How To Play Any Drum Beat #1 — Bass Drum Patterns

View fullsize

Page 1 preview

The title of this post might sound like it’s over-promising, but I don’t think it is!

By practicing these exercises you’re going to develop the ability to play a lot of bass drum patterns. Each of which can be combined and adapted to make pretty much every groove you could dream of playing.

Obviously a drum beat is more that just bass drums, which is why this is only part one. We’ll build on this in future lessons.

Each exercise is two beats long and contains the same rideline, a hi-hat on each downbeat and a snare on beat 2 — play an exercise twice you’ll have played a standard four beat groove with the snare on beats 2 and 4. What changes in each exercise is the rhythm that you’re playing on the bass drum. For now we’re only dealing with crotchets, quavers and semiquavers ( aka quarter notes, eighth notes and sixteenth notes). We’ll look at triplets in part two.

Here’s how to practice these exercises:

1. Count the rhythm of the exercise you’re working on. I’ve written out the count for the rhythm below each exercise to help you. I’d suggest counting “1e+a 2e+a” whilst emphasising the notes you’re going to be playing. For example, exercise 7 would be “1e+a 2e+a”. If you still struggle with the rhythm, use this Groove Scribe template and add the relevant bass drums.

2. Practice every exercise individually. Focus on the rhythm you’re playing on the bass drum and how it relates to the downbeat (the “1,2,3,4”). By only playing our hi-hat on the downbeats we’re helping to reinforce this relationship. It’s a good idea to practice to a metronome.

3. Gradually increase the tempo, but don’t force it. Focus on how you’re playing, and keep your leg muscles relaxed.

4. Once you can play each pattern comfortably, pair them up. You can also try chopping up the exercises. Combining beat 1 from one exercise with beat 2 from another. For example here’s a groove combining both 1 and 18.

After practicing these exercises you should notice a real difference in your playing. You’ll have a broader vocabulary of bass drum patterns and you’ll be able to play them in a controlled, rhythmically accurate way.

In the next lesson we’re going to look at playing triplet rhythms on the bass drum.

If you’d like to be updated about future posts, you can sign up here. If you have any questions or requests, leave a comment below.

👉 Download Worksheet / How I Write Drum Notation