INCLUDES DRUM PARTS & ESSENTIAL
TEU Ue Pan sae ee DU Cd
ECT |EARS
DEVELOP YOUR GROOVE & PLAY
LIKE THE PROS IN ANY STYLE
by Ed FriedlandContents
Introduction.
Using the cD
Gettinga Drum Machine
(Chapter 1: Drum Machine Basics
Anatomy of a Deum Beat
Chapter 2: Groone Coney and Development
Internalizing Rhythm
On the One
Off da Hook
Of da Hook, Hip-Hop Style
Funkin’ Metronome
The Groove-Yard Shift
The Fat Factor
‘Chapter 3: The Stylistic Grooves
The Tramp Groove
‘The Singer Songwriter Groove
‘The Slow 12/8 Feel
‘The Fat Tire Groove
The Shufile
The Anticipated Backbeat
‘The James Brown Groove
“The Bo Diddley Beat
Rockin’ Rhumba
“The Fats Domino 12/8 Groove
Siow Blues
Pumpin’ Eighths
‘The Twist,
The Motown Beat
Rock Steady
‘The Disco Octave Lick
Bom Bom
“The Meters—New Orleans Funk
Soca
“The Finny Reed Groove
Vinny-Boom-Batz
‘The “Green Onions” Groove
Cajun
Zydeco
Go-Go
1
R
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19
2
2
28
29
35
35
40
2
3
46
“8
50
32
see(Chapter 4: The Pros Talk Groove
Phil Chen .
Harvey Brooks
Hutch Hutchinson
Victor Bailey.
Gary Grainger
Tack Casady
Chapter 5: Groove Metaphysics
OntheCD .....
‘Acknowledgments / Photo Credits
“About the Author «......
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101
in
03
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mINTRODUCTION
laying bas is a truly universal act. The bass function exists in music of al cul
tures, be it American rock, Bulgarian folksong, or Caribbean junkanoo, The
instrument performing the bas function may vary from one syle tothe next,
but the esence of the bas ole remains virtually unchanged—to supply the
harmonic foundation (low notes, usually the root of he chord), and to crete arhyth-
mi pale that defines the fe ofthe music (groove). While the bas function also involves
melodic considerations and subtiesike tone and microscopic time-flow adjustments
ifou play the right ow notesand you groove, you ae capable of being a bass player in
‘vrtaly any musical situation. Bas players who understand these core principles enjoy
4 degre of mobility that is unparalleled by other instrumentalists. A guitarist may be
an ce county picker, but that wont necessarily help him on a metal gig Likewise, a
reat metal guitarist may not have the toolsto play az or bossa nova Buta bassist who
has mastered the elements of bas function can play any syle with ust few common
sense adjustments.
‘An important skill of the sucessful bassiston-the-move isa knowledge ofthe
sbythmic vocabularies of diferent styles of music. Mos ass lines are constructed fom
the same elements—roots, ths, octaves, trads—with varying connecting material such
as salar and chromatic pasing tones. The defining factor of a gene is most often its
"ythmic content, whether its found in the bas line oF not. For example simple o0t-5
patter in halF-nots a common bas line, but the surrounding rhythmic material can
‘make that bas line merengue, country, samba, bossa, rock, unk, R&B, or blues. I easy
‘to just play your halF-notes and leave it at hat, bu the better you understand the yt
‘mic material hat surrounds your bass pat the beter you can lock in and make it groove,
One ofthe goals ofthis book isto familiarize you with diferent grooves by show
‘ng you the drum parts along with the bs lines. Through the use of & drum machine,
you wll ar to program partsto accompany your line I the next best thing to being
4 drummer. When you've programmed a drum groove yourself, you gain an intimate
understanding ofeach element, how hi-hat, snare, ick drum, toms eel combine to
rate a unified feel that inluences your interpretation ofa bassline. Knowing hove to
play many diferent style presents you with greatly expanded set of opportunities. Is
‘one ofthe best things about being a ase player—variety,
Keeping time isa the heart of grooving, though time and groove are not entirely
the same thing—it is possible to keep perfect time and not groove, and vice vers. To
‘keep time and groove i the best possible situation, of course. In the Groove Concept
and Development section of this book, the exercises are designed to help you become
‘shythmically self -uffcient. By learning to internalize different rhythmic elements in
rowconjunction witha non-varying time source (metronome or drum machine), you
‘become capable of grooving from the inside out
‘We bassist tend tobe deep thinkers, and we have a fondness for pondering the
great mysteries lif The Groove Metaphysics chapters more than juste indulgent
‘contemplation, Thinking about the groove and its many implications can open the door
ta your own personal shythme sor, that defining moment when you tuly get what
_maesthe groove work, Al great basis have spent time doing this, whether consciously
‘or semiconscioul I's purtof the brothersserhood of the bass that binds usll together.
{Any bassist who has evr hit the groove and held it there has experienced the life
altering feling of being stone withthe moment. In many way, this experience i at
‘the hear ofall religion, But digress.
