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100 GREATEST DRUM BEATS

100 GREATEST DRUM BEATSRhythm presents 100 songs featuring some

of the best drum beats ever committed to record, including tracks by drumming greats such as John Bonham, Keith Moon, Tony Williams, Steve Gadd, Vinnie Colaiuta, Joey Jordison, Stewart Copeland, Travis Barker, Ringo Starr, Charlie Watts, Dave Grohl and more. We profi le the tracks and drummers, and show you how to play the drum grooves.

GET STARTEDNew to drums? Here’s everything you need

to get stuck into those great drum tracks, including links to Rhythm’s mini video guides to playing basic rock, funk and shuffl e grooves.

DRUM SPEAKThere are a baffl ing number of terms you

may come across as you learn to play drums. If you want to know your buzzle strokes from your double stops, check out our comprehensive glossary of terms you may fi nd used by our tutors throughout this magazine!

CONTENTS08

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GIVE IT AWAYRed Hot Chili Peppers

FEELING THISBlink-182

PSYCHOSOCIALSlipknot

THAT GOLDEN RULEBiffy Clyro

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EVERY LITTLE THING SHE DOES IS MAGICThe Police

OBLIVIONMastodon

SPOONMANSoundgarden

JAMBITool

SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRITNirvana

SPIRIT OF RADIORush

ROSANNAToto

SEVEN DAYSSting

CHUCK E’S IN LOVERickie Lee Jones

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24 www.rhythmmagazine.co.uk

100 greatest drum beats

he original recorded version of the tune does not feature drums, so the version we are going to focus on here is the

more famous live version of the tune that Johnny Cash played on his famous gig in San Quentin prison. This live version of the tune is considerably faster and more energetic than the original. The drummer on that gig was WS ‘Fluke’ Holland. The track is a great example of the country ‘train beat’, used to great effect on tracks by many different country and rockabilly artists.

Fluke plays a slightly swung country train beat on the snare drum with the kick drum playing on ‘1’ and ‘3’. On the

guitar solo sections the hi-hat is added playing on beats ‘2’ and ‘4’ with the foot, while triplet-based fills are added on the snare drum. The swinging train beat on the snare drum mirrors the guitar part played by Johnny Cash, so lock it in with the Man in Black.

WS ‘Fluke’ Holland worked with Elvis, Carl Perkins and with Johnny Cash from 1960 till 1997. Fluke brought Rockabilly

style beats to the music of Cash. Ringo Starr and Levon Helm both named Fluke as a major influence on their careers.

Folsom Prison BluesJohnny CashDrummer WS ‘Fluke’ HollandAlbum At San Quentin (1969)

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this song, recorded at Abbey Road studios in early 1960, is an all-British affair. ‘Shakin’ All Over’ was a Number

One hit in the UK and was one of the songs that started the British invasion of the US charts. The drummer on this track was Clem Cattini. Clem went on to perform on 44 UK Number One singles and became one of the UK’s finest session musicians. “That was my first recording session,” Clem told Rhythm. “It was at EMI No 2 studio, before it became famous as Abbey Road. When ‘Shakin’ All Over’ got to Number One, we got more gigs and better money, but we never got any royalties, just a session fee: £5, 15 shillings.”

The beat for ‘Shakin’ All Over’ is a pretty simple one, straight eighth notes on the ride cymbal with ‘1’ and ‘3’ played on

the kick drum. The snare drum plays on beats ‘2’, the ‘&’ of ‘2’ and ‘4’. The beat drives the tune along with its relentless ride pattern. Watch out for Clem’s solo!

The drum sound on this tune is dry and present. This song still sounds great for a tune recorded over half a century ago.

Clem plays the drum kit with great dynamics making the groove danceable, driving, yet still laid back.

he Mars Volta was a US progressive rock band from Texas, which was born out of the ashes of At The Drive-In.

The challenging music of Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and Cedric Bixler-Zavala required a drummer of considerable skill, and they’ve boasted a few, including Thomas Pridgen, Dave Elitch and Deantoni Parks. But it was the mighty Jon Theodore who laid down the drums for this particular track.

