Chapter VI

The Art Crafting

Your Time Feel
Seamus explains the fundamental elements of crafting
a strong sense of time in your playing by focusing on
improving your 8th-note and triplet feel in fast and
slow tempos.
 The Art of Crafting Your Time Feel Vol 1 - Overview Ch. 6, pg.54

The Art of
Crafting Your
Time Feel Vol 1

Seamus believes a strong sense of time is the most important

“When you play jazz,
you want to play like
a drummer.”
factor of quality playing. For Seamus, one can have relatively
sloppy technique and even an average sense of harmony but
still sound musical and enjoyable with a great sense of time.
For that reason, Seamus encourages his students to play like
a drummer, to place their notes in interesting rhythms as a
drummer would, and to interact with drummers closely when
playing in a band setting.

After gaining a lot of knowledge from years of transcription,

Seamus noticed that more transcription was not helping his
playing anymore. At this stage of his musical development,
Seamus started focusing on his rhythmic control. Seamus
likes to imagine that he is a drummer playing on a drum set
with the notes on his saxophone.
sa Using a metronome, he
practices creating a “diaologue” with a limited set of notes
while focusing strictly on rhythm. After getting used to
creating various rhythms easily, Seamus then adds more notes
to his lines and begins creating intricate rhythmic motifs.

Seamus also explains that one must practice playing over

various tempos so that you do not get used to a limited range
of tempos. Practicing over a wide range of tempos will allow
you to create rhythmic motifs easily regardless of speed.
Furthermore, Seamus points out that one should aim at
becoming comfortable with triplets because they are the
underlying “feel” of jazz music. Lastly, just as you might
carry a harmonic idea through a phrase, Seamus suggests
practicing carrying rhythmic ideas through a phrase and
ending them similarily to how
h a chordal cadence unfolds.
Elite Music Mentor
 Thinking & Playing Like a Drummer Ch. 6, pg.55

The Art of
Crafting Your
Time Feel Vol 1
THINKING & PLAYING LIKE
A DRUMMER

• Demonstration of imagining playing with 2 toms

• Forcing yourself ot think rhythmically and really

improvising

No transcriptions for this section.

Elite Music Mentor

 Thinking and Playing Like a Drummer - Homework Ch. 6, pg.56

The Art of
Crafting Your
Time Feel Vol 1
THINKING & PLAYING LIKE
A DRUMMER

• Take 1-3 notes and create different rhythms with them

• Try to really improvise - imagine you are playing with

2 toms on a drum set

• Using the next page, write out some rhythmic ideas that
you may want to use in your soloing

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 Thinking & Playing Like a Drummer - Homework Ch. 6, pg.57

Thinking & Playing Like a Drummer - Create

Elite Music Mentor

 Get Comfortable with Different Tempos Ch. 6, pg.58

The Art of
Crafting Your
Time Feel Vol 1
GET COMFORTABLE WITH
DIFFERENT TEMPOS

• Don’t get used to playing over just one tempo

• Practice over different meters and rhythmic feels as well

• Use a metronome as well as backing tracks

No transcriptions for this section.

Elite Music Mentor

 Get Comfortable with Different Tempos Ch. 6, pg.59

The Art of
Crafting Your
Time Feel Vol 1
GET COMFORTABLE WITH
DIFFERENT TEMPOS

• Practice your rhythms that you created in the previous

section over different tempos, very slow to very fast

• Practice your rhythms over different meters and rhythmic

feels as well

• Use a metronome as well as backing tracks

ASK YOUR MENTOR

Interact with other users on the website and ask questions!

Our mentors will answer all your questions and help you
through your musical journey. The best student will be
selected each month to recieve one free masterclass of
their choice.

Elite Music Mentor

 Singing Out the Rhythm Ch. 6, pg.60

The Art of
Crafting Your
Time Feel Vol 1
SINGING OUT THE RHYTHM

• Sing rhythms and imagine you are the drummer

• Without the limitations imposed by your instrument,

it should be easier to vocalize rhythms in varying degrees
of complexity

No transcriptions for this section.

Elite Music Mentor

 Sing Out the Rhythm - Homework Ch. 6, pg.61

The Art of
Crafting Your
Time Feel Vol 1
SING OUT THE RHYTHM

• Using the next page, transcribe yourself singing rhythmic

phrases that you’d like to get under your fingers on your
instrument

• Practice these phrases over various tempos and rhythmic

feels

ASK YOUR MENTOR

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through your musical journey. The best student will be
selected each month to recieve one free masterclass of
their choice.

