Hi everyone, welcome back to Hackney Wick Drum Studio. If you're looking for Drum Lessons in east London, you've come to the right place.
In todays free drum lesson, we're going to be taking a look at the simple use of an accent played over single stroke sixteenth notes. In simple terms, an accent is where we strike the drum a little louder and with more force than a normal note. This makes that particular note stand out from the rest of the notes and is a great way off adding some colour to your playing. Secondly, as you'll see with this exercise, it is a great way of developing stick control and is a brilliant work out for both your left and right hands.
The accent is represented by a small 'v', lying on its side over the top of the note which you're aiming to strike louder than the rest. In the first four bars, we're playing a single accent, and in the second four bars, we're playing groups of two accents. Take a look at the chart below.
The best way to tackle the piece above is by splitting into two parts, bars 1-4 and 5-8.
As you'll see above, the accent moves a sixteenth note at a time throughout each bar.
In bar one, the accent is on the 1,2,3 and 4. In bar two, the accent is on the 'e' every time. In bar three, the accent moves to the '&' and in bar four, the accent in on the 'a'.
Bars one and three the accent will be played with the right hand, and bars two and four the accent falls on the left hand. (Reverse this if you're a left handed drummer).
To tackle bars 5-8, you'll now need to play two accents in each bar.
In bar five, they fall on the 1e,2e,3e and 4e. In bar 6 they fall one the e&, in bar seven they fall on the &a. Bar eight is slightly trickier so be careful with your counting on this one. The accents fall on 1 a 2 a 3 a 4 a.
So there we have it. Try starting this piece off at 60 BPM and take it from there in terms of tempo. As always, ask any questions in the comments below and I'll be sure to get back to you. Why not try coming up with your own accent exercise? Try adding them over a double stroke roll or paradiddle? The possibilities are endless.
Thanks agin for checking out another free drum lesson with me at Hackney Wick Drum Studio. As always, if you're looking for Drum Lessons in London, why not book your free taster lesson? My Drum Studio is located conveniently just two minutes walk from Hackney Wick Station and is easily reachable from all parts of East London. In the next instalment of my Drum Blog, we'll be looking at some variations of the sixteenth note, so be sure to check back for another drum class then.
Happy Drumming
Jack x