Snare lands only on beat 3, creating a slow, heavy feel. Common in metal, grunge, and hip-hop influenced rock.
A half-time groove puts the snare on beat 3 only, instead of on beats 2 and 4. The tempo and the hi-hat are unchanged, but with half as many backbeats the groove feels like it is moving at half the speed. It is the standard device for heavy, spacious sections in rock, metal and hip-hop.
Each column is one sixteenth note. x is a hi-hat or cymbal stroke, o is a drum.
1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a Hi-Hat x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . Snare . . . . . . . . o . . . . . . . Kick o . . o . . o . . . . . . . . .
Count the bar out loud as 1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a and add one limb at a time.
The kick figure is the thing to isolate. Count '1 e & a 2 e & a' and place the three kicks on '1', 'a' and the following '&' before you add the snare on 3.
Start slow enough to place every note deliberately, lock each rung in before moving up, and only raise the tempo once the pattern is clean. Each step opens the metronome at that tempo.
A famous example of the half-time feel rather than this exact kick figure — the snare falling once per bar is what the two share.
Ordered by difficulty — the first is the smallest step up.
A groove where the snare backbeat falls once per bar, on beat 3, instead of twice on beats 2 and 4. The tempo does not change, but the groove feels half as fast.
No. The metronome stays where it is and the hi-hat keeps the same speed. Only the backbeat placement changes, which is what creates the illusion of slowing down.
Choruses and breakdowns in rock and metal, most hip-hop production, and any section where a track needs to feel heavier without actually slowing down.