DEBRIS.COMgood for a laugh, or possibly an aneurysm

I need to get limber after a long break, loosen up all the fused phalanges. Here’s a groove that will do that for me.

It’s in straight time, but cut me some slack — I haven’t touched a stick in six months. I’m shaking the cobwebs off, one meter at a time you might say.

The first half of each bar is the same throughout the groove; this establishes a structure from which we’ll attempt to hang music. The second half of each bar varies, injecting some rhythmic tension and interest, and maybe some melody.

The ride ostinato varies slightly across the pattern. You could call this organic, or just inconsistent if you’re one of those people who correct anyone who says “good morning” at ten seconds after noon. The idea behind the variation is to be sensitive to the rhythms happening elsewhere on the kit. Also, this way is easier to play; for example, it doesn’t require three hands.

You might want to loop the last two beats a few times until you get the coordination down. Feel free to use two kick pedals if you want, but be sure to swing your hi-hat foot back in time for the next downbeat. Note, too, that the snare hand has to catch the open hats on the + of 4 in bars 2 and 4.

    1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
RC  x x x xxx x  xx x x x xxx x  xx x x x xxx x x   x x x xx    x x 
SD   o oO      oO    o oO       O    o oO      oO O  o oO   OO  O   
KD  o o       o     o o       o  o  o o       o     o o       oo oo 
HH  x   x   x   x o x   x   x   x   x   x   x   x o x   x           

Patronize these links, man:

• Virtual Drummer loop
• MIDI
• MP3