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3 Easy Steps To Improving Your Grooving On The Drumset
Sure, You can play the drums, but can you play a groove? First, lets define the term
groove. The official Dictionary.com definition is as follows :
Groove
1. a long, narrow cut or indentation in a surface, as the cut in a board to receive the tongue
of another board (tongue-and-groove joint), a furrow, or a natural indentation on an
organism.
2. the track or channel of a phonograph record for the needle or stylus.
3. a fixed routine: to get into a groove.
4. Printing. the furrow at the bottom of a piece of type.
5. Slang. an enjoyable time or experience.
6. to cut a groove in; furrow.
7. Slang.
a. to appreciate and enjoy.
b. to please immensely.
8. Slang.
a. to take great pleasure; enjoy oneself: He was grooving on the music.
b. to get along or interact well.
9. to fix in a groove.
10. in the groove, Slang.
a. in perfect functioning order.
Very Interesting. When applying these definitions to drumset playing... We can notice some
very desirable qualities to aspire to with our drumming.
Let's try to define groove as it pertains to drums and drumming.
To be in a groove while playing the drums, means to perfectly align ones internal rhythmic
meter to that of another sound source. Whether it's another musician, metronome, record or
even oneself. The idea is to achieve perfect rhythmic harmony with an outside source so it
seems as if your playing is almost floating on automatic pilot.
Now that we have our groove drumming definitions... Let's try to examine concepts to help
us improve on our groove drumming. Here are 3 easy steps to improving your grooving.
1. Think About The Groove.
It sounds very simple, but in reality it is not. How many times have you sat down at the
drumset to play a song and said to yourself... What is the groove of this song? Most
drummers will think of drum technique or what a cool drum fill they can create before
actually thinking about the groove. The important thing to remember is that you shouldn't try
and impress anyone, but rather try to make the overall song feel good. A good exercise for
this is to play your drums to a song without playing a drum fill for the entire length of the
song. The effect of this can be hypnotizing and that's a good thing. When your in that
trance... Your in a groove.
2. Subdivide
Subdivision is the means of breaking down a particular rhythm mentally to a higher
common denominator. For example... If you are playing a simple drum groove of four
quarter notes... Instead of thinking... one-two-three-four.... You instead think... one e and uh-
two e and uh- 3-e-and-uh- 4-e-and-uh. To visualize this, let's use this example :
This drum groove : X X X X
Becomes this drum groove : Xxxx Xxxx Xxxx Xxxx
As you can see, there is much less space between the notes played... Consequently, you
are much more likely to by precisely on the beat than if you only thought of the quarter
notes. This theory can be applied to any drum rhythm regardless of tempo or complexity. A
good exercise for this is to play straight quarter notes on a drum pad, with a metronome
played very slowly, at about 40 bpm, while only thinking about the quarter note pulse. As
you are doing this take note as to if you are striking the drum pad before or after the click.
Then, repeat the exercise while thinking in sixteenth notes. You should immediately notice
a vast improvement with your rhythmic accuracy and groove.
3. Record Yourself
In a recent Modern Drummer article pertaining to groove drumming, the question was
posed to a selection of famous and successful drummers... "How does one practice
groove on the drums?" Almost every single drummer answered in one form or another.. "I
record myself when I practice." This is very good advice. When one is playing drums, it's
easy to get caught up in other thoughts and let one's mind stray. If you record yourself your
mind will focus on the fact that you are being recorded, this will force you to concentrate on
what you are playing. That alone will help to improve your groove. After you have recorded
yourself, listen back to see if you are behind the beat or rushing the beat. A good exercise
for this is to record and listen back to yourself while practicing the previous two steps.
Well, there you have it... Some solid advice on groove drumming. If you follow the three
easy steps mentioned above... You will be well on your way to "Improving your Grooving"
on the drumset.
Sure, You can play the drums, but can you play a groove? First, lets define the term
groove. The official Dictionary.com definition is as follows :
Groove
1. a long, narrow cut or indentation in a surface, as the cut in a board to receive the tongue
of another board (tongue-and-groove joint), a furrow, or a natural indentation on an
organism.
2. the track or channel of a phonograph record for the needle or stylus.
3. a fixed routine: to get into a groove.
4. Printing. the furrow at the bottom of a piece of type.
5. Slang. an enjoyable time or experience.
6. to cut a groove in; furrow.
7. Slang.
a. to appreciate and enjoy.
b. to please immensely.
8. Slang.
a. to take great pleasure; enjoy oneself: He was grooving on the music.
b. to get along or interact well.
9. to fix in a groove.
10. in the groove, Slang.
a. in perfect functioning order.
Very Interesting. When applying these definitions to drumset playing... We can notice some
very desirable qualities to aspire to with our drumming.
Let's try to define groove as it pertains to drums and drumming.
To be in a groove while playing the drums, means to perfectly align ones internal rhythmic
meter to that of another sound source. Whether it's another musician, metronome, record or
even oneself. The idea is to achieve perfect rhythmic harmony with an outside source so it
seems as if your playing is almost floating on automatic pilot.
Now that we have our groove drumming definitions... Let's try to examine concepts to help
us improve on our groove drumming. Here are 3 easy steps to improving your grooving.
1. Think About The Groove.
It sounds very simple, but in reality it is not. How many times have you sat down at the
drumset to play a song and said to yourself... What is the groove of this song? Most
drummers will think of drum technique or what a cool drum fill they can create before
actually thinking about the groove. The important thing to remember is that you shouldn't try
and impress anyone, but rather try to make the overall song feel good. A good exercise for
this is to play your drums to a song without playing a drum fill for the entire length of the
song. The effect of this can be hypnotizing and that's a good thing. When your in that
trance... Your in a groove.
2. Subdivide
Subdivision is the means of breaking down a particular rhythm mentally to a higher
common denominator. For example... If you are playing a simple drum groove of four
quarter notes... Instead of thinking... one-two-three-four.... You instead think... one e and uh-
two e and uh- 3-e-and-uh- 4-e-and-uh. To visualize this, let's use this example :
This drum groove : X X X X
Becomes this drum groove : Xxxx Xxxx Xxxx Xxxx
As you can see, there is much less space between the notes played... Consequently, you
are much more likely to by precisely on the beat than if you only thought of the quarter
notes. This theory can be applied to any drum rhythm regardless of tempo or complexity. A
good exercise for this is to play straight quarter notes on a drum pad, with a metronome
played very slowly, at about 40 bpm, while only thinking about the quarter note pulse. As
you are doing this take note as to if you are striking the drum pad before or after the click.
Then, repeat the exercise while thinking in sixteenth notes. You should immediately notice
a vast improvement with your rhythmic accuracy and groove.
3. Record Yourself
In a recent Modern Drummer article pertaining to groove drumming, the question was
posed to a selection of famous and successful drummers... "How does one practice
groove on the drums?" Almost every single drummer answered in one form or another.. "I
record myself when I practice." This is very good advice. When one is playing drums, it's
easy to get caught up in other thoughts and let one's mind stray. If you record yourself your
mind will focus on the fact that you are being recorded, this will force you to concentrate on
what you are playing. That alone will help to improve your groove. After you have recorded
yourself, listen back to see if you are behind the beat or rushing the beat. A good exercise
for this is to record and listen back to yourself while practicing the previous two steps.
Well, there you have it... Some solid advice on groove drumming. If you follow the three
easy steps mentioned above... You will be well on your way to "Improving your Grooving"
on the drumset.