Using the 60
‘nthe CD that acompanesthisbook hae recorded te varius rors ep ou
program them for oul You can ein ply ong wth che eumpls on the,
butyl be competing with theexiting bas perme) The experene you'r,
ittening fr guitns hen pouring an ying along wth your rum machine
‘The poo devopment execs ae ecote fa Your conesence Many ofthe
‘tesco gr nce oe hed them
Getting a Drum Machine
To bene ly rom this book suas you purchase a drum machine. nthe work
aso production the drum machine asa bu been paced by prerecode oops
Sve deammers Whethis apprenchs more elitr eating ons ees yo
the opportunity crete drm part yoursele Asa asi tha expen rial
{ble ogi having drummer willy exc wha yo eu tout slow
ing dv or pedig up and tthe ih volume, pis you dont hve osten to
three-hour Nel Peat um solcomplatonon thrid home rom thei But along
teh hcomeniene comes ttt kerning wat exalt hismagial machine
tnly sounds god asthe person pogamming
“There are many eet soundginezenie machines onthe markt with om
pane os and Zoom fring seve mes that cost sites 100, Te ay
‘ery etre but they ave CD-quality rum samples andthe ality to progr
your om pateins Touhsensive drum dre an portant etre of mos mod
ton machines Spending ite more can eyo tunbedrum sounds he by
create your own dum kts adjustable pd envi the potential for pte of ay
Tena snd tne nate and more Thee ae al se the basist who wants
tke the drum machine igher muse eve But fr he purposes of ts book.
youn thebser-poodsounds and ouch este pads Tete ae alo sfoae
based dram machines that wrk wll conjunction with a computer and HDI
contalersichasa keyboard Ths ae worth looking int i your hme pace setup
iscmered round our computer
tas cnoaves:Chapter 1
Drum Machine Basics
ce you have a drum machine, read the manual to faire yourself with is
major functions. In order to cat lot of features into a smal package, machines
are designed so that many functions are accesied by combinations of buttons tht,
far from obvious. Read the manual
While the programming architecture of different drum machines may vary, to set
upa patern you will abraysnoed to perform these base functions:
+ Selec the proper pattern length. Most ofthe examples inthis book are two-barpst-
tems, though there ate some one-bar and four-bar patters. Some machines repre-
seatpatern length in erm of measures—""2”or"4"—whil others show pattern
Jeng in terms of beats: "4" would stan forfour beats, or one bar of 4/4:"8” would
becight beats or two bars of 4/4. This typeof programming architecture is useful for
‘odd time signatures: Setting a partern length ofS" wouldve you onebar of 5/4 time
+Set the quantization level, Quantiraton is the dgvee to which the machine will auto
‘ort your thythmic input. sto 16th-notes, your input willbe automaticaly cor-
rected tothe nearest 6th, Thisis very handy fora L6th-note groove, bu it wont allow
yout input eighth-note triplets (represented as*2th notes” by some machines), For
tach groove in this book I've stated the level of quantization used to program it
Set the record mode, Most machines lt you recordin either"zel time” or"step time’
rode. The default is typically rea time;
tions. You place the machine in record mode and play the rhythms on the specific pad
in el time to the machine's internal metronome. The machine records your pefor-
ance, auto-correct anything that iso to the specified quantization level and recy
‘les tothe begining ofthe patern when the ends reached, You an layer other drum
sounds on top ofthe fst pasa you would witha muliteacktape ecorder.Step-time
‘modes sf if theresa tick pat that you can't manage to playin realtime. Switch
the machine to step mode and select the quantization level. Then forward the patern
tothe correct position in the bar witha specified buton, and wen you reach the ro
‘le spot, play the drum pad, The pattern will then advance automatically tothe next
cighth-note,16th-note, or whatever quantization level you've st.
the method I recommend for mos situs
+ Adjust the tempo, While 'velisted an optimum tempo for many ofthe grooves it may
‘be necessary to play i into the machine a a slower sped. Adjusting the tempo toa
INE BasiCscomfortable speed for programming isnot cheating —the rel work comes when you
play bas slong with the pattern at the suggested tempo.
“Erase note, You ae bound to make mistakes iter in reading the thythms or play-
ing them into the machine, That's no big deal as long as you know ow to erase oF
delete the mistakes. Most machines have a DELETE button that you pres and hold as
the machine is playing the pattern in record mode while you press on the pad that
cortesponds to the sound you want to erase, You can either old it forthe entire
pattern and reprogram the specific "instrument sound agin, or push the pada the
problem and "spot-eras” i
+ Switch pad banks. Deum machines typically have 16 pads labeled with the instrument
ames they trigger "Kick “Snare? "Closed Hi-Hat” et. are the fist layer of sounds
and are the most commonly used, However, there ia second bank of pad-trggered
Sounds that includes instruments such as congas shakers, tambourines, and bongos.
“These can be accessed by switching the pad bank. Often the names of the second bank
sounds ate not written on the machine, so you have to play around the pad to find
‘what pad triggers what different sounds.
‘Anatomy of a Drum Beat
“The drum beats inthis book focus mainly on the essential groove. For nowt it ant
Jmportant to learn how to program long, complex fil—most of your work will be
With the kick, snare, hihat (open ad closed), and ride cymbals. Toms will be used if
‘they are integral tothe groove, as wil auxiliary percussion such a shakers, cowbell
and congas. Drum machines are capable of playing back anything you program,
‘bat keepin mind that human drummers (usually) have two arms and two leg.
Remembering tis wil help you program realistic grooves that can actually be played
bya real drummer
The Drum Key
AQ, Nevetr eg nthe ie ml ing dunn i ie he
drum key is your roadmap for reading the drum notation throughout this book.
Figure 1 shows the basic drum symbols fora standard it. Some ofthe grooves ater
in the book may have unique percussion instruments sich as congas, shakers bel,
and tambourine. That notation wil be ndcated next to the appropriate example
vasPOT
Drum machine fine points
(Once you have the basi operation ofthe drum machine under control the real trick
isto make it sound musical, Dynamic ae the key. Too often people smack the pads
withou taking advantage of the instruments (admittedly limited) dynamic cange
Some machines, like those inthe Boss DR series, have options for adjusting the pad
sensitivity this can bea great aid in developing a personal touch on the pads, While
ou might want to play the pads like areal drummer, you are beter off playing one
ad or nstrument voice at atime to capture the dynamics of e part.
