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As a percussionist, it pains me to see all these pre-recorded and boring drum loops that are often used in music. Genres such as techno and pop suffer drastically from this. This thread will be dedicated to some basic drum patterns and permutations that can be used to enhance your music, some fill ideas, and music theory for the kit. This thread will not cover pitched percussion instruments such as the glockenspiel, marimba, and xylophone. This thread will also not cover unpitched percussion instruments such as the cowbell, guiro, and slapstick, unless they are incorporated into the drumset. You should have basic music knowledge when reading this thread, or you may not fully appreciate it. It is for musicians who cannot play drums who want to write a fitting part.
Basic Drum Patterns
Simply put, any drummer worth his salt can play all of these patterns and permutations. If you are a drummer and you can't play all of these with ease, try asking your teacher for help in these genres of music. I've had gigs where I was literally walked on stage, given a pair of sticks, trumpet sheet music, and told to play. You need to be able to play any genre at any instant.
To a musician who wants to add in drum parts, this section will give a basic examples of parts to fit genres of music. Once you have the part down, consider adding in bass, snare, and hi-hat permutations to make your part more interesting. Also look in the next section for help with fill ideas.
Rock
Rock is played straight, with heavy emphasis on 2 and 4. Usually the snare does not play on any other beats, except fills or group hits. Keep the hi-hat with a steady pulse. The bass drum is the part you change. If you're having a hard time finding where to insert a bass drum, simply line it up with whatever the bass player is playing. Usually the hi-hat will be playing straight eights or sixteenth notes. Some more advanced parts have unique syncopated hi-hat and snare parts in order to create the groove.
Funk
Funk is my personal favorite genre of music to play. It is played straight, with very heavy bass. Snare is usually played on 2 and 4, but it is typical and acceptable to see snare pushed back to the + or ahead to the +. Funk usually has a 16th note feel, with a two layer sound developed by bass and snare. Grace notes are very typical on the snare.
When playing funk, remember, it's all about the accents. Keep all your snare hits very low, except the accents. Adding hi-hat accents can add a whole new layer to the sound. The paradiddle is a technique often used by drummers to create the "two layer sound" concept. A paradiddle is either eighth notes or sixteenth notes played r l r r l r l l, with the r's being a right hand hit and the l's being a left hand hit. Try putting the right hand over the hi-hat, and the left hand on the snare. Only accent the downbeat on the snare (it will land right on 2).
Latin
There are a lot of different latin feels you can have, but the most important is the tempo. If someone says "Play a mambo" or "Play a bossa nova", they are talking about a specific tempo. This causes quite a tizzy when you're playing shows for dancers. One group of people who all dance with each other may call a mambo "this this this" and another group may call it "this this this".
With a few exceptions, when you play Latin you will be using a "Samba" foot pattern. Almost everyone will recognize the iconic "thump, thump thump" sound. There is a bass note on 1, the + of 2, 3, and the + of 4. There is hi-hat on 2 and 4. Unlike most rock and funk where you play on the hi-hat with a stick, in Latin you use the foot pedal. It will have a more crisp sound in most instances.
The next thing to consider is whether or not the song utilizes a clave. You should google Rhoomba (spelling?) and Son clave for starters. I'm not going to go into detail about the clave but it is important to remember, clave translates to "key". This is because it holds the music together and pushes the band forwards. Your clave should be the same in all the bars, don't switch between two different styles of clave.
If you don't utilize a clave, the most common thing to do is a rimstick on 2 and a hi-tom hit on 4 +.
The cymbal will play straight eighths at lower tempos. At higher tempos consider matching the bell of the cymbal to the montuno your pianist is playing.
Jazz
Writing a drum part for Jazz will be an interesting experience for you. If you're writing sheet music, you don't even have to write out a part unless you want to. Most band directors will just give the drummer the 3rd trumpet part and the drummer will read the road map and play cues. If you are going to write a jazz part, there are a few things to consider. What style you say will drastically change how a drummer plays. For example, Hard Bop is really fast, and has a lot of comping on the snare, while a Jazz ballad will usually involve very little comping at all. Because of the style of this music, there are hundreds of ways you can play things. So let's go with a list of DO's and DONT's
Alternative
Go away your music is awful
Techno/House/Any of that Stuff
The most important thing in this style of music is a constant pulse and constant groove. A very common pattern is the "boots and cats" pattern (try saying that fast you'll get the idea). It involves bass on 1 and 3, snare on 2 and 4, and hi-hat every +. If you're making this stuff you probably know what kindof a feel you want anyways. I would recommend keeping the fills to an absolute minimum though.
