Pushed Eighth Note Crashes

This concept alters the perception of where a bar starts. It does this by putting a crash on the last 8th note of a bar, rather than beat one, thus 'pushing' the first beat back creating a rushed feel. It is a similar concept to double time in the sense that we are altering the feel of the tempo without actually changing it. You can hear this being used in songs such as 8th Avenue Serenade by Green Day, parts of the chorus of In Bloom by Nirvana, Enter Sandman by Metallica and Misty Mountain Hop by Led Zeppelin.


Here is a simple example of a groove with a pushed feel:

An groove with pushed crashes

See how the crash cymbal is moved over to the left one eighth note? When this feel is played with the whole band accenting there parts in a similar way it creates a 'displaced' affect which can be pretty cool. Below are some more examples of this.


Example 1

An groove with pushed crashes

In this example the right hand eighth note that would have gone with the snare is removed. This is quite common as it gives you hands move time to move around the kit.


Example 2

An groove with pushed crashes

A similar idea has been used in this example but we now have a Flam on the snare before the pushed crash. The right hand after the crash has also been removed, again to allow the hands more time to move around.


Example 3

An groove with pushed crashes

This example is based on a quarter note right hand part. Before the pushed crash an extra eighth note is added in for affect. There is a fill in the last bar, which also uses the pushed crash feel. Noticed how the last set of four semi quavers on the floor tom is cut short to get a crash in on the last '+'?


The idea of pushing a beat a long can be used in many different ways to create many different affects. Similar patterns can be achieved using quarter notes or sixteenth notes. The beat can also be pushed the opposite way, giving a sort of delayed feel. Experiment with these ideas to see what you can come up with.


TASK

  1. Learn the grooves above and get a feel for how the 'pushed' concept works.
  2. Try creating your own versions of this groove.

Lessons

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