Space Future Trip Hop Lesson

Okay, so, yeah, Space Future Trip Hop. This is one of my favorites, actually. It's really, really cool.

Recommended Listening

Before we even start, you should be checking out some kind of recommended listening. The book has suggested Massive Attack, Best of, and I really can't agree with that more. It's great for getting you into this genre.

Starting Off

We're starting off on the ride. No crashes really, for a little while, which is cool.

• Watch out for that bell in bar four. It's easy to miss.

Then we're moving to the hats. At 17 with the hats, you want to stay really, really strong.

• This is a slow tempo in the first section, at least.
• You want to stay really, really steady and be strong and exact with this.

Remember:

This is not a Wedi tune. This is a powerful tune.

So, you know, think big, feel big. It's going to be cool.

Tips and Tricks

• Tricky little fill in bar 24: Just watch out for that.

• Moving to section B, we've transitioned to 4/4.

• As it says, the quaver pulse has become the crotchet:

  1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3,
  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,
  1, 2, 3, 4,
  1, 2, 3, 4.

• The click there, if you're getting a click, is on the minim: 1, 2, 3, 4.

Just watch out for that on the transition.

Technique Focus

There's a lot of fills in this piece which use double strokes on the bass drum. I would advise working through your technique with your teacher.

• A lot of people use heel up; others will use heel down. Both are really, really valid.

I find that they both have different uses. For me, I would end up using heel up most of the time, especially when you're moving, because my balance feels better.

But that is a really personal thing, and there are so many people that will play it differently.

Work through it with your teacher and watch the JoJo Mayo DVD on foot technique. Then, two weeks later, emerge from your bedroom, disheveled, and have a shave.

Open Hi Hat Groove

Moving on from that, we're on an open hi hat groove at bar 33. It's heavy, really, really heavy.

• Dig in and don't rush.
• It'd be very easy to speed up with all the mental hip hop rock stuff.

Don't speed up; lay back on it. You're really holding this together.

Linear Fill

Now, there's a linear fill at bar 47, which is very similar to the one at bar 99. When we finish it, it's slightly different at the end.

• I use: left, right, left, right, left, then foot left, right, left.

There are different stickings to use for that, but be aware of leading with the left hand.

Unless you're a left-handed player, in which case you'll be playing it right-handed.

For right-handed players, leading with the left can be tricky. So, practice it really, really slowly with a metronome. That's the essential thing; that's what I would do.

Hi Hat Groove and Five Stroke Roll

Again, we've got a two-handed groove on the hi hat at section D with some doubles, and there's a five stroke roll to an open hi hat in bar 68 as well.

Just watch out for that. It's worth practicing those five stroke rolls on their own, both leading with the right and the left.

Of course, you've already done this, I trust you.

Developing Ideas

At bar 73, we're told to develop. I've just used some more kinds of five stroke roll ideas in there that seem very appropriate for the genre, and I think it works really, really well.

There's another tricky fill (E) that again incorporates some double kicks.

• When it gets to the third bar of that fill, you're really leading with the kick drum, and there are some fast semiquavers in there as well.

So, just practice it really, really slowly, and then you can speed it up.

Final Thoughts

Immediately getting into this filthy open hi hat groove embellished with ghost snare notes, it's good fun!

Just remember, you've already had some drags written in section C. I would use that as inspiration for your snare ghost notes in section F.

Aside from that, we've got the same fill again to finish. Not a lot to say about technique apart from the kick drum thing in this.

Just play it slow, be aware, and I will see you next time!