Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Bass drum variations for Bossa Nova — adding left hand

This is something I've been meaning to do for some time. I like the page of bossa nova bass drum variations I did before, but it's a little difficult to visualize the left hand part along with them, so I've gone ahead and added one here. I've used the partido alto rhythm, which I favor over the standard left hand part— maybe at some point I'll slap this together with that rhythm for you. Once again, these variations are good for phrase endings and breaks— they are not meant to be played repetitively when you use them in actual music. It's a good idea to practice these along with a recording of actual Brazilian bossa nova— get hold of some Milton Banana recordings.



We're actually developing a little bit of excess capacity here, because in most of the bossa nova I listen to, bass drum variations are infrequent, and when they do happen, the left hand does not continue its independent part— it either stops, or follows the BD variation somehow. In fact, a good way to practice this page is to stop the time feel on the second measure and just play the right hand (on the cymbal or hihat) in unison with the bass drum. You can feel free to mix in the left hand (either rim click or on the drum normally) in unison with the RH/RF as well. What you're basically doing there is practicing your ensemble figures— they are usually handled simply like that.  

Get the pdf

1 comment:

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