Ollie tunmer - drums & percussion

To get to grips with understanding and gaining a feel for a rhythm being able to move a bit whilst playing can really help. This process is called ‘internalising’ the rhythm and while it can be quite a challenge initially, it will improve musical ability in the long term no end.

To start with try just stepping in time at a steady tempo – right (R), together (T), left (L), together, and repeat, or ‘loop’ it counting the four beats of the bar. This is called the ‘pulse’ of the music. You will notice that each beat of the bar always falls on the same foot i.e 1st beat on the right foot, 3rd beat on the left. This way, when you loop a rhythm it will connect with what the feet are doing each time you play it.

When you are happy with this try clapping on beats two and four to get what’s called a ‘back beat’ –

This is a stepping and clapping rhythm that you may have seen and heard backing singers and choirs do to accompany themselves. It may
help to sing something to help you relax into it. Try a familiar tune with a steady tempo that has four beats in a bar (rock ballads are good for this!).
You can also play the beats between the pulse beats, the ‘and’ (+) beats – we call these ‘offbeats’. Sub-dividing the pulse in this way will develop your rhythmic feel and understanding.

At a steady tempo, try clapping the offbeats which are the beats between the feet (pulse) onbeats –

Keep looping this pattern and, again, try to relax into it. The less you have to think about it the better.

At a slow tempo try a double offbeat clap. You’d count this-

This is the basic feel of a style known as ‘samba reggae’, from Bahia, north-east Brazil.

Clavae

Clavae rhythms are used a lot in Latin American music and are useful additions to a percussionist’s vocabulary. They are great at developing the ability to internalise. One of the clavae rhythms is ‘Son’ clavae, and can either be played 3/2, with three notes in the first half of the bar and two in the second or 2/3. To understand this it is necessary to subdivide the bar-

Try looping the first half of the bar (up to to the 'a' before '3'). Keep the feet going as normal – R,T,L,T. You may find the beat that lands on ‘a’ rather tricky to co-ordinate. Feel how it falls just before a foot onbeat. You’ll find yourself playing a rhythm known as ‘baiao’ in Brazil.

You can get this rhythm another way. Start by tapping the rhythm below on your thighs whilst stepping. Accent (emphasise) the notes in bold and play the others as ‘ghost’ notes (marking, rather than playing the beat loudly). You will hear the first half of the ‘Son’ clavae rhythm as before.

This, whilst stepping, can cause coordination issues for some. Remember to keep the tempo steady and notice where the tapping line ‘marries’ with the stepping line.

At a steady tempo, carry on stepping the pulse and now clap and loop the whole 3/2 ‘Son’ clavae.

You can also try ‘Son’ 2/3 clavae, which is the same rhythm but with two beats first and the three beats in the second half of the bar.

For the sake of consistency (and looking good as a band), choose either
the left or right foot to mark beat one of every bar. As the majority of people are right handed they will start patterns with the right hand so it makes sense to start stepping on the right foot also. ‘Lefties’ may need to adapt their stepping and clapping for the greater good of the band!

Try clapping the following pattern, called Rhumba, whilst stepping –

This is the same as ‘Son’ but with the 3 of the group of 3 slightly later. To get 2/3 you simply play the 3/2 pattern but start from the 3rd beat of the bar.

Try the following rhythms - a bell pattern used in samba reggae and maracatu, both from northeast Brazil and the Cuban cascara:

Call and Response

A great tool that can be used within actual pieces as well as exercises is ‘Call and Response’. The leader gives a count in and then plays/claps a ‘call’ (a rhythm, in this case over a four beat pulse), and the group play it back. Keep the rhythms simple at a steady tempo to begin with and then gradually develop them and increase tempo. Pass the ‘caller’ role around the group, and once you have tried it on the spot try doing it whilst stepping. With practise this should make the stepping element, and the rhythmic ability in general, more instinctive.

Triplet time

You can also use clapping and stepping to explore new musical feels without having to worry about instrument technique. The exercises above are all in straight 4 time. Introducing triplet time adds further dimensions and can be counted like so-

Triplet feel can take people by surprise due to the fact that most western music they know from the radio and TV is in straight time. It can help to find well-known tunes to sing as you’re moving and playing. Obviously, it can depend on the ages and other factors of the group but try ‘Got to get you into my life’, by The Beatles, the ‘Dr Who’ theme or Stevie Wonder’s ‘Higher Ground’!

Try clapping the following patterns whilst stepping the pulse (as a loop – slowly at first then gradually increase the speed) . The first is a jazz swing rhythm which is then followed by an Afro-Brazilian bell rhythm:

When playing triplet feel you can suggest lots of different feels at the same time. The pulse marks out a steady four. Try the following patterns and see how they feel. To learn them it might help to work out which claps play with, or ‘marry’, the feet line and which are by themselves –

As you play these try to keep the original triplet feel in the way you count and move.