Accents
Sometimes you may want to play certain notes louder than others for dramatic effect. This is when accents are used. An accent is indicated by a wedge mark placed above or below the note as shown.
This example contains accents both on and off the beat. The accents apply to the snare drum only. When learning accents, the natural tendency is to accent the other limbs as well. However, this is exactly what you need to train yourself not to do. Listen carefully to your playing and keep the volume of the bass drum even regardless of whether you are playing an accent on the snare drum or not.
Once you are comfortable with the previous example, try this groove which uses accents on the snare drum on the backbeat. Once again, try not to accent the other parts, e.g., the right hand when playing the snare drum accents.
Know Your Drums…
Sticks
Drumsticks come in a huge variety of shapes, sizes and materials. The most common woods are hickory, maple and oak. Sticks can also be made from aluminum and various synthetic materials such as nylon and carbon fiber. The weight of the stick affects both its projection and how easy it is to control, as does the length. The shape and material of the tip also has a big influence on tone production and comes in various shapes such as round, pointed, tear drop and barrel. Nylon tips are brighter in tone and more durable than wood.
As well as eighth notes, it is important to have control of accents using the other beat subdivisions you have learned, i.e., triplets and sixteenth notes. Here are some examples to practice. These are only a basic introduction to accents. For a more in-depth study of accents, see Progressive Drum Method by Craig Lauritsen.
