That's an excellent question, Midgard and the answer is quite simple. Since the drum is not a long sustain musical instrument like a trumpet, you don't really get to hear the length of a drum note. You have the correct count of the dotted eight and 16th pattern which is also known as the "Shuffle" beat. There are two ways to count: Long count and Short count. The Long count as is you described where you count the full count of each note that you play. Here, you play on count 1 and count that note as 1-e-& and then you play the last note and count is as a: X. X
1 e & a
Until you become comfortable with this, practice slowly with the Long count. As you gain speed and play the pattern faster, you can then use the Short count which is counting only the notes you play: X. X.
1(e-&) a
The "e &" is still part of count "1" but are silent. you only count, and always count out louyd, the notes you will play. This is very important...you must count out loud so you can hear the count and listen the duration of each note. Eventually, this will become internalized and you will keep the count in your head only and no longer out loud. So, to write both the long and short count:
x. x x. x x. x x. x
1-e-&-a 2-e-&-a 3-e-&-a 4-e-&-a (Long Count)
x. x x. x x. x x. x (Short Count)
1 a 2 a 3 a 4 a
As you play this pattern faster, you will understand why it's called the Shuffle as it sounds like this: dah da Dah da Dah da Dah da.
This is used quite often when playing Blues but, it's not exactly right. to play the Blues correctly, you have to think in Triplet pattern: 1-Trip-Let 2-Trip-Let 3-Trip-Let 4-Trip-Let etc.
x x x x x x x x (Long count)
1-T-L 2-T-L 3-T-L 4-T-L
x x x x x x x x (Short count)
1 a 2 a 3 a 4 a
Notice that we use the same short count for both rythm patterns but the rhythmic feel is different. It is the Triplet pattern that is used for Blues, R&B, Swing playing. Consult with your teacher about this. As I recall, my teacher first introduced me to the Shuffle pattern. It was much later, as I began to understand "Counting," that I got into Triplet patterns. This is why, as you read my posts, I always encourage learning how to read music which is exactly what you are doing. When you can understand the theory behind countinbg and reading music, you can then play anything and compose anything. Keep up the good work.
PS: As I reviewed this, I can see there is a problem with writing this out correctly. I suggest that you take this to you teacher for clarification.
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