Friday, February 08, 2019

Two hemiola coordination patterns

This is partly about rhythmic education, partly about drilling a couple of basic drumset coordination ideas, and partly about education on the polyrhythmic foundation of common funk rhythms. It is based on this page of hemiola variations, starting with the snare drum, and with the bass drum. I've put the patterns in some common meters, repeating unbroken, and in single measures of 2 and 4, which disrupts the pattern. I've also inverted those single-measure patterns, putting the beginning of the pattern on beat 2 (in 2/4) or 3 (in 4/4). The logic should be obvious when you play through the exercises.

You'll note a certain similarity to our recent rub-a-dub series of posts— file them in the same family of materials.




Put these patterns in context by playing them along with any of my practice loops. Playing through both pages of patterns a few times should be enough to learn everything you need from this.

Patterns with a bass drum on 1 and/or a snare drum on 2 and/or 4 suggest a funk time feel; patterns with the snare drum on 1 suggest a funk fill. For patterns starting with cymbal only, you can try adding a bass drum on 1.

Get the pdf

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