Sixteenths on the Hi-Hats
The following example demonstrates a common way that sixteenth notes are used in Funk. The hi-hats are played with alternating right and left hands. In this groove, the right hand plays the backbeat on beats 2 and 4. The hi-hats are not played on these beats. If you have trouble with this one, practice with hands only first before adding the bass drum.
As with eighth note cymbal patterns, you can use a variety of bass drum parts with this type of groove, as shown in the following example. Experiment and create some of your own variations.
This one contains some extra snare drum hits within the pattern. Once again, there is room for plenty of variation here, so experiment!
It is also worth experimenting with a combination of 8th and 16th notes on the hi-hats, as shown in the following examples. All hi-hat notes here are played with the right hand only. Try some other bass drum and snare drum patterns with these hi-hat parts.
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.
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.
The most common place accents are used is on the backbeat. Another common place they are used is on the crash cymbal directly after a fill. Both of these accents are demonstrated in the following example.
Another way accents are used is to reinforce the sound of a certain part played by the bass or guitar or both. Experiment with using accents on some of the parts you have learned and try making up some of your own parts using accents.
Ghost Notes
A ghost note is the reverse of an accent. Whereas an accent is played louder than other notes, a ghost note is played softer than other notes. Ghost notes are most commonly played on the snare drum and are common in Funk and Jazz. A ghost note is indicated by brackets around the note. Play the following example and listen carefully to the volume of your notes.
Here is a drum groove which makes use of ghost notes. Once you can play this one, go back and apply ghost notes to some of the grooves you learned in the previous lesson.
