Creating a Drum Part
The following groove features a notated bass guitar part and a simple rock beat. The drum pattern uses an alternating kick and snare on the quarter notes and a simple eighth note hi-hat pattern.
Music derives its interest from the application of tension and release.
Tension is created rhythmically through the use of offbeats. Using more offbeats creates greater rhythmic tension and greater forward motion.
The beat used in example 950 is rhythmically resolved as the rhythmic emphasis (created by the kick and snare rhythm) is on all the onbeats (beats 1,2,3,4).
The amount of forward motion used in a groove depends upon the music and the music style (e.g., Fusion grooves generally contain more forward motion than Rock grooves), the other musicians involved, and the personal choice of the drummer.
This example contains greater forward motion through the use of kick on beats "3+" and "4+" (both bars) and the open hi-hats on the same beats of bar 2.
Different parts of the drumkit (voices, sound sources) can have a greater or lesser effect on the degree of forward motion, e.g., shifting a snare accent to an offbeat has a more powerful impact than accenting an offbeat hi-hat.
The following example contains an accented offbeat snare hit in bar 2. Listen to the effect it has on the overall "feel" of the music.
Adding ghost notes is an excellent way to subtly create more forward motion without cluttering the music.
All unaccented snare hits are ghosted in the following example.
Another concept to be aware of when creating a groove is that of unison and counterpoint. Using the interaction of bass guitar and drums, unison is where the rhythm of the bass guitar is repeated in the drum pattern. The previous 4 examples all contained a bass drum rhythm which was in unison with the bass guitar.
The following example introduces counterpoint in the bass drum line on beats "1+", "2e", "4e" and "4a" in the second bar.
This example features a syncopated hi-hat pattern. The bass drum plays a unison line with the bass guitar. The combination of these elements gives the groove a "funky feel".
Linear patterns tend to be very syncopated and hence contain a greater degree of forward motion.
Musicality is a combination of technical execution, stylistic accuracy, musical appropriateness and rhythmic and sound source choices. Some of the greatest ever drum grooves only sound great because of when and where they were played. They "lifted" the music to another level. This should be the goal of all drummers.
A few things to keep in mind:
- Often less is more.
- All music styles contain unique rhythmic nuances (feel) and place differing degrees of importance on different sound sources. The only way to play any style convincingly is to listen to as much material as possible as often as possible.
