Hammer Blow: A Heavy Hitting Nu Metal Track

Okay, let's talk about Hammer Blow, a nice punchy, heavy hitting nu metal track. We've got:

• Solid ride patterns
• Choppy bass
• Snare drum combinations

This lesson is going to be a lot of fun, filled with syncopation. We want to be thinking about bands like Korn and Limp Bizkit for that sound we're aiming for.

Song Structure

Let's first talk about the structure; it's going to make it really nice and easy to digest. The structure is as follows:

1. Nice rhythmic intro
2. Chorus
3. Verse
4. Chorus
5. Post-chorus
6. Bridge
7. Chorus
8. Another post-chorus
9. Bridge going into a breakdown
10. Heavy outro

Syncopation

Now, let's discuss the syncopation. A challenge might be getting to grips with playing the syncopation over a quarter note pulse. Let's practice that!

We've got lots of bass drums rolling along underneath this pattern. It might help to think about it leading into some of these hi-hat notes. Here's how the count goes:
1, A 2, A 3, A 4, A 1, A 2.
It's almost like it's pushing into the next beat.

Application Practice

Let's put this into practice. You've got bass drum, snare drum. We're going to start off with a quarter note pulse on the hi-hat.

Next, I want to talk about the counting system that I use. This is useful for all of the syllabus material we'll look at throughout the Rock School grading system. It's a universal system lots of other musicians and drummers reference.

Applying Syllables to Counts:

• In a one beat amount of time, you've got four 16th notes.
• You still have the count of one, but when we talk about sixteenths, we also need to label the middle and end notes as E and A.

This makes the group of four notes:
1 E and A.

Substitute the number for the number of the beat you're on, and you're good to go:
1 E and 2 E and 3 E and 4 E and A.

You'll be able to apply this to all of your playing and effectively communicate with other musicians.

Snare Drum Syncopation

Now, let's think about some of the snare drum syncopation. Usually, we find this on the E, meaning it comes straight after the start of the beat:
1 E, 1 E, A.

Let's apply that now with a quarter note.

Putting it All Together

Now you're ready to start thinking about putting it all together. It's crucial to play solidly with this section, as there's quite a lot of room to accidentally speed up due to the intensity of the guitar riff.

Make sure you're holding down a rigid crotchet (quarter note) feel, mainly played on the crash cymbal.

Chorus

Once we're confident with this, let's look at the chorus (Section C). We go back to an eighth note feel, but we face new off-beat challenges since we're now playing on the "and" and still the E with the snare drum.

Listening Practice

My tip for learning new pieces is to just listen. Try putting on a backing track version only, avoid the one with drums. Notice how the guitars line up with what you're meant to be playing. Pay attention to how the fills, particularly the bass drum and snare drum syncopations, tie in exactly with what's going on.

Example of Eighth Note Pulse

In Section C, the chorus offers a two half feel. Keep that eighth note pulse solid, allowing you to play the notes you need easily in between those hits.

Breakdown Section

Let's quickly discuss how to approach the breakdown section. Following the intensity of the choruses and heavy crash sections, this will serve as a welcome breather. Here, your recommended listening will be handy.

I specifically recommend checking out "Break Stuff" by Limp Bizkit. This breakdown is almost identical in style, providing inspiration for your approach.

Eight Bar Phrase

The breakdown is an eight-bar phrase. You might want to split it into two halves. Consider breaking the second half down even further. Fill out of that last bar into a flam on beat four.

• First Half: Keep it simple and avoid overplaying. Save some ideas for later.
• Second Half: Bring in your ideas, particularly from the extra listening.

Build it up and fill in that last bar, ending on beat four. Then, it's a heavy outro straight to a crash and a punchy fill to conclude.

Final Tips

Here are some final pointers to help you nail the feel, particularly for this heavier genre:

• Consider doing rim shots to achieve that heavy nu metal sound.
  • Make contact with both the rim and head simultaneously.
  • This creates a weighty backbeat with impressive results.

Practice Suggestions

Practice playing some of these beats with and without rim shots. This exploration will help you discover which sound you prefer.

Stickings and Navigation

Finally, consider changing up some of your stickings to navigate the fill sections better. Depending on your cymbals, you may not be able to rely on a crash on your right side after a middle Tom.

For example, instead of going right, left, right, left, you might choose to end on a double right. This strategy leaves your left hand open to prepare for the crash.

That's about all I have to cover on this topic. Hope you have lots of fun with it. Dig in, enjoy it, and I'll see you on the other side!