Drum'n'Bass is a style that caught me by the ears a few years ago. It's primarily an electronic style, but drummers such as Johnny Rabb, JoJo Mayer, Tony Verderosa and Yuval Gabay have developed it into a live phenomenon. Here's a few ideas to get you started.
When playing this particular style, remember:
1. Keep everything light and clean. Your aim is to play these grooves at 160bpm or more so make sure your sound is uncluttered.
2. Make sure accuracy is your first focus, not speed! Start these grooves off SLOWLY and be obsessive about getting each note in the right place. Counting is a good idea.
3. RELAX!! You're playing at fast tempos for extended periods of time. While d'n'b is great for endurance, you need to make sure you're relaxed at faster tempos. Any tension will affect the groove and make it sound forced.
4. Practice each groove until the feeling is almost trance-like. This is one of the characteristics of d'n'b. The goal is to make the groove so comfortable within a song that a subtle change (even one note) takes the song to a new level.
Tips for getting the most out of these exercises:
1. GROOVE EXTENSION: Try chaining two of the grooves together to form a 2-bar loop.
2. GROOVE 'N' FILL: Play three bars of one groove (#2 for example), then tack one bar of another groove (#1 for example) on the end. It creates a nice tension-and-release feel.
3. DIFFERENT CYMBALS: Play two bars using the hi-hats and then two bars on the ride cymbal. Form a 4-bar loop using this concept.
4. ALTERED DRUM KIT: Johnny Rabb developed the Safari cymbals in conjunction with Meinl. These are fantastic cymbals which emulate the controlled electronic drum kit sound that works so well for this style. If you can't afford the cymbals, there are a few things you can do:
- Tune up your bass drum and muffle it so it has a tight controlled sound.
- Place a splash cymbal on the snare drum to give it a tuned-up, gated sound. Alternatively get a Drumbal! They are relatively cheap and come with a handle. Buying one of these will give you a whole new palette of sounds to experiment with that may well morph across into your usual playing style.
- Get a sizzle for your ride cymbal. Plug chains work well here, but Pro Mark produce some nice sizzlers that also work very well.
- Tune up your bass drum and muffle it so it has a tight controlled sound.
- Place a splash cymbal on the snare drum to give it a tuned-up, gated sound. Alternatively get a Drumbal! They are relatively cheap and come with a handle. Buying one of these will give you a whole new palette of sounds to experiment with that may well morph across into your usual playing style.
- Get a sizzle for your ride cymbal. Plug chains work well here, but Pro Mark produce some nice sizzlers that also work very well.
Enjoy!
TK >O
TK >O
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