In this lesson you will be exploring different blast beat construction methods within the time signature of 6/8. These grooves will be slightly different other blast beats as they will be in a compound time signature rather than a simple one. The physical movements of these parts will be the same, the accent placement will just differ slightly.
Listed below you will find the three main blast beats in 6/8 with various different right hand ideas. I haven't included all possible combinations so do some experimenting with different construction ideas. Some interesting parts can be created by tweaking the orchestrations slightly too. I have used some syncopated rhythms, it is worth noting that these are the same rhythms as in 4/4 but applied over the new time signature. In theory this is straight forward but it changes the part drastically.
Constant 16th Note Blast Beat
Constant 16th Note Blast Beat With 16th Note Decoration
Constant 16th Note Blast Beat With Dotted Eighth Right Hand
Subdivided 8th Note Blast Beat
Subdivided 8th Note Blast Beat With Syncopated Right Hand
Subdivided 8th Note Blast Beat With Quarter Note Right Hand
Reverse Subdivided 8th Note Blast Beat
Reverse Subdivided 8th Note Blast Beat With Syncopated' Right Hand
Reverse Subdivided 8th Note Blast Beat With Dotted Eighth Right Hand
TASK
- Learn the examples above to a tempo of at least 200bpm.
- Experiment with the orchestration of the grooves, remember that percussion items are also a good option.
- Experiment with different lengths of groove.
- Apply the grooves to songs and phrases as either a fill or groove.
- Experiment with the same construction ideas in different time signatures.
