I’m not a drummer. Just a Led Zeppelin fan. The more I listen and learn about John Bonham, the more I understand why they felt like they had to part after he died.
Not to mention how tight Bonham was live with the band when they were essentially a heavy metal jazz band on stage, improv and free spirited with a heavy sound, yet still structurally together, thanks to Bonham and Jones. Somewhere there's an 80s interview with Page where he better explains what Zep was live vs studio, and how Bonham was an irreplaceable part of their sound/structure, just like the other 3.
they could have hired carmine appice and they wouldn't have skipped a beat (pun intended). but realistically, plant's ability to belt out their early stuff had completely disappeared, disappointing thousands of their fans at live shows. so in retrospect, I for one am glad they spared us of that train wreck🙄
@@ultrakool I respectfully disagree. As incredible a drummer Carmine Appice is, it still would not have been remotely the same. It's not a knock on Appice, more a testament to how irreplaceable John Bonham was. No one sounded like Bonzo. There are plenty of heavy hitters, but there was so much more than just power to Bonham's playing: nuance, swing, and an uncanny musician's ear all come to mind. I do agree that Led Zeppelin was a shell of their former glory in 1980, however. Various indulgences and tragedies had all taken their toll, and it was showing. Could they have come back from that and regained their previous swagger? Absolutely - they just never got the chance to, unfortunately.
I’m a by-ear player with no real formal training. And your teaching/breakdown on this is some of the best I’ve ever seen. The way you explain things/counts/poly rhythm feels is awesome. And your kit sounds great in the video as well. Thank you.
Yes me as well - he breaks it down in a most excellent manner. I can read a bit of sheet music but prefer to play without that - I seem to overthink it with charts.
Just to say that I always watch your vídeos and your teaching is the ultimate demonstration of mastery in how to learn and play the drumset!!!! Thanks for your precious time to share with us your wisdom!!!! (JR-PORTUGAL)
Wow - great breakdown of the groove and thanks for flagging the Bernard / Steely Dan references. I’d happily pay a subscription for this kind of Led Zep song breakdown content - you’re easily the best source of Bonzo knowledge on YT. You need to get full song / live performance versions behind a paywall. Listening to your entire set videos is so inspiring. Cheers
I have struggled to work out how to get that feel for ever. Somehow, you playing just the hat and kick pattern made it all make sense and unlocked this groove for me. Thank you so much 🙌
You are a very good man sharing your knowledge George.Alot of us watching are self taught and could not figure a lot of this out.we spent hrs. Among hrs. Working on stuff like this b4 the days of utube.when I watch you put it together WALA!!! something just clicks.Utube along with you have taken a lot of us guys to a different level.Thank you sir,this old dog is still learning new tricks at 65 years old.!!!
Love the video. Love the groove. Been trying to unlock the pattern and roll with it. Your insight and explanation is great. The polyrhythm explanation is spot on. Confuses me but makes me want to keep trying to nail it. I am getting closer. Thanks for your time and attention to detail.
2nd of your videos I've viewed. You really have a way of breaking down these beats. That's an amazing talent beyond your mastery of the kit, itself. Thanks so much for creating this post.
For me Bonzo was the best combination of a tight pocket with a very loose feeling,he played for the song,quite smooth to my ears.His drums tracks were like songs themselves...I think that his high hat foot get's overlooked,it adds a sonic layer,it adds that "sicka sicka sicka" highhat thing in the backround.Between that and the ghost notes,it creates a full l and layered sound,it flows nicely.
