I'm up to my butt in grooves.

stellar92010

Senior Member
My teacher is groove-mad. But I think its a good thing. I've been through lots of different 8th note, 16th note HH groves, as well as 8th, 16th and 1/4 not ride patterns. And its done wonders for technique.

Then I've started getting into some linear time grooves but...the thing right now is exotic rhythms. He's got me going on Samba, Songo, and Mozambique, and we are getting ready to start some West African stuff.

His reasoning is that 1) Grooves are what music is made of. Bands don't want soloist drummers, they want guys who hold a band together with mean meter 2) 90% of any good song you listen to will be groove 3) Once you master Afro-Cuban, West African, and Brazilian Rhythms on a kit, using all four limbs, you've arrived as a drummer in terms of rhythm, coordination, and independence.

I have to admit, it seems like its working. I'm not great at them yet, but I can feel they are really pushing my rhythmic boundaries far beyond what I imagined.

What's anyone else's experience with grooves, especially exotic rhythms?
 
My teacher is groove-mad. But I think its a good thing. I've been through lots of different 8th note, 16th note HH groves, as well as 8th, 16th and 1/4 not ride patterns. And its done wonders for technique.

Then I've started getting into some linear time grooves but...the thing right now is exotic rhythms. He's got me going on Samba, Songo, and Mozambique, and we are getting ready to start some West African stuff.

His reasoning is that 1) Grooves are what music is made of. Bands don't want soloist drummers, they want guys who hold a band together with mean meter 2) 90% of any good song you listen to will be groove 3) Once you master Afro-Cuban, West African, and Brazilian Rhythms on a kit, using all four limbs, you've arrived as a drummer in terms of rhythm, coordination, and independence.

I have to admit, it seems like its working. I'm not great at them yet, but I can feel they are really pushing my rhythmic boundaries far beyond what I imagined.

What's anyone else's experience with grooves, especially exotic rhythms?

I agree with all of the above. I do think it's important to experience a wider vocabulary musically to help influence your own expression and voice on the kit. For me, it was sub divisional understanding, which probably was brought on by learning a lot of Afro-Cuban, Brazilian and other Latin Styles.

Understanding how music is subdivided can not only help you understand odd times, but it can also create a flare In your playing that can really make you GROOVE. Being able to feel another subdivision at the same time as playing another is a wonderful feeling, and for me being able to reference groups of seven and even nine in a 4 bar groove really makes you feel good and the band too.

There is a disclaimer however. When you're 'up to your eye balls in groove' you need to be careful. Decide what you want from drums. I knew a guy that spent all day practicing and playing along to Jazz records... Did I ever see him play Jazz? Nope... He was influenced by others around him and thought in by working on Jazz all day everyday even though he never creatively played it, he would somehow gain respect from others... What's the point in practicing gospel chops all day every day if you play in a bossa nova band? Catching my drift?

Other genres offer a wide vocabulary for you, but if you find yourself never playing in a Samba band, then what would be the point spending hours learning all of that stuff constantly? Practice for the gig - if you plan to be an all round session player - then go for it.

But - (haters out there) do not be ignorant, learn and learn and learn. Like I said, don't be a robot playing from the book. Immerse yourself in the history, the culture when you learn another genre. It will really help you learn to express yourself if you ever get the chance to play it live.
 
Sounds like an amazing teacher!

There's so much value in learning other styles of music - you can't really overstate its impact.

For example, I've always been kind of a hybrid Beatles/Hard Rock/Post Punk guy, and I tend to like things on the faster side and a little off the beaten path. Jesus Lizard is one my favorites that I take cues from - lots of interesting grooves with a big fat pocket.

But I also spent a lot of time in my formative years (and even now) learning the basic principles of playing jazz and world rhythms even though I never had any intention of playing those styles myself. I'm not super good at any of them, but that's hardly the point - I'm aware of their existence and the effect they have, most notably that there's a lot of very groovy dancable stuff that doesn't rely on 2 & 4, and that alone has opened a Pandora's box of possibilities.

And wouldn't you know it, those rhythmic influences come out in my playing all the time. I can be slamming along with some punk-fusion shtick and drive it comfortably and predictably without having to rely on a traditional 2 & 4 back beat - and without worrying about being authentic to where that influence came from. I recently lifted a Peter Erskine snippet from his playing with Weather Report and based a whole song around it - such a sweet little two bar thing that came and went in his playing. I thought was so awesome as a just stand-alone groove repeated ad infinitum, and I can (and do) groove on it solo for hours and never get tired of it.

Groove is king. All the fills and whatever other chops you want to throw in should just be an extension of the groove. The more vocabulary you have in your groove bag, and the more comfortable you are with it, the more adaptable and interesting your playing will be no matter what genre you're playing ...

... okay, that also depends on if you're being hired to play within predefined boundaries, but even then, there's never gonna be downside to having a well-developed groove sense.
 
Last edited:
My teacher is groove-mad. But I think its a good thing. I've been through lots of different 8th note, 16th note HH groves, as well as 8th, 16th and 1/4 not ride patterns. And its done wonders for technique.

Then I've started getting into some linear time grooves but...the thing right now is exotic rhythms. He's got me going on Samba, Songo, and Mozambique, and we are getting ready to start some West African stuff.

His reasoning is that 1) Grooves are what music is made of. Bands don't want soloist drummers, they want guys who hold a band together with mean meter 2) 90% of any good song you listen to will be groove 3) Once you master Afro-Cuban, West African, and Brazilian Rhythms on a kit, using all four limbs, you've arrived as a drummer in terms of rhythm, coordination, and independence.

I have to admit, it seems like its working. I'm not great at them yet, but I can feel they are really pushing my rhythmic boundaries far beyond what I imagined.

What's anyone else's experience with grooves, especially exotic rhythms?

I'm always looking to expand/improve my grooves "library" and techniques.
Do you have any specific material you could post links to or name, if published, you can share? A ton of info is on YouTube, but in many cases inadequately demonstrated/taught or explained. I seem to learn fastest by combining sight reading of material along with watching/listening to the grooves as well. Thanks in advance for any info.
 
I'm always looking to expand/improve my grooves "library" and techniques.
Do you have any specific material you could post links to or name, if published, you can share? A ton of info is on YouTube, but in many cases inadequately demonstrated/taught or explained. I seem to learn fastest by combining sight reading of material along with watching/listening to the grooves as well. Thanks in advance for any info.

This is the main one we are using right now:

http://www.amazon.com/Advanced-Conc...=1409292678&sr=8-1&keywords=advanced+concepts
 

One of my all-time favorite books - Kim is an amazing drummer and teacher...

I got into jazz and latin rhythms before getting into this book - but Advanced Concepts is a great overall view of styles (and techniques) that every drummer should know... You'll find as you get into more musical situations, getting acquainted with grooves from around the world will really open you up creatively. How deeply you want to get into these rhythms is up to you - that'll depend on the types of music that you end up playing.
 
Back
Top