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Lesson time: (10min 40sec)
Rich Hawking of Hacktivist breaks down 'Mindsweeper', a relentless, heavy piece full of syncopated accents that reward learning the music by ear.
This lesson is part of the course Rockschool Drums Grade 6
Watch a preview of the full course below.
Lesson transcript:
Okay, let's talk about Minesweeper. We've got ourselves a real tricky one here, but it's lots of fun.
We've got a real heavy drum on bass feel to this one. It's pretty much a relentless slog, other than just one bit of a respite, which is in that nice laid back and much quieter bridge section.
So, let's talk about how we're going to start breaking this one down then. One of the best things that you can do is use your ears with this one. This is definitely something that I had to do.
The other thing that makes it a nice bit easier is the fact that, in terms of the fast-paced, syncopated drum and bass riffs that you're going to have to play, there are only a couple of variations.
Then, there's one other variation for this syncopated ride feel that you're going to have to get used to. But again, once you've cracked that for the one section, it comes back in at the very end again. So, one piece can go the distance for two sections.
The first thing that you're going to want to do when tackling these bits is thinking about that syncopation and getting it lined up with your ride cymbal.
And with this drum and bass style, we've got to be talking about ghost notes. You may have heard the term before, and it refers to notes played really quietly.
If you can develop it, it's going to help you in lots of different areas you're playing.
In this instance, it's going to give you a great opportunity to get that classic drum and bass style. It can be quite difficult to nail at first. Often, when you first approach these rhythms, everything sounds really loud, which is too heavy for this type of style.
You really want to nail down those ghost notes, getting it ticking along like the processed program beats of the drum and bass world.
Then, use that bass drum as a nice reference point to bring you back on the one or something to stick in the middle of the phrase.
A very useful tip when you're playing this kind of drum and bass groove is to think about dynamics. Use your technique to help you out.
This is something I found very useful because keeping the ghost notes as quiet as possible, using a rim shot for these backbeats, will give you a huge range of dynamics without much attack needed.
Now that we've got to grips with the syncopation needed for this fast-paced drum and bass feel, let's think about some other sections and tips I can give you.
First of all, we come to this bell pattern. This might be something that you find tricky, but here's a tip for how I approached it when I was learning:
Once you've got that in your head, we can start applying it to the beat.
Let's give it one more try.
After we've navigated our way through that, let's think about this bridge. This is your respite from the intensity of the rest of the piece.
You want to ensure that you're not overplaying. Give yourself time to think ahead. This is where you're going to want to start drawing from some other genres.
Personally, I am a big fan of reggae music, so I was able to incorporate some phrasing that I enjoy playing from that side of things. If you're not sure where to begin, consider acts like:
In that phrase, I used a one-drop feel and also incorporated more of a stepping rhythm, adding more bass drum in the second half of that bridge. This can give it a good way to start structuring the build-up and give it more of a journey. See what you can come up with!
Finally, let's think about the heavier sections. We've looked at the structure of the rest of the stuff, so let's break this one down.
One thing to really understand that can help you is that it's basically the same phrase every single time, whether it's in the middle of the piece or the section at the end.
When it's time for your solos, think about incorporating some patterns from the drum and bass world since we are playing an embellishment of that style mixed with that heavy rock feel.
The final thing I want to leave you with is the idea to ensure your technique is on point with this one. Your technique is going to help you out and make your job easier.
As we said before, focus on those small movements and good technique. Use that bounce to help yourself out with this one.
Okay, guys, don't let up the intensity! Go for it, really push yourself and dive into this one. Have fun!
