How to Play the Kick Drum for Led Zeppelin's "The Immigrant Song"

Video Transcript

"JOEL SIEGEL: All right. So, let's--the first thing we want to do with the speed is slow it down for sure 'cause as it is, it's just--it's like running through the forest like full speed. So, let's--so, I'll play it for you a little slower here just so can kinda see what's going on. I'll give you some time. You can look down on my feet and stuff like that. Here's what's happening. Okay, I'll slow it down to even a little bit more 'cause it's still pretty quick in the kick. Here it is. Okay? So, what is it that's happening here? The first thing is you have that downbeat of one on the first beat in the bar. You also actually have that anticipation though. We've talked about this in a few different beats as well. You have the "a" of four so it's like a sixteenth note upbeat at the very end of--like, the end of the beat, four-e-and-a; that's the beat we're talking about. So, it kind of--it kind of just falls like, right into beat one. A-one. One, two, three, four, a-one, okay? So, already, that's pretty quick. That's like--like I said, this is going to really be working with the right foot and getting some good control. So, slowing it down, one, two, three, four-e-and-a. Okay? Four-e-and-a. That's what--that's the first--that's the first thing that's going on with the kick. The next thing is you're actually almost playing--you're almost playing like four sixteenth notes on--for beat one. You're just leaving out the "e" of 1. Okay? One-e-and-a. So, with the rest of the beat, you're actually--you're playing on the rest of the sixteenth notes so you have one-and-a, okay? One-and-a, one-e-and-a, one-e-and-a, okay? So, with the one from before, with that anticipation, you have one, two, three, four-e-and-a, one-and-a, okay? So, it's this really quick kinda compressed little--little--just like kind of bulk. It's like a thunder--it's just this thunderous sound that comes at you really quick. So, one, two, three, four-e-and-a, one-and-a, okay? As far as that interacting with the hi-hat, you have that same thing that was going on in some other beats where--when you have anything--anytime you have a sixteenth note, that's either the "e" or the "a", it's going to fall between; if you're doing the eighth notes in the hi-hat, it's going to kinda fall between where your hi-hat's hitting. So, we'll talk a little bit more about that in this next clip."