A hitch in my giddyup

[Doc_d]

So I've been playing for a few years now. My 4 way coordination is reasonable. If I look at a new 8th note or 16th note rock groove it just takes me a few minutes to get it down.

I ran into this 8th note groove that looked easy enough. Strangely there was something about this rhythm that caused a big hitch in my 4 way coordination to show up.

I was really surprised how much trouble this caused me. The first bar was obviously easy enough, but the second bar caused me all kinds of problems. I really had to sit down and pick it apart and add little bits of it in at a time. I think it was a combination of the broken hihat pattern and the left foot playing against the right. I ended up spending about 3 days working through it.

So has anyone else run into a pattern that just causes you to feel like a complete noob again?

[Aviator42009]

Hey man, think of this as a chance to improve, you have to get out of your comfort zone. Sometimes its something really easy and stupid, just be glad it isn't a beat someone in your band wants you to learn and thinks its simple.

[pastor_bob]

Doc d, for me it seems like whenever I do anything that challenges my 4 way coordination, I feel like a complete noob again. Congratulations on getting it down in just 3 days.

[jazzkat]

Doc d, for me it seems like whenever I do anything that challenges my 4 way coordination, I feel like a complete noob again. Congratulations on getting it down in just 3 days.

Agreed. There is a pattern that ALWAYS gets me, however simple enough.

[drummer]

It's usually the simple ones that make you feel stupid. You can play 80 million complicated rhythms in your lifetime and all of the sudden someone throws a basic chart in front of you with some weird pattern like this and it will throw you a for a loop. Ha-ha!

[Drumbledore]

Oh yeah, definitely! Ask anyone who had to pick up reggae or Latin after doing rock music....the hard thing to get used to when you just start is to just forget landing your kick on the 1 a lot of the time. Of course there are a bunch of patterns in those genres where you do land back on 1, or sometimes play a bit of "four to the floor" kick, but for the novice player, it's really like learning to play all over again.

[drumstix]

I actually was going through some basic songs out of a book with backing tracks today. I had a bit of trouble with a couple and was a bit surprised because of how fairly basic they were. Was good though, shows what n where I need to improve.

[dt344]

For sure man. I'm always surprised by what seemingly manageable thing throws me a curve ball. Gary Chester's "New Breed" book is chock full of them.

[areFish]

I'm right there with you. About a month ago I sat down to play a kick drum permutation exercise. In 4/4 time, it consisted of 16th notes on the hats with snare hits on the 2 and 4. The kick drum was played on the 1, 2, 3, 4 for a bar, then the e's, then the and's then the uh's. Sounds simple enough but it was a challenge.

In the end it opened up a new groove I couldn't play before, which is what it's all about.