The Crunge has it's odd complexities as well and hi-hat feel, especially the smooth transition Bonham implements from 4/4 back over to 9/8 and 5/8. He does it so perfectly that to an ordinary musician.... they'd never pick up on the fact that Bonham/Zep are alternating between 3 different time signatures within same song...... that is until you 1st try playing that ingenious nightmare.😅
The best explanation and breakdown of this beat that I've ever seen. Excellent teaching! I actually feel like I could possibly master this one day! Thanks!
great breakdown of some grooves many drummers have problems getting down. i actually learned the whole shuffle years ago by emulating just the ride/bell part with the same kick/snare pattern, then incorporating my hands gradually. once i had it down nothing could have felt more natural. it's actually not a hard thing to do, it's just a hard thing to do right --and to understand what's going on. it's daunting, but like i said, once you nail it, it's nailed. and you find yourself dropping it in to your playing in various ways (at least i do). nice work, man.
Hi, I’m sitting here still trying hard to learn each piece to Fool in the rain and I find it makes things easier when I watch and listen to you. I have a long way to go because I’m still working on separating my right hand from my right foot which is ahhh real important when you want to be a drummer. I would rate myself as not all that great but I’m bound and determined to learn this even if I have to sound proof part of the house so I don’t drive other people crazy. I can feel it and hear it clearly but struggle so much. I wanted to tell you that there are a lot of teachers that explain this wonderful groove but you have a special way about how you go about it. Thank you for taking your time to teach. You are an awesome drummer. Blessings, Brian
Thanks!!! For this break down on Bonham's shuffle. I really like the way you broke it down and splained (LOL!!) The timing. Thanks again!! Great video and information!!
Holy shit Batman. Im a drummer from way back Bonham being my top drummer. This is the absolute best Bonham playing ive ever heard from any drummer ever. Im shocked to say the lease. Honestly if the drumming world heard what i just heard you'd have a million subscribers. 😮
A big thank you for your time and sharing your knowledge. I think it's really awesome what you & Terry are contributing to the drummer community. Uniting drum caves around the world, cheers from Jason Mills in New Zealand.
Great job breaking this down. I have always thought it was a really difficult thing happening with the left hand in terms of ghost notes but it looks like the hi hat does most of the work..very helpful-Thanks!
you are so calm and rock steady in your instructional approach. unlike the manic lunacy of bonzoleum and I appreciate that. if I wanted all of that crazy banter I'd just record myself😂
You’re a good teacher , young squire ! Grand olde sound. I shall tune in to your tutorials more frequently. I’m on old fart from Ireland living in Hungary locked down by this Corona shite !
Masterful! You covered everything to do with this groove in one take just like that. Great video! I like that you reference Bernard Purdie and talked about the origin of the beat. You can really tell that Bonham listened to the great drummers. You can definitely hear the Max Roach influence in his playing too. Well, I can certainly hear it. If you listen to For Big Sid on Drums Unlimited you can hear where a lot of Banhams ideas for fills came from. Am I right or what?
Absolutely. What many people call the Bonham sweep is very similar to the main them of Big Sid, and from the same album (Drums Unlimited) Bonzo borrowed his Drum Also Waltzes motif to often start his Moby Dick solo .
Só tenho que agradecer pelo trabalho que desenvolve com muito carinho em cima da obra do mestre Bonham!!! E o SAMBA hein....esse cara foi achar um ritmo brasileiro pra usar!! Muito legal!!!
You are an easy to follow teacher. You have to be a good drummer to do this as easy as you make it seem. I really enjoy and appreciate your time and help. I am definitely a better drummer because of you. Thank you so very much.......by the way. your snare drum is incredible......in fact your whole set up is very nice..
Great job! I played drums in zep tribute band for a while, I was blown away By Bonham’s playing once I started really studying it. As you said, he swings and there is a lilt despite the fact he hits so hard.
Brand new to drums, just got my first electric kit to learn on. This was the song I always had In the back of my mind that I wanted to get down. I have spent over an hour just to get the timing down on the 4 bass pedal notes while keeping the high hat shuffle rhythm going. I can’t even worry about the ghost snare notes or opening the high hat yet.Tough work for a beginner, I know you have to smart small but also aim high.
I'm 3 years late to the party, but your explanation and breakdown are truly excellent George. Your video gives me hope and full confidence with practice I can conquer this song. Thank you sir!🥁👍 Just subbed.
