Once you have you can play and loop all of these beats, try playing along with this next lesson and putting them all together

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If you can play the first page of Eighth Note Rock Beats, then its now time to try including some rests in the bass drum parts to create some more interesting rhythms.

Once you can play and loop all these beats, try playing along with this lesson and putting them all together.

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Hitting the crash cymbal on the first beat of a bar is a way of emphasising that beat - Or making it stand our.  A bit like how when we are writing we use a capital letter at the start of a sentence.

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We can change the volume and intensity of our beat by changing what instrument we play our riding pattern on
Playing on the closed Hi-Hats produces a clean rhythmic sound
Riding on the ride produces a fuller more sustained sound
Riding on the crash produces a full and loud sound

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This drum beats first became common in popular music in the 1950's in the early age of Rock 'n' Roll in songs such as Blue Berry Hill fist made popular by Fats Domino and then by Elvis Presley.  It helped serve as a bridge between the triplet based Jazz era and the 'even eighth' rock era.

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Once you feel confident playing in 6/8, try doubling the length of the loop and playing in 12/8.  That is creates a beats that is pretty close to what he hear on the original recording

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While the shuffle feel has been used and associated with the Blues since the early 1900's, it wasn't until the mid 50's that it really made it presence felt in popular western popular culture.  Like the 12/8 feel, the Shuffle is another beat that was widely used in early rock and be heard in songs like Just a Gigolo by Louis Prima.
​It helped bridge the triplet based jazz feel with the back beat on the SD on beats 2 and 4 was soon to be called 'Rock' 

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           A Jazz approach  lesson                                              A Rock approach lesson

Adding 16th note subdivisions has been played since the 70's to create a funky feel.  They are often played at slow tempos in ballads.  Where possible playing all the Hi-Hats with the right hand is preferable as it allows us to accent all four down beats.  However once the tempo is faster than we can mange with one hand, we then need to use alternate sticking and play with both hands on the Hi-Hat to produce that Disco sound and tempo.
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Playing 16th notes on the Hi-Hat and '4 on the floor' was the beat of choice for Disco songs from the early 1970's.  Four on the floor meant playing the bass drum on all four beats of the bar.   Have a listen to artists such as Donna Summer, The Bee Gee's or KC and the Sunshine Band.  

Try playing the beats along                                    
   with this backing track                                          Or this one without the drum track.

The Disco sound and beat continued through the 80's in main steam pop and then made a huge resurgence with the advent of club dance music in the 90's.  From then until now, it has never disappeared and it is still the mainstay beat of pop music today.

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Try Jamming along with these videos                     And this one is drummless
This one has a drum track                                   which mean you really have to listen 

Now that you can create your own fills using just your right hand on the Hi-Hat, its time to try playing faster.  To do that we can use alternate sticking on the Hi-Hat. 
Once you can play the written fills, try adding some toms instead of only using the snare.

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