Bossa Nova Drum Beat
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Learn How To Play The Bossa Nova Latin Drum Beat!
In this video I'm going to show you one of the greatest latin grooves out there. The brazilian Bossa Nova. If you are a working musician, it is almost a guarantee that you will need to play this groove at some point in your career. This groove can be very challenging to learn on your own, but I am going to break it down bit by bit and make it as simple as possible.
If you look at the provided sheet music, you'll see that we are just playing straight eighth notes on the hi-hat. A 3-2 pattern is played on the cross stick, but it's not the rumba clave pattern or the sun clave pattern. It's actually a 3-2 Brazilian pattern that has been nicknamed the Brazilian clave. If you count two eighth note bars as: one and two and three and four and one and two and three and four, the Brazilian clave is played on beats one, the 'and' of two, and four of the first bar. One the second bar it is played on the two, and the 'and' of three. You can see this illustrated in the sheet music.
The next step is to add in the bass drum pattern. Counting the same as before, the bass drum is played on the one, the 'and' of two, the three, and the 'and' of four. Play that along with the straight eighths on the hi-hat and the Brazilian clave on the snare and you are well on your way to understanding this beat.
Next we are going to move the straight eighth notes to the ride cymbal and play the hi-hat using our foot. Playing the same pattern as before, add in the hi-hat on the two and the four of each beat. You may want to start off playing the pattern with just your feet to help get the muscle memory for how the beat is played.
The last thing I want you to try is to repeat the last exercise, playing all of the parts that I have taught you, but this time, play a 2-3 beat with the cross-stick instead of a 3-2 beat.
Remember that the bossa nova is not meant to be played fast. It is a slow to medium, relaxed beat. This beat will get you gigs with hotels, casuals, cruise ships, college auditions, and other opportunities. It will really open up a whole new world for you. So go get behind your kit, and have fun.
