This idea comes from checking out Steve Gadd on “Samba Song,” from Chick Corea’s “Friends” album. It’s a fantastic example of how you can take patterns you already know and manipulate them to create great sounding drum grooves or licks. First off, what do we mean by a “reverse” paradiddle? I think of a reverse […]

The introductory exercises on Samba Independence (Part One), were meant to get the beginning drummer used to the samba bass drum pattern and the majority of common snare drum variations that could be played against that pattern. The cymbal pattern used in that introductory set of exercises was simple eighth notes….a “straight” pattern of continuous […]

Samba independence is an essential skill for a well rounded drummer. I came up with these two pages of exercises to help you develop the required independence to play these types of grooves on the drum set. For those of you new to Samba, these grooves are adapted for drumset from what Brazilian percussion ensembles […]