Establishing The Groove

This is a preview of the educational program A Jazz Improvisation Almanac which is under development for the Outside Shore Music Online School. Feel free to browse this preview and learn what you can from it. For a more completed product, though, check out the original freely browsable jazz textbook, A Jazz Improvisation Primer.

The term groove refers to the underlying rhythmic pulse of the music, but it is more than just the tempo and time signature. For instance, the following two examples have exactly the same tempo and meter, but vastly different grooves:

[EXAMPLE]

Both of these grooves can be considered jazz rhythms. Some grooves are considered to be jazzier than others, but there is no specific definition that you can use to decide what constitutes a jazz rhythm. Certainly, the elements of swing and syncopation are commonly found in jazz grooves:

[EXAMPLE]

Another attribute typical of jazz grooves is that they do not tend to emphasize the beat as strongly as do grooves in other styles of music. Instead, the beat is implied more lightly and indirectly. For example, the following groove hits the beat strongly in the bass drum and snare drum and is more typical of rock than of jazz:

[EXAMPLE]

Whereas the following example is more typical of jazz in that it relies more on the cymbals, and it features more decoration around the beat:

[EXAMPLE]

It is difficult to describe a jazz groove in objective terms, as most people seem to agree that swing is something you have o just feel. Nonetheless, there are a few specific rhythmic patterns with which every drummer should be familiar. Some of these are described below.

The first groove any jazz drummer should be able to play is the basic swing rhythm. This can be used as a basis for many different grooves. There are two components to the swing rhythm. The first is played on the hi-hat or sock cymbals, which are closed with the foot pedal on beats two and four:

[EXAMPLE]

The second rhythm is the ride pattern, which is played on one of the other cymbals. A typical ride pattern consists of a quarter note on beats one and three and a pair of eighth notes on beats two and four:

[EXAMPLE]

Your free hand and foot may be used to place accents and fills:

[EXAMPLE]

These techniques are discussed further in following sections.

When an arrangement calls for a two beat or half time feel, you might play the following type of groove:

[EXAMPLE]

For waltzes or other pieces in 3/4 time, the pattern is often played as follows:

[EXAMPLE]

For ballads, the ride pattern is often replaced by a brush pattern. This is played on the snare drum, with the brushes used in a continuous circular motion. The beat may subtly accented by increasing pressure or speed:

[EXAMPLE]

A shuffle is a heavier pattern used in blues and rock. Beats two and four are accented more strongly than in a swing pattern, and the swing feel of the eighth notes is exaggerated. A continuous stream of eighth notes is often played on the ride cymbal:

[EXAMPLE]

Jazz drummers have adapted Latin American rhythms to the drum set. These rhythms are based on a fundamental pulse called the clave, which is a two bar pattern

[EXAMPLE]

The two Latin grooves used most often in jazz are Brazilian in origin. The first of these is called the bossa nova, or simply bossa for short. Here is a typical pattern a jazz drummer might use when playing a bossa nova:

[EXAMPLE]

A samba is often treated as a double time bossa. Here is a typical pattern:

[EXAMPLE]

Afro-Cuban rhythms such as the mambo are used in jazz as well, but a full discussion of this style is outside the scope of this program. For the most part, the typical jazz band does not attempt to deal with these rhythms unless they dedicate themselves to playing the style correctly. Whereas most jazz musicians are comfortable playing bossa nova and samba grooves.

Some compositions come with their own grooves. For example, the tune Sister Cheryl by drummer Tony Williams is virtually always played with the following pattern:

[EXAMPLE]

Establishing a groove in any style is a matter of finding a balance between consistency in playing the expected pattern and knowing when to vary from that pattern. For example, consider the following pattern:

[EXAMPLE]

A drummer using this pattern would be wise to vary it slightly as he plays to avoid sounding too repetitious:

[EXAMPLE]

When establishing a groove, you should not try to sound too much like a machine. However, groove is a completely subjective thing. One person may think a given drummer has a great feel, while another person may think the same drummer sounds too stiff, and another may think he is too loose. You must be true to the groove you feel within yourself.

Copyright 2000 Outside Shore Music
Authored by Marc Sabatella

Establishing The Groove