Adding Accents Fills to Standard Drum Beats
Standard drum beats or grooves can be heard in every type of music from rock to pop to country, jazz and death metal. Some drummers refer to these basic beats as "million dollar beats," as over the course of a career you can make that much money playing the basic grooves of Western popular music. Playing the same beats the same way could get boring after a while -- spicing up your standard drum beats with accents and fills will keep you interested and engaged in the music.
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Instructions
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Play a standard drum beat. With the drumstick in your right hand, play all the eighths in a four-beat measure on the closed hi-hat. Count "one-and-two-and-three-and-four-and" in a repeating pattern, and strike the hi-hat as you say each word. Add the bass drum on beats "one" and "three," and the snare drum with your left hand on beats "two" and "four." This is a very common drum pattern for rock and pop music.
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Experiment with adding accents to this standard drum beat. An accent is a note which is roughly twice as loud as the notes around it. Try accenting individual components of the beat -- first accent all the snare strokes by lifting your left stick twice as high each time it strikes the snare. Accent the bass drum by pressing harder with your right foot on the pedal, and playing with your heel up. Accent the hi-hat by lifting your right stick higher, or by reducing the angle of your right stick so you strike the edge of the hi-hat with the stick shoulder, rather than the flat surface with the stick tip. This makes a louder, more accented sound on the hi-hat.
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Loop your groove and make every eighth full measure a "fill." This means you will count "one-and-two-and-three-and-four-and" seven times with your standard drum beat, then on the eighth "one-and-two-and-three-and-four-and" you will play a fill. A fill is a short drum solo which is different to your repeating beat or groove. One of the simplest fills is to play a measure of eighths on the snare drum, before returning to the standard beat. Alternatively, you can play eighths "around the kit," using the rack toms and floor tom.
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Tips & Warnings
During a fill, you can accent certain drums or certain beats.
Drummers often speed up during drum fills. If this happens to you, try keeping your feet going during the fill -- for example, play quarter notes on the bass drum while your hands play the fill.
Wear earplugs while practicing on acoustic drums.
Warm up and stretch your arms and legs before drumming.
References
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