Pacific Drums and Percussion Playback • Track 6

Jungle Drumming
by Johnny Rabb
J ungle and Drum ‘n’ Bass music
are still fairly new on the music scene.
These two names really represent
many different sub-styles, however
for the sake of simplicity I will refer to
them as Jungle/Drum ‘n’ Bass.
Jungle/Drum ‘n’ Bass was born on
DJ’s turntables and is primarily com-
posed with samplers, drum machines
and sequence/computer software. This
energetic, quick, beat-driven music is
packed with enough excitement and
energy to power dance floors all over
the world. As soon as I heard the up
tempo loops and grooves, I was
hooked!
The best way to describe a basic
jungle/drum ‘n’ bass groove is to
imagine speeding up an old classic
funk groove or breakbeat to about
three times its original tempo. If you
did this you’d hear the drums blazing
at 160 beats per minute or faster!
Even though most Jungle/Drum ‘n’
Bass music is computer generated, I
thought it would be a great thing to
try to transfer these killer beats to the
acoustic drumset. My goal here is to
not only to get you started, but inter-
ested in this futuristic style of drum-
ming, as well. To get a head start on
this up-tempo music, be sure to check
out the groove exercises on the back.
I’d also recommend checking out
Jungle and Drum ‘n’ Bass music either
via the internet or by purchasing a
compilation album at your local record
store. This will not only immediately
expose you to the style, but will give
you a great practice/play-a-long tool.
The Acoustic Drum Machine
The first thing that I noticed when
I started listening to jungle/drum ’n’
bass music was that, since all of the
grooves are played or programmed
at such fast tempos, the pitch of the
drums is high. Another characteristic
is that the sound of the snares and
cymbals change all the time— some-
times even within the same measure.
To recreate the sound of these pro-
grammed grooves, I began my mis-
sion by attempting to achieve these
sounds acoustically. My set-up is com-
prised of three different snare drums
(10”, 12”and 14”). This gives me easy
access to the variety of sound options
which is crucial in simulating the
Jungle/Drum ‘n’ Bass style. My cymbal
set-up is also designed to simulate
electronic music by allowing me to get
multiple sounds from each cymbal. I
can play a trashy sounding hi-hat pat-
tern and turn around and play
a clean flat ride sound in
an instant. I love to
see people’s reac-
tions when they find
out what I am using
to create these sounds.
It was also helpful for me
to experiment with unorthodox tun-
ings for each of my drums. For exam-
ple, to achieve a trashy/Lo-Fi snare
sound, I detuned the top head of my
main snare drum (really loose and
flappy). Keep in mind, you wouldn’t
tune like this for a country, pop or
even rock gig. Next, I took my smaller
auxiliary snares and tuned them up
high to simulate a snare that has had
its pitch electronically changed in a
sampler. For Jungle/Drum ‘n’ Bass I
will often tune my drumset differently
between songs or grooves. This way,
one drum set can sound like many dif-
ferent kits throughout the course of a
live or recorded session.
Adding electronics to my acoustic
drumset is another way to to achieve
these sounds. When acoustic meets
electric, the options expand even
more. With a hybrid drum set my left
hand can play patterns on my snare
drums while my right hand adds other
sounds electronically. Playing an osti-
nato (repeated pattern) with my feet
either acoustically or electronically
and then playing the kit over the top
is another way to expand the kit for
Jungle/Drum ‘n’ Bass. This sounds like
a loop is playing under my kit groove.
When I was done with my experi-
menting I began calling my drum set
“the acoustic drum machine” because,
with an open mind, a drum key and a
little electricity, one drumset can
equal endless sounds. To hear an
example of this in action, you can
check out my latest
album “Acoustic
Machine” at
www.john-
nyrabb.com.
The same
drums were used
to record the whole
album, but they were tuned differently
for each song.
Playing Live And In Real time
In playing Jungle/Drum ‘n’ Bass
music my goal is to sound as if I’m a
human drum machine playing a pro-
grammed groove. Playing in real-time
means that there are no loops or pre-
programmed tracks/sequences playing
along with me. It takes a lot of disci-
pline to achieve this, not to mention
various drumset configurations and
sound options, but, give it a try. You’ll
find that whether you’re playing pop,
funk, jazz, latin or any other contem-
porary drum style, Jungle/Drum ‘n’
Bass grooves will open new doors for
your creativity, technique and inde-
pendence.

Johnny Rabb received his first drumset at the tender age of three. He later attended the pres-
tigious Berklee College of Music and has toured with Country music legends such as Tanya
Tucker and Hank Williams III. Believing that education is essential for the future of drumming,
Johnny has published instructional drum videos, children’s books and solo albums and he has
appeared at a variety of educational events throughout the United States, Canada, France,
Italy and Germany. Johnny’s well-developed technical abilities have also allowed him to win
and successfully defend the title of The World’s Fastest Drummer. His current record, which is
officially recognized by the Guinness World Records, is 1071 single stokes in 60 seconds.
 EXERCISES AND EXAMPLES
Jungle/D’n’B Groove #1 Jungle/D’n’B Groove #2

8th and 16th Note Groove Double Bass Jungle Groove

“Linear” 2-Bar Jungle Groove

Here are some examples for you to get started using only the snare drum, bass drum and hi-hat.
Take them slow at first and then gradually speed up to 160 beats per minute or higher when
you’re comfortable. The last pattern (“Linear”) is a 2-bar groove that can be played like a live
drum loop. Have fun!!
copyright 2001 johnnyraBB Publications

DISCOGRAPHY/VIDEOGRAPHY
ARTIST ALBUM/PROJECT
Johnny Rabb “Acoustic Machine” Jungle/Drum ‘n’ Bass (CD)
Johnny Rabb Jungle/Drum ‘n’ Bass for the Acoustic Drum Set (Book/2CD set)
Johnny Rabb Hip House Groove (Video/Book)
Johnny Rabb The Freehand Technique (Video/Book)
Johnny Rabb RhythmSaw Techniques (Video)

D
FAVORITE DRUMMERS
Steve Smith, Zigaboo Modeliste, Peter Erskine, Little John
Roberts, Abe Laboriel Jr., Jim Keltner, Steve Jordan, Sonny E
F G
Emory, Charlie Drayton, Sonny Emory, Omar Hakim, Raymond C H
Webber, Russell Batiste, David Garibaldi, Will Kennedy, Marco
Minnemann, Joey Heredia, Vinnie Colaiuta, Steve Gadd, Manu 6
Katche, Gregg Bissonette, Dave Weckl, Dennis Chambers,
Mike Clark, Stewart Copeland, Kenwood Dennard.. And tons 3
more!! 4
B 5

2
DRUM & CYMBAL SET-UP
1 - 5x10" Snare Drum A - 18" Ride Cymbal
2 - 5x14" Snare Drum B - 14" Hi-Hat Cymbals
A
3 - 8x10" Rack Tom C - 16" Crash Cymbal 1
4 - 5x12" Snare Drum D - 18" Ride Cymbal
PR-FL01-JR © PDP 2001

5 - 13x15" Floor Tom E - 10" Splash Cymbal

6 - 16x20" Bass Drum F - 10" China Cymbal
G - 16" Crash Cymbal
H - 16" China Cymbal

Pacific Drums and Percussion • Oxnard, California • USA • www.pacificdrums.com