Elite Music Mentor

 Singing Out the Rhythm - Homework Ch. 6, pg.62

Singing Out the Rhythm - Create

Elite Music Mentor

 Rhythm Visualization & Motivic Playing Ch. 6, pg.63

The Art of
Crafting Your
Time Feel Vol 1
RHYTHM VISUALIZATION &
MOTIVIC PLAYING

• Get Drum Books so you can see rhythms written out

• Demonstration of using small rhythmic motives

No transcriptions for this subchapter.

Elite Music Mentor

 Rhythm Visualization & Motivic Playing - Homework Ch. 6, pg.64

The Art of
Crafting Your
Time Feel Vol 1
RHYTHM VISUALIZATION &
MOTIVIC PLAYING

• Search for a drum book or online resource which

illustrates several interesting rhyhthms via notation

• Practice these rhythms and begin integrating them in

your soloing vocabulary

ASK YOUR MENTOR

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Our mentors will answer all your questions and help you
through your musical journey. The best student will be
selected each month to recieve one free masterclass of
their choice.

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 Developing a Solid 8th Note Feel Ch. 6, pg.65

The Art of
Crafting Your
Time Feel Vol 1
DEVELOPING A SOLID 8th
NOTE FEEL

• Be able to have a steady moving line with 8th notes

• Demonstration of 8th note lines with good time feel

• Play with metronome or different rhythm tracks

Refer to the next section for transcriptions.

Elite Music Mentor

 Developing a Solid 8th Note Feel - Transcriptions Ch. 6, pg.66

Developing a Solid 8th Note Feel - Transcriptions

Elite Music Mentor

 Developing a Solid 8th Note Feel - Homework Ch. 6, pg.67

The Art of
Crafting Your
Time Feel Vol 1
DEVELOPING A SOLID 8th
NOTE FEEL

• Choose a standard in your repertoire and practice

creating a steady stream of 8th note lines with an even
swing feel

• Practice witha metronome or over a rhythm track

• Repeat this process for different rhythmic feels (latin,

Afro-cuban, straight-8ths, etc.)

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selected each month to recieve one free masterclass of
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 8th Note Feel at a Faster Tempo Ch. 6, pg.68

The Art of
Crafting Your
Time Feel Vol 1
8th NOTE FEEL AT A FASTER TEMPO

• Demonstration of steady 8th note lines over a

faster tempo

Refer to the next section for transcriptions.

Elite Music Mentor

 8th Note Feel at a Faster Tempo - Transcriptions Ch. 6, pg.69

8th Note Feel at a Faster Tempo - Transcriptions

Elite Music Mentor

 8th Note Feel at a Faster Tempo - Homework Ch. 6, pg.70

The Art of
Crafting Your
Time Feel Vol 1
8th NOTE FEEL AT A FASTER TEMPO

• Continue your homework from the previous subchapter

but do so over faster tempos

• Push yourself over your limits, try to hear your lines faster
and learn to feel the stream of 8th notes at these tempos

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selected each month to recieve one free masterclass of
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 Developing Triplet Feel Over 6/8 Ch. 6, pg.71

The Art of
Crafting Your
Time Feel Vol 1
DEVELOPING TRIPLET FEEL
OVER 6/8

• The underlying feel of jazz is triplet

• Demonstration of triplet feel over “There Will Never be

Another You” changes

• Have control over the form

• Create tension near the end of the chorus and release

on one

• Cadencing with your rhythms

Refer to the next section for transcriptions.

Elite Music Mentor

 Developing Triplet Feel Over 6/8 - Transcriptions Ch. 6, pg.72

Developing Triplet Feel Over 6/8 - Transcriptions I

Elite Music Mentor

 Developing Triplet Feel Over 6/8 - Transcriptions Ch. 6, pg.73

Developing Triplet Feel Over 6/8 - Transcriptions II

Elite Music Mentor

 Developing Triplet Feel Over 6/8 - Homework Ch. 6, pg.74

The Art of
Crafting Your
Time Feel Vol 1
DEVELOPING TRIPLET FEEL
OVER 6/8

• Continue your homework from the previous subchapter

but do so latin and Afro-Cuban rhythms specifically

• Improving your triplet feel will also improve your swing

feel in general

ASK YOUR MENTOR

Interact with other users on the website and ask questions!

Our mentors will answer all your questions and help you
through your musical journey. The best student will be
selected each month to recieve one free masterclass of
their choice.

Elite Music Mentor