Welcome to Grade Two: Slipstream

Hi everyone,

Welcome to grade two of the Rock School syllabus. We've got the piece here called Slipstream. It has a nice grunge feel and moderate tempo. There are a few off-beat sections to get to grips with, so let's start working on your timing and that inner clock.

Overview of the Piece

First of all, let's have a look at the piece as an overview. This will make it easier to understand and approach:

• Intro: Flams and tom hits, this is where the offbeat feel comes in immediately.
• Verse: Transition into the verse feel.
• Chorus: Straight onto the chorus.
• Post-Chorus: A nice section leading straight into a bridge closely linked with the guitar part.
• Outro: We finish up with the chorus.

Approach to Learning the Piece

Now, let's think about how we're going to approach this piece.

Offbeat Timing

The first thing you want to focus on is playing on the offbeat and getting comfortable with playing numerous offbeats in a row. You'll need to internalize this feel while still thinking about the pulse on the beat but being able to play around where the beat is.

Starting Point: The Intro

One easy way to start developing this is by applying it to the intro.

• Simplify: Strip it back to only bass drum and snare drum.
• Focus On: Don't worry about the flams at this stage.

You'll be playing:

1, 2, 3 and 
1, 2, 3

You might like to work through this with your teacher.

Here we go:

One, two, three, and... 

Padding Out the Introduction

Once you're confident with that, think about padding out the piece with the extra parts that are missing. For example, in this introduction, you have the flams and some extra bass drums.

So it becomes:

1, 2, 3 and 
1 and 2 and 3

Sometimes, you'll have that extra offbeat with a crash hit or tom hit on the "and" of beat four.

Here we go:

1 and 2 and 3 and 
1 and 2 and 3 and...

Adding Hi-Hat and Ride Patterns

Now that you've internalized that idea, apply it to some hi-hat and ride patterns.

• Hi-Hat: All the offbeats in this example come on the bass drum:

  1, 2 and, and 4 and 1
  

  Keep the snare drum just on beats 2 and 4 for a solid backbeat.

• Ride Pattern: This is where things get more offbeat with the hands, including offbeat snares and toms.

The counting will be:

1 and 2 and 3 and 
1 and 2 and 3 and 4

Here we go:

Internalizing the Groove

It is very important that you internalize this groove because it links closely with what's happening in the rest of the track.

Listening Tips

A personal tip is to use your ears while getting to grips with this:

• Listen to the music, particularly section C, and note how the hits match the guitar part.
• Observe the gaps in the riff, notice how the drums fit around those gaps.
• Have a listen to the instrumental section of the backing tracks and see how that works with what you're reading on the page.

Transition Fills

Once you've got everything internalized and you're feeling the beat while playing around it, consider a couple of things for the fills and transitions.

• Alternative Stickings: Depending on your setup, such as having only one crash, consider alternative stickings.
• For example, one of the main fills is snare, high tom, middle tom. You usually would play:

Right, left, right, right, left, right, left

Instead, you might do the last middle tom section with two right hands to prepare for the crash if that's what you have.

Let's explore that. Then, your right hand will be ready to come straight to that ride cymbal.

Final Thoughts

Okay, guys! I hope you all have fun getting to grips with this.

• Enjoy it: Think ahead, internalize that groove, and keep that solid timing.
• Have fun!