Its equally important to develop a consistent touch, When programming a snare
tuckhestyou should keep the volume consistent—rsing ad fling volumes can mess
wih the grooves energy. That doesnt necessrly mean that all the backheats should
beasloud as posible. The song may equire a fim backbeat, butt shouldbe perhaps
‘only 80% ofthe available level o you can reserve the remaining 20% fora bigfill.The
‘ck rum also need controlled touch For the main shythms ofa groove you need
old hit to keep it steady but pickup nots or ghoste accents can be quieter
‘Building a pattern
Lesbuildatwo-bar patter to practice pad dyaamics. Start with a simple eight
‘loied hi-hat part. Rather than trying to gt the loudsoftdynamies ofthe accents in
‘one pss, start by playing just the downbeats with a firm touch (Drum Ex.)
= =
(nce yout happy wih the volume consistency ofthe downbeat play the ups |
with ger ood (Drum Ee. 2). You should nd up with an vel acted patra |
{Dram Ex 3). Experiment to ind the best balance Getveen the oud and sf it
Sonetines drummers ploy upbeat los ax osteo ithe goore
eundercren and smatines they pay al he eg te ue volume fr ore
Avner variation sec hw they effet the otal drum bet and how you ply
bas lng wih
met —
wee .
todate th conten batsmen yes Singer shone bse pat
tenapint smathng rum goo witha quarter note ht el Ts example shows
fowthe paternity writen ut xperimen with heaton shownn Singer
in which he dowedqurter-not shortened Yogurt. This lees pce on
best forthe snare rum to sound by sl Ifyou are acura eting up on the
arr noe he esaking et retest eth aera prety inte
‘Soon Sith beeen xampls and? an ea how he Sale ror
Singer Ex. 2
6
‘Changing the smallest rhythmic subdivisions can radially affect a groove, Singer
[Ex is the groove witha eighth-notei-hat. Notice how thebeats ine up between the
bassline and the drum part. Focus on naling your eihth-note tothe hi-hat pulse.
Singer Ex. 4 shoves the patten with 16th-note hi-hat. I’ not uncommon forthe bass
tocmphasizeeighths while the drums play a 16th-note pulse. Notice how standing on
‘the eighth-note grounds the pulse,
Singer Bx. 4
sETI
ula cl for another interpretation ofthis rhythm, Ataslow tempo you may choose
tole the note sing long, as leaving space forthe snare drum may creat too large a hole
inthesonie spectrum, Singer Ex.5shows the line played withlongnotesat ballad tempo.
sil another variation s heard in Brain msi, most commonly the bossa nova
(Singer Ex. 6). I's similar toa rock cighth-note eel, except that a cave (CLAH-vay)
ythm (played asa exosstik) replaces the snare backbeat. Accent the rd cymbal on
the clave beats, and listen to how the clave rhythm interacts with th bass par.
Sing Ex. 5
mat
Sgr Ex. 6
A, ‘Sie tr tay
———
we = me ae wt orate
Allof these examples have obvious similarities, and yet each is subtly diferent Pay
ingattention to these ciferences is what great bass playing ill about. Hey, what else
sre you going to do when you're stuck in a singer songwriter groove for half an hour?
THE singea-sonowaiter @
ve
me
=<The Slow 12/8 Feel
Letslook at cool groove thats deceptively challenging The slow 12/8isusedin blues,
‘gospel, R&B, pop. and many other styles. The tempos can run as low as quater-ote =
2 ava! Fortunately the fel s usually subdivided, withthe triplet played on the hi-hat
‘or rie cymbal. This really helps you lock in.
‘By now you know that paying slowly and accurately can be even more challeng
ing than playing fs. You are totally exposed and any glitch inthe hands or wavering
ofthe heat is immediately noticeable, How do you pull it off Rela, isten, and felt
Ithelpsi you can move your bod; you italy have to dance through tempos ike this
‘Swayingback and frth in tempo wil help you gt into it—bat if you're playing a gospel
‘ig, make sure you're swaying inthe same direction asthe choitt Some well-known
examples ofthe low 12/8 groove ae Aretha Franklin's classic "(You Make Me Feel Like)
‘Natural Woman” Harold Melvin & the Blue Note? "IfYou Dont Know Me by Now”
the Fagles“Take It tothe Limit” and—the extreme end of the tempo spectrum—Ray
Charles’ lve version "Drown in My Own Tears
“The rick thing about 128 sit canbe writen and interpreted two ways, When the
time signature indicates 128, there are 12 cighth-notes per bar. This canbe broken up
in any configuration, but most often it conveys triplet feel. What fel like «quarter
noteisactusly a dotted quarter andthe cighth-nots fee like triplets; 128 Ex. 1 shows
how the groove is written in 12/8 time. Is common to write this in 4/4 with the ride
cymbal or hi-hat notated as eighth-note triplets (1218 Ex. 2. This iscalled "12/8 ee”
weet
\When progeamming this groove into your drum machine set the pattern length for
six beats and the quantization for eighth-notes. Most machines also allo you to set the
‘aluefr the guide clic, o set that to eights, too In 12/8 x. 3 you can see simple bass
line that works with this grove. Thelength of your notes scr at low tempos, so hold
‘he dotedhalf- notes forthe ful value, This approach is good fra fl, broad sound—
"regal sort of vibe, On bar 2 walk-down, pay attention tothearticulations: The second
rot of the ast group of eighth-notes shouldbe shorter to give the at not some weightoF
POO
Iespossibleto get more active with this feels drummers often emphasize a double
time undercurten. This activity level s est lustrated in 12/8: Each eighth-note gets
subdivided nto a group of I6th-note triplets. Check 1218 Ex 4 for asightly more active
version ofthis groove. looks busy, so remember that wha feels ikea quarter-noteis
scully worth thre cighths. Ata slow tempo the I6th-not triplets ar easy to play. Bass
soos are rare on such ballads, but we can stil rete alot of drama by using rhythmic
ticks ke the shor stop on bar 's beat two. The space sts up the chromatic ill in
teat three. This common fill 50 don't be surprised ifthe keyboard player is eight
thee with you on it. ta bae 2 we create balance by starting out broadly on bea one, got-
ting active on two, and broad again on three. Then the walk-down on beat four gets 2
litby adding a rest and using 16th-note triplet forthe pickup sll very subtle, but,
ey youre a bas player, subtle is your middle name ight?