Theodore starts the song with a thrashy, punk-style groove in 3/4 time that sees him punishing the crash cymbal,

creating the desired white-noise effect to perfection. When things break down to the verse, he switches to a tight, 16th note-based hi-hat pattern, along with the occasional snare fill played in unison with the rest of the band. All the snare notes here are the same volume, with all 16th-note figures played evenly. This intentional disregard of any subtlety creates an aggressive feel that gives the song plenty of excitement and momentum. The lack of dynamics of the snare changes dramatically when the song reaches the bridge; and Jon and the band have the audacity to launch directly into a 7/4 drum’n’bass feel. At this point, Jon utilizes a plethora of ghosted notes to fill out the pattern, creating a relentless rhythmic force. Accented snare notes occur on beats 2 and 6.

With odd time signatures and a wilful disregard for the limits of genre, the Mars Volta played music that is

explosively imaginative and dizzying in depth, bolstered by drummers such as Jon who have risen to the challenge of such inventive composition spectacularly well.

shakin’ all overJohnny Kidd And The PiratesDrummer Clem CattiniAlbum The Very Best of Johhny Kidd And The Pirates (2008)

inertiatic esPThe Mars VoltaDrummer Jon TheodoreAlbum Deloused In The Comatorium (2003)

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n the early ’70s, the incredibly talented Motown legend Stevie Wonder was pioneering the use of synthesizers,

notably on one of his most famously funky tracks ‘Superstition’ from his 1972 album Talking Book. But as well as all this, Stevie was himself a superb drummer, and laid down the irresistibly tight, funky groove on this track.

It’s a pretty straightforward groove, four-on-the-floor kick drum and ‘2’ and ‘4’ on the snare. The spice of the groove

occurs in the hi-hat, it’s a shuffled funk pattern so the broken 16th pattern that’s occurring has a swing feel to it – all the ‘e’s and ‘a’s are swung. A little bit of an accent on the end of ‘1’ occurs in the track.

Try to loosen up the hi-hat to make the track feel a little fatter, a little bit more funky.

suPerstitionStevie WonderDrummer Stevie WonderAlbum Talking Book (1972)

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ne of pop’s finest ever power trios, The Police comprised Stewart Copeland on drums, Gordon Sumner,

aka Sting, on bass and Andy Summers on guitar. In the late ’70s and early ’80s they topped the UK charts with such hits as ‘Walking On The Moon’, ‘Roxanne’, ‘Message In A Bottle’ and ‘Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic’, which was a UK number One and reached Number Three in the US Billboard chart.

The groove is heavily inspired by reggae with a one-drop feel on beat 3 of the bar. There is a specific

accented pattern on the hi-hat that Stewart Copeland plays most of the time, though he does throw a few variations in, as well as open hi-hats or sometimes just releasing the pressure on the pedal. There are also overdubs on this track, and a delay that gives a semi-quaver echo to some of the hits as well. The pattern for the chorus is very different and has a more driving feel, losing the one-drop with a backbeat on ‘2’ and ‘4’. There’s a kick and snare pattern, ‘1-2-&-4-&’, but over the top is a two-bar ride pattern that locks in well with the rest of the band.

With an eclectic mix of influences – from Steve Gadd and reggae drumming to mambo and Middle

Eastern rhythms – Stewart Copeland’s playing was always going to be unique. His distinctive snare crack and ability to play perfectly in pop, punk and reggae genres simultaneously is still much admired.

EvEry LittLE thing shE doEs is MagicThe PoliceDrummer Stewart CopelandAlbum Ghost In The Machine (1981)

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Music is a part of it, but it’s not about the music, it’s a ceremony, it’s a

celebration of a piece of art which is our body of work that moved people. Whether you liked it or not you were exposed to it and it is a part of everybody’s life for the last 30 years. And as a cultural symbol it’s infused with shamanic power.stewart copeland on th epolice’s legacy

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It feels good to play hard. I’d rather hit something with two hands than one; I’d rather

hit two toms at the same time than just one. I’d rather see the drums shaking after I’ve hit them than just sitting there like a… a couch! It feels good when you beat the s**t out of them.DAVE GROHL ON HITTING THE DRUMS HARD FOR NIRVANA

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his was the first time most of us heard Dave Grohl’s muscular playing, on the opening track from Nirvana’s seminal

crossover album Nevermind. The flammed drum intro in bar four was the sound of leftfield rock kicking the system’s back doors in – and things would never be the same again.

