Jost Nickel's Groove Book

Jost Nickel, drummer with the famous German hip-hop act Jan Delay, studied at Drummers Collective in New York. He worked with many German and international musicians including Barry Finnerty, Randy Brecker, Mousse T., and Seeed. Nowadays he works as a tutor at both the German University of Pop in Mannheim and the German Music Academy in Hamburg. He made his mark as a clinician and educator after a series of stunning drum clinics at the PASIC convention in Texas and at the Montréal Drum Fest in Canada, among others. Since 2005 he has authored his own workshop series in Modern Drummer magazine, Drummer UK, and in the German drummer magazine Drums & Percussion.

Preface 3
Contents 4
Disambiguation 6
What Is "Groove" Actually About? 6
Drum Key 6
How to Count Rhythms in This Book 7
Chapter 1: Orchestration Concepts - The Split and the Switch 8
Paradiddle 8
The Split 9
The Switch 10
Chapter 2: Groove Design 12
Groove 1 12
Groove 2 18
Groove 3 23
Groove 4 28
Chapter 3: Do It Yourself 33
The Four Basic Rules 33
No Rule Without Exception 37
Chapter 4: Linear Grooves 40
Linear Groove - Initial Pattern 40
Do It Yourself - Two Simple Rules 42
Linear Groove Study 1-2 45
Linear Switch Grooves 47
Chapter 5: Ghost Notes 49
Ghost Notes 1 - Ostinato Approach 49
Ghost Notes 2 - Intertwined Approach 52
Ghost Notes 3 - Ghost Notes Before and After Snare Accents 57
Chapter 6: Bass Drum Displacement 65
Displacement of a Bass Drum Beat 65
Omitting a Bass Drum Beat 68
Chapter 7: Snare Displacement 71
Snare Displacement Studies 1-10 71
Chapter 8: Half Time - Double Time 82
Half Time - Double Time - "Double Double Time" 82
Examples 1A-5B 82
Chapter 9: Bass Drum Technique and Control 88
Heel Up 88
Heel Down 90
Chapter 10: Three-Note Groove Variations 94
3-Note 1 94
3-Note 2 96
3-Note 3 98
3-Note 1 in Half-Time Grooves 100
Chapter 11: Go-Go Grooves 103
Cowbell Pattern 1 103
Cowbell Pattern 2 106
Cowbell Pattern 3 108
Cowbell Pattern 4 110
Cowbell Pattern Studies 1-4 112
Chapter 12: Timing, Groove, and Philosophy 114
Philosophy 114
Perfect Timing? 115
Playing Live with a Click? 116
Tempo and Adrenaline 116
The "Right" Live Tempo 116
Playing Laid-Back, On Top, on On the Beat? 117
Tempo Anecdotes 118
Timing and Groove Exercise 1 119
Timing and Groove Exercise 2 122
Timing and Groove Exercise 3 122
Epilogue 123
Appendix: Reading Text Exercises 125

Preface I am delighted that you are holding my book in your hands. You’re most welcome! The title Groove Book tells its own tale: This book is exclusively about groove. I decided upon Groove as the topic for my fi rst book because I have fun playing and listening to grooves on the one hand, and then on the other hand, I find drummers most fascinating when they get into a great groove. All grooves in this book will sound great and be fun to play. Additionally, it was important to me to show you a range of possibilties for creating your own great-sounding grooves, and how to play these grooves in different ways to expand your own pattern repertoire. I tried to keep the text passages to a minimum because we all like to start playing the notes rather than reading the words—right? But that said, I ask you to read the explanations carefully, especially those that focus on the development of your own grooves; I know they will be helpful. How to Work with This Book: Please take your time after studying each chapter to refl ect on its contents: • What are the key points to highlight? • What did you most enjoy? • Can you transfer these concepts to another context? Please free yourself from the music notation as soon as possible. Frequently you are able to play things by heart very quickly, without reference to the music text. The moment you can play by heart you are free to listen to your own playing more consciously, and you will be able to pay more attention to technical and musical details. I‘m sure you will find certain grooves that you like best in each chapter. Mark your favorite grooves and add those to your own groove repertoire. Have fun working with my book! Jost Nickel

Preface I am delighted that you are holding my book in your hands. You're most welcome! The title Groove Book tells its own tale: This book is exclusively about groove. I decided upon Groove as the topic for my fi rst book because I have fun playing and listening to grooves on the one hand, and then on the other hand, I find drummers most fascinating when they get into a great groove. All grooves in this book will sound great and be fun to play. Additionally, it was important to me to show you a range of possibilties for creating your own great-sounding grooves, and how to play these grooves in different ways to expand your own pattern repertoire. I tried to keep the text passages to a minimum because we all like to start playing the notes rather than reading the words-right? But that said, I ask you to read the explanations carefully, especially those that focus on the development of your own grooves; I know they will be helpful. How to Work with This Book: Please take your time after studying each chapter to refl ect on its contents: - What are the key points to highlight? - What did you most enjoy? - Can you transfer these concepts to another context? Please free yourself from the music notation as soon as possible. Frequently you are able to play things by heart very quickly, without reference to the music text. The moment you can play by heart you are free to listen to your own playing more consciously, and you will be able to pay more attention to technical and musical details. I'm sure you will find certain grooves that you like best in each chapter. Mark your favorite grooves and add those to your own groove repertoire. Have fun working with my book! Jost Nickel