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Ever wonder what’s going on when Chris Dave plays with The Drumhedz on Tiny Desk, or Snarky Puppy play songs like Thing of Gold? Or Adam Deitch plays…many things that Adam Deitch plays?
I wondered too, and it reminded me of my interview with Stanton Moore last year, and our discussion about the low-key influences of Afro-Caribbean rhythms on New Orleans music. Stanton wholeheartedly endorsed the idea that “clave”, as we know it from music like Son and Salsa, exists in New Orleans music too, and brought up Ziggy Modeliste and The Meters as an example of that throughline.
Here’s my conspiracy theory - if the DNA of clave influenced the meters, it’s not crazy to think a lot of the funk and soul beats downstream of them also carry that lineage.
All of this is a bit tangential to a concept I probably didn’t invent, but that occurred to me listening to these more modern artists like Chris and Adam. Funk Claves. Instead of playing straight 8ths or 16ths, you essentially play a “clave” with the lead hand. It can be a literal clave, or it can be looser. (The clave you’ll hear Chris playing sounds like a 2-3 oriented “son” clave.)
Whether “clave” is just a descriptive word that helps us orient these funk beats, or hints at a more fundamental lineage, these beats are fun to practice on the drums, and they’re a very useful tool for many musical situations. Which is why it’s mysterious to me that we’re not hearing more about them. (Is somebody somewhere teaching a “Meters Beat”?)
Anyway, in today’s video, we delve into all of that, and show you how to play them.
Hope you enjoy!