This week we’re going off beat.

Watch Groove Of The Week #74 on Instagram

Groove of the week #74 shifts us totally away from playing the snare drum on the backbeat. Our first snare drum appears just a little early on the “ah” of 1 and the second snare drum turns up late on the “&” of 4. Add to that some 16th note bass drums and you’ve got one messed up groove that some how works!

Get The Groove

Let’s start this week’s groove by looking at just the hands.

For this groove we’re playing the usual 8th note hi-hat pattern, but the snare drum appears on the “ah” of 1 and the “&” of 4. You may need a little time to get used the spacing of the snare drum notes if you’re used to playing on beats 2 and 4 all the time.

Now lets bring in the bass drum pattern.

The bass drum provides a nice solid start to this groove and anchors it by playing on beat one. Then it gets funky by playing in between the hi-hat on the “e” and “ah” of 3 and the “e” of 4. Count and go slow as you practice this – pay attention to your bass drum placement.

The finishing touch to this groove is an open hi-hat on beat 1 and the “&” of 1. Note that I’m closing the hi-hat together with the snare drum. You can try closing it on the “&” of 1 or on beat 2, but it sounded best to me closing on together with the snare drum.

Taking It Further

It’s not every day you get to play a groove with no back beat. Let’s explore this snare drum placement further. Here’s some more ideas with this snare drum pattern. Add open hi-hats to taste.

Try those three variations and then think of some of your own.

I hope you’ve enjoyed groove of the week #74. If you’re in Singapore and you’d like a free trial drum lesson, send us a message via the contact us page.