Music Lesson: Unwind Yourself by Marva Whitney

That was a break from a tune called Unwind Yourself by Marva Whitney.

Overview of the Break

The reason I've chosen this break is because there's only one kick drum in each bar. So, all you've got is a kick drum on the one and then nothing else, which is quite unusual for a drum break.

Key Features

• Interplay Between Instruments

  • The main feature about this break is the interplay between the hi-hat, snare drum, and the ghost notes on the snare drum.

• Dynamics in Ghost Notes

  • If I slow it right down, you'll see what I mean.
  • The trick with this groove is to make the ghost notes and the beats on the two and the four of the snare drum dynamically as different as possible.
  • This can simply mean playing them softer without lifting your wrist or your arm too much, just your wrist.

Techniques to Try

1. Playing Ghost Notes

   • Try playing the ghost notes nearer the rim of the snare drum, maybe about 2 inches from the rim.
   • This gives it a kind of ring and a slightly different tone compared to the notes played on two and four, which are more in the middle of the drum.

2. Practicing Speed

   • This is another exercise that's good to practice by starting really slowly and gradually speeding up.
   • This break is also used a lot in drum and bass because of the ghost note hi-hat thing going on, a popular characteristic of many breaks in that genre.
   • Focus on maintaining an even sound while retaining the difference between the ghost notes and the beats on two and four.

Adding Complexity

• One other thing you could try with this break is to incorporate some left-hand doubles.
• Because the break is quite empty sounding, with only one kick drum at the beginning of each bar, you can fill in the beats a little more.
• This is a great way to integrate your double stroke rudiments, which always sound nice.

Example

If I play it really slowly, it would go something like this.

• You can even add more at the end to fill out the groove.
• This technique is a feature of many funky drumming styles and funk breaks that are then sped up to make drum and bass.
• The intricate ghost snare patterns are what make this break so interesting and why it has been used so much.

Marva Whitney, Unwind Yourself.