"Wake 'n Break" Series

Today's wake 'n break is a two bar hand to hand hi-hat groove in 6/8 with anticipated bass drum notes. Taking the hi-hats first, we have notes falling on "1&", 2, "4&", and on 5 in the first bar. In the second bar, everything is the same except that we don't have a note on 4. Moving along to the bass drum, we have notes falling on the "&" of 2 and on the "&" of 5 throughout both bars. Last but not least, our snare drum has notes falling on 3 in the first bar, and then on 3 and 4 in the second bar. As always, I hope you dig it and much love!

Wake n Break No. 1714 - Hand To Hand Hi-Hat Groove In 6/8 With Anticipated Bass Drum Notes

Notation available at:
 
Today's wake 'n break has a slight stagger to it (almost like a skip) thanks to the anticipated snare hits and the ride bell pattern. Looking at the feet first, our bass drum is falling on 1 while our hi-hats are being chicked on 2 and 4. Taking the ride cymbal next, we have notes falling on 1, the "&a" of 2, the "&" of 3, and on the "e" of 4. Last but not least, our snare drum has notes falling on 3 and on the "a" of 4. As always, I hope you dig it and much love!

Wake n Break No. 1715 - Slightly Staggered Ride Groove With An Anticipated Snare Accent

Notation available at:
 
A new week is upon us once again! :) Today's wake 'n break is a two bar quasi-linear groove that has busy doubles on the bass drum. Taking the bass drum first, we have notes falling on "1e" and the "a" of 1, on 2 and the "&a" of 2, and on the "&" of 3 in the first bar. In the second bar, we have notes falling in the same places as well as an additional note on 4. Moving along to the hi-hats, we have notes falling on the "&" of 1, the "e" of 2, and an open note on the "&" of 3 in the first bar. In the second bar, our hats are falling on the "&" of 1, the "e" of 2, and an open note on 4. Last but not least, our snare drum has an accented note on the 3 of both bars. As always, I hope you dig it and here's to everyone's week starting off on the good foot!

Wake n Break No. 1716 - Two Bar Quasi-Linear Groove With Busy Bass Drum Stutter

Notation available at:
 
Today's wake 'n break is a two bar boom bap beat that utilizes a set of Pete Engelhart blossom bells to tease a few notes of the famous theme from "The Godfather". This one is kind of short because my snare drum head broke in the middle of recording. Taking the feet first, our bass drum is falling on "1&", the "a" of 2, on "3&", and on the "e" and "a" of 4 in both. Meanwhile, our hi-hats are being chicked on all of the upbeats or "&'s". Next, our snare drum has accented notes on 2 and 4. Last but not least, we come to the bells. In the first bar, we have notes falling on "1&2&3&" and on the "e" of 4 in the first bar, followed by notes on 1, the "&" of 3, and on "4&" in the second bar. Sorry, but no notation today. As always, I hope you dig it and much love!

Wake n Break No. 1717 - Two Bar Boom Bap Beat With A "Godfather" Tease On Bells
 
Happy Humpday! ? Today's wake 'n break is built on top of the 3/2 Son clave and utilizes a metal guiro for striking rather than dragging. Taking the son clave on the bass drum first, we have notes falling on 1 and the "a" of 1, the "&" of 2, the "&" of 3, and on 4. Looking at the hi-hats next, we have notes falling on "1e&". Moving along to the guiro, we have notes falling on "2e&". Next, our snare drum has a single note on 3 (it sounds pretty good for a head that has a massive hole in the middle of it) and last but not least, our high tom is falling on "4e&". As always, I hope you dig it and much love!

