The good stuff happens between the notes.

A pattern can be perfectly correct and still feel as though it is missing something. Sometimes the answer is another note. Often it is a little more space.

This is a sample piece about listening: to the bass line, to the shape of a phrase, and to the sound left hanging after a cymbal.

A groove is a conversation

When I listen to a drummer I enjoy, I notice how the parts fit together. The kick and snare give the music a shape. The quieter notes give it a little movement. None of those things has to be complicated.

One idea for a future article is to put two recordings of the same simple pattern side by side, and talk about what changes when the touch, spacing and dynamics change.

Make room to listen

This site will have space for those examples: a short recording, a written explanation and perhaps a little notation. The aim is to make the thought easy to hear as well as read.