Beginner help with a song from The Roots

M

Metorosun

Junior Member
Hey everyone,

As some of you may know, i am pretty new at drums, been playing for just a little over a month. I've been diving into a lot of hiphop/funk and have been progressing pretty well in it, however there are a few types of songs i have trouble with and they are basically similar to the song Don't say Nuthin by The Roots. I just cant separate myself and get those bass hits in without speeding up or slowing down up my left or right hand.. can anyone help me out with a way to get this one in ?

I think that if i unlock this, it will open a ton of doors for me, i just need to get it.. So frustrating !! And such a great song :)

Link to song:
http://grooveshark.com/s/Don+t+Say+Nuthin/2FwdMD?src=5

Thanks!!
 
I'm by no means a teacher, but I'll give it a shot. First of all, what have you been doing the practice? Also, is the problem keeping the tempo, swinging the kick, or is your right hand trying to play with the kick?
Either way, what I would do is I would set a metronome to 60 bpm and just practice playing eighth notes with the hi hat, and filling in the sixteenths with your right foot until you can do it reliably, slowly moving up to 100 bpm.
Going slowly through this practice will suck, but it will pay off so fast you'll kick yourself for not doing it earlier. A book like "Syncopation for the Modern Drummer" is a book that any beginning drummer should own. It's just pages of different rhythms that you can practice in so many ways for so many different styles. Play a standard rock beat(eighths on hats, snare on 2 and 4), and have your kick play what's on the page. Just loop a bar a a time until you master each one, and you'll quickly build interdependence between your limbs.
 
jodgey4 said:
I'm by no means a teacher, but I'll give it a shot. First of all, what have you been doing the practice? Also, is the problem keeping the tempo, swinging the kick, or is your right hand trying to play with the kick?
Either way, what I would do is I would set a metronome to 60 bpm and just practice playing eighth notes with the hi hat, and filling in the sixteenths with your right foot until you can do it reliably, slowly moving up to 100 bpm.
Going slowly through this practice will suck, but it will pay off so fast you'll kick yourself for not doing it earlier. A book like "Syncopation for the Modern Drummer" is a book that any beginning drummer should own. It's just pages of different rhythms that you can practice in so many ways for so many different styles. Play a standard rock beat(eighths on hats, snare on 2 and 4), and have your kick play what's on the page. Just loop a bar a a time until you master each one, and you'll quickly build interdependence between your limbs.
Click to expand...

Major problem lies with the right hand on the hihat, it tends to go all out of wack when i try and punch in those 3 kicks on the bass, my right is pretty much following the kick as you said. Tempo also doesn't help, but normally i can play a pretty fast hip hop beat and hold a good rhythm. As for practice, i usually try and find a hip hop track and learn some new bass lines, then work on my fills as much as i can (or sometimes i just hold rhythm). I have some other routines i do also but i really think that book you mentioned is a good idea, and may spark a bunch of ideas.. i will have to look into it.

Thanks for the help!

If anyone has other suggestions, please keep em coming! :)
 
So what you are trying to do is hit a syncopated kick. The right hand is the downbeat - to syncopate the kick you have to hit the bass drum at the exact halfway point between your hi hat hits.

To truly do this right you need to develop independence between your right hand and foot. This takes so time, but does become extremely fluid and natural after a while (could be months / years).

To speed up the process, when learning I just hit the kick when I felt my right hand stick 'hit' the air at the top of the swing. Does that make sense?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top