Groove is playing the right notes in the right place at the expected time. Groove cannot be notated nor summoned but can be practiced and felt. Developing groove behind the drum set takes time and dedication. Playing along to a lot of music and with good musicians and practicing the exercises Calum Rees wrote especially for this free live drum lesson will help straighten your groove out.
This free live drum lesson focus on the development of groove through exercises that work on your sense of time. However, good groove is not all about keeping good time against a click track. It has to do with what you play and the feel you put into it. Think of these exercises as a good starting point. Add them to your practice sessions but save some time for playing along to music–it’s where most of your groove development will happen. The more time you spend playing along to your favorite tracks, the better you’ll develop your groove in the style of the drummers and music you practice to. Groove development can be worked on while playing with other musicians as well. For some tips on how to do so in a musical way, check the video “Playing With A Bass Player.”
A cool idea for developing groove is practicing with drum play-alongs and recording your performances. It will allow you to analyze how you reacted to the drumless music. Are you playing drum parts that complement the music? Are you playing with the feel the music requires? Listen back to the recordings and be thorough in the assessment you make of your performances. Don’t erase them. Keep them so you can backtrack your progress over time.
Groove is also highly influenced by drum dynamics. The more dynamic your playing is, the better feel you’ll develop on the drum set. Watch the free drum lessons “Beginner Opening-Closing Hi-Hats” and “Beginner Ghost Notes,” and include the concepts discussed there to the exercises Calum Rees came up with for this lesson.