what to listen for, and how to translate the style as if you have been playing it for years. In this lesson there is also some brief discussion of improvisation and how to make the style your own. It includes a two page PDF outlining the rules that I discuss in this lesson.
Lesson 16
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Lesson 16 - Styles 1. Latin 7.27.08: Here is the first in a series of Style based lessons. In lesson 15 I discussed the various concepts that I use to learn a style, and what to focus on when listening to a new style in order to perform it with some degree of confidence, even if it isn't very familiar to you. In this lesson I chose a specific style to demonstrate these concepts. In this case the Style topic is latin music. In this download I play an example of music and show you how to break down the style, give some very basic approaches to playing latin music, and demonstrate some elaborations on this particular style of music. There was originally a pdf that was to accompany this lesson but i've had some software issues, so this time I will just put up the audio. This lesson is not meant to be as much a lesson in how to play latin music, as much as it is to demonstrate the concepts of learning a new style, and what to focus on to elaborate on the style and add your own flavor to it.