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Teaching Special Drum Patterns
Teaching a 6/8 Ballad Pattern
Many songs have a 6/8 time signature, where the kick is on beat 1 and the snare is on beat 4. To get this type
of beat with the SDRUM, turn on the metronome and set the tempo to the desired BPM. Pre-select a 3/4 time
signature to make sure the beat is interpreted correctly. Then teach the SDRUM a 2-bar pattern in 3/4 with the
kick on beat 1 of the first bar and the snare on beat 1 of the second bar.
Example:
Bar 1 Bar 2
1 & 2 & 3 & 1 & 2 & 3 &
• • • • • • Metronome beats
K S What you teach
This will essentially provide a 6/8 pattern. Pick the hi-hat pattern that best fits the song. Also, switch between the
swing and straight settings to set the desired feel for the song.
Teaching a Classic Train Beat Pattern
A train beat is a classic kick/snare pattern used especially in country, folk, and bluegrass music. Because it would
be almost impossible to teach this iconic beat using a guitar or the built-in pads, a special detection mode has
been included in the SDRUM.
To get a train beat, count out four beats for each bar, then scratch a snare (or use the snare pad) to teach a snare
on every eighth note beat. For example, try a 2-bar pattern with 16 consecutive evenly spaced snare hits on the 1
& 2 & 3 & 4 & beats for each bar. Also, try enabling the metronome and lowering the tempo to see if that helps—
the tempo can be raised back up after the pattern is learned. If you teach this special pattern, you will get a train
beat with kicks and snares.
Example:
Bar 1 Bar 2
1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &
• • • • • • • • Metronome beats
S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S What you teach
Teaching a Typical Brush Swirl Jazz Pattern
When the BRUSH kit is selected, the HATS/RIDES variation #2 option provides a brush swirl sound, as well as
pedal hi-hats. When teaching a typical brush swirl pattern, snare hits should not be played because the pedal
hi-hats will act in place of the snare. To teach this type of pattern, pre-select the BRUSH kit and the HATS/RIDES
variation #2 option (press the HATS/RIDES encoder repeatedly until the LED is green, if it isn't already). It may also
help to pre-select the 4/4 time signature and SW (swing) options, and slow down the tempo.
Example:
Bar 1 Bar 2
1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &
• • • • • • • • Metronome beats
K K K K K K What you teach (swing those
kick beats just before beat 3!)
You should now hear a brush swirl, with pedal hats on the 2 and 4 beats.