A ety TID nef CEO ona ox
save eet aExperiment with this groove at tempos ranging from quarter-note= 30 Br to.35
srs, Above that, it becomes a whole differen thing, Have fun with his one, ad lay i
down thick and smooth—Iike ackstrap molases on a warm Memphis afternoon,
A 12/8 Drum Key
ek
oe is Be ee
The Flat Tire Groove
‘There isa populersubstye ofthe blues idiom called “jump"—it'sa place where swing
jazz and early R&B meet. The overall feet is definitly swing-based, bu the tunes are
typically 12-bar blues, with perhaps the occasional I-VI-I-V progression thrown in,
“T-Bone Walker’ famous" T-Bone Shull” and Louis Jordan's "Choo-Choo Ch'Boogie”
aretwo clasicexamples ofthe genre. The underying rhythm for thistle often called
the “fat tre" groove because the drum part has the loping fee ofa car driving witha
fat. The bass plays ast
1-3-5-6-8-6-5.3 pattem typical of most swing music. The similarity to swing jazz
makes it posible for many blues bands to function as “swing” groups an satisfy the
jiterbug-crazed dance crowd that re-emerged in the 0s,
Inthe drum part the snare drum acents the second beat ofan cighth-note triplet
hile ride cymbal plays swing pattern. Four-on-the-flooe goes the kik drum, but
don’t play it too hard or it starts to sound like “house” music (Fat Ex. 1). The snare
triplet on beat four of bar 2 should be dynamic: Hit the fist snare around 508, the
second at 75% and the asa 100%. The crescendo makes i fel authentic and pushes
the groove forward, While its writen a the end of atwo-bar phrase, yo may want to
program a four-bar pattern and jst use the snare fl forthe last measur,
3 walking line and most often sticks with the classic
vase cnoevesPETIT
‘Thebass line plays quarter-notes, bt diginto the fel she snare accents creat. Even
‘hough youre holding the quarternote through ithe upbeat doc influence your groove.
‘Ther are afew possible ines that work with ths syle, but at Ex 2 isa casi jump
‘es line with a 1I-V turnaround forthe ls four bars. Is in Ap because that’ such a
‘wing key—horn players ove it bu guitar players wll eroan the los ther beloved
‘open string Too bad. You can make this groowe come ie wih the palm-mutedthumb-
siletechnique that simulates the ld “doghouse” upright sound ofthe ump-swing era
Fat E.2
abr
axtey
hor ey abr
The Shuffle
‘The suf is one ofthe most familar grooves. ts oot ein African ehythms, and it
‘introduced into American popular music through the blues, which evolved into
rhythm and blues and eventually rock oll The shufle has appeared in pop music
intunes as diverse as Smokey Robinson's “The Way You Do the Things You Do” and
Alannah Myles* "Black Velvet." While both area far er fom Muddy Waters, they owe
thei groove to the pioneering electric bles of postwar Chicago.‘Shute Ex. 2
“The shulle i trplt-based rhythm, with the Bist and third beats ofan eighth
note triplet emphasized. f you divide a quarter note in hall you get two even eighth
‘notes—but when you divide it into a triplet, you get three notes, each 33.33%.) oF
a quarter-aote's duration. That leftover bit of rhythmic
split This tiny remainder is where the magic ofthe shufle exists and its why no two
players sound exactly alike when plying it
“The shuflle rhythm gets interpreted either as staceato (short) or legato (long). At
a slow tempo, practice playing the shuffle rhythm short and filling the space by 8y~
ing“chick”on the triplets second beat—that helps keep the triplet eling “round” (Shuf-
fle Ex 1) Give the offbeat slight accent to push the groove forward
ange" makes tan uneven
Shute x1
Letslook ata typical bx shape line played with ashufle rhythm this kind of ine
{scommonly used to creates 12-bar blues by moving through the,1V,and V chords.
