Author Archives: beckbeat

drummer based in Honolulu, HI 🇺🇸

Star Trek: Enterprise – Theme Song Transcription

One of my younger drum students loves Hard Rock, classic Heavy Metal, … and Star Trek. His favorite series is Star Trek: Enterprise, which features a version of Faith of the Heart (aka Where My Heart Will Take Me) as sung by Russell Watson. I made a quick transcription of the 1:18 min piece. It’s…More

Leaving Space Grooves

In the age of flashy YouTube and Instagram drumming stars it’s easy to forget that it’s surprisingly hard to play slow beats with lots of space between the notes. It makes sense to me: The more notes you pack into a beat, the easier it is to get away with sloppy placement or bad timing.…More

Groove Idea

This one might be for the advanced drummer, because it does require a certain level of coordination and technique. The short groove idea is the result of a “happy accident” while playing around. I broke it down and transcribed it. It’s a three bar pattern that repeats itself. Check it out.More

Chop Builders

I sometimes get the question on how I come up with combinations/melodies/fills around the kit. That’s a tough one to answer, because when I play, I play, and try not to think (in concepts and combinations). Having said that, there are exercises that have helped me develop dexterity around the kit, and that allow me…More

Common – Like Water for Chocolate

I can’t believe this record is almost twenty years old. It’s packed with great beats by Questlove and others. The track “Heat” samples Tony Allen, Fela Kuti’s one-time fellow band member and co-founder of the Afrobeat genre. Here are some beats from the record. – Beck Download the free pdfs HERE.More

Remote Drum Recordings

I offer remote drum recordings for your tracks, using Addictive Drums 2 via a Roland TD-17KVX electronic drum kit. That’s a great option for demos, or if you don’t have the big studio dollars and want great sounding drums on your music.All I need is an mp3 or wav file of your song, and I…More

Linear Drum Fill

This one’s for my drum students! Here are two great sounding Linear Fill combinations. Learn the sticking (and footing) first, play it slowly and gradually bring it up to speed. Make sure the pattern sounds even and not choppy. Focus an clarity and groove first, the speed will come. I demonstrate one example on the…More