Total Drummer

One of the best ways to bring excitement to a drum groove is by varying the hi-hats. This is especially true in a live setting where the recorded drum pattern might be quite basic and we need to find a way to add some pizazz.

But the important thing to consider here is that we don't want to add anything to the detriment of the groove. In a majority of songs if you were to alter the bass drums or snare drum backbeats then it might ruin the song for the audience and other band members. 

This is especially true on a bigger production where their might be choreographed lighting or dancers that are working to the set drum patterns. 

If you were to change the fundamentals of your rhythms then those elements might not make any sense to the audience.

So if the bass drum and snare drum patterns need to stay pretty solid, one of the best ways we can bring excitement to the groove is by spicing up hi-hats. This allows us to dance around and embellish without disrupting the main elements of the drum beat.

The video drum lesson below explores ideas for developing off beat hi-hats within basic drum beats. We work on several techniques and ideas that will act as a leap pad for you to go off and create endless ideas of your own. This will allow you to be free to be creative whilst maintaining the crucial aspects of a drum groove.

The course includes video instruction and full sheet music to help you fully understand what is being taught and how to apply it to you drum beats.