Typical of Chicago-stye shut, the drum part for Shuffle Fx. 2s alo refered to as
a shufle*march” It helps ta have two diferent snare drum sounds for this best, one a
looser fat sound, and the other arim-shot forthe backbeats. The approximate dynamic
levels forthe snare are 75% forthe hits on one and thre, 50% forthe ofbets and 100%
‘the rim-shots on two and four. The example is writen with a close hi-hat sound,
but you can substitute are cymbal. Tempo range is between 60 gps and 140 wi,
‘One way to determine wether to play long or short is olsen tothe dram pars
Ifthe drummer is playing a tight shufle on the hi-hat, t maybe best to play the notes
inthe pattern short. Thisllows the space inthe groove to create a contrat Ifthe drum-
mer is playing the shuffle on he ride eymbal, long notes may work better by matching
the cymba’s sustained sound, Let the frst note ving fr the triplet’ first two beats, 38
in Shufle Ex. 3. The change in note length has a big effect on the overall groove
‘Shue Ex. 3
ass caoaves,PETIT
“Another way to play ashuflle i to simply play quarter-notes. Sometimes the
tsoove needs to breathe a bit—everyone hammering away aa shall can get oppres:
Sve Shutl Ex 4a has the line played as quarter-notes be sure you're hearing tat"hick"
inerally—that keeps the groove rolling. The snare dram partis slightly altered to make
thsexamplea Texas shu, Theres no snare it right on oneand thre, juston the of
‘eats leading ino and out ofthe backbeat. This puts more emphasis onthe backbeat
znd makes the groove less march-lik, Use these syllables to get the Texas shufle groove
io your head "sing--tack-ga-2ing-ga-zack-ga"Zack” isthe snare drum on the
backbeat. Shuffle Ex ab changes the ede cymbal toa swing pattern instead ofthe shuf-
fe This gives the grove a different character and works nicely at faster tempos.
Sut x 6 xp) |
Doar bar |
Another variation isthe Kansas ity sulle. The hi-hat either open or half open,
kpending on the sound you prefer and it plays a swing shythm instead of a shu
‘The offbeat onthe snare are de-emphasized: you can also leave them out and use just
the backbeat For Shufle Ex 5, the bass line is the classic 1-3-5-6-£-6-5-3 pattern It
tives the bls the jazz favor that helped artists ike Big Joe Turner and Jay MeShann
bridge the gap between swing and rock’ ral
suits qnPractice the shule a a variety of tempos and listen to a range of Dues artists (0
Pick upon the regional variations. While the drums have more to do withthe diferences
in these grooves, to fully capture the flvor the bass must adapt ite in subtle way, oo.
The Anticipated Backbeat
tn of Wester opr muse ear these drum payed onthe tte (ats
tuvandur burnin hs pove ett uct sanity eh note
Thiscretes hip pied ete. Te sare can atte ours ah Tock
inyoueedwobecome ory confor with he eed yt. 8
demonstrates thm wh he sale oo-K-ch-op fr tee acto
these les corespond othe thythnic breakdown of-one-e anda which show
‘etch cpu ur leh nes Tamon your mewonemecr a machine
{od prc spelingokch-bopin tempo Nove how heise natal
geval scents groove that wil become out new bacibea.
{ABE 2 bras hs downto slates an Sy"bo-bechu-bo-dig”intempoto
settee fit The babe one neds ie up ery and als mst ese
preity im thing on Beat ma sem sil sets salsa eye
toe inte than “one-t-and-n woe ana They ae the bssdrum an
fe hich you eet emo wntt communi with or presse inne
Brothrand ster The god ne scrum lang cn be rnade yg lg-—
Alyou pedo dnd ay ing yt aerate and ove por Take sy
Sramsrooven ind ay tle primo aspech pater Yury sunaike
‘natch ding but oon oul se why drummers unestand it
ape?
cotta Sip sohasio—u-ding ——ooasho—ba-dag
AIFEx. 3 sa typical bas/drum groove sing the anticipated backbeat, Notice how
the bas line uses an octave on the "bop" of beat one to emphasize the hit. This works
well if you're slapping—but slapping s optional; you can play this fingerstyle too. The
hihat plays quarter-notes in this example, Notice how the beats line up in the drum
part, See how the anticipated snare lands right before the hi-hat om two? Feeling the
spac in between these two beats is critical to nailing this groove.
[ABE 4 putsthe anticipation onthe"bop” of beat thre. Because the fist ackbeat
{sim its ypical place om two, it sts up the expectation thatthe second backbeat will
be typical a8 well When the secon backbeat anticipates, it creates coo, ery fel
‘When you play this example fel how the rythm interpreted inthe body—oras Otis
Redding so pty put it, put your hand on your hip and let your backbone slip!OTITIS
AB Ex. 5 anticipates both backbeats. While this maybe abit much fora whole tune,
you do hea it sometimes. With 16th-nates on the hi-hat and toms onthe backbeats it
becomes popular Afro-Caribbean groove (AB Ex. 6).
mus axes
THE ANTICIPATED BAGKEEAT afats
Take all ofthese drum patterns and experiment with eighths and 1oths onthe hi
bat Thy Your own rhythms on the kick drum, add sare hits—you learn more about a
‘groove by pushing it to its limits. Ofcourse, when it’ time to play you want to make
sure youre not sacrificing the feel for the sake of complexity. Have fun with this one!
| The dames Brown Groove
Feats bs bd as hogan npc on moder poplar mii Jue Brow—
the Man withthe Master ante ig ad Bos withthe Re Hor Sas, Butane ames
{cis Famous Hameo snp he Godtate of Sol Wheat hits ets
# Mars Man Mars World" Go Cry andl lee Peseta
txamplsf the ery RAD 28 el twa nl 967Cold Sweat that Brum
ner lye Subbeeld coved wha woul uma become own the “ames
Brow ror? Ts els key clement i delaying the cond bce fa othe
| of eat for This day cetessspes and rama ithe int momen hat
| «alls for a nasty horn punch—or if you can muster up the funk, a visceral “wnnh” Pro-
| {Bamming ts mein ou drum machine wl eqeouh sess host
hows the sare dum are ruc thee TEx isthe bs dum pore it
Simro the elon"Cald wet" Mother Poco anther dsc JB it.
