LESSON SEVEN

Accents

Sometimes you may want to play certain notes louder than others for dramatic effect. This is when accents are used. An accent is indicated by a wedge mark placed above or below the note as shown.

This example contains accents both on and off the beat. The accents apply to the snare drum only. When learning accents, the natural tendency is to accent the other limbs as well. However, this is exactly what you need to train yourself not to do. Listen carefully to your playing and keep the volume of the bass drum even regardless of whether you are playing an accent on the snare drum or not.

Once you are comfortable with the previous example, try this groove which uses accents on the snare drum on the backbeat. Once again, try not to accent the other parts, e.g., the right hand when playing the snare drum accents.

Know Your Drums…

Sticks

Drumsticks come in a huge variety of shapes, sizes and materials. The most common woods are hickory, maple and oak. Sticks can also be made from aluminum and various synthetic materials such as nylon and carbon fiber. The weight of the stick affects both its projection and how easy it is to control, as does the length. The shape and material of the tip also has a big influence on tone production and comes in various shapes such as round, pointed, tear drop and barrel. Nylon tips are brighter in tone and more durable than wood.

As well as eighth notes, it is important to have control of accents using the other beat subdivisions you have learned, i.e., triplets and sixteenth notes. Here are some examples to practice. These are only a basic introduction to accents. For a more in-depth study of accents, see Progressive Drum Method by Craig Lauritsen.

Accents Using Different Surfaces

Accents can often be created simply by using different parts of the drumkit. The most common example of this is the use of the crash cymbal. If you play a groove using the hi hat and then play the crash cymbal it automatically gives the effect of an accent even if you don’t hit it any harder.

Another common situation where this occurs is in playing a fill. If you play part of a fill on one drum (e.g., snare) and another part of the fill on a different drum (e.g., tom), the difference in tone and the surfaces of the drums will create accents as demonstrated in the following example.

The Paradiddle

There are particular sticking patterns which lend themselves to playing on different surfaces to create accents. The most common of these patterns is called the paradiddle. The basic paradiddle pattern is shown here.

Play this pattern many times until you have it memorised. Try the next few examples, which apply the paradiddle to different parts of the kit.

Once you have mastered the previous example, try using it as a fill:

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Shakers

Shakers come in a huge variety of shapes and sizes from small egg shakers to Latin and Central American maracas to the West African shekere. The one thing that they all have in common is that they produce their sound through small beads hitting a surface of the shaker. Most instruments like this require a lot of coordination and practice to get the beads moving in time and are capable of producing many more sounds than at first may be thought.

There are many other ways of using the paradiddle between various parts of the drumkit. The paradiddle is an example of a drum rudiment. Rudiments are specific sticking patterns which vary the combination of left and right hand movements. The paradiddle is only one of 28 basic rudiments. To become a good drummer, it is worth eventually learning all of the rudiments and applying them to the drumkit. For a detailed study of rudiments, see Progressive Drum Method by Craig Lauritsen.

Dynamics

The term dynamics refers to the volume at which the music is played. If all music were played at the same volume it would lack expression and soon become boring. Therefore it is necessary to be able to play at a variety of dynamic levels, ranging from very soft to very loud. There are specific markings for dynamics in written music. Some of these are listed here:

Volume Changes

Two more important symbols used to indicate dynamics are the crescendo (meaning a gradual increase in volume) and the diminuendo (meaning a gradual decrease in volume). These are shown here.

Learning to use dynamics effectively takes quite a while. A good way to practice dynamics is to play a basic rhythm (e.g., two bars of eighth notes) on the snare drum at various different dynamic levels ranging from as softly as you can play to as loudly as you can play. These two extremes are not so difficult although keeping all the notes consistent when playing very quietly can be tricky at first. Most beginners have trouble with making the grades of volume in between pp and f distinguishable, so be patient and keep practicing until you are comfortable with all the dynamic levels shown above. Once you can do this with a snare drum rhythm, play some full drumkit grooves at all the different dynamic levels.

Once you are comfortable with different dynamic levels, start adding crescendos and diminuendos. Once again, start with a basic snare drum rhythm until you are comfortable with gradual and consistent volume changes, then try crescendos and decrescendos with beats and in particular, fills. A drummer with good control of dynamics and timing will always be in demand with other musicians and well appreciated by audiences.

Observe the dynamic markings in this example and listen to the recording to hear how effective they are when combined with other instruments. Try playing some of the grooves and fills you have already learned at different dynamic levels. The more you practice and play, the easier this becomes. Notice the use of the bar repeat sign in this example.

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Electronic Drum Kits

Electronic drum kits work by using sensor pads in place of drums and cymbals which are connected to a processor (sometimes called a drum brain). This gives them generic qualities and features. The sample libraries in these processors can store thousands of sounds, meaning that a huge number of kits and effects are available to the user. Modern kits have very sensitive pads that can approximate differences in tone and volume and the materials used can come close to recreating the feel of acoustic drums.

Dynamic Independence

As mentioned earlier, it is important to be able to play an accent with any one limb without affecting the volume of the other parts. This is called dynamic independence. One of the best ways to develop this is to play a basic beat and accent all of the notes played by one of the limbs while keeping the other parts at an even volume. Here are some examples to practice:

(Hi-Hats)

(Bass Drum and Backbeat)

Ghost Notes

Another important aspect of dynamics is the use of ghost notes. Whereas an accent is a note played louder than the other notes being played, a ghost note is played softer than most other notes and is the reverse of an accent. Ghost notes are common in more advanced drumming, particularly in Funk and Jazz. Ghost notes are often indicated by a bracket around the note, as shown in the following example.

Ghost notes are most commonly played on the snare drum. Play the following example and listen carefully to the volume of your notes.

Once you have control of ghost notes on the snare, try the following Funk beats which contain ghost notes. If you have trouble playing them, practice each one two limbs at a time and count as you play.

The following example is a shuffle groove which is commonly used in Blues. It is often called a Chicago shuffle or double shuffle.

This one has a fill in the fourth bar which makes use of the paradiddle. These last two beats may take some time to play well, but stick with it and your practice will definitely pay off.

Know Your Drums…

Splash Cymbal

Splash cymbals are small cymbals that produce a sound that decays very quickly. Splash cymbals are occasionally mounted inverted, on top of a larger cymbal (i.e., a crash) which can give a different tone and makes for ease of playing. Splash cymbals are normally used to play accents and fills, sometimes with a "choke" technique to play fast rhythmic figures.