I had recently learned the basic groove of Rosanna - I had the feeling down then actually got off track by watching too many videos by too many different drummers ! LOL - I can use sheet music as a basic guide but can't use them to get a feel - I have to actually hear it in my head to play it. The sheet music people threw me off LOL - now this groove is really easy especially the way you presented it.. now I can play Fool in the Rain - thanks so much for your very informative presentation.
Amazing George, you are the Maestro! Really appreciate the breakdown of each of the separate parts, (snare, bass drum, hats), as well as the playing. The lesson turned what seemed like a more complicated groove into something where I said, "Hey, I might actually be able to do some of that!" Thanks again & rock on!
Closest to Bonham that I’ve heard. Great tutorial!
Thank you!
That Snare Drum sounds AMAZING!!!
A lot of reverb on it through the mic.
Agreed!
@@markd3023 probably a Supraphonic made from Zinc.
@ I'm thinking supraphonic too.
It's a thicker snare than what you hear from other drummers like 8 inch verses 6 inch
I’m not a drummer. Just a Led Zeppelin fan. The more I listen and learn about John Bonham, the more I understand why they felt like they had to part after he died.
Im a drummer John Bonham in my honest opinion, will never be betterered by anyone...what he did.. im still flabbergasted.
mac the drummer no one will ever get his sound, or even get close to it! The best drummer and had the best sound that will ever be🖤
Not to mention how tight Bonham was live with the band when they were essentially a heavy metal jazz band on stage, improv and free spirited with a heavy sound, yet still structurally together, thanks to Bonham and Jones. Somewhere there's an 80s interview with Page where he better explains what Zep was live vs studio, and how Bonham was an irreplaceable part of their sound/structure, just like the other 3.
they could have hired carmine appice and they wouldn't have skipped a beat (pun intended). but realistically, plant's ability to belt out their early stuff had completely disappeared, disappointing thousands of their fans at live shows. so in retrospect, I for one am glad they spared us of that train wreck🙄
@@ultrakool I respectfully disagree. As incredible a drummer Carmine Appice is, it still would not have been remotely the same. It's not a knock on Appice, more a testament to how irreplaceable John Bonham was. No one sounded like Bonzo. There are plenty of heavy hitters, but there was so much more than just power to Bonham's playing: nuance, swing, and an uncanny musician's ear all come to mind.
I do agree that Led Zeppelin was a shell of their former glory in 1980, however. Various indulgences and tragedies had all taken their toll, and it was showing. Could they have come back from that and regained their previous swagger? Absolutely - they just never got the chance to, unfortunately.
There’s so much to unpack in this video that a player could practice on these concepts for ages. Thank you for putting this out there!
snare sounds exactly like bonham's
also one of the best bonham play a likes I've seen....and I've seen ALOT lol
One of the best explanations of this tune on utube. Thanks for this!! Nice giving Bernard his due credit! Bonzo was magical behind the kit.
Thanks very much!
Bonham is the best rock drummer of all time
Man, that snare sounds amazing
I’m a by-ear player with no real formal training. And your teaching/breakdown on this is some of the best I’ve ever seen. The way you explain things/counts/poly rhythm feels is awesome. And your kit sounds great in the video as well. Thank you.
Really appreciate that Jason, thank you!
Absolutely...
Yes me as well - he breaks it down in a most excellent manner. I can read a bit of sheet music but prefer to play without that - I seem to overthink it with charts.
Fantastic break down my man... and that snare drum 🥁 wow what a killer tone !!
Thank you Steve
20:33 - 20:35 Pure Gold.
bonzoleum hi is the friends
Dude really his hi hat is so off
So off on the hi hat
I have FINALLY broken through whatever barriers were in place and I can now play this shuffle! Thank you George (and Terry!) for your videos!
Awesome!!
Best breakdown of the beat I have seen. Never loses the feel
That snare is otherworldly! Great sounding kit and cymbals!
