Session Playing Impromptu Charting Sight Reading Kenny Aronoff Hears Yes For The First Time
Step inside the mind of Kenny Aronoff as he takes on “Changes” by Yes. Watch him hear the song for the first time and dive straight into playing along. How does he craft a drum part on the spot? Hit play to watch the full process. Meet Kenny Aronoff—the hard-hitting drummer behind some of rock’s biggest hits. His grooves powered tracks like ‘Jack & Diane,’ ‘Blaze of Glory,’ and many more. He’s played drums for legends like John Mellencamp, Jon Bon Jovi, John Fogerty, and countless other artists.
Transcript
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the fans are going to love this or
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they're going to hate
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me how could he do
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that I can't memorize this stuff we'd be
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here for a week I could rehearse this
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but I don't want to record this 1 2 3 4
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5 6 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
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bam
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hell all right
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Kenny the time has come bring it on baby
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doll how how are you feeling I feel
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great man I had some sushi I feel
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protein up perfect so for anyone who
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isn't familiar with your playing I'm
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sure they've heard you on the radio
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somewhere but maybe just explain to
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everyone watching uh a few of the
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artists and bands that you've worked
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with over the years well live and
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recording I did 17 years with John melan
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cam 10 albums then I went over to Bob
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Seager for a tour and I did a couple of
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his albums then I went to John fog from
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que Clear Water Joe Cocker record toured
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with him for 10 years Melissa e had
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toured with her 10 years she brand I did
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two records with her Joe saani just did
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two of his records St Elon John Chris
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Cornell from Audio Slave a Springsteen
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Lady Gaga Bruno Mars chicken fot I did
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not record with them but I was in that
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band when Chad Smith had to go back to
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his day gig the highway which is Johnny
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Cash Willam Nelson Chris gson Wayan
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Jennings I've played with Little Richard
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BB King in the R&B World Buddy Guy did
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an album with Glenn Hughes and Tony iomi
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from Sabbath I've done Alice Cooper I
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toured with the Smashing Pumpkins the
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Ador tour over 300 million records sold
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1,300 gold PL platinum diamond certified
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records and that's the tip of the
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iceberg the one and only Kenny arnov
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need need I say
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anymore yeah the rules are simple we're
Lesson Overview
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going to give you a song with the drums
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removed you have the freedom to do
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whatever you want with this song you can
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make a chart you can do as many takes as
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you want and kind of build on what
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you've done and at the end of the video
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we'll play you the original with the
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drums in so I came prepared nobody's
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done this I don't think I think whatever
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you play me I'm going to use brushes
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just get ready for for that muga yeah
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you could put this with anything so uh
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you learn songs and charts all the time
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we had to dig deep to try to find some
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stuff that you probably wouldn't know
First Listen
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here we
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[Music]
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go oh yeah I know that one I recorded on
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that
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[Music]
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[Music]
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one great
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song do you know it no I don't no one
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else to
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blame reminds the beginning is very
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orchestral reminds me of when I did
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orchestral
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[Music]
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music the chorusing sounds so familiar
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I'm sure when I tell you what band and
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what record this is from you'll know it
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all right so give me the uh I'll put it
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in my computer and I'll start doing my
Kenny's Approach
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chart thing I think you were just saying
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the other day when you're on a gig with
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Sammy Hagar you have 23 hours from the
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time you get the calls when you're
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playing you're used to charting out
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stuff and all different styles of music
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and um I'm assuming you have a method to
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do this uh quickly well I hope it's
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quickly I just go measure by measure
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once I figured out an intro with all the
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odd you know time then we get into the
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verse and the choruses they it starts to
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[Music]
Charting Process
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[Applause]
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[Music]
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repeat just see you know this is what I
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got so far 7878 38 you do that four
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times then it it keeps the same figure
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but more instruments are added and you
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do that four more times again until it
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gets to where we are you guys can go
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have some drinks I'll be here for a
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little
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while so right now Kenny's starting out
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the entire song and if you've never seen
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a drummer do this before you may be
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wondering what exactly he's writing out
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well you're in luck because we just
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launched a brand new course with Kenny
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arnoff called off the charts that will
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teach you how to quickly learn any song
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anytime you learn about note values bar
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counting how to write down any groover
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fill and ultimately learn from Kenny
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himself one of the most prolific session
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drummers of all time enrollment for the
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course is now open the link is down in
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the description and we'll see you inside
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the course okay we got three times
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finally we're out of the quagar so Kenny
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are you writing out like obviously
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you're not hearing the drums are you
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writing down what your drum part is
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going to be or just form with with the
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78 and 38 I'm writing the form I'm not
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writing the parts now I'm starting on
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the ver comes in I'm starting to write
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down what I'm going to play so I don't
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want to give it away cuz I'm bring I'm
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trying to figure out where the brush
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solo is but it's going to come in there
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one way can bring you out
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[Applause]
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[Music]
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changes hell you're changing Tempo
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you're changing ideas I could rehearse
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this but I don't want to record this I
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got to practice it
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so we got
First Take
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[Music]
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here I might leave the first verse open
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to just kind of you know introduction of
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the verse Let It Just Vibe out
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[Music]
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then I'm thinking the second verse you
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know like maybe do a cross stick you
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[Music]
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know GI of
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pretending as if you didn't care
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[Applause]
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[Music]
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so first take oh that's that's not
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even a take this is called blocking it
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out with no it's just getting through
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the song man the transitions are insane
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what I I can typically do is get from
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the beginning to the end even with
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making some mistakes in the first pass
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then the next time it's like I get it
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locked in the next time I locked in and
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then also now I can perform I can't
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memorize this stuff we'd be here for a
Second Take
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[Music]
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week put yourself to the
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ground capiz on this good
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for can bring you around
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[Music]
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ches I assume this isn't uh typically
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what you're playing this is not
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typically what I'm playing I've had
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stuff where you know you're doing
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something seven or you're doing
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something halftime but this is
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definitely like in the hardcore yes mode
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yeah you want to try this from the top
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again or oh this has got to be way
