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Left Foot Son Clave Grooves

Left Foot Son Clave Grooves

by Rob Leytham

Remember when all you had to do with your feet on the drumset was play the bass drum and hi hat? Then, about twenty years ago, a second pedal was added next to the hi hat pedal so you could play double bass patterns on a single bass drum. Now the bar has been raised again, with drummers like Horacio Hernandez, Akira Jimbo, Alex Acuna, and Gregg Bissonette playing Jam Blocks or cowbells with the left foot. It is becoming more common to have three pedals on the left side, creating greater independence and challenging patterns.

When students come to me wanting to learn how to develop this independence, I give then a series of exercises. These clave ostinato exercises can be practiced with the left foot playing either cowbell, Jam block, or hi hat.

First, learn the ostinato with the left foot playing the 3:2 son clave. We will keep the bass drum simple by playing it on the "ah" of 1 and the "ah" of 3.

Practice each of the following ride cymbal patterns over the 3:2 son clave ostinato

After repeating each of the previous clave groove, play the following rhythms with the left hand on the snare drum. Repeat each pattern four times before trying to play the twelve measures straight through.

Once that is mastered, turn those rhythms into a solo. Keep playing the 3:2 son clave ostinato with the feet and play alternating sixteenth notes on the snare drum. The rhythm patterns from the above exercise will be played as accents on the sixteenth notes. Accents that fall on a beat or an "&" are played on the floor tom with the right hand. Accents that fall on the "e" or "ah" are played on the high tom with the left hand. All unaccented notes are played on the snare.

Once you feel that you have the control to play each of these exercises, practice the 3:2 son clave ostinato with rhythms found in my book OSTINATOS FOR THE MELODIC DRUMSET. Have fun discovering the new drum grooves and solo ideas this ostinato will create.

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About the Author

Rob Leytham is a private drum instructor at Antioch Music Center in Kansas City, Missouri. He has written nearly 20 articles for MODERN DRUMMER magazine and 4 books for MEL BAY: Rock Drumming and Soloing Methods, Jazz and Blues Drumming (available as a download), Rudimental Drumset Solos for the Musical Drummer, and the award winning educational book Ostinatos for the Melodic Drumset. Visit Rob at www.robleytham.com.