The track starts with the four bars of guitar riff before the big, effective drum entry which is technically

two-handed snare with a flam, with the bass drum in between. Then we’re into the big rock intro with the bass drum landing on ‘1’, ‘a’, the ‘&-a’ of ‘3’ and the ‘&’ of ‘4’. Two handed crashes, eighth notes on the hi-hat, slightly open. Then we go into the verse, ‘1-&-2’, ‘3-&-4’ with the hi-hat opening on the ‘4-&’ only.

The drum sound achieved on Nevermind was down to producer Butch Vig, who modestly says he

recorded the drums in a “pretty standard” way: kick and snare, overheads, toms and room mics. But, as Butch told Rhythm, the key to the sound is in Dave’s drumming: solid, hard-hitting and consistent.

SmellS like teen SpiritNirvanaDrummer Dave GrohlAlbum Nevermind (1991)

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idely regarded as the founder of reggae drumming and inventor of the distinctive one-drop feel, Winston

Grennan is a musical legend in his home nation of Jamaica. First recorded in 1970 by Toots & The Maytals, ‘Monkey Man’ contains patterns and fills that are typical of a ska feel, which would later be revived by bands such as The Specials, who did their own, faster ska version of ‘Monkey Man’ in 1979.

When playing the track, remember that the backbeats on the main patterns are played with the cross-stick

rather than the actual snare drum. However, use the snare when it comes time to doing any of the fills. For the most part, the kick drum will double the cross-stick when playing the verses and choruses. The lack of emphasis on beat 1 of each bar creates openness in the ensemble and gives the music its distinctive sound. The hi-hat pattern is generally played in a static fashion throughout the song without any accents. The pattern is generally the same for the entire song. However, occasional variations with the cross-stick can add interest.

Grennan’s contribution to reggae cannot be overstated, and his distinctive grooves can be heard on a myriad of

recordings with different artists including the great Bob Marley.

Monkey ManToots & The MaytalsDrummer Winston GrennanAlbum Monkey Man (1969)

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Wachine Head were formed in Oakland, California in 1991 and are one of the pioneering bands of the so-called New

Wave of American Heavy Metal that is said to include Pantera, Biohazard and even Slipknot. Their original drummer was Chris Kontos, who has also worked with Testament, Death Angel and more.

The drums kick things off with a 32nd-note fill that starts on the last eighth-note of the bar. After a few

cymbal hits and floor tom double-stops, the first double kick section appears, though this time with a half-time feel where playing alternating single-strokes at this speed can be almost as demanding as the ensuing 16th-note onslaught.

In the chorus section and eight-bar vamp leading back to the second verse, there’s a 16th-note triplet fill that’s played between the two, featuring single-strokes, while the hand/foot combination in the last bar might be easiest if played RLR with the hands and RLR with the feet. During the guitar solo there’s a gradual increase in tempo as the piece moves from half-time to full-time and finally to the double-time groove. The outro from the end of the guitar solo has a double-time feel. Watch out for the 5/4 bar during the slower ending section. And if you’ve reached this point your metal drumming is in pretty good shape!

You’ll need some pretty quick double pedal chops to keep up with Chris Kontos on this track, with most of the

double kick action taking the shape of single-stroke 16th notes.

DaviDianMachine HeadDrummer Chris KontosAlbum Burn My Eyes (1994)

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Mith a career that now spans five decades, Tower Of Power have become synonymous with tight, funky grooves

and ferocious horns. Although he’s been in and out of the band since its inception, drummer David Garibaldi is without question a fundamental component of its unique sound. He has written several books that amplify and explain his methodology, including Future Sounds, The Code Of Funk and The Funky Beat, so treat yourself to these additions to your personal library.

Garibaldi’s work on ‘What Is Hip?’ exemplifies his ability to construct and perform ridiculously funky patterns that

are perfectly tailored to the song while demonstrating his technical brilliance. You’ll see that there’s a veritable goldmine of funky patterns that are predominantly layered in their construction. Keep the hi-hat tight in the intro, but don’t forget to pedal it on every downbeat to get the openings in the right places. Note the changes in the hi-hat pattern here for the verses, and move to the ride cymbal and notice the crashes for the chorus. Pay attention to dynamics. Note the length of the open hats in the bridge to get the pattern lining up with the horn parts. Ghosted notes on the snare drum occur frequently, so make sure that there’s significant differentiation between accented and non-accented notes.

Again, as with all tight funk tracks, it’s vital that all of your relevant limbs are hitting simultaneously as dictated by the

pattern, as unwanted flamming between limbs will detract from your overall feel.

