Favorite beats.

[JD01]

For years I've wanted to learn to play the beat from Scentless Apprectice by Nirvana. I've not even been able to work it out so that I could programme it.

I actually looked up the notation for it... i can't even tap it out on my thighs!

Anyone else got any cool beats they'd love to learn but just seem beyond them?

[Greg_L]

For years I've wanted to learn to play the beat from Scentless Apprectice by Nirvana. I've not even been able to work it out so that I could programme it.

I actually looked up the notation for it... i can't even tap it out on my thighs!

Anyone else got any cool beats they'd love to learn but just seem beyond them?

ive never heard that song. i just listened, it's pretty easy. want me to try to draw it out? its not like i can do anything else right now.

[JD01]

I've found this.

Screenshot_20210725-133037_YouTube.jpg

Maybe you can check you agree. Just trying to tap it out to myself I'm struggling to get my head around them flam and the extra kick at the end of the last bar. Both feel messy and rushed in my brain.

[Greg_L]

lol i dont know what all those dots mean.

[JD01]

The crosses are the open hat. The low dot is the kick. The medium dot is there snare.
Two medium dots close.together is the flam

[JD01]

It's one of them things. From the first time i heard it I really liked it but, not being much of a drummer I just couldn't hear exactly what he was doing

[Greg_L]

The crosses are the open hat. The low dot is the kick. The medium dot is there snare.
Two medium dots close.together is the flam

so is it the flam that throws you off? a flam is just hitting a drum with both sticks like a microsecond apart. if thats the drum notation then you should be able to draw it in midi without being able to play it.

[Greg_L]

It's one of them things. From the first time i heard it I really liked it but, not being much of a drummer I just couldn't hear exactly what he was doing

its a pretty easy beat. i bet you could do it if you just sat at an actual kit and tried it. it requires a little limb independence but not much.

[JD01]

Oh, I could programme it easy enough based on the notation.

When trying to tap it out myself the thing I find tricky is sticking the flam on a 16th note when doing the 8th notes on the hat.

And then the following bar doing the 16th notes on the kick with the 8th notes on the hat... I always end up doing 16th notes with my right hand and 8th notes with my foot.

[Greg_L]

Oh, I could programme it easy enough based on the notation.

When trying to tap it out myself the thing I find tricky is sticking the flam on a 16th note when doing the 8th notes on the hat.

And then the following bar doing the 16th notes on the kick with the 8th notes on the hat... I always end up doing 16th notes with my right hand and 8th notes with my foot.

that's just basic limb independence. you could do it if you really tried it.

[JD01]

Oh, I could programme it easy enough based on the notation.

When trying to tap it out myself the thing I find tricky is sticking the flam on a 16th note when doing the 8th notes on the hat.

And then the following bar doing the 16th notes on the kick with the 8th notes on the hat... I always end up doing 16th notes with my right hand and 8th notes with my foot.

that's just basic limb independence. you could do it if you really tried it.

Yeah. I'm working on it. I'm hoping it'll make my beats a bit more creative.

[Greg_L]

Yeah. I'm working on it. I'm hoping it'll make my beats a bit more creative.

try slapping straight quarter notes with one hand and quarter and eighth note triplets with the other. its easy once you get it, but at first you have to give yourself a virtual lobotomy to get your hands working like that.

[Tadpui]

I've always wanted to learn the drums to Truckers Atlas by Modest Mouse, off of Lonesome Crowded West. I just Love that main beat. I've tried a few times to learn it by ear but I don't have the ear to pick it apart ir the dexterity to try it out.

[JD01]

I've always wanted to learn the drums to Truckers Atlas by Modest Mouse, off of Lonesome Crowded West. I just Love that main beat. I've tried a few times to learn it by ear but I don't have the ear to pick it apart ir the dexterity to try it out.

See if there's notation for it or a lesson floating around on youtube. You learning it could be fun on your channel.

[JD01]

Scentless Apprentice Drum Intro.mp3

Well, I've managed to program it. I still can't get my hands and feet to cooperate though.

[Tadpui]

See if there's notation for it or a lesson floating around on youtube. You learning it could be fun on your channel.

I've looked a few times over the years. The only playthroughs that I've seen are years old, poor quality, and highly inaccurate I have yet to find notation for it, although my ability to read drum notation is pretty poor. I'll have another look to see if something new has popped up recently.

Scentless Apprentice Drum Intro.mp3

Well, I've managed to program it. I still can't get my hands and feet to cooperate though.

OK now that I hear it, I think this is totally within your ability. At least there isn't too much that I hear that would be impossible if you just slow it down. For whatever reason, that beat makes sense to me in my head, so I bet that I could clumsily pick it up pretty quickly.

The one important thing I've never been able to pick up is keeping beat with the hi-hat pedal. I see/hear guys all the time that can tap along either on the beat or on the 2 & 4 with the hi-hat and it just kills me. I want to learn to do that, but apparently I have stupid legs that just can't manage it

[JD01]

See if there's notation for it or a lesson floating around on youtube. You learning it could be fun on your channel.

I've looked a few times over the years. The only playthroughs that I've seen are years old, poor quality, and highly inaccurate I have yet to find notation for it, although my ability to read drum notation is pretty poor. I'll have another look to see if something new has popped up recently.

Scentless Apprentice Drum Intro.mp3

Well, I've managed to program it. I still can't get my hands and feet to cooperate though.

OK now that I hear it, I think this is totally within your ability. At least there isn't too much that I hear that would be impossible if you just slow it down. For whatever reason, that beat makes sense to me in my head, so I bet that I could clumsily pick it up pretty quickly.

The one important thing I've never been able to pick up is keeping beat with the hi-hat pedal. I see/hear guys all the time that can tap along either on the beat or on the 2 & 4 with the hi-hat and it just kills me. I want to learn to do that, but apparently I have stupid legs that just can't manage it

It took me ages to be able to even mentally turn a beat around in my head... to lead with a snare. I always ended up with the kick and snare together and then a lonely hi hat beat.... now there's a random bar in this where my brain is telling me that the kick is doing what the hi hat should be doing.

My best mate has gone to Ireland for three weeks... it will piss him off no end if I jump on his kit and can play this when he gets back.

[vomitHatSteve]

Basically any drum beat except for a basic boots-n-cats-n or punk/polka kick snare beat is cool but beyond me.

[JD01]

Was listening to the original scentless apprentice beat earlier.
The kick sound is massive. There's also some weird reverb on the snare that sounds cool and appears to come out of the right channel.

[WhiskeyJack]

As a non drummer who would love to be able to play drums i find all drum beats to be my favorite. Drums in general are awesome.

The only time i ever heard a drum thing that made me genuinely rewind the track to hear what is going on was the intro to Death Comes Ripping by the misfits. I am sure it is largely nothing impressive or difficult, but it caught my attention enough to always give it a few listens.

@Greg_L Do you know the fill right at the beginning of that song i am talking about? Some one once told me it was a triplet or something of some variety but i don't even speak drum language or anything so i don't know what i am talking about. I am sure it is just stupid easy but it sounds cool.


Also pretty much any song from the band Save us from thy archon that has drums just mystifies me. I don't know how any drummer could make any kind of sense out of the noise those two guitarists make but he manages to provide a coherent flowing rhythm section to support a bass player. I only listen to that band for the drummer. That is the only reason I ever put them on.