Beginner · Intermediate · Advanced · 10 units · 221 etudes

Backbeat displacement exercises

The backbeat — the snare on 2 and 4 — is the spine of a groove. This course moves it on purpose: first you delete a backbeat and listen to the hole, then you give it an 8th-note companion, then you play it an 8th late or early. The groove seems to stumble — and that's a decision, not a mistake.

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At the advanced level the shifts shrink to sixteenths: backbeats that arrive early on the 'a' or slip to the 'e'. The final unit starts from a plain groove and moves one note to the right at every step — by the end you're inside drum & bass.

What you'll learn

Who it's for

Drummers with solid time who want their grooves to sound more surprising and modern.

Practice screen: drum notation with notes coloured green, orange and red by timing

Units

Beginner
01Snare on every beat30 etudes

The snare ticks on all four beats like a clock; the kick fills the gaps — first in 8ths, then in 16ths. The snare never wavers: it is your metronome.

  1. Etude 1
  2. Etude 2
  3. Etude 3
  4. Etude 4
  5. Etude 5
  6. Etude 6
  7. Etude 7
  8. Etude 8
  9. Etude 9
  10. Etude 10
  11. Etude 11
  12. Etude 12
  13. Etude 13
  14. Etude 14
  15. Etude 15
  16. Etude 16
  17. Etude 17
  18. Etude 18
  19. Etude 19
  20. Etude 20
  21. Etude 21
  22. Etude 22
  23. Etude 23
  24. Etude 24
  25. Etude 25
  26. Etude 26
  27. Etude 27
  28. Etude 28
  29. Etude 29
  30. Etude 30
Open in the app →
02The missing backbeat20 etudes

Delete one backbeat and let the hole speak: first the 4, then the 2. Count the silence too — a rest should be as clear as a played note.

  1. Etude 1
  2. Etude 2
  3. Etude 3
  4. Etude 4
  5. Etude 5
  6. Etude 6
  7. Etude 7
  8. Etude 8
  9. Etude 9
  10. Etude 10
  11. Etude 11
  12. Etude 12
  13. Etude 13
  14. Etude 14
  15. Etude 15
  16. Etude 16
  17. Etude 17
  18. Etude 18
  19. Etude 19
  20. Etude 20
Open in the app →
Intermediate
03Double backbeat34 etudes

Give the backbeat an 8th-note companion, just before or just after. The real backbeat is strong, the companion a touch softer. Never let your ear confuse which one is the 'real' one.

  1. Etude 1
  2. Etude 2
  3. Etude 3
  4. Etude 4
  5. Etude 5
  6. Etude 6
  7. Etude 7
  8. Etude 8
  9. Etude 9
  10. Etude 10
  11. Etude 11
  12. Etude 12
  13. Etude 13
  14. Etude 14
  15. Etude 15
  16. Etude 16
  17. Etude 17
  18. Etude 18
  19. Etude 19
  20. Etude 20
  21. Etude 21
  22. Etude 22
  23. Etude 23
  24. Etude 24
  25. Etude 25
  26. Etude 26
  27. Etude 27
  28. Etude 28
  29. Etude 29
  30. Etude 30
  31. Etude 31
  32. Etude 32
  33. Etude 33
  34. Etude 34
Open in the app →
04The late backbeat20 etudes

The backbeat comes an 8th late: '&' of 2 instead of 2. The groove seems to stumble — that's a decision, not a mistake. Count the beat, wait for the snare, and let the tension build.

  1. Etude 1
  2. Etude 2
  3. Etude 3
  4. Etude 4
  5. Etude 5
  6. Etude 6
  7. Etude 7
  8. Etude 8
  9. Etude 9
  10. Etude 10
  11. Etude 11
  12. Etude 12
  13. Etude 13
  14. Etude 14
  15. Etude 15
  16. Etude 16
  17. Etude 17
  18. Etude 18
  19. Etude 19
  20. Etude 20
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05The impatient backbeat15 etudes

This time an 8th early: '&' of 3 instead of 4. The snare can't wait. Fill the gap that opens behind it with kick or ghost notes.

