Springboard Your Drumming

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Are you tired of playing the same patterns all the time? Looking for something new to spice up your vocabulary?

Here are three ideas that you can use as a springboard for writing new grooves. Each one builds on the previous idea. They’re all played as 16th notes, with a quarter note hi-hat as the glue that holds it all together:
 

1. RLLK

Here’s a group of 3 with a kick stroke at the end (so it’s a group of 4). Since Benny Greb is one of Jared’s favorite drummers, it makes sense to start with a Greb-ism.
 

 
Once you’re comfortable playing RLLK between the snare and bass drum, orchestrate this pattern around the kit, hitting a different tom on the 1 of each grouping. Add in the hi-hat when you’re ready. Don’t forget to keep the ghost notes nice and soft with your left hand to infuse texture and dynamics into your playing.
 

2. RLRLLK

Now we have a six note grouping between the hands and foot. Orchestrating this pattern as 16th notes is more of a challenge since it goes over the bar lines if you play more than 16 rotations. But you can get some really unique variations as you move it around the kit.
 

 
Practice this pattern with a metronome set to 16th note subdivisions. Once you’ve nailed it, try going back and forth between RLLK (the first pattern) and RLRLLK.
 

3. RLRLRLLK

This 8 note pattern builds on the previous patterns and fits nicely into common time. Add the hi-hat on the quarter notes and you’re off to the races. When you’re ready, go back and forth between all three patterns in whatever order you’d like.
 

 
It’s fun to come up with patterns that are just a little bit different. Hopefully you can take these ideas and use them as a jumping off point for something else. Now you have a few more concepts you can make your own.

Post a video of yourself playing these patterns on Instagram and tag @jaredfalkdrummer, and you never know – you might win some free swag!

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Jared Falk is a lifelong drummer, drum teacher, and the co-founder of Drumeo. For over 18 years, Jared has been a leader in the online music education industry, publishing his first online video lessons in 2003 and founding Musora in 2005.