Creating variation to a fundamental drum groove
Copyrighted materials: to view and download resources from this lesson, you’ll need to be in the UK and
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can alter a fundamental groove to create variation as the music develops.
Key learning points
- Repetition in drum grooves is important, but adding some contrast can create interest.
- Contrast works well at the end of a phrase and can be added in the following ways:
- adding new rhythms and sounds on a separate track
- altering the fundamental groove
- keeping the same pattern but using a different part of the drum kit (e.g. ride cymbal)
Keywords
Crash cymbal - a medium to large size cymbal used for dramatic efffect on the drum kit
Phrase - a section of a piece of music, often 2 or 4 bars long
Rhythm - a selection of long and short note durations in a pattern; all drum grooves have a rhythm
Common misconception
Pupils try to record their new ideas into one of the pitched instrument tracks.
Demonstrate this error before they have time to improvise new ideas.
Teacher tip
Encourage pupils to keep their musical ideas simple and only make small changes to the groove. Show an example of where the changes can become too busy before they improvise their new ideas.
Equipment
A DAW or other suitable compositional tool or instrument
Licence
Sign in to continue
Our content remains 100% free, but to access certain copyrighted materials, you'll need to sign in. This ensures we’re both staying within the rules.
P.S. Signing in also gives you more ways to make the most of Oak like unit downloads!
