Digital Music

This page will (hopefully) always be UNDER CONSTRUCTION too. The idea here is to (hopefully) Help lead you to music on the web, with which you may jam and HEAR the ideas, (beats and rolls) being discussed in the lessons. It's one thing to see an idea in note-form, and yet, it's quite another thing to HEAR that idea in use within a popular song of the moment. Students always learn quicker and easier, if they can HEAR a beat or roll pattern in use.

The PROBLEM with this plan and this web page is the changing music, and the changing web, itself. They're both CONSTANTLY changing, without notice! This makes it VERY difficult to keep up with the changes. Dead links may constantly occur here, as various web pages go offline, and specific songs fade into non-existence. Your patience, understanding and help are requested, concerning this. Please report all dead links, and I'll try to fix the resulting problems on this page, as they occur.

ANYWAY . . . HERE ARE A FEW ACTUAL SONGS I'VE FOUND ON THE WEB, THAT RELATE DIRECTLY TO THE BASIC BEATS AS THEY'RE DISCUSSED IN THE 'BASIC DANCE BEATS' LESSON . . .

Some of these clips are in Real Audio format, and others are MP3s. You'll need to be online to hear these music clips but your computer should already be configured to play either format. These songs are only intended to be used as samples to help get you playing the particular beat-patterns, along with recorded music. If you can feel and jam with these songs, you'll have little trouble jamming with any other music you may wish to play.

Since the recording industry began in the mid-1920s, there have been somewhere beyond 200,000,000 songs recorded on some form of recorded mediums. We pro-drummers may need to play any one of those songs, unrehearsed, at any time. Though that sounds a bit daunting . . . It's really easy. Almost all those songs will be based within the major dancebeat categories. If we know our beat and roll structures, it means we'll find it easy to play any song, unrehearsed. This page is here to help you see just how it works. You may never have heard any of these songs, but if you have some expertise with the beats, rolls, and fills of this course, you'll hopefully find these, and ANY song, easy to play.

DANCEBEAT #1: 16th 4/4, (THIS BEAT IS OFTEN USED WITH; Hip Hop, Rap, Easy Listening, and some Jazz.) It's a common beat in many music styles.)

1. 

Wonderful Tonight -Eric Clapton.

DANCEBEAT #2: 'Blues', (aka; 6/8, 12/8, 8th triplet 2/4 and 4/4)

1. 

First Time I Met The Blues | Buddy Guy

2. 

Double Trouble - Eric Clapton. 

3. 

One Night With You. - Elvis 

DANCEBEAT #3: 8th 4/4, (Rock Beat = 4.3 billion possible variations / hundreds of names.)

1. 

All Our Past Times - Eric Clapton.

2. 

Tulsa Time - Eric Clapton.

3. 

Out Of Sight - Buddy Guy.

DANCEBEAT #4: Shuffle, (USED WITH: Swing, Jazz, C&W, and a lot of Blues music.)

1. 

Dust My Broom | Elmore James

2. 

Kings Shuffle _ B.B. King.

NOTE: If you are having trouble maintaining a Shuffle beat at these tempos, learn the Swing Beat, then substitute it for Shuffle. It is common practice, even on stage for pro-drummers to Switch and substitute these two beat patterns. Keep in mind that approximately 33,000,000 (or more) songs will fall into this very important beat category. We simply can not ignore those 33 million songs and walk off stage because we aren't proficient with these patterns. You will be using some form of Shuffle or Swing about one-third of the time, in professional situations. The path to perfection is to PLAY ALONG WITH thousands of songs that do exist in this structure. The more you play, the better you'll become. It's all about the music! Don't ignore the Swing and Shuffle songs as they occur on your CDs, tapes, or on the radio. Play those songs too! It's important to your future.

DANCEBEAT #5: Quarter-note 4/4, (aka; Punk, Jazz, Polka, Up-tempo)

1. 

Got My Mojo Workin' | Muddy Waters

2. 

C.C. Rider. - Elvis

3. 

That's All Right. - Elvis