Hip Hop/Rap
"OMG HIP HOP ISNT RAP GO AWAY MAYNE" course not but they have similar feels. Rarely is the cymbal used for time, only crashes. Keep straight sixteenths or eighths on the hi-hat, or swing them. Snare on 2 and 4. Bass ALL OVER THE PLACE. Literally just pepper it in there wherever you want it, whatever sounds right, is right. If you swing the hi-hat, swing the bass aswell.
Time Signatures and all that Jazz
Whenever you have a time signature, think of it as a grouping of 2's and 3's. For example if you want to write a swing chart in 7/8, think of it as 2+2+3. The hi-hat would land on 2, 4, and 7. Listen to Brubecks famous album "Time Out" for specific ideas about time signatures.
Q&A
Q: Man I have such a good idea for this drum part why isn't it working out?
A: Consider the pulse of song. You can write an awesome syncopated drum part that sounds tight, but it doesn't line up with the song. Congratulations what you've just written is useless. Start with a basic pattern. Start changing it and coming up with permutations. Listen to each one, how is the pulse being changed? Does it have the same feel? Can people dance to this (if it's supposed to be danced to)? If you can't answer those questions favorably then consider trying again.
Q: Why do I even have to write a drum part?
A: If you're writing an arrangement you want the person to be able to play the song. If they're sightreading a song they've never heard, it could be disaster. If you're creating a drum part for music you've created digitally, you probably want the drum part, otherwise you simply won't have drums in your song.
Q: Are there exceptions to the things you've written up there? My friend so and so told me you can do this and this and this.
A: Nothing is written in stone. You play what matches the music. Think of these as guidelines for people who are floundering in the dark about writing for drums.
Quarter Notes: 1, 2, 3, 4
Eighth Notes: 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
Tripplet: 1 o let 2 o let 3 o let 4 o let
Sixteenth Note: 1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a
Eighth Notes: 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
Tripplet: 1 o let 2 o let 3 o let 4 o let
Sixteenth Note: 1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a
Drumset Vocabulary - The different pieces of the typical drumset include snare, bass, hi-hat, toms, and cymbals. If you aren't familiar with these terms you might want to google or wikipedia them.
Here are some basic vocabulary terms you will need to know to fully appreciate this thread. It is assumed you know things such as beats and measures.Drum Fill - Or simply called a fill. These are short soloes a drummer plays in order to set up the band. They are usually shorter then 2 bars, and begin anywhere in those 8 beats.
Solo - A time when only a single instrument is playing, or a single instrument with rhythym section.
Clave - Translates to "Key". The Clave is an essential sound of Latin and World music. Claves are played in a few different forms, usually son or rumba clave. This will be covered in depth later.
Downbeat - Beats 1, 2, 3, and 4. Downbeats do not include e, +, or a. They also don't include O or Let.
Solo - A time when only a single instrument is playing, or a single instrument with rhythym section.
Clave - Translates to "Key". The Clave is an essential sound of Latin and World music. Claves are played in a few different forms, usually son or rumba clave. This will be covered in depth later.
Downbeat - Beats 1, 2, 3, and 4. Downbeats do not include e, +, or a. They also don't include O or Let.
Basic Drum Patterns
Simply put, any drummer worth his salt can play all of these patterns and permutations. If you are a drummer and you can't play all of these with ease, try asking your teacher for help in these genres of music. I've had gigs where I was literally walked on stage, given a pair of sticks, trumpet sheet music, and told to play. You need to be able to play any genre at any instant.
To a musician who wants to add in drum parts, this section will give a basic examples of parts to fit genres of music. Once you have the part down, consider adding in bass, snare, and hi-hat permutations to make your part more interesting. Also look in the next section for help with fill ideas.
Rock
Rock is played straight, with heavy emphasis on 2 and 4. Usually the snare does not play on any other beats, except fills or group hits. Keep the hi-hat with a steady pulse. The bass drum is the part you change. If you're having a hard time finding where to insert a bass drum, simply line it up with whatever the bass player is playing. Usually the hi-hat will be playing straight eights or sixteenth notes. Some more advanced parts have unique syncopated hi-hat and snare parts in order to create the groove.
Funk
Funk is my personal favorite genre of music to play. It is played straight, with very heavy bass. Snare is usually played on 2 and 4, but it is typical and acceptable to see snare pushed back to the + or ahead to the +. Funk usually has a 16th note feel, with a two layer sound developed by bass and snare. Grace notes are very typical on the snare.
