Let’s get groovin’:
This week’s groove takes a simple groove and just spices it up with some 16th note triplets and some open hi-hats to create a two bar pattern. Let’s check it out.
Get The Groove
Let’s start by looking at the basic groove we’ll be messing around with:
This is a fairly basic groove that sounds great and has been used in a lot of songs. Now lets add some 16th note triplets to it.
I’ve add the triplets between beat one and the “&” of 1. I’ve elected to play these as single strokes so I could attack them and get some more volume into them. If I wanted them to be more subtle I might go with RLLR as a sticking.
I play the snare drum on beat 2 with the Right hand. I don’t play the hi-hat with it. I feel this lets the groove breathe more after the busy first beat. It also allows me to attack the snare drum and get a nice loud hit without having to rush my left hand down to it.
Now let’s add the open hi-hats.
On the first bar I added the open hi-hat on the “&” of 2. On the second bar I’ve added it on the “&” of 2 and the “&” of 3. This creates a nice two bar phrase & feels like a complete musical idea.
Taking It Further
To take this groove further, I suggest applying the 2 bar hi-hat pattern to some other grooves and seeing how that sounds. Here are a few examples for you:
Our first two variations are fairly straight forward. The first one just plays the bass drum on the “&” of 2 instead of the “&” of three. The second variation plays the bass drum on both of those beats.
The last variation plays a typical rock bass drum pattern, but now you have a bass drum coinciding with the left handed hi-hat on the “&” of 1. This may cause some problems. Take it slow and try to get them lined up.
Once you’ve mastered these variations, create some of your own. Also don’t forget to add in some fills to the second bar and make sure you get your hands back to the hi-hat in time to play those triplets. I suggest trying fills that end on the “&” of 4.
I hope you’ve enjoyed groove of the week #54. If you’re in Singapore and you’d like a free trial drum lesson, send us a message on the contact us page.