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The PDF file above contains the notation for a level 2 drum solo. This piece combines various ideas learned in levels 1 and 2 lessons and focuses on grooves containing offbeat 16th snares. Below is a list of recomended lessons to help with this solo along with a brief breakdown of each section. The intention with this piece is to give you an idea of how individual ideas from this level can be combined to create a piece.
Recomended Reading
- Offbeat 16th Snares
- Offbeat 16th Kicks
- Sticking For The Flam
- Pop Style Breaks In Grooves
- Displacing Level 0 Grooves By One Eighth
Piece Breakdown
A (bars 1 - 16)
This section is built of four 'A B A C' patterns, each differing slightly from the rest. The main groove makes use of snares on the 'a' after beat 2 and the 'e' after beat 3 and displacement and syncopation are used in all 'C' bars. Watch out for the quarter note rest at the start of bar 9. For added affect, the hi hat from the previous bars beat 4 could be allowed to ring over.
B (bars 17 - 32)
The 'A B A C' pattern continues through this section but split into two distinct sets. The first two lines are based on an offbeat eighth right hand on the ride. Splashes are thrown in in the second bar for some variations with simple sixteenth note grouping fills in the 'C'. From bar 25 the right hand moves to a china cymbal. Watch out for the sticking on the crashes in bar 28 and the fill in bar 32 is based on an Orchestrated Single Stroke 4.
A (bars 33 - 48)
Here the original A section is repeated but with a lot of variation in the parts. The whole section starts with a long rest so be sure to keep your count. If it helps, use a left foot count..
C (bars 49 - 64)
The third distinct section drops in to a half time feel. Again, many offbeat 16th snares are thrown in creating quite a complex part. The fills at the end of each two lines are a syncopated pattern that starts at the end of the third bar.
B (bars 65 - end)
This is an exact repeat of the second half of the previous B section. The only difference is the fill at the very end which makes use of some fast sextuplets. If this are a bit quick for you try dropping down to a similar fill using sixteenth notes.