Thanks!
Always loved Bonhams playing on this song and like you mentioned just shows how versatile his playing was.
Just to say that I always watch your vídeos and your teaching is the ultimate demonstration of mastery in how to learn and play the drumset!!!! Thanks for your precious time to share with us your wisdom!!!! (JR-PORTUGAL)
great lesson
Thanks for a great breakdown and explanation George. You have got me close to playing a song I struggled with until now. Brilliant! Thanks again
Wow - great breakdown of the groove and thanks for flagging the Bernard / Steely Dan references. I’d happily pay a subscription for this kind of Led Zep song breakdown content - you’re easily the best source of Bonzo knowledge on YT. You need to get full song / live performance versions behind a paywall. Listening to your entire set videos is so inspiring. Cheers
I have struggled to work out how to get that feel for ever. Somehow, you playing just the hat and kick pattern made it all make sense and unlocked this groove for me. Thank you so much 🙌
I'm very glad to hear that! Thank you!
Great stuff man.Thanks so much for taking time out to make and post this, much appreciated.
Great attention to all the Bonham nuances!
You are a very good man sharing your knowledge George.Alot of us watching are self taught and could not figure a lot of this out.we spent hrs. Among hrs. Working on stuff like this b4 the days of utube.when I watch you put it together WALA!!! something just clicks.Utube along with you have taken a lot of us guys to a different level.Thank you sir,this old dog is still learning new tricks at 65 years old.!!!
Truly appreciate your level of detail been trying to get that Bernard shuffle for a while. Great break down And explanation…
Thanks!
Thank you so much, I greatly appreciate your time and effort, and I've learned a lot. Thanks and Blessings!
Best breakdown I've see of this so far
Thankyou George great lesson as usual
Very welcome
Love the video. Love the groove. Been trying to unlock the pattern and roll with it. Your insight and explanation is great. The polyrhythm explanation is spot on. Confuses me but makes me want to keep trying to nail it. I am getting closer. Thanks for your time and attention to detail.
2nd of your videos I've viewed. You really have a way of breaking down these beats. That's an amazing talent beyond your mastery of the kit, itself. Thanks so much for creating this post.
Fool in the Rain is the most challenging of
all Bonzo beats to play correctly IMO.
For me Bonzo was the best combination of a tight pocket with a very loose feeling,he played for the song,quite smooth to my ears.His drums tracks were like songs themselves...I think that his high hat foot get's overlooked,it adds a sonic layer,it adds that "sicka sicka sicka" highhat thing in the backround.Between that and the ghost notes,it creates a full l and layered sound,it flows nicely.
The Crunge has it's odd complexities as well and hi-hat feel, especially the smooth transition Bonham implements from 4/4 back over to 9/8 and 5/8. He does it so perfectly that to an ordinary musician.... they'd never pick up on the fact that Bonham/Zep are alternating between 3 different time signatures within same song...... that is until you 1st try playing that ingenious nightmare.😅
Very explanatory. Thanks for the tuition. Much appreciated.
you are great teacher. Great ability to break down every single pieces of that Iconic beat.
Thank you, appreciate it
The best explanation and breakdown of this beat that I've ever seen. Excellent teaching! I actually feel like I could possibly master this one day! Thanks!
@@TheCollectorCave Thanks
great breakdown of some grooves many drummers have problems getting down. i actually learned the whole shuffle years ago by emulating just the ride/bell part with the same kick/snare pattern, then incorporating my hands gradually. once i had it down nothing could have felt more natural. it's actually not a hard thing to do, it's just a hard thing to do right --and to understand what's going on. it's daunting, but like i said, once you nail it, it's nailed. and you find yourself dropping it in to your playing in various ways (at least i do). nice work, man.
Honestly this was the best version of the breakdown I’ve seen thus far 💯💯💯
Thanks
I really enjoy your videos! Thank you for all the time you put into your research and sharing your knowledge.
great break down and easier to follow and sounding brilliant .thanks for posting
That's the Bernard "Pretty" Purdie shuffle. Well done. Loved the Steely Dan songs he played on.