Wake n Break No. 1718 - 3/2 Son Clave Groove With Metallic Guiro Hits

Notation available at:
 
Today's wake 'n break is a burnin' two bar samba with ghosted hi-hats. We also have a Peruvian nut shaker attached to the hi-hat stand. Starting with the foot ostinato, our bass drum is falling on 1 and the "a" of 1, 2 and the "a" of 2, 3 and the "a" of 3, and on 4 and the "a" of 4. Meanwhile, our hi-hats are being chicked on all of the upbeats or "&'s". The interesting thing is that you hear the shaker fall about a sixteenth note behind the cymbal closing. Moving along to the toms, our high tom is falling on "1&" in both bars with an additional note on the 4 in the second bar. Next, our floor tom is falling on the "e" and "a" of 2 in both bars. Finally, we come to the cymbals. In the first bar, our hi-hats have notes falling on the "e" and "a" of 1, on "2&", on 3 and the "&a" of 3, and on "4e&a", with openings on the "e" of 1 and on the "e" of 4. The second bar is identical except we are omitting the note on 4. Last but not least, our ride cymbal has a single anticipated note on the "e" of 3 in both bars. As always, I hope you dig it and much love!

Wake n Break No. 1719 - Burning Two Bar Samba With Ghosted Hi-Hats

Notation available at:
 
Thank goodness it's Friday! :) Today's wake 'n break is a boom bap backbeat that utilizes a tamborica (tamborim machine) in place of the snare drum since the replacement head for my snare hasn't arrived yet. Taking the feet first, our bass drum is falling on 1, the "&" of 3, and on the "e" of 4. Meanwhile, our hi-hats are being splashed on 1, 2, 3, and 4. Lastly, our tamborica has notes falling on 2 and the "a" of 2, on "3e", and on 4, with 2 and 4 being played as flams. As always, I hope you dig it and much love!

Wake n Break No. 1720 - Boom Bap Backbeat With Flammed Tamborica Notes

Notation available at:
 
Since my snare head is still broken, I decided to stuff some jingles into the hole in the head. Taking the bass drum first, we have notes falling on 1, the "a" of 2, on 3, and on the "a" of 4. Meanwhile, our hi-hats are keeping a quarter note pulse with chicks on all of the downbeats. Notice that I am once again using a shaker on my hi-hat. Next, we come to the snare drum. The sides of the head are being played on the "e&" of 1 and on the "e&" of 3 and last but not least, we are striking the jingles on the "a" of 1, on "2e&", the "a" of 3, and on 4. As always, I hope you dig it and much love!

Wake n Break No. 1721 - Broken Snare Head Groove With Jingles In The Hole

Notation available at:
 
It's Sunday Drumday! :) Today's wake 'n break is a baiao groove that utilizes a set of caxixi to play the hi-hats. Taking the foot ostinato first, our bass drum is falling on 1 and the "a" of 1, the "&" of 2, on 3 and the "a" of 3, and on the "&" of 4. Meanwhile, the hi-hats are being chicked on all of the upbeats or "&'s". Now we come to the caxixi, which are hitting the hi-hats on "1e&a", "2e&a", 3 and the "&a" of 3, ,and on 4 and the "e" and "a" of 4. Last but not least, our hi-hats are hats are opening on all of the downbeats. As always, I hope you dig it and enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Wake n Break No. 1722 - Baiao Groove Using Caxixi To Play The Hi-Hats

Notation available at:
 
A new week is upon us once again! :) Today's wake 'n break is a two bar Brazilian influenced triplet groove utilizing a tamborim resting on top of the high tom. Taking the tamborim first, we have notes falling on "1 trip", "2 trip", "3 trip", and "4 trip". Next, our hi-hats have notes falling on 1 and the "let" of 1, on 2 and the "let" of 2, on 3 and the "let" of 3, and on 4 and the "let" of 4. Last but not least, our bass drum is falling on 1, the "let" of 3, the "trip" of 4 in the first bar, and then on 1 and the "let" of 3 in the second bar. As always, I hope you dig it and much love!