When playing funk, remember, it's all about the accents. Keep all your snare hits very low, except the accents. Adding hi-hat accents can add a whole new layer to the sound. The paradiddle is a technique often used by drummers to create the "two layer sound" concept. A paradiddle is either eighth notes or sixteenth notes played r l r r l r l l, with the r's being a right hand hit and the l's being a left hand hit. Try putting the right hand over the hi-hat, and the left hand on the snare. Only accent the downbeat on the snare (it will land right on 2).
Latin
There are a lot of different latin feels you can have, but the most important is the tempo. If someone says "Play a mambo" or "Play a bossa nova", they are talking about a specific tempo. This causes quite a tizzy when you're playing shows for dancers. One group of people who all dance with each other may call a mambo "this this this" and another group may call it "this this this".
With a few exceptions, when you play Latin you will be using a "Samba" foot pattern. Almost everyone will recognize the iconic "thump, thump thump" sound. There is a bass note on 1, the + of 2, 3, and the + of 4. There is hi-hat on 2 and 4. Unlike most rock and funk where you play on the hi-hat with a stick, in Latin you use the foot pedal. It will have a more crisp sound in most instances.
The next thing to consider is whether or not the song utilizes a clave. You should google Rhoomba (spelling?) and Son clave for starters. I'm not going to go into detail about the clave but it is important to remember, clave translates to "key". This is because it holds the music together and pushes the band forwards. Your clave should be the same in all the bars, don't switch between two different styles of clave.
If you don't utilize a clave, the most common thing to do is a rimstick on 2 and a hi-tom hit on 4 +.
The cymbal will play straight eighths at lower tempos. At higher tempos consider matching the bell of the cymbal to the montuno your pianist is playing.
Jazz
Writing a drum part for Jazz will be an interesting experience for you. If you're writing sheet music, you don't even have to write out a part unless you want to. Most band directors will just give the drummer the 3rd trumpet part and the drummer will read the road map and play cues. If you are going to write a jazz part, there are a few things to consider. What style you say will drastically change how a drummer plays. For example, Hard Bop is really fast, and has a lot of comping on the snare, while a Jazz ballad will usually involve very little comping at all. Because of the style of this music, there are hundreds of ways you can play things. So let's go with a list of DO's and DONT's
| DO'S | DONT'S |
| Include hit marks to play figures with the band | Write out a fill for the drummer |
| Include all style and feel changes | Expect a drummer to know there is a style/feel change without writing it |
| Include a complete roadmap of the chart | Leave things off the roadmap |
| Include the basic pattern you want the drummer to play for time | Write a different pattern for every single bar with a minor permutation and expect someone to actually play it. |
| EMPHASIZE THE UPBEAT | Emphasize the downbeat |
Alternative
Go away your music is awful
Techno/House/Any of that Stuff
The most important thing in this style of music is a constant pulse and constant groove. A very common pattern is the "boots and cats" pattern (try saying that fast you'll get the idea). It involves bass on 1 and 3, snare on 2 and 4, and hi-hat every +. If you're making this stuff you probably know what kindof a feel you want anyways. I would recommend keeping the fills to an absolute minimum though.
Hip Hop/Rap
"OMG HIP HOP ISNT RAP GO AWAY MAYNE" course not but they have similar feels. Rarely is the cymbal used for time, only crashes. Keep straight sixteenths or eighths on the hi-hat, or swing them. Snare on 2 and 4. Bass ALL OVER THE PLACE. Literally just pepper it in there wherever you want it, whatever sounds right, is right. If you swing the hi-hat, swing the bass aswell.
Time Signatures and all that Jazz
Whenever you have a time signature, think of it as a grouping of 2's and 3's. For example if you want to write a swing chart in 7/8, think of it as 2+2+3. The hi-hat would land on 2, 4, and 7. Listen to Brubecks famous album "Time Out" for specific ideas about time signatures.
Q&A
Q: Man I have such a good idea for this drum part why isn't it working out?
A: Consider the pulse of song. You can write an awesome syncopated drum part that sounds tight, but it doesn't line up with the song. Congratulations what you've just written is useless. Start with a basic pattern. Start changing it and coming up with permutations. Listen to each one, how is the pulse being changed? Does it have the same feel? Can people dance to this (if it's supposed to be danced to)? If you can't answer those questions favorably then consider trying again.
Q: Why do I even have to write a drum part?
A: If you're writing an arrangement you want the person to be able to play the song. If they're sightreading a song they've never heard, it could be disaster. If you're creating a drum part for music you've created digitally, you probably want the drum part, otherwise you simply won't have drums in your song.
Q: Are there exceptions to the things you've written up there? My friend so and so told me you can do this and this and this.
A: Nothing is written in stone. You play what matches the music. Think of these as guidelines for people who are floundering in the dark about writing for drums.
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