It’s hard to find a better feeling than playing the right drum beat for a song. Likewise, it’s the worst when you struggle to write drum patterns that support the stylistic needs of a song and establish a solid groove.
Without throwing away your efforts, there are few things you can do to open the song to a wider realm of possibilities. You could try adding or subtracting kicks or snares, shifting kick drum patterns to different placements in the measure, or use a systems approach to cymbal and snare patterns.
The following explains each of these tips and provides examples that show how each one works. The examples are by no means exhaustive, so you should definitely apply these three tips as you write drum beats for songs.
1. Additive and Subtractive
If you’re trying to come up with a new drum beat, consider adding or subtracting a kick drum. Although it may seem like a small change, a change to the beat by a matter of one kick drum can establish a very different style to the groove.
The examples below show a beat labeled “1A” to which the following examples either add (1B) or subtract (1C) a kick drum.
Example 1A has kick drum on beats 1 and 3, while Example 1B subtracts the kick drum from beat 3. This leaves you with one kick drum in the measure. Example 1C adds a kick drum to 1B on the last sixteenth note of the measure.
Example 1A
Example 1B
Example 1C
Take the example set from above and expand the phrasing to four bars. The example below combines the beats and adds one more variation as a phrase turnaround, which is the tail end of a phrase that brings the music back to the beginning.
Example 2 – Extended Phrase
Sometimes the drum beat you’re playing is too heavy for a song, so subtracting the kicks will support the need for a lighter groove. On the other hand, perhaps the groove is too light and needs to be thicker. Try adding kicks or snares to shape the groove so it supports the style that the composer is looking for.
The following examples use the same additive and subtractive strategy to change the snare drum pattern. Like Example 1 above, it starts with a beat (3A) and includes two other examples, each with either an additional or less one snare drum hit.
Example 3A
Example 3B
Example 3C
Related: 30 Rock Drum Beats – I’ll Show You How to Make 100 More
2. Kick Drum Permutations
Permutations are created by shifting a part (or parts) of a drum pattern to the right or left rhythmically by a predetermined interval. For example, if you are playing a simple “boom whack” beat with the kick drum on beats 1 and 3, shift the kick drum on the down beat of 3 over one sixteenth note (see below).
Although the change is mathematically as simple as it gets, the effect is so much greater. It does more for the groove than just shifting one kick drum hit over one sixteenth note.
When you use this approach to making drum pattern variations, it’s important that every kick drum hit is well played. The following permutation exercises are designed to help you explore kick drum strokes on every sixteenth note possibility in a measure.
Example 5 – Kick Drum Permutation
Apply the permutation strategy to the snare drum. Try these exercises to work out your coordination and timing. Like always, use a metronome to practice these drum patterns at different tempos.
For more information on practicing with a metronome, check out this article with 4 strategies.
Example 6 – Snare Drum Permutations
You can get the full drum set permutations by clicking here. It’s totally free.
3. Systems Approach to Drum Patterns
Gary Chester’s New Breed method book describes systems as things that are not what you would normally play. He designed the exercises, according to Chester, to help drummers develop their coordination, creativity, and reading ability. These are all things that are important for producing good drum patterns for songs.
The systems in Gary Chester’s book are for the intermediate to advanced drummer. They should be practiced slowly and accurately. After two to four hours of work with these exercises, you will likely experience more comfort with the systems and reading exercises.
I’ve been using this book for more than 15 years and have never played it through even in a month. It’s a book that you won’t shelve one day and walk away from. You’ll want to continue developing as a player.
The following systems exercises are based on Gary Chester’s approach but for the beginner and intermediate drummer in mind.
Play each system for the beat examples that follow.
System 1
Where is “System 2?” For the full list of systems and beat examples, go to https://gum.co/drumpatterns.
System 3
Beat Examples 1
Beat Examples 2
Beat Examples 3
Beat Examples 4
Final Thoughts
Practicing all of the different adjustments to the rhythms helps to open your brain to the coordination it takes to realize your creativity. These exercises are only an introduction to the concepts and strategies that great players have been applying to drum set decades.