The Rebirth Groove
With
Pat LevettPat Levett teaches a New Orleans groove inspired by the Rebirth Brass Band, built on the 3-2 clave and shaped to emulate a brass band on the kit.
What's in the course
12 lessons (0h 53m) · 2 free
01. The New Orleans groove & feel
Free lesson3:38
02. Pat Levett demonstrates some New Orleans Style Drums
Free lesson2:34
03. Adding a bass drum pattern
2:34
04. Second Line drumming
4:37
05. New Orleans Rock & Roll - Fats Domino
4:53
06. The Dirge - Funeral March
3:24
07. The Rebirth Groove
You are here4:04
08. Mardi Gras Indians
5:54
09. New Orleans Funk
7:48
10. Zydeco Music
3:55
11. Allen Toussaint
5:09
12. Fill-ins & creative ideas
5:00
Lesson transcript
New Orleans Groove Lesson
This is a groove from New Orleans that I heard played by the Rebirth Brass Band. In the band, they have:
- A bass drum player who has a cymbal on top of the bass drum
- A snare drum player
I was trying to find a way to play that sort of sound and emulate it on the drum kit.
Hi-Hat Setup
- I've got a bottom hi-hat, quite thick.
- I've taped it up so it's even more pingy to create that kind of sound they get on the bass drum.
I'm playing on the top, but I try to play as lightly as I can to get that pingy sound.
Playing Technique
- The side stick with the left hand goes in at the same time as this cymbal.
- The right hand moves from the snare drum to the cymbal.
Part Two
The second part involves moving the left hand from the rim shot over to the center of the drum.
Part Three
The third part is to bring in the bass drum, playing a regular first half of the 3-2 Clave.
Let's go a bit slower with this groove.
Rolls
The last part is the rolls; it's almost like a timbale roll. We throw that in every now and again.
I'll speed it up a little bit, and you can hear where they go.
Note on Timing
Now, this is the only time that you can't play the cymbal because you have to play the timbale roll here.
Another roll you can do is:
- Play for the whole bar
- At the last point, do a nice big accent with the bass drum, which will sound like this.
Putting It All Together
So, to put the whole thing together, it sounds like this.
Thanks very much! If you found this interesting and useful, I've just finished a course on musicgurus.com, and you can learn a lot more about New Orleans drumming there.
Many thanks!
12 lessons
0h 53m of structured video lessons
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Meet your guru
Meet your guru
After graduating on drums from the Guildhall School of Music in 1999, Pat has performed and recorded with Liane Carroll, the James Taylor Quartet, Tim Minchin, the Ronnie Scott's All Stars, Zigaboo Modeliste (The Meters), Earl Thomas, Paddy Milner, the Phil Stevenson Trio, the Downtown Dukes, 24 Pesos, the Puppini Sisters, Sandi Thom and Bernard Purdie, amongst others.
He has toured extensively across America, Russia, Asia and Europe, playing many well-respected venues, festivals, TV and radio slots. Pat also plays chromatic harmonica and is a featured soloist on two albums by Will Grove-White (Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain).
His own projects include 'The Coalminers', dedicated to playing New Orleans funk and soul, and 'June Afternoon', an organ trio featuring Ross Stanley and Nat Martin.
In his New Orleans Style Drumming course, Pat unpacks the grooves, feel and second-line vocabulary that define the city's sound, so you can lock into authentic funk and soul behind the kit.