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| JB Ex. isa generic version ofthe bass part that fits this groove James Brown's
music eatres specific parts that create the tne’ sgnatute, While similar, "Cold Sweat
and" Mother Popcorn have different basslines. you're called upon o playa JB-style
‘groove, JB Ex 2 wil fulfill all the requirements. In thistwo-bar pattern, the ist bar usesTHE STYLISTIC GROOVES
the delayed snare hit on the “and” of four, one of the elements that bring the groove
together Make ure you fel the missing hit on fourths will help you “spring” into the
upbeat with assurance, Bar 2 typically features asyncopated"walk-up” patter from the
dof the chord
J Bx. 3 isthe same basic line bu withthe notes played short. Fel the difeence
‘espace rete inthe groove Thistime the bar 2 walk-up has few added Ith-notes
tm enhance the staccato fe |
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er —
JBEx.4,a more active aration, uses ghost-notes to pull he bas line together with
‘hesnar drum. This four-bar version shows two variations inthe phrase’ second half
‘Bar 2hasaneat stuttering wap. Bar 4s cool Chuck Raiey-inspird fil that would
be great to throw ina the end ofan eight-bar phrase. Don sei too much—maybe
‘wie in a whole tune
wesBot
James Brown's music got even funkier as time progressed, but this early groove
provided the genetic code fr funk. It stil packs the dance loo, ending the lower lr
bar region into spasmodic contortons It has en sampled to death by rappers and
hip-hoppers and sped up to maniacal tempos bythe drum-n-bass crowd, For more
‘information and grooves, check out the definitive source on James Brown's music: The
-Funemasters: The Great James Brown Rito Setons 1960-1973 by Allan “Dr. Licks”
Slutsky and Chuck Silverman [Warner Bros.
The Bo Diddley Beat
‘This groove segment i sponsored by Bo Diddley, the man who made it enol t shake
‘maracas while wearing plaid. The groove i rooted in Afro-Caribbean culture asthe 32
clave pattern—see Bo Ex. 1, The rhythm found ts way into American popular music
{through New Orleans where African and Caribbean cultures influenced jazz, R&B, and
rock'n'roll The Bo Diddley groove canbe found in music by artists suchas the Neville
Brothers ("ko tho"), Bow Wow Wovr ("I Want Candy” originally recorded in 1965 by
the Strangeloves) an, of course, Diddley himself (Hey! Bo Diddley")
Bom?
Le'slook at few applications for this groove and its variations. The tempos range
fom 130 xew on the dle end to 240 to, Bo Ex. 2 shows the basic groove with a sim=
plied New Orleans second-line drum pattern. When programming your drum machine,
pay caefal attention tothe accents the snare drum part they critical otis grow’.
succes Keep the velocity (volume) ofthe ghosted unacented snare hits low they serve
‘one as filer than actual beats. Use two snare drum sounds i you cans ply the ghost:
notes on the loose snare andthe accent on rim-shot or harder sound. I you want to
‘experiment, ty assigning the eighth-notes a swing factor between 58% and 64%¢—this
tives the groove a completely diferent fee.PERTTI
Asalays, the bas part’ note length is crucial Bo Ex. 2 is written long, with the |
note duration aking upthe space. This works well for keeping the fel Broad and open,
‘Totighten up the groove for a funkier fee, play it short, an Bo Ex. 3.
was =<
Bo Ex. 4 shows aversion embellished with ghost-notes and fl atthe end of bars
2and Tis grooveisa great springboard for funk, Check out some ofthe New Orleans
funk masters like De. Joha, the Neville Brothers, the Meters, and the Wild Tehoupitoulas
these the groove being funkitied to death
‘ghth-notes, but to achieve the swing fel, progeam a 68% swing fctr.P've written
the bas part in straight eighth, but you should play it with seing—you'll know what
to do when you hear the drums. Notice how the groove gets filled out with left-hand
|
Io Ex. is 8 more intricate swinging-fnk version, The drum partis writen in
|
slapped ghort-note. This felis tailor-made fr evil lapping |perte ere erty re pu tette ery prretee
| TROT OTL MOTOS
| A ‘Bo Diddley Drum Key
a Rae Ee dente
| Have fun withthe Bo Diddley groove—its a clase that shows up every ew yeas
ina hit song, It even fueled teeny-opper Aaron Carter's recent rise tothe top of pop
‘ith his version of “1 Want Candy” Careful, Aaron—that stuf rot yer teeth
Rockin’ Rhumba
‘This groove has similarities tothe Bo Diddley fel. thas the same rhythm a the Diddley
_groove' ist measure, withthe base ine ascending a majortriadarpeggo.Youvehesed
this one a milion time in rock's rol, rockabilly, Cajun, Latin, country, reggae, and
| ‘other styles. Like the Diddley groove it roots ar inthe groove-fetleCaribbeanst was
introduced in thie countsyby Afo-Caibbean transplants who made New Orlesns their
home. These syncopated ethnic strains crosibred with European harmonies, forming
the mother lode of ideas that became jaz, R&B, and rock alTHE STYLISTIC GROOVES
[Rhumba Ex. 1 isthe simple bas line. Think of Elvis’ version of the Big Mama
‘Thorton classc*Hound Dog" or the Grateful Dead's cover of Bobby Bands "Turn on
‘our Love Light” It can be played both long (Rhumba Ex. 1) or short (Rhumba Ee. 2.
~ =< |
mes =)
Since the bas pact doest change inthis groove lets try afew drum feels with it
[Rhumba Ex. 3s straight beat: The kick drum catches the rythm with the bas line.
