Once you’ve got past the rudiments and stick control you can start developing ride cymbal - bass drum, snare drum tom tom- drum set technique. In general it is developed with the ear. Your hearing allows you to match the other instruments. It’s so important to position yourself on stage where you can hear exactly what everyone is doing- so you can respond and blend. The better you can hear everyone, the better you will react, play and the better your instruments will sound. Then you can play and do anything you like.

As far as a jazz ride pattern is concerned, the more ways you can play it, the more control you will have. A big part of ride cymbal technique comes down to overall technique in general, i.e. how you hold and move the stick. You may work a while on making all four quarter notes come out equally, creating a quarter note pulses. The skip beat was softer and placed fairly late creating a tight swing. Then you may work on giving a slight accent to two and four, making the cymbal have a backbeat without the hi-hat. Then accent the skip beat and think about what arm motion makes the thing swing, then practice lots of polyrhythmic material underneath the cymbal. That makes the cymbal pattern strong and relaxed. Then join a blues band and play shuffles for a couple of years, because ultimately this is the origin of the swing feel (not including the more distant origin of African 6/8). It’s the totality of your rhythmic feel that creates your swing.

Once you’ve got past the rudiments and stick control you can start developing ride cymbal - bass drum, snare drum tom tom- drum set technique. In general it is developed with the ear. Your hearing allows you to match the other instruments. It’s so important to position yourself on stage where you can hear exactly what everyone is doing- so you can respond and blend. The better you can hear everyone, the better you will react, play and the better your instruments will sound. Then you can play and do anything you like.

As far as a jazz ride pattern is concerned, the more ways you can play it, the more control you will have. A big part of ride cymbal technique comes down to overall technique in general, i.e. how you hold and move the stick. You may work a while on making all four quarter notes come out equally, creating a quarter note pulses. The skip beat was softer and placed fairly late creating a tight swing. Then you may work on giving a slight accent to two and four, making the cymbal have a backbeat without the hi-hat. Then accent the skip beat and think about what arm motion makes the thing swing, then practice lots of polyrhythmic material underneath the cymbal. That makes the cymbal pattern strong and relaxed. Then join a blues band and play shuffles for a couple of years, because ultimately this is the origin of the swing feel (not including the more distant origin of African 6/8). It’s the totality of your rhythmic feel that creates your swing.

If you don’t want to just play one ride cymbal look for a second ride that you can put on your left. Usually go with one that is less dominating in sound that use the left side ride at the beginning of solos for a couple choruses, then move over to the right-side ride as the soloist you are supporting builds momentum. You can use the left side ride for lighter soloists, such as acoustic piano.

Start by figuring out what you are going to be playing and then pick your main ride. Then from there go back to what I’m most likely going to be playing and then might choose either a complimentary cymbal or something completely different. It is about balance. For example if the main ride you are using doesn’t have a great bell you might chose a left side ride that does or your left side ride might need to be a crash/ride if the main ride doesn’t crash well or might be too deep a crash to add the accent that you want. If your main ride is dark, try to choose a left side ride that is brighter to provide a nice compliment and contrast to the main ride.
Some drummers prefer smaller cymbals on the left, so that they don’t intrude too much over the rack tom or hihat. 19 or 20 inch would be the usual choice. But left side rides can be large cymbals like a 22 inch.

Many people choose to use flat rides as their secondary ride. When flat rides are used for quieter playing they can be kept on far right that can be moved over to the left side position sometimes for a quieter band.

While main ride would be in general to be pingy and cutting, also nice and loud to be used for choruses or busier sections, basically where stick definition and clarity is needed left side ride can be crashable and pretty washy with more of a woodier sound to be used for solo sections, quieter sections, crashes, and brush work.

It depends on your tastes, and on the music you’re playing. Left side ride needs to balance out the right ride. It is very important to have well matched rides. It also depends on what your main ride is - some pairs of cymbals seem to work great in combinations, while others don’t play as nicely with each other. Try to assemble them in a sonic family where each ride compliments the other.

If you don’t want to just play one ride cymbal look for a second ride that you can put on your left. Usually go with one that is less dominating in sound that use the left side ride at the beginning of solos for a couple choruses, then move over to the right-side ride as the soloist you are supporting builds momentum. You can use the left side ride for lighter soloists, such as acoustic piano.

Start by figuring out what you are going to be playing and then pick your main ride. Then from there go back to what I’m most likely going to be playing and then might choose either a complimentary cymbal or something completely different. It is about balance. For example if the main ride you are using doesn’t have a great bell you might chose a left side ride that does or your left side ride might need to be a crash/ride if the main ride doesn’t crash well or might be too deep a crash to add the accent that you want. If your main ride is dark, try to choose a left side ride that is brighter to provide a nice compliment and contrast to the main ride.
Some drummers prefer smaller cymbals on the left, so that they don’t intrude too much over the rack tom or hihat. 19 or 20 inch would be the usual choice. But left side rides can be large cymbals like a 22 inch.

Many people choose to use flat rides as their secondary ride. When flat rides are used for quieter playing they can be kept on far right that can be moved over to the left side position sometimes for a quieter band.

While main ride would be in general to be pingy and cutting, also nice and loud to be used for choruses or busier sections, basically where stick definition and clarity is needed left side ride can be crashable and pretty washy with more of a woodier sound to be used for solo sections, quieter sections, crashes, and brush work.

It depends on your tastes, and on the music you’re playing. Left side ride needs to balance out the right ride. It is very important to have well matched rides. It also depends on what your main ride is - some pairs of cymbals seem to work great in combinations, while others don’t play as nicely with each other. Try to assemble them in a sonic family where each ride compliments the other.

Cymbal Mutes are basically pads for cymbal volume reduction.

Many volume reduction pads for cymbals are attached to the wing nut of the cymbal stand and actually flop around on top of cymbal, impeding your ability to play properly. These types of mutes have a number of functional and technical problems. First, they flap around on cymbals, only partially muffling the sound. This is not helpful if your practice situation requires silence. The unpredictable nature of this movement creates technical concerns, because the flapping rubber alters the natural cymbal reflex motion and interferes with feel during practice.

The best cymbal mutes attach, adhere, and connect directly to cymbals, allowing them to flow with the rhythm of your playing. This connectivity is a huge technical advantage because it eliminates unwanted variables such as flapping, obstructed mute position, noise issues and secondary impact problems. They offer players a great feeling cymbal mute that moves and grooves with the natural movement and flow of the cymbal.