Here’s Groove of the Week #1:
It’s the first beat most people learn to play when they start playing drums. It’s been used in some of the biggest songs of all time such as Another One Bites The Dust, Billy Jean, Like a Virgin, Back in Black, Manic Monday, Raspberry Beret and many many more. This is groove deserves a lot of attention for that reason. Can you make it feel as good as the drummers on those songs could? The intro to Billy Jean is easily recognizable and instantly makes you want to dance.
Spend time with the beat and make it sound as good as you can. Make sure there are no flams between the hi-hat and bass drum or hi-hat and snare drum. Check you volumes… how loud is your hi-hat? Does it seem annoyingly loud? Is it overpowering the snare and bass? It shouldn’t, but a lot of beginners will play it that way.
Experiment with where and how you hit the hi-hat. Use the tip or the shoulder of the stick to get different sounds from your hi-hat. Try playing on the ride cymbal or crash instead. Experiment with getting different sounds from the those cymbals by playing on the edge, the body or on the bell. Practice the groove by playing it with rim shots or rim clicks.
Don’t forget to work with a metronome at different tempos, can you make it feel good at 60, 80, 100, 120, 140 & 160bpm? How’s your note spacing at 60bpm? Are you tensing up at 160bpm? Keep those hands relaxed. Get working on it!
If you’re in Singapore and you’d like a free trial drum lesson, contact us via the contact us page and we’ll arrange one for you.