Ostinato Man

An ostinato is a musical phrase repeated over and over in a composition. In this article the hi-hat/ride pattern will be the repeated rhythmical phrase.

I remember feeling on top of the world early on when I was able to lift a beat from a favourite song and play along with the track. After much repetition, I realized that something didn't feel right. I listened back to the song and noticed that I was playing the correct snare and bass drum part; however, my hi-hat or ride part didn't feel right. This was usually the case for most songs I started to learn. The conclusion I came to was that I had no dynamics in the groove, especially on the hi-hat or ride cymbal, which made the beat NOT GROOVE.

Listed below are 13 various hi-hat/ride ostinato parts (A-M) that can be added to any quarter-, eighth-, and sixteenth-note bass/snare drum beats. These 13 variations are based on six common hi-hat/ride ostinatos. Apply these patterns to the 15 bass/snare grooves below. Play all the accented hi-hat notes on the edge of the hi-hat with the shoulder of the stick and the unaccented notes on the top of the hi-hat with the tip of the stick. When playing on the ride cymbal, apply the accents on the bell and the unaccented notes on the ride surface. Start off slowly at 60 bpm and listen closely to how each ostinato changes the feel of the groove. I have left accents out on the snare so that you can experiment with placing them as well as inserting ghost notes in places that feel comfortable. Have fun and try these out with your own grooves.

[Author Affiliation]

Jeff Salem operates Jeff Salem's Music Studio. For more information, please visit: www.jsmusicstudio.com, www.salemdrum.com, or e-mail Jeff at jsalem@sympatico.ca.

Ostinato Man

An ostinato is a musical phrase repeated over and over in a composition. In this article the hi-hat/ride pattern will be the repeated rhythmical phrase.

I remember feeling on top of the world early on when I was able to lift a beat from a favourite song and play along with the track. After much repetition, I realized that something didn't feel right. I listened back to the song and noticed that I was playing the correct snare and bass drum part; however, my hi-hat or ride part didn't feel right. This was usually the case for most songs I started to learn. The conclusion I came to was that I had no dynamics in the groove, especially on the hi-hat or ride cymbal, which made the beat …