  1. Etude 1
  2. Etude 2
  3. Etude 3
  4. Etude 4
  5. Etude 5
  6. Etude 6
  7. Etude 7
  8. Etude 8
  9. Etude 9
  10. Etude 10
  11. Etude 11
  12. Etude 12
  13. Etude 13
  14. Etude 14
  15. Etude 15
Open in the app →
068th-note displacements6 etudes

In two-bar phrases some backbeats move an 8th earlier or later. Before playing, say out loud which one moves — what's solved in the head becomes easy in the hands.

  1. Etude 1
  2. Etude 2
  3. Etude 3
  4. Etude 4
  5. Etude 5
  6. Etude 6
Open in the app →
Advanced
07Fast double backbeat23 etudes

Now the double is in 16ths: the right hand leaves the hi-hat for a moment to join the snare. Automate the sticking (R-L, L-R, L-R-L) slowly — there's no time to think at speed.

  1. Etude 1
  2. Etude 2
  3. Etude 3
  4. Etude 4
  5. Etude 5
  6. Etude 6
  7. Etude 7
  8. Etude 8
  9. Etude 9
  10. Etude 10
  11. Etude 11
  12. Etude 12
  13. Etude 13
  14. Etude 14
  15. Etude 15
  16. Etude 16
  17. Etude 17
  18. Etude 18
  19. Etude 19
  20. Etude 20
  21. Etude 21
  22. Etude 22
  23. Etude 23
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08The early backbeat: the 'a'32 etudes

The backbeat arrives one 16th early, on the 'a' of the beat before: '1 e & A'. Like a hiccup — the snare has already spoken before 2 arrives. Keep the hi-hat straight; only the snare moves.

  1. Etude 1
  2. Etude 2
  3. Etude 3
  4. Etude 4
  5. Etude 5
  6. Etude 6
  7. Etude 7
  8. Etude 8
  9. Etude 9
  10. Etude 10
  11. Etude 11
  12. Etude 12
  13. Etude 13
  14. Etude 14
  15. Etude 15
  16. Etude 16
  17. Etude 17
  18. Etude 18
  19. Etude 19
  20. Etude 20
  21. Etude 21
  22. Etude 22
  23. Etude 23
  24. Etude 24
  25. Etude 25
  26. Etude 26
  27. Etude 27
  28. Etude 28
  29. Etude 29
  30. Etude 30
  31. Etude 31
  32. Etude 32
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09Backbeat slipping to the 'e'20 etudes

The subtlest shift: just one 16th late, on the 'e' of 2. It feels like a tiny stagger. This is where hi-hat and snare split apart — don't let one hand follow the other.

  1. Etude 1
  2. Etude 2
  3. Etude 3
  4. Etude 4
  5. Etude 5
  6. Etude 6
  7. Etude 7
  8. Etude 8
  9. Etude 9
  10. Etude 10
  11. Etude 11
  12. Etude 12
  13. Etude 13
  14. Etude 14
  15. Etude 15
  16. Etude 16
  17. Etude 17
  18. Etude 18
  19. Etude 19
  20. Etude 20
Open in the app →
10The road to drum & bass21 etudes

Start from a plain two-bar groove and move one note an 8th to the right at each step. By the end you're inside drum & bass. Don't move on until each step feels like a groove of its own.

  1. Etude 1
  2. Etude 2
  3. Etude 3
  4. Etude 4
  5. Etude 5
  6. Etude 6
  7. Etude 7
  8. Etude 8
  9. Etude 9
  10. Etude 10
  11. Etude 11
  12. Etude 12
  13. Etude 13
  14. Etude 14
  15. Etude 15
  16. Etude 16
  17. Etude 17
  18. Etude 18
  19. Etude 19
  20. Etude 20
  21. Etude 21
Open in the app →

How you practise

Every etude is real notation, like in a book. You play with a metronome, spoken counting and a tempo ladder; your e-kit or microphone listens to every stroke and colours the notes green, orange or red. In a tricky bar, wait mode pauses until you hit the right drum.

Other courses

15 minutes today. A little better tomorrow.

Try it free for 14 days — no card needed.

Try it free for 14 days