Part 1: Bossa Nova and Samba   I often meet drummers who just aren’t interested in studying Latin rhythms. I’ve heard the same thing many times: “I’m never going to play a samba, mambo, songo, or 6/8 groove, so why should I learn it?” I’ve realized that as an educator, it’s part of my job to show, through musical examples, why drummers need to learn about these rhythms. For the better part of a year I’ve been searching for pop songs that contain grooves emanating from traditional rhythms found in places like Brazil, Cuba, and Puerto Rico. I’d like to share some of these with you. To begin our investigation, let’s look at the song “Stacked Actors” by Foo Fighters, with Taylor Hawkins on drums. The verse groove that Hawkins plays recalls a Brazilian bossa nova. Here’s a traditional bossa nova. Hawkins’ groove is more or less a standard bossa […]

March 2013 Issue