What's your process for coming up with drum grooves for songs?

cantstoplt021

Senior Member
What are you tips for coming up for drum grooves for sonhs? Especially bass drum parts. A lot of songs have a similar hi hat and snare groove, but the bass drum parts seem to be the difference between grooves. What's the process for coming up with these parts? Bass drum parts can seem pretty random (albeit grooving) to me
 
What are you tips for coming up for drum grooves for sonhs? Especially bass drum parts. A lot of songs have a similar hi hat and snare groove, but the bass drum parts seem to be the difference between grooves. What's the process for coming up with these parts? Bass drum parts can seem pretty random (albeit grooving) to me

If the drum part is done correctly it's not random. The kick should be locking in with rhythmic parts or accents that at least one other voice in the band is matching. Usually this is the bass, but it could be the rhythm guitar or the piano, or even in some cases vocals.

That being said, in a lot of classic rock and pop, the grooves are very similar for a lot of songs, including the infamous "four on the floor" (bass drum going 1-2-3-4 pretty much beginning to end). But the songs can sound completely different to each other based on dynamics, touch, accents, feel, etc.

Do not agonize over the drum fills. They should be the icing on the cake, added dead last, if (and only if) the song can benefit from including a fill in that spot.
 
Personally, I base my stuff off off the bass line, the rhythm guitar, and piano/organ if there is one. The rhythm section. I listen to where the pulse lies, and decide how to best play with it.

It's hard to put into exact methods, because it's song and instrument dependent.

To put it simply, I listen, then try and feel what I think the drums should be doing. I don't know any other way.
 
Bass drum parts can seem pretty random (albeit grooving) to me

I usually start with my intuition, which is usually a close facsimile of shadowing. I do some iteration with doubles to listen for where they might fit. I often try some latin patterns just to see what happens (samba, baion).

If I had to sum it up, it would be:

Intuition, Iteration, Experimentation
 
1. Listen to the bass line.

2. Determine if it calls for a straight or syncopated feel.

3. Start stepping on the pedal(s)

90% of the time in 4/4 pop/rock, I seem to automatically/naturally default to 1,2 ....5,6
 
I just play Keith Moon grooves for every song.
No matter what kind of song it is.

Which means I play the melody of the song very loudly.



(I'm not in a band right now and I have no gigs coming up)


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The bass line is a good place to start, you'll either want to lock-in to a point, or play around the rhythm a little. Don't assume that the kick has to duplicate the bass part, although for some feels, it's essential. Sometimes it's interesting to put the kick in some of the spaces, but not so much that it complicates the feel of the song or becomes distracting.

Sometimes the guitar or piano tends to dictate the rhythmic feel, and those parts are worth considering.

As with most questions of this type, it depends on the song. Every case is different, and there are few pat answers as to what's right or wrong.

As for your approach, keep your ears open. A good rule of thumb is, if a certain part worked in another song, don't be afraid to try that first.

Bermuda
 
I often try some latin patterns just to see what happens (samba, baion).

I do too, but I usually sense confusion in the other band members. I can't stray too far from the band's comfort zone unless it's under a declarative contemplation.


With bass drum, I often follow the downbeat feel but try to omit a resolving upbeat on one of the "&" counts to leave room for the other players to not fall into a habitual stylistic stereotype.
I tend to standardize the hihat like Charlie Watts with a rest on the three, or by playing triplets because I think constant 16ths on hihat is detrimental to my soul.
I'm always thinking of the dotted snare placement to keep everyone from turning into mayonnaise.

At some point fear needs to come into play because that's sort of the nature of drums, but it should be wielded not like a berserker, but like a nun with a ruler.

I also completely disregard the above formulations if the give and take of the song is evolving.
 
I tend to standardize the hihat like Charlie Watts with a rest on the three, or by playing triplets because I think constant 16ths on hihat is detrimental to my soul.
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Hey! Me too!

And I thought I was just being lazy. :)

It's good to know that I am soulful!!
 
Another thing I thought of is I try and identify a song. Like is it a rock song, a punk song, a country song, a fusionlatinbluesfunkjazzdancerockabillypop song etc. If I can pigeon hole it, I try and play it as authentically to the style as I know how, or learn how.

I try and identify in what genre the key elements of the song lie in.
 
Before thinking about the exact details of the groove, maybe you want to take a step back and imagine if the song asks for some kind of contrast or development.

Take the example of Learning to fly, the Foo Fighters. In the verse, the snare alternates on 3 and 2, which gives the verse a kind of a "stop and go" movement, a hesitating step-by-step feel. Then in the chorus the snare pattern becomes just a normal backbeat and it feels like the dog is taken off the leash, the song moves forward freely.

Had it been straight all along, the song would have been bland or almost. Now it's very interesting, rythmically, not complicated at all and much more fun to play too ;)

I think if you start with such kind of Idea for the song, the details will be easier to figure out because the idea will give you direction and the whole thing will make sense. It sounds much more philosophical than it needs to be really, but I hope you get the picture :)
 
I listen to the various elements, the song structure in general, get that foot locked in with the bass guitar, the rhythm guitar, keys…etc

At times even the vocal phrasing- Then you have the dynamics to take into consideration.

If the song has been put together well by all of the band members the bass drum parts are very important, they should drive the song along in the background. That’ll be one of the main things that will get people foot tapping/dancing.
 
At times even the vocal phrasing-

Also an important point - listen to the vocals if possible. Not so much that you'd necessarily base a part to go with the vocal rhythm, but more about knowing where not to step on a vocal part with a distracting fill or rhythm.

Bermuda
 
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