This week I’ve chosen 6 of 1 thing by Craig David. Now I know this isn’t exactly a hard core track for drums, but it’s actually a great play! It’s full of energy and has plenty of opportunity to try out some flashy stuff!
If you’re at the stage where you use sextuplet fills then here is a great place to try some. It’s also a good track to work on your ghost note snare drums within the groove if you play that kinda thing.
Here’s the breakdown:
Section No. of bars
Intro 1 (ish!) fill “+a4e+a”
Chorus 8
1st Verse 8
2nd Verse 8
Bridge 8
Chorus 8
3rd Verse 8
Bridge 8
Chorus 8
Mid section 16
Chorus 8
Chorus 8
Chorus 8 (end “1 +” with a flam on the snare on the “1” and bass/crash on the “+” of the 8th bar.)
Try and make the verses real tight, bridges build a little, chorus flashy and the mid section chilled.
This week I’ve chosen Golden Touch by Razorlight as I’m not on my computer and decided to take advantage of the choice of different bands I wouldn’t have in my collection!
Quite a few people like to play along to the likes of Razorlight, and this song I vaguely know so I thought we could give it a crack.
This track is great for working on your counting (some stopping and starting as well as sections with odd amounts of bars), lifts, and general slow playing while keeping a constant and even sound.
To let you know, the lifts are on the “+ of 1” and the “+ of 3” and you can play the floor tom on the “a of 2 and the “a of 4” then the bass on the “1” and “3”. (Getting the timing smooth on this can be a bit of a challenge so you might need to work at it)
As I’m not as my computer this week I can’t write it for you like I usually do so you’ll have to use your brains and figure it out from that!
Below is a breakdown of Home by Michael Buble, it shows the section name and number of bars.
(If I write .5 in any section, e.g. 8.5 it means count 8x normal bars and then count just half a bar “1 + 2 +” then back to “1” again. Obviously if you’ve covered different time signatures then you know it’s just a bar of 2/4)
This week I’ve chosen Home by Michael Buble because recently I’ve given you some fast and rocky tracks, so this week I thought I’d choose a chilled out track! But don’t let that fool you… it’s still tricky to get right! It’s also one I’m learning on piano so I thought it appropriate.
Now this track has some bars of 2/4 in it…. But I’m just gonna use the 0.5 decimal as it’s easier!
When you play it try to be sympathetic to the style…. You should be thinking about texture and feeling rather than just smacking the right thing in the right place! It’s not about WHAT you play it’s about HOW you play it.
It’s actually harder to get right than it sounds so give it a listen first and I’ll give you the breakdown tomorrow. And please don’t just shy away from it if it isn’t your particular style. Learning to adapt to all styles with make you a stronger player so please accept the challenge!
This week I’ve chosen Dude Looks Like a Lady as it’s such a classic and I haven’t heard it in a while.
It’s what I’d call a meat and potatoes kinda track…. It’s simple, but effective. It’s all you need.
It’s relatively fast, but simple enough for a beginner to be able to get to grips with.
It’s also good to work on your ¼ note, bell of the ride groove – a classic groove amongst old school rock tracks.
Here’s the breakdown…..
Section No. of Bars
Intro part 1 4 (no drums)
Intro part 2 4 (Drums in but no hi hat.)
Inst. 8
1st Verse 8
Inst 4
2nd Verse 8 (stabs with vocals “blow me a-way” in 8th bar)
Here are three different grooves for Genie in a Bottle, beginner, intermediate and advanced, click on the main title above to go to the article, then click on the link to the PDF.
This week I’ve chose Genie in a Bottle by Christina Aguilara because it can be played by someone who’s just started out and by someone who’s developing their double pedal work and be challenging for both parties.
The basic structure of this track is easy, and if you’re a beginner just keeping a solid groove throughout is all that’s needed. But if you’re someone who’s a more seasoned played, and are especially working on improving your double pedal game then this is a fantastic track to work on!
Here’s the breakdown and tomorrow I’ll write you up some grooves to try.
Track of the week Men in Black by Forever the Sickest Kid. Firstly, yes, I know…. The name “Forever the Sickest Kid”….. I don’t quite know why you’d want to name your band that but hey! This is another Alien Ant Farm, Fallout Boy type cover, but it’s pretty cool which is why I’ve chosen it this week.
It’s kinda half funky, half rocky with a little bit of a dancy kinda vibe! It’s great! I can imagine rocking out on a beach in Miami at sundown with some scantily clad women getting my groove on!
This is a pretty complex track to play so it’s not for those who either don’t like to work at things or haven’t been playing long.
Today I’ll give you the breakdown and over the next two days I’ll give you some grooves and fills from the track…
Section No. of Bars
Intro 2
Chorus 8
Inst. 4
1st Verse 12
Chorus 8
Inst. 2
2nd Verse 12
Bridge (Double Time) 4.5 (Double time 9….. Stop on 7th then stab with lyrics “men”… “in”…. “black”
then stop for a bar…..Remember this is still a double time bar so it goes by very quickly!)
Break (Half Time) 2 ¼ This bit is real tricky to count so pay attention. Count “1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + +” for the 1st bar. In terms of a time signature the 1st bar is in 9/8 but if you’re not familiar with that yet then just follow the count I suggested. Though it’s STILL tricky!
Bridge (normal time again) 8 (Stop on the “1” of the 8th bar)
Chorus 8
Outro (like chorus but half time) 8
I recommend listening and counting to the track (especially the tricky bit around 1min 30secs until 2mins) quite a
few times before you try and play it!