What is hip?Tower Of PowerDrummer David GaribaldiAlbum Tower Of Power (1973)

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That was my big ‘revelation’ when listening to Latin music. I realised it

was grooving really hard and there’s no ‘2’ and ‘4’ happening, no drumset in fact. Then I thought, ‘Why not try building rhythms like that, that have no conventional anchor points, like the ‘2’ and ‘4’ that Western drummers use?’ And that is kind of how we developed ToP stuff.DaviD GaribalDi on his approach to funk

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t’s easy to forget that mega-selling singer Phil Collins was also one of the most brilliant drummers of the 1970s

and ’80s, with estimable fusion chops honed in early Genesis and Brand X. But his most famous drum track – and indeed one of the best-known drum intros of all time – is fairly simple but incredibly effective. It’s been played by a gorilla, air-drummed by Mike Tyson and banged out on the dashboards of a thousand sales reps’ Ford Mondeos… ladies and gentlemen, we give you, ‘In The Air Tonight’…

It’s a syncopated pattern, played with two hands at the same time. On a standard two-rack, one-floor set-up

you can play this with two hits with both hands on tom 1, two on tom 1 and tom 2, then three sets of two-handed doubles on tom 2 and the floor. Then Phil enters into the main groove of the song, where the difficulty is that you don’t play the ride or hi-hat to keep time, so it’s easy to get out of tempo because you don’t play the subdivision, ie: the eighth-notes on the hat.

For the full effect, get yourself some Phil-style melodic concert toms. These single-headed toms are now

synonymous with Phil and ‘In The Air Tonight’.

In the AIr tonIghtPhil CollinsDrummer Phil CollinsAlbum Face Value (1981)

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Set-UpA set-up is what a drummer chooses to play before a figure played with the band. Big band drummers use set-ups effectively, usually ending them on the downbeat before a figure.

SextupletThe term ‘sextuplet’ refers to a grouping of six notes (which are commonly 16th notes) played in the space of one beat.

Shifting GearsShifting gears refers to changing note values in a groove or phrase whilst maintaining the same tempo.

ShuffleThe shuffle is a musical style based around ternary (or triplet) subdivision. It is often characterised by the hi-hat or ride cymbal playing the first and third notes of the triplet, making the first note have twice the rhythmic length of the second.

Single StrokeMaintaining single-strokes when playing double-kick patterns such as those seen here can allow you to approach complex figures consistently, with downbeats always falling on your right/lead foot.

Single Stroke FourThis is the second rudiment listed in the Percussive Arts Society’s essential International Drum Rudiments. Download them free of charge from the PAS website: http://www.pas.org/learn/Rudiments.aspx.

Single Stroke RollNumber One in the Percussive Arts Society’s 40 International Rudiments, the single stroke roll, which is played RLRL, can be challenging to play but has been used to devastating effect by drummers such as Billy Cobham and Tony Williams.

Six Stroke RollConsists of two double strokes and two single strokes (RRLLRL), but it’s also worth exploring the three other permutations; RLRRLL, RLLRRL, RRLRLL.

SforzandoWhen a note is played sforzando it means that it’s accented with the note that follow it being played very quietly. This can really help to emphasise the difference in dynamics at the beginning of a crescendo or build up as can be heard on this track before each chorus.

Slow TemposPractise the grooves at slow tempos. Try and get the grace notes as low as possible in volume, ‘felt and not heard’. Then play these grooves with some music, not just to clicks, to develop your feel as well.

SolidThis means keeping great time and burying the click, plus having consistency and dynamics throughout the track.

SongoDeveloped by percussionists such as Changuito of Los Van Van, Songo is one of the few Afro-Cuban styles that originally had elements played on drum set. Fundamentally linear, it has a funky sound and has been taken and adapted by many funk and fusion drummers.

StabsAlso known as ‘hits’ or ‘figures’, stabs refer to the rhythms played in unison by an ensemble. The drummer’s job is to interpret and phrase the stabs in a musically appropriate way to complement and support the band.

StacattoLiterally meaning ‘detached’ in Italian, staccato notes are sounded in a distinctly separate manner, played abruptly and shortly.

Stepped Hi-Hat PatternsRhythms articulated with the foot using the pedal of the hi-hat. This can have the effect of making a groove feel busier or more urgent.