Ieean work with many different styles. For Rhumba Ex. try this experiment Play it
as written with straight eighth-nots, and then set your drum machin’ swing factor
tw around 67% forthe cighth-note—i's amazing how the whole groove changes,
toa 3 tena 4 axtpy‘unbaEx.§
Rhumba x. 5aisa swinging R&D fest the drum machines quantization to eighth-
note triplets to program this groove. You can play’ rom 90 sr to 170 Rs. Changing
the rde-cymbal pattern toa sde-stick wil give th groove a rockabilly favor (3b). IF
your machine has alm button, program the side stick with it—it wil sound like the
real dea, Change the ride pattern toa closed hi-hat fora tighter sound ($e.
Rhumba x. 6s New Orleans “second line parade beat. Touch sensitivity impor
tant fr the snaredrum pattern—the accents make it work For best revlts use the
‘wo-snare drum approach, Set the ghosted filler snare ona loose, ft sound at appro
{mately 35% volume, and the acent beats ona rim: shot a 100%, You can aso exper:
ment with different accents on the hosted snare par. Switch the quantization to
Joth-note triplets to program the snae triplet atthe end of bar 2 Ply itn slowly and
{ty to make each not of the figure progresively louder.
Rhumba Ex. 7 is Latin fc that canbe used on casual gigs (When the old guy in
‘he elly-green pants asks fora rhumba thsis what hel gt!) Ply the I6th-note triplet
sofly on the snare; if you can contol the dynamics, make the triplet crescendo from.
piano to forte, Switch the quantization to straight 16s forthe res ofthe pattern I's
a cheesy groove, but hj—cheesy cool (Try paying rhumba versions of your favorite
Ramones tunes)
tass cnooves.ERO
Rhumba Ex. 8 ea classic 50s rock" all grooves picture all the kd atthe malt
shop havin’ a ball t this one, Rhumba Ex. 9 6 3 dancehall-sye reggae groove. Many
‘ontemporary drum machines have kt that sounds lik the old Roland TR-808; use
that and lock int this one for 30 minutes—youil be jammin
i
Mei wn? mw adem! led open ride tambourine cave cymbal
sk iit Phe oymbal ‘a
nocKin’ ayumad s‘As you can see this humble ite bas ine covers lot of ground, Tha'sone of the
rat things about bas playing it’s univers, Bassist in al styles do the same jab: We
‘mind the form, play the oot, and makeit groove. We may evenbe playing the same line
fom syle to style although the other instrumental parts may be totally diferent This
i what gives us so much flexibility in the music world All one, on the one!
The Fats Domino 12/8 Groove
‘Once agsin we return to New Orleans the cradle of rock ' roll (and jz), to find a
groove that fueled many of theeatly rock hits and that’s continually recycled by blues
and R&B groups. The 12/8 Fats Domino groove is found on some of his classic hits ike
‘Blueberry ill “Aint That a Shame” and “Blue Monday” aswell stacks by many
other New Orleans artists suchas Smiley Lewisand Irma Thomas. Itbecame more main-
stream behind song like "The Great Pretender” by the Platters and "Earth Angel” by
the Penguins. great modern-day representation of thse is"Get Over Me" by Suga
Ray & the Bluctones,
(One ofthe main element ofthis grooveis the piano slamming out straight triples
with the right hand, matching the ride or hi-hat cymbal, with the lft and often dou-
bling the bas line. The guitar most often hits the chords on two or four backbeats. The
bas line has few variations but will get its melodic shape fom the trad. This groove
istypically notated as “12/8 fee”: Using 4/4 a the time signature, each quarter-notes
subdivided into eighth-note triplets, giving you the same amount of beats pet bae 36
12/8. The advantage to this notation is you can clearly see the downbeat of beats one,
‘wo, thre, and four represented in the bar
ats Ex 1a simple version ofthe bas line going straight up and down the triad
“Make sue to leave the space on two for the snare drum, The drum partis written with
the ride cymbal playing the triples, but you can substitute it with the closed hi-hat for
a tighter fe, You might want to use a hi-hat on the song's verse and then switch to the
ride cymbal “open up”the chorus.THE STYLISTIC GROOVES
Fats Bx. 2 adds the octave on the backbeat, giving the fe ile "goose” Some-
times the guitar will double this linet ill out the sound. Fats Ex. 3 litle busier, |
doubling up the Sh ofthe chord. Bar 3 holds yet another variation, eae Tne from
the Sd tothe Sth over a rplet shythm that can be wed to fill out the groove even more.
These varaton are somewhat interchange bu ou should commit to oe ot
theoherforasecon ofa wholechors Random sitchin bas pte wil ihe
1 poor Ike this sud sete |
THE FATS pomino 1278Slow Ex.1
‘Slow Blues
Let’ get down and dirty with some slow blues. While shufles and “Tramp” grooves are
‘the mainstay ofall blues bands’ repertoire, each night the moment inevitably comes
when it’ time to testi time to takeit way down, bring te lights on down behind me,
boys... time fr a lor blues. While most everyone is familar withthe 12-bar blues
form, playing ita tempos as slow as 30 xem presets a unique challenge. Youare totaly
exposed tothe elements with no place to hide. Every note you plays ight up feo
byou
‘anit take anything back. Your note choices have to be perfect, your time must be rock.
solid ote lengths critical, and you must fellow the dynamic low ofthe performance.
A ead singer will milk slow blues for every last drop of “show-bidnessexcitement—
youll have o build it up atthe slightest hint of emotion and break it down athe drop
ofa hat. You may haveto catch kicks signaled by ahand foot, head, or guitar neck with-
‘ot missing a beat For all thse reasons (and more), the slow blues is theultimate test
of abass player’ ability to groove.