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different than what whoever did this
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right you're
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correct I love your version dude this is
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awesome well M more like meat and
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potatoes the fans are going to love this
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they are or they're going to hate me
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how could he do that okay here we go
Final Take
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could be the final with brushes
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[Music]
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y y
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[Music]
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I'm moving through some
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changes I'll never be the
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same something you did touch
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me there's no one else to
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blame love we has
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fall the love we used to
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share You' given up
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pretending as if you did
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[Music]
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change changing
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places put yourself to the
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ground capit Li on this Good Fortune one
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can bring you around
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[Applause]
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changeing I look into the
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mirror a SE a happiness
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all the world I gave
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you turned to
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emptiness the love we had is
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Fallen the love we used to
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share love me here believe
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it in love
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that change changing
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to the
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ground to the wise while you get what's
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coming can bring you around
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changes when I look into your
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eyes I'm trying to find out how there's
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no way to sa it now but everything I
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feel
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changes keep looking for
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changes
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[Music]
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[Applause]
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[Music]
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changes for the reason you're
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questioning why I always believe it gets
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better one difference between you and I
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your heart is inside
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your one word from you one word from me
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clear design on
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your who could believe when love is gone
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how we move on like everyone
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only such
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FS only such jealous
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Parts only through Love
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Changes change changing
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places put yourself to the
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ground capitalize on this Good
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Fortune work can bring you around
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change to
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H it's always the
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same one to
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Happ it's calling your
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name change changing
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plac yourself to the
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ground on this good for you what work
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can bring you around change it change
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pres CH put yourself to the
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ground to the wise where you get what's
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coming can bring you out
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[Music]
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changes dude that's gnarly takes a while
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to write a chart like that and to
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understand then to to own it and then to
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be able to go through sections and where
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the tempo changes
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right on the section I chose to go in
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the halftime and it's just slowed down
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the only way you can own that is to do
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it over and over and over again like if
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I came back here tomorrow the more I'd
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play this the more I'd start stretching
Listening To The Original
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out love it man we want to play you the
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original with the drums oh my God and
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tell you what this is it's got It's like
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yes it is yes oh okay yeah it's from
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90125 Allan White on drums the song is
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called changes those vocals I mean I
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just didn't want to say yes and say
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there was another band it sounded kind
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of like them and I was like came off
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like you know God you don't even know
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that band as soon as the vocals come in
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you know it's yes but I didn't want to
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commit you uh were you a big yes fan
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huge yes fan and Alan white and I were
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really good friends so we're going to
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we're going to play you the original
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here and I think you might be surprised
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you have no idea what this drum part is
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I have not a clue Perfect all right here
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it is from the top
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[Music]
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how was
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that was all on I think so no was kicked
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from to oh with kick yeah I think both
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hands on the snar oh
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[Music]
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wow
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oh I went
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[Music]
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yeah I saved the double time for
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[Music]
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[Applause]
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[Music]
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later so I did that before he do an
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afterwards we flipped it wow so I did
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that thing too wow first of all I love
Song Analysis
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it and and that sounds like alen white
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and it's I completely I see what he did
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and I agree with it it's just another
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version but he he would stay out of the
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accents where I play the accents with
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the bass a lot and that's a whole
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another philosophy and I've done that
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too you just drill you let the the band
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play the accents and you keep this
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Foundation the thing that was cool is
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that which I'm tickled at is it he was
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using cross stick in that second verse
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but he did it gut do I just went we both
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went for the cross stick and later on he
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went G and I just did it the first
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course he did it later on so it's kind
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of like that's cool man we all kind of
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sort of in the same po of musicality
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yeah a lot of a lot of similarities like
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all the rhythmic stuff you accentuated
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was there in his part too but cool to
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hear how it was in different places and
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there's that one fill I think at the end
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of chorus one the big kind of classic
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Tom fil which is cool in there too it's
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it's cool man the exercise is brilliant
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nice man and now you're ready for the
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yes gig killed it man thanks a lot for
Final Thoughts
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doing this oh I want to try one with
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brushes here we
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go only through
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changes change changing
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places yourself to the
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ground lies on this good
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for
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bring Kenny arnov did it he brought the
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brushes I told
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you learning a song on the drums is
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different from any other instrument
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you're not looking for keys and cords
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you need the kick snare and the high hat
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patterns drum fills simol crashes the
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temple the style and arrangement of the
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song you need to know how to start and
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end a song If you hesitate you'll throw
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off the entire
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band in off the charts with Kenny arof
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I'll show you how to create your own
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drum charts for popular songs you'll
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learn note values bar counting and how
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to write any drum beat you hear in any
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song but the end of the course you'll be
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able to scribble a guide to any song the
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cool thing is you'll be more confident
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performing live or in the studio a good
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chart lets you get into the music
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immediately it's your safety net one
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glance and you know exactly where you
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are in the song the these are the
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techniques I've used for over four
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decades to create thousands of charts
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for artists like John melam John fogy
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John bonjovi elt and John that's a lot
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of John's plus you'll get a book with
19:11
notation and blank staff paper so you
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can start making your own charts click
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the link to check out the full course
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and I'll see you inside the class
