At Stage 2, we learned how to place the bass drum between eighth note hi-hats. By doing this we started to break the link between the right hand and the right foot. This has led to a degree of independence when playing the bass drum.
At Stage 3, we build on that independence and start to explore the concept of playing two bass drum notes sequentially.
Exercise 5
When you’re comfortable with the basic movement of playing two subsequent bass drum notes, try adding another note on the [& of the 3]:
Exercise 6
In this pattern, we move the double along a little so the bass drum notes fall on the [e of the 3] and the [& of the 3].
Once you are comfortable with placing the double here, try adding another bass drum on the [a of the 2]:
This groove features in the song In My Place by Coldplay. When you can play it at 72 bpm, try playing along with the song.
Here is another variation of this rhythmic idea. This time the bass drum note in on the [& of the 2] and we add another note on the [a of the 1]:
This groove features in the track Dreamin by The Score. It is played at 80 bpm.
Exercise 7
Here we introduce another figure. This time the bass drum double falls on the [3] and the [e of the 3]:
Once you’re comfortable with this idea. Try playing it at the start of the bar too:
Let’s take this same figure and add another bass drum note on the [a of the 1]. We’ll keep things simple in the second half of the bar with a single bass note on the [& of the 3]:
Exercise 8
In this final pattern, we move the bass drum double so that the notes are placed on the [& of the 3] and the [a of the 3]:
Now let’s repeat the figure at the start of the bar, adding bass drums on the [& of the 1] and the [a of the 1]:
If you’re working on buildin speed and technique, it may also be useful to practice the pattern below, where the figure is the same in both halves of the bar: