Music Lesson: Analyzing "Slam"

In the metal piece Slam, we need to be quite aware of the space between the notes.

Tempo and Space

• It's not that it's a particularly slow tempo to play, but it feels slow.
• There’s a lot of space between our quarter notes, especially for the first line.
• Eighth notes don't even make an appearance until the second bar of the second line.
• Tip: Be prepared for those eighth notes when they come in by counting the eighth notes in the bar leading up to it. This helps you stay in the zone for that time feel.

First Line Details

• In the first line, there’s nothing in particular we need to make a note of.
• Important: Be aware that there aren’t snares on beats two and four.
  • In the first two, first three bars, there’s no snare on beat two.
  • There’s only a snare on beat four.
• In the fourth bar of that line, we want nice tight unison hits.

Playing Rim Shots

• I chose to play rim shots for the three snares.
• Recap:
  • Try to hit roughly the center of the snare drum and catch the rim, resulting in a much more attacking sound.
  • Of course, you can just hit the snare harder; it’s not that one’s better than the other.
  • A rim shot has a particular sound that really cuts through.

Preparation for the Eighth Notes

• As I mentioned, prepare for the second bar of the second line, which features eight eighth note snares in a row.
  • Caution:
    • Be careful not to speed up or slow down.
    • Both can happen easily.
  • It’s really difficult to get them to lock in with the metronome.

Locking in with the Metronome

• It might help to count those subdivisions (the eighth notes).
• After that bar, we drop back to quarter notes again.
  • Note: The space can feel awkward after playing eight notes through a bar.

Sticking Patterns

• If you're using the right, left, right, left sticking for those eighth notes, consider this:
  • The hi-hats are played on beats 1, 2, 3, and 4, all by the right hand.
  • If you're using that sticking, you might be okay.
  • I probably wouldn't recommend playing all those eighth notes on the snare with the same hand.
• Let’s work on our single strokes and the balance across the kit, if possible.

Bar Four of the Second Line

• Looking at bar four of the second line, we have a snare fill:
  • Count: 1 and 2, 3, 4
  • Mixture of eighth notes and quarter notes.
• Tip:
  • Just watch out for that.
  • Make sure they’re all sitting comfortably.
• Generally, I would play: right, left, right, right, right, left.
  • The numbers I play with the right hand, and the “ands” I play with the left.
  • Feel free to mix it up, but ideally, if you're right-handed, play the last snare note of that fill with the left so your right hand can go into beat one of bar one of the third line.

Establishing the Rock Groove

• In the third line, establish your standard rock groove, our old favorite:
  • Achieve: Nice solid eighth notes on the hi-hats.
  • Get the bass drums landing nicely with the hi-hats and the snare.

Missing Snare Accents

• Watch out for the missing snare.
  • Again, it’s an intentional missing snare on beat four, second bar of the third line.
  • This happens again in the fourth bar of that line, so just be attentive to any little variations.

Moving to the Fourth Line

• Be careful getting into the fourth line of this piece because we’re dropping down to quarter notes.
  • Note: It will feel like there’s a lot of space between beat one, beat two, and beat three.
  • You might want to keep your counting going in eighth notes that we've set up from the previous line.

Key Takeaways

• Nothing particularly tricky there, but just try to get all your unisons landing as comfortably as possible.
• End with a strong emphasis:
  • Count: Hi-hat and bass drum, 1, 2, 3.

Happy practicing!