Stick HeightStick height is the key to good accents. A good tip is to point the stick to the ceiling for and accent, and point it to the wall

for a tap. Try to maintain these stick positions as you play through accented patterns.

StickingWith which hands, and in which order, we play a pattern. ‘Hand to hand’ means always playing right then left, never playing two strokes in a row on the same hand.

StickshotsAn interesting alternative to conventional rim shots which involves pressing the left stick into the drumhead while striking it with the right stick.

Stop-TimeStop-time, a direction often seen on big band charts, is as straightforward as it sounds and simply involves playing rhythmic punctuations with no time playing in between.

Straight Or SwungWhen playing a 12/8 tune using the cymbal pattern below, make sure you know whether the 16th note between the hi-hat or cymbal note is played dead in the middle (as in straight) or slightly later (with a swing).

SubdivisionsA rhythmic subdivision is the division of each musical pulse into smaller, equal units (eighth notes, triplets, 16th notes, etc). Groupings and subdivisions are two separate things.

SuperimposeThe idea of layering two time feels on top of each other. The result is that the music can be counted in two ways, depending on how it is perceived by the listener.

Swing InterpretationThis involves playing all upbeat eighth notes on the third partial of the triplet, thus creating a swing feel. It can be easier to interpret a piece like this instead of having to read eighth note triplets.

Swiss Army TripletThe right hand plays the first two partials of a triplet while the left plays the first and third. This should give you ‘Together/Right/Left’. Instead of playing the first note together, play the left hand early to create a right hand flam.

Swung EighthsWhen we play eighth notes we are counting ‘1-&-2-&-3-&-4-&’ evenly spaced, and the ‘&’ is defined as ‘straight’ eighth notes. When playing in shuffle feel, the eighth note (the ‘&’) is played late, to make it ‘swing’.

Swung 16thThe upbeat 16th notes (the ‘e’s and the ‘a’s) are no longer played halfway between the beats and the ‘&’s, but delayed, creating the characteristic swung feel. While many relate these swung rhythms to triplets, the position of the upbeat 16th notes is purely a matter of aesthetics, so check out classic recordings to properly understand the concept.

SyncopatedAll measures are characterised by a particular pattern of stresses (in other words, strong and weak beats) that are largely defined by the time signature. When we play rhythms that contradict these patterns by emphasizing the weaker parts of the measure over the stronger ones. The result is called syncopation.

TempoThe word tempo relates to the speed at which music is played. As usual in musical terms, it is an Italian word, from the Latin tempus, meaning time. If you are planning a career in music, it’s very useful to know these terms. Incidentally, the plural of tempo is tempi.

Time SignatureThis is shown as two numbers, one on top of the other. The top number tells you how many notes per bar, and the bottom number refers to the value of those notes.

Traditional GripThis grip harks back to an era when side drums were worn slung across the chest at an angle which, while comfortable for the now lower right hand, made using the same grip in the left hand impossible.

TribalThinking beyond just kick, snare and hats. Drummers such as Jane’s Addiction’s Stephen Perkins and Tool’s Danny Carey frequently uses the toms to carry a groove, which characterises the ‘tribal’ drumming approach.

TumbaoA tumbao is the name given to both the conga pattern that most drummers emulate when playing a mambo feel on the drum kit and a bass line that appears frequently in Latin music and is played on the ‘&’ of ‘2’ and beat 4.

TupletA non-standard subdivision of a beat or part of a beat indicated by a beam, bracket and a small number, showing the total number of subdivisions.

Two FeelA ‘2’ feel refers to the fact that there are two strong downbeats in a bar on beats 1 and 3. A samba is another great example.

VoicingsThis refers quite simply to the variety of notes or sounds that can be produced on a musical instrument, eg: snare, toms, hi-hats would all be a different voicing around the kit.

WaltzA waltz was a dance that was popular for centuries and was very much part of social life. Post World War Two, a dance drummer would need to know the tempo and feel of at least four types – slow waltz, odd-time waltz, St Bernard’s waltz and the velita.

WeightThe ability to lay down grooves and fills with great power and a balanced dynamic is a skill that all great rock drummers possess. Dave Grohl’s drumming is direct and powerful, with the dynamics of all kit voices – toms, snare, kick etc – all being balanced and even.

X-HatsX-hats are closed (usually) hi-hats on a stand that operate without a pedal. X-hats are especially useful when using twin bass pedals.

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