Hi, I’m sitting here still trying hard to learn each piece to Fool in the rain and I find it makes things easier when I watch and listen to you. I have a long way to go because I’m still working on separating my right hand from my right foot which is ahhh real important when you want to be a drummer. I would rate myself as not all that great but I’m bound and determined to learn this even if I have to sound proof part of the house so I don’t drive other people crazy. I can feel it and hear it clearly but struggle so much. I wanted to tell you that there are a lot of teachers that explain this wonderful groove but you have a special way about how you go about it. Thank you for taking your time to teach. You are an awesome drummer.
Blessings,
Brian
Cheers, thank you!
Great breakdown of these beats my brother! Thank you!
Thanks!!! For this break down on Bonham's shuffle. I really like the way you broke it down and splained (LOL!!) The timing. Thanks again!! Great video and information!!
Great playing 👍🇬🇧 are you at work there..
Perfect video. Congrats and thanks for sharing all those thoughts and playing
Holy shit Batman. Im a drummer from way back Bonham being my top drummer. This is the absolute best Bonham playing ive ever heard from any drummer ever. Im shocked to say the lease. Honestly if the drumming world heard what i just heard you'd have a million subscribers. 😮
You're a great teacher. Can't wait to practice this when I get home. It's probably my all time favorite beat.
Very nice demonstration and break down thanks!
Excellent vid man, thanks so much.
*_Thanks, that is, without doubt, the clearest breakdown I've ever heard for Bonham's famous shuffle._* 👀👍
Glad you dug it!
A big thank you for your time and sharing your knowledge. I think it's really awesome what you & Terry are contributing to the drummer community. Uniting drum caves around the world, cheers from Jason Mills in New Zealand.
Thank you!!
Great explanation and demonstration - best I’ve seen. Recently subscribed, love the videos. Working my way through them.
you are a very very good drummer and a very good teacher....keep up the videos!!
Love it brother. Love the history lesson also. Good stuff.
A fantastic overall drum sound you’ve got there! Sounds awesome
Love the ghost notes on your leg. Awesome vid!!
Inspiring breakdown, how Baker said "you don't swing" is beyond me, Bonham was exceptional.
Nice work thank u for sharing
Great job breaking this down. I have always thought it was a really difficult thing happening with the left hand in terms of ghost notes but it looks like the hi hat does most of the work..very helpful-Thanks!
The soft hi hats combined with the powerful snare and bass drum make a wonderful combination.
Bonzo reincarnated right here...spot on my friend!! good job
The most coolest explanation! Thanks alot!
Wow that snare sounds just like the record! You have a great ear for tuning
Thanks for sharing Master from caracas venezuela...genial groove shuffle...excellent demostration
you are so calm and rock steady in your instructional approach. unlike the manic lunacy of bonzoleum and I appreciate that. if I wanted all of that crazy banter I'd just record myself😂
I was literally just searching your account for a fool in the rain video like 10 minuets ago, thank you!
Perfect timing!
Meticulously done. Thank you for your patient guidance.
Incredible sound! Great teaching too...
Excellent breakdown and analysis
You’re a good teacher , young squire !
Grand olde sound.
I shall tune in to your tutorials more frequently. I’m on old fart from Ireland living in Hungary locked down by this Corona shite !
Masterful! You covered everything to do with this groove in one take just like that. Great video! I like that you reference Bernard Purdie and talked about the origin of the beat. You can really tell that Bonham listened to the great drummers. You can definitely hear the Max Roach influence in his playing too. Well, I can certainly hear it. If you listen to For Big Sid on Drums Unlimited you can hear where a lot of Banhams ideas for fills came from. Am I right or what?
Absolutely. What many people call the Bonham sweep is very similar to the main them of Big Sid, and from the same album (Drums Unlimited) Bonzo borrowed his Drum Also Waltzes motif to often start his Moby Dick solo .
