Inverted Beats

By Matt Byrne Published in the February 2008 issue of DRUM!

Let’s mess around with some inverted beats between the kick, snare, and hi-hats, as well as with some beats that incorporate left-foot patterns on the hi-hat. The first set of beats is of straight sixteenth-notes where the double hits alternate between the ghost-note hits on the snare and the double hits on the hi-hat. The groove and overall feel of these beats comes from the execution of the ghost notes. The next set of beats also features straight sixteenth-notes, however, I’ve replaced the snare hits with the kick drum, and vice versa. The last set of beats features variations of the first set, but here I’ve added the left-foot hi-hat. These hits, combined with the kick drum, are accented.

Inverted Beats Exercises

Matt Byrne bashes for the Grammy-nominated heavy metal/hardcore band Hatebreed. In his spare time he is working on his special ed./elementary ed. teaching degree. http://www.myspace.com/mattbyrnedrummer