Asinashufl the slowbluesiseighth-notetriplet based, bu he ride cymbal oi
hat wil play a sold 128 fel, breaking up each quarter-note evenly: The snare ison the
backbeat, and the kick plays the big downbeas of oe and three with an eghth-note
triplet pckyp. The cymbal may somtimes break up the triplet asin the slow gospel 12/8
feel, but fr this example, program this basic fel (Slow Fx) into your drum machine.
Teil help you to have a steady and predictable cushion to work out this groove.
Slow Ex 2s chorus of blues in G. The tempo can range from quarter-note equals
30 apt to as high as 60 new, Faster than 60 att becomes more ike a Fats Domino
{groove, and you would ply «completly diferent lie. The drums push this groove
along. Much of the time the basis holding long tones; youll ave to feel the triplet
pulse from the cymbal. When you do get rhythmic, it needs tobe dead-onaccurateand.
have the swinging quality the triplet demands. Don't try to be cute and play stright
clghths or 16ths—that's nor clever, i's distracting, Remember tat everything you play
istnder the microscope this not the time to introduce any foreign microorganisms
Bars | and 2 re straightforward. Stat at mezzo-piano (which iterally means"balf-
soft”), and play everything nie and long. Inbar 3 you go up to the V7 chord on beat
tree a good way to break up the space of what i usually two bars ofthe I. Thi re
atesa mini-cadence and gives the progression some momentum. Inbar 4lay down the
Tow G with authority, fllow the rise in volume with the octave Gand play it ike i's
going to do something big—the triplet on four should build up tthe forte marking on
‘beat one ba 5. I bar 5, cut the quarter-note of right on thebackbeat. The snare wll
tase @THE STYLISTIC GROOVE
‘it hard, nd the whole band will suddenly drop back to pian; it's very dramatic—and
the oldest trick in the book. Bar 6 smoothes out the fel with some fat quarter-nots
pay the triplet notes nie an long oo. fa bat 8 the line gets nto the shuffle rhythm
forthe buildup. Make sure you lave the rest blank; the space is necessary to give the
lin contrast. On beat four play the triplet long and smooth, and cris into that V7
shord in bar 9 at merzo-forte—you ant home yet! The triplet on bea fours accented
snd sets up the 1V7 chord nicely Ply the quarternotes in bar 10 broadiy and get ready
far the big buildup forthe turnaround in bas Lt and 12, The erescendo should peak
‘onbet thre of bar 12,and once again the snare on beat our wl bring it down to mezzo
forte forthe pickups to the top ofthe form. Drop it back to merzo-piano for the repeat,
‘Wheces! Tha’ at faction in a smal space. In 12 bas you've given the audience
adeon the blues emotional rollercoaster, up... down...up...down...enoughaleady.
‘When you ly it owe behind agret singer, this dynamic approach othe buss sure
«rom pleaser, The most common inte fora slow blues isto start from the V7 chord in
bur 9 with a guitar solo and then the singer comesin at the top ofthe form. It goes some
thing like his Slow bles in G from the Veone 60. three. .bom-born-bom
site? axes
or cr or or or
or cr or or or orPumpin’ Ex. 1
Pumpin’ Eighths
Oneothemorcommonacitesinrockand RAB bas paying pumping ot gh
notes Thousands of megs its hve hd ths spe et efecve apo othe bot
tom lines must kro se Though base this apprach requires eli time
tect consteney toma happen Youcaalo ay te gh note ise
trl mys to cet dramatic ferent fel, Lets tat with the dams Poa
Es shows you the bas est hick on onan re, nate on eau andthe
hha plying igh noe Py the hat downbeat separation he est pas a
Tome then do the upbeat (bean hing te pads st sround Sef the volume
scsvy Ths makes the prt sounds mean You con ao easy hangs
the poo by ain ferent Bhat sounds Fst program the beat with mize ight
hed hha Then ytchingtoa al dedi hai comply die
tate it ee (1) Ty the open Bhat newt ef ou en asthe
{olume of th cht separate ring it don ite st dosn' overpower every
thing Ths vars ite ntl on the oe
working with dynamic you can change hing ven more Farther song
she upbeat ies yous cool RED favor Pump Ex 2) Start by posaming inthe
tdvabens fil lune then plate opens on he second ps tough the pat
tema approximately 6% volume It este pattern breath abit as oppose othe
Seu peo Be
sass caoaves.Pumpin’ Ex 3 shows simple two-chord progression with the bass slamming out
the eights and sticking to the rot. The tempo can range from 6 to 145 s When
playing this example fingerstyle, alternate between your index and middle fingers and
strive for consistent volume and tone. If you'e playing it pickstye ty the Line with all
ddownstroke as wellas with alternate picking. It's interesting to see how different each
variation can sound: using a pick or fingers closed alf-open,or open hi-hat with dit
ferent degrees of accent on the downbeat and, of couse, with widely different tem
os That’ probably why thisapproach gets used so fe: italy adapts itself to diferent
‘bes without major changes tothe pars
Pui’ Ex. 3
an or
Eo
ln Pumpin’ Ex. $ the note replayed staccato or short. Yu can achieve this fing:
style by muting the sting between stokes with the nex finger. Play 2 note with your
index finger, hen place your middle finger onthe string litle ary in preparation for
the next note. This creates 2 space between notes and gives the ine a distinctly tf
nfo Playing pickstye, you can dothisby resting the palm of your right hand on the
strings ust infront ofthe bridge. Mating with tferentdegees of pressure creates very