Drum and bass beats

A one-beat hand figure: snare, two hi-hats and a ghost — 'TA-ki-ki-ta'. Make it solid on its own, then put it in place of the backbeats in simple grooves.

1. Etude 1
2. Etude 2
3. Etude 3
4. Etude 4
5. Etude 5
6. Etude 6
7. Etude 7
8. Etude 8

The long figure lasts six 16ths — the short figure's stretched sibling. Mix long and short in the same phrase and know one beat ahead which one is coming.

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

Start with a plain two-bar groove and move the notes around the bar line onto the upbeats, one at a time. With every move the groove gets a little more 'broken'.

1. Etude 1
2. Etude 2
3. Etude 3
4. Etude 4
5. Etude 5
6. Etude 6
7. Etude 7
8. Etude 8

A shifted skeleton plus the short and long figures equals a full drum & bass groove. Play the skeleton alone first (kick + snare), then dress it with the hand figures.

1. Etude 1
2. Etude 2
3. Etude 3
4. Etude 4
5. Etude 5
6. Etude 6

The backbeat on 4 jumps forward to the '&' of 3, opening new places for the figures. Play the bare skeleton first and feel the early snare in your body.

1. Etude 1
2. Etude 2
3. Etude 3
4. Etude 4
5. Etude 5
6. Etude 6

The marked upbeats in the same skeleton can be kick or snare. Same rhythm, different colour. Try switching on the fly: one round kick, one round snare.

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

Think of the rhythm only as 'down' (on the beat) and 'up' (off the beat) first, and choose the sounds later. Rhythm first, orchestration second: which is kick, which is snare?

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
35. Etude 35
36. Etude 36
37. Etude 37

The hand figure now starts from a snare on the upbeat instead of on the beat. Move the starting point, keep the figure intact.

1. Etude 1
2. Etude 2
3. Etude 3
4. Etude 4
5. Etude 5
6. Etude 6

Chain the short figure back to back, then place it on the skeleton's downbeats, upbeats or both. Keep every ghost equally soft along the chain.

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

Use the long figure on and off the beat, then string long (6) and short (4) figures together as number sequences to build unbroken one- and two-bar phrases.

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