Lesson 84 of 114DrumsBeginner

Bonus Exercise 1

Sophie Alloway works on sitting back in the pocket, keeping a relaxed, steady time feel through the grooves and fills as the tempo nudges up.

Part of the courseRockschool Drums Method for Beginners114 lessons (3h 47m)

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What's in the course

114 lessons (3h 47m) · 1 free
    • 01. Hip-Hop Introduction - Basic Beats and Fills

      1:33

    • 02. Example 1 - Snare & Bass Drum Fill

      1:10

    • 03. Example 2 - Snare & Hi-Hat Fill

      1:08

    • 04. Example 3 - Fill Using Snare, Hi-Hat & Bass Drum

      1:09

    • 05. Bonus Exercise 1

      You are here

      1:38

    • 06. Bonus Exercise 2

      0:47

    • 07. Hip-Hop Lesson 1 Summary

      0:32

    • 08. Hip Hop Lesson 2 - Introduction to Eighth Note Beats

      3:53

    • 09. Example 1 - The Basic Eighth-Note Beat

      1:19

    • 10. Example 2 - Snare Drum Variations

      1:28

    • 11. Example 3 - Bass Drum Variations

      1:09

    • 12. Example 4 - 'The Dogg' Bars 13-16

      1:56

    • 13. Bonus Exercise 1

      1:04

    • 14. Bonus Exercise 2

      1:09

    • 15. Hip-Hop Section Summary

      0:32

Lesson transcript

Music Lesson Transcript

So with these two exercises, we've got a 5 bpm increase. That's five beats per minute.

Exercise Overview

Between exercise one and exercise two, we're still practicing and playing our different grooves. They do vary a little bit.

Relaxing in the Pocket

If you can, try and really sort of sit back in the pocket, as we say. This means having a slightly more relaxed approach to the time feel. It can be difficult, especially when we're playing quarter notes rather than eighth notes, to really relax.

  • Just think of sinking into the drumstool a bit.
  • Really focus on grooving with this.

Fills and Timing

The same approach applies to the fills. We have some quarter notes and some eighth notes, so just try not to pick up any speed through those.

Practice Count

Okay, let's see:

1, 2, 3, 4,

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Meet your guru

Sophie Alloway

Sophie Alloway

Sophie Alloway is a session and touring drummer at the heart of the London jazz scene. She has performed with Jason Rebello, Yazz Ahmed, Laurence Cottle and Tony Allen, and notably played for Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace shortly before he became King.

Touring credits include Roots Manuva, the Thriller musical and Paul Stacey (Oasis / The Black Crowes). She is also the drummer in original fusion band Lydian Collective, with over six million Spotify streams.

Sophie has recorded sessions at Abbey Road, AIR and Angel studios, and her television appearances include Later… with Jools Holland, Glastonbury and two series of Adrian Dunbar’s drama Ridley. She is featured on Abbey Road Masters: The Drum Sessions and performed for the BBC Young Jazz Musician 2024 finalists, broadcast on BBC TV and Radio. Jon Newey of Jazz FM dubbed her the “goddess of groove”.

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