Wake n Break No. 1723 - Two Bar Triplet Groove With A Brazilian Influence

Notation available at:
 
Today's wake 'n break utilizes a tambourine on top of the snare drum, a Crash Course cymbal stack, and a Hammerax Splashvine draped across from the ride cymbal to the stack. Looking at the feet first, the bass drum is falling on 1, the "&" of 2, and on 4. Meanwhile, our hi-hats are being chicked on the "&" of 1, on 3, and on the "&" of 4. Moving along to the tambourine, we have notes falling on the "a" of 1, on "2e", the "e&a" of 3, and on the "&" of 4, with the "a" of 1 and the "e" of 3 played as flams. Next, our stack is falling on 4 and last but not least, we are striking the splash that is resting on the ride cymbal on the "&" of 4. As always, I hope you dig it and much love!

Wake n Break No. 1724 - A Groove For Stack, Tambourine, And Splashvine

Notation available at:
 
Happy Humpday! ? Today's wake 'n break is a dirty two bar sixteenth note groove that utilizes a tamborim on top of the snare drum. Taking the bass drum first, we have notes falling on "1&", the "a" of 2, the "&" of 3, and on the "a" of 4 in the first bar, followed by notes on the "&" of 1, the "a" of 2, and on the "&" of 3 in the second bar. Looking at the hi-hats next, we have notes falling on the "a" of 1, the "e&" of 2, on "3e&a", the "e&" of 4 in the first bar, followed by notes on "1e&a", the "e&" of 2, and on "3e&a" in the second bar. Moving along to the snare drum, we have a cross stick on 2 and 4 in both bars. Next, our tamborim has a single buzzed note on the "e" of 4 in the second bar and last but not least, our high tom is falling on the "a" of 2 and on the "a" of 4 in the first bar and then on the "a" of 2 in the second bar. As always, I hope you dig it and hang in there because we're already halfway through the workweek!

Wake n Break No. 1725 - Dirty Sixteenth Note Cross Stick Groove With A Buzzed Tamborim Note

Notation available at:
 
Today's wake 'n break is a halftime backbeat that utilizes an upside down snare drum to play triplet swipes across the snare wires. Taking the feet first, our bass drum is falling on 1 and 2 while our hi-hats are being chicked on 3 and 4. Looking at the snare swipes next, we have a steady slew of eighth note triplets on "1 trip let, 2 trip let, 3 trip let, 4 trip let". Moving along to the high tom, we have a note on the "let" of 4 and last but not least, our snare drum is falling on 3. As always, I hope you dig it and much love!

Wake n Break No. 1726 - Upside Down Snare Drum Groove With Triplet Wire Swipes

Notation available at:
 
Thank goodness it's Friday! :) Today's wake 'n break is built around a sixteenth note triplet (counting: "1 trip let & trip let"...) and eighth note triplet (counting: "1 trip let"...) stagger played on the hi-hats. Taking the bass drum first, we have notes falling on "1&" and on the "trip" of 3. Next, our hi-hats have notes falling on "2 trip let" and on the "&a" of 2, on "3 trip let", and then an open note on the "e" of 4. Next, our cross stick is providing the groove a backbeat on 2 and 4 and last but not least, our stack is falling on the "&" of 4. As always, I hope you dig it and have a great weekend!

Wake n Break No. 1727 - Staggered Triplet Groove With A Stack Accent

Notation available at:
 
Today's wake 'n break is a hybrid of the Brazilian baiao rhythm and the Afro-Cuban guaguanco rhythm. One could easily argue that this groove has a dancehall vibe to it though. Taking the bass drum first, we have notes falling on 1 and the "a" of 1, the "&" of 2, on 3 and the "a" of 3, and on the "&" of 4. Next, our hi-hats have open notes on all of the downbeats. Last but not least, our cross stick is voicing the traditional guaguanco accents with notes on 1, the "a" of 1, the "&" of 2, the "e&" of 3, and finally on the "&" of 4. As always, I hope you dig it and much love!