Thanks Alan!!
Im sitting here at 6:30am and i can hardly stop myself from getting on the kit. This is taking some serious willpower and is making me physically ill😂
@@TCS_Aquatics 😂😂
@@TCS_Aquatics haha man i do the same thing.
George....great lesson! You’re an awesome teacher! Send my regards to my buddy Terry!
Só tenho que agradecer pelo trabalho que desenvolve com muito carinho em cima da obra do mestre Bonham!!!
E o SAMBA hein....esse cara foi achar um ritmo brasileiro pra usar!! Muito legal!!!
Moito obrigado!
@@BONHAMOLOGY Muito obrigado.. hahaha
@@gilautogil Oops!! 😬
Great instructional video, Thank You. I found you through Terry and its great.
Westy
Cheers George. Amazing! Something else to work on.
Your such a pro, great breakdown and spot on feel to groove.
Wow, that is spot on! Hit the gong!
You are an easy to follow teacher. You have to be a good drummer to do this as easy as you make it seem. I really enjoy and appreciate your time and help. I am definitely a better drummer because of you. Thank you so very much.......by the way. your snare drum is incredible......in fact your whole set up is very nice..
Very kind of you! Thanks.
Great job! I played drums in zep tribute band for a while, I was blown away By Bonham’s playing once I started really studying it. As you said, he swings and there is a lilt despite the fact he hits so hard.
@@markgriskey 👍🏻👍🏻🙏🏻
Brand new to drums, just got my first electric kit to learn on. This was the song I always had In the back of my mind that I wanted to get down.
I have spent over an hour just to get the timing down on the 4 bass pedal notes while keeping the high hat shuffle rhythm going. I can’t even worry about the ghost snare notes or opening the high hat yet.Tough work for a beginner, I know you have to smart small but also aim high.
Im going to put you through a PA over here in little old adelaide Australia, and jam with you lol. Great work indeed ! 😉
Really great video !! This helps break this down a lot thanks !! 👍👏👏👏🥁
I'm 3 years late to the party, but your explanation and breakdown are truly excellent George. Your video gives me hope and full confidence with practice I can conquer this song. Thank you sir!🥁👍 Just subbed.
Thank you, Paul
I had recently learned the basic groove of Rosanna - I had the feeling down then actually got off track by watching too many videos by too many different drummers ! LOL - I can use sheet music as a basic guide but can't use them to get a feel - I have to actually hear it in my head to play it. The sheet music people threw me off LOL - now this groove is really easy especially the way you presented it.. now I can play Fool in the Rain - thanks so much for your very informative presentation.
Could u please tell me the size of your drums wide and deep please thank you Ed U are great 👍
Can’t wait to work this out in my basement. Wait...we’re all doing this in our basements! Ha!
not me, I jam right in my living room. That green Bonham centennial kit is one of my kits.
Well done. Thank you.
Excellent
Amazing George, you are the Maestro! Really appreciate the breakdown of each of the separate parts, (snare, bass drum, hats), as well as the playing. The lesson turned what seemed like a more complicated groove into something where I said, "Hey, I might actually be able to do some of that!" Thanks again & rock on!
Thanks , that's what I hope to achieve with these videos!
Your right on the money.......excellent, sounds so simple, till you try and play it.
Sounds great! Thank you!
Fantastic instructional video! Thank you!
Please do keep us updated. Really like the time keeping. Stay 15 inch high hat
Your playing is impeccable
Fantastic breakdown of one of Bonham's trickier tunes!
This sounds like the iso drum track! Great job!
What a great lesson thank you very much and your sound is killer !!
Awesome thank you
Cheers George the hi hat pattern always mess me up & wasn’t explain as well as you did it finally it all started to gel
Im teaching my self to play drums and this beat is pretty much my end goal haha, ive been playing for 7 months but im getting closer
Dude, your snare drum sounds incredible. . !!
Killer snare sound!