The African bell pattern is by far the most influential rhythmic cycle for my development as a drummer and musician. It has much deeper meaning for poplar and religious music around the world and even more impact on culture. I’ve used it so many times, but I never committed the different variations I’ve heard and played.
These variations include a range of approaches to phrasing. I tried to organize them by the nature of the phrasing, like keeping the phrases with a back beat together or the more folkloric variations together.
This is the basis of swing. It’s the shuffle feel and very much the heredity of all popular music forms in the Americas and now much of the world. I’ve experienced a great ability to play syncopated rhythms within shuffles and other 6/8 feels much easier with the vocabulary that variations like the following help to develop.
Key
Clave Variations
The African bell pattern works with clave so well because clave originated in the rhythms played by African slaves brought to Cuba. The variations below are based on 3-2 rumba clave because it fits with the bell pattern perfectly.
Think of phrasing with clave as an improvisational framework. You can play the clave rhythm explicitly or dance around it and improvise with folkloric-style conversations. Additionally, playing these variations will help you gain an independence of the rhythmic cycle upon which you can more fluently add backbeats, more kick drums, or fills to support an ensemble.
1.
This variation explores a bit of the explicit clave improvisation with a nod to folkloric conversations. The second hit would be the bomba accent of 3-2 rumba clave and the high tom is on the 2-side of the clave like the segundo folkloric parts played by the middle voice on drums or shekeres, for example.
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Folkloric Variations
The first folkloric variation is from guiro or the introductory conversations of a rumba Columbia. This is a good groove to play for a heavier section on a vocal jazz tune because it’s not too filled with drums that may cover up the vocals, and it still supports louder dynamics. It also strikes a balance between downbeats for pulse and syncopation for feel.
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The backbeat in this variation establishes a halftime feel. The folkloric significance is in how the snare hit falls on what would be the downbeat of the two side of 3-2 rumba clave, which is also relevant to the guaguancó conversations. I left out the kick on the downbeat of the second bar to feel the bomba on the what would be the three side of 3-2 rumba clave.
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This variation is just a bit of unison in the first half of the bar, followed by a less busy finish. It would help the feel of this variation to have a hi hat played on the dotted quarter with your foot. In fact, that hi hat part would be great for most of these variations.
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The rumba Columbia makes an appearance in this variation. The first half of the bar is the first half of rumba Columbia. Try playing the other half. It’s great for grooving, improvising over the bell pattern, and coming in and out of drum fills while grooving on the African bell.
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Syncopated Snare Variations
It’s important to try call and response parts while playing the African bell pattern. This variation calls with a couple of snare cracks and response with some low tom and kick hits of the same rhythm as the snare cracks.
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This may be the funkiest groove out of all of these variations. The kick supporting the snare serves as a bomba accent, but it also changes up the snare sound to let the other hits stand out. This groove’s halftime backbeat feel reconciles the unsupported downbeat at the top of the bar, and the tom parts at the end round off the timbres back to the beginning of the rhythmic cycle.
8.
Opposite the previous variation, this one resolves on the fourth dotted quarter-note pulse. The syncopation on the rack tom is grounded by a consistent pulse played by the kick drum, which gives the groove a four feel within the 12/8 time signature. This approach to phrasing can make it easier to apply the African bell pattern to different meters and styles.
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Syncopated Kick Variations
These first two variations are very similar. Some drummers may not even think that they warrant separate attention. To a degree, this may be true, but I hear kick drums as heavy actors on a groove or a phrase. This is especially evident when drummers play too many kick drums in a groove and don’t leave room for the rhythms played on the cymbals and other instruments to fulfill their role in establishing the feel.
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The double-time feel is the major difference between the first two variations and the next two. Although there are a few more kicks in these grooves, the double-time backbeat stands out. I especially like the eight-note kick before the first snare. It funks up the groove. This could also work on the eight note before the second snare backbeat. I would be careful to not add too many of these kicks because the groove could become heavy, unless that’s the goal.
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Backbeat Variations
The backbeat variations are some of the easiest on this list and most applicable to popular dance music. You may notice that the variations two and three, for example, are not that dissimilar. The difference of one kick drum taken away in the third variation is rather significant in application. It adds a subtle syncopation that could place some funk where it may otherwise sound too busy.
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Heavier Variations
Hard rock tunes, even metal, can benefit from variations on the African bell pattern. These variations are heavy on the kick and remind me of heavier grooves you my hear on a rock or metal album. If you’re not using these variations for heavier tunes, these grooves help develop fill ideas for lighter grooves as well as transitions from fill to support for ensemble figures.
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