Wake n Break No. 1728 - Blending A Brazilian Baiao With An Afro-Cuban Guaguanco

Notation available at:
 
Today's wake 'n break takes a traditional iyesá bell pattern (shout out to Ron DeFrancesco for showing me the rhythm!) and applies it to the toms. I also have a tiny Boomywang nano draped on top of the snare for a trashy metallic sound (you can use any sound or drum you'd like), which is where the 3/2 son clave is being voiced. Taking the feet first, our bass drum is falling on all of the downbeats while the hi-hats are falling on all of the upbeats or "&'s". Looking at the toms next, our floor tom has notes falling on "1&" and on "3e" while the high tom is falling on "2e" and "4e". Last but not least, I'm hitting the boomwang on 1 and the "a" of 1, the "&" of 2, the "&" of 3, and on 4 and the "a" of 4. As always, I hope you dig it and much love!

Wake n Break No. 1729 - Iyesa March With A Trashy And Metallic 3/2 Son Clave

Notation available at:
 
Today's wake 'n break is a cross stick groove that utilizes a Crash Course stack. I sometimes refer to grooves with this bass drum pattern as "ba boom" beats. Taking the bass drum first, we have notes falling on 1, the "a" of 2, on 3, and on the "a" of 4. Next, our hi-hats are keeping a steady quarter note pulse by being chicked on 1, 2, 3, and 4. Moving along to the stack, we have notes falling on 1, 2, and on the "a" of 3. Next, our high tom is falling on the "e" of 3. Now looking at the cross stick, we have notes falling on 2, the "&" of 3, and on 4. Last but not least, our ride bell has a single note falling on the "&" of 4. As always, I hope you dig it and here's to everyone's week starting off on the good foot!

Wake n Break No. 1730 - Cross Stick And Stack Groove With A Quarter Note Pulse

I didn't have time to notate the groove this morning, so I will add the notation in the youtube video description late tonight.
 
Today's wake 'n break is a pretty simple but unique cowbell groove that plays to the one (a heavy emphasis on the bass drum note). Taking the feet first, our bass drum is falling on 1 while our hi-hats are being chicked on 2. Looking at the cowbell next, we have notes falling on the "&" of 2, on 3, and on the "&a" of 4. Last but not least, our snare is being hit on the "&" of 3. As always, I hope you dig it and much love!

Wake n Break No. 1731 - Simple But Unique Cowbell Groove That Plays To The One

Notation available at:
 
Happy Humpday! ? Two days ago, I was learning some cool conga santiaguera rhythms and decided to try and apply some of it to this morning's wake 'n break. Looking at the feet first, our bass drum is falling on 1 and 3 while our hi-hats are being flanged on 1 and 3 and chicked on 2 and 4. Moving along to the floor tom, we have open tones on 1 and 3, as well as muffled tones on the "a" of 1, the "&" of 2, the "a" of 3, and on the "&" of 4 in the first bar. In the second bar, we have open tones on 1 and 3 as well as on the "e" of 4. Last but not least, I am using a ridiculously loose tom in place of my snare drum, which falls on the "&a" of 4 in the second bar. As always, I hope you dig it and hang in there because we're already halfway through the workweek!

Wake n Break No. 1732 - Conga Santiaguera Inspired Groove For Drum Set

Notation available at:
 
Since it's Halloween, today's wake 'n break is a creepy and spooky backbeat that it built around cymbal scrapes on the hi-hats and a Morfbeats five spring aura on top of an upside down snare drum. Taking the feet first, our bass drum is falling on 1 and on "3 trip let" while our hi-hats are being splashed on 1, 2, 3, and 4. Next, our hi-hats have a scrape starting on 1 and ending on 2. Moving along to the snare drum, we have a cross stick on 2 and 4. Last but not least, the aura is struck on 4. As always, I hope you dig it and much love!

Wake 'N Break No. 1733 - A Creepy Backbeat With Springs And Cymbal Scrapes

Notation available at: https://imgur.com/XXrbvq6
 
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