Watch out though, because adding a bass drum into this groove will mean you will have to cut out one other limb. This is where the beat will start to groove.

Once you have this idea down, (which is very easy) add the bass drum. Try this very basic idea on the hi hats and snare drum: Try to be creative however for starters, try to begin with a basic 4/4 groove. You can also play this on your ride cymbal or toms, whichever feel you are going for. (Making sure that they do not line up obviously). Make a groove that flows very well with your hi hats and snare. Use this concept to spice up your drumming, not to change it. Most drummers will play certain parts of a song with a linear groove and switch back for the chorus or something. If you want to play a linear groove, but have to change the style of the song, do not do it. The point of a drummer is to make the song flow as easy and smooth as possible. However, do not sacrifice the feel of a beat in order to keep the pattern linear. So if you have that in mind, you should be able to play a basic beat in linear fashion. The first thing you need to realize when starting these grooves, is that no limbs match up. So now that you have a further understanding of linear drumming, let me explain a little on how to play these unique beats.

Also, these beats are a lot more creative to play, since you do not have a static hi hat or ride cymbal in the background that is always changing with linear grooves. This style adds a lot of groove to the beat as it keeps the listener interested because it is harder to distinguish a solid pulse. These beats can be hard to distinguish in the middle of a song, but you can notice them. If you look at a linear beat on sheet music you will notice the notes form a line because each note is to the right of the next hence the term linear drumming. This means you never play your hands or feet at the same time. What a linear drum beat is is a groove played where no two limbs match up. So take a few minutes to read up on linear drumming, the idea is very cool!įirst off, there are a lot of drummers who may be unfamiliar with the term linear drumming. This style is also popular in Latin music.

New rock these days requires a lot of variety and fresh ideas in order to sound unique that is why most drummers are taking advantage of this popular style of drumming. Linear drumming also gives you a totally different feel for the drum set. Learning how to play linear drum patterns and grooves will increase the amount of different styles of music you can play. Linear drumming is a very unique style that is becoming more and more popular with modern music.

Linear patterns drums