ROCK ’N’ JAZZ CLINIC

Latin Rhythms in Pop Music

Part 1: Bossa Nova and Samba by Chuck Silverman

MUSIC KEY
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.

Another popular song featuring Brazilian rhythms—this

Hawkins’ groove is more or less a standard bossa nova. time in the form of samba—is “Yankee Rose” by David Lee
Most drummers, however, learn the traditional version begin- Roth. Gregg Bissonette is on drums. Brazilian drummer
ning with bar 2, where the rimclick starts on beat 1. Christiano Rocha pointed out this groove to me and identified
what Bissonette plays at 2:30 as a “samba telecoteco.” Practicing
this pattern will develop your control and coordination,
dynamics, and note placement.

There’s also a clave overdub during the verses of “Stacked

Actors.” The claves play the reverse of the rimclick pattern. If
you play the clave part with the left foot, you have a very chal-
lenging four-way groove to work on. This pattern will not only
challenge your independence but may also inspire you to
come up with your own creative ways to utilize your left foot in
any style.
Bissonette plays the bell of the cymbal on “Yankee Rose.”
You can also try various tamborim patterns on the bell. (A
tamborim is a small handheld Brazilian drum.) Here are a few
ideas to try in place of the original bell pattern.

Here are some other advanced four-way bossa-style

grooves. Pay close attention to note placement when practic-
ing them, and make sure all of the notes are lined up correctly
with no flamming.

78 MODERN DRUMMER • March 2013

 Another example of applying Brazilian rhythms in a mod-
ern pop context is the Alien Ant Farm song “Tia Lupe.” The
verses are in seven, and drummer Mike Cosgrove plays
some fluid samba during these and other sections of the
track. It’s very natural to play samba grooves in seven in
Brazil. Two famous examples are “Tombo in 7/4” and
“Mixing,” which were recorded by Airto Moreira. Airto’s
rhythms and grooves are flowing and flawless.
Here are some examples of Cosgrove’s playing during the
verses of “Tia Lupe.”

The chorus of “Tia Lupe” is in common time (4/4).

Cosgrove plays some gorgeous grooves in this section.
Here’s one that sounds and feels particularly great. You
really have to hear what Mike plays in these sections to
get the full effect.

Hopefully these three brief examples show you how

studying Latin rhythms can really help you become a better
and more creative drummer. Of course, this is just the tip of
the iceberg. Feel free to share your own Latin-inspired dis-
coveries with me at chuck@chucksilverman.com, or you can
reach me through my website, chucksilverman.com.

Chuck Silverman is one of the world’s leading pro-

ponents of Cuban and Brazilian drumming. He
recently produced the instructional DVD The Latin
Funk Connection, and he teaches privately and at
Musicians Institute in Los Angeles. For more info, visit
silvermanlessons.com and chucksilverman.com.
 AROUND THE WORLD

LATIN RHYTHMS
Part 2: Afro-Cuban
IN POP MUSIC
by Chuck Silverman

MUSIC KEY
L atin rhythms are everywhere. In Los
Angeles, there’s a supermarket that’s
been using cha-chas and bossa novas to
sell grapefruit and spareribs. Why? I think
it’s because Latin rhythms catch your There are several ways to get a handle on this groove. You
attention. This could be one of the reasons why many can play the cymbal pattern and add one note at a time
drummers use these patterns to spice up their playing. (bass drum, then rimclick, then the tom).
In order to develop some mastery over the rhythms, you Drumset applications of the Cuban 6/8 bell pattern have
must spend time in the woodshed. When I was coming up, been around for many years. Basically, there are two ways to
there weren’t many instructional books teaching the various play this pattern. One way will make you glad you practiced
forms of Cuban and Brazilian drumming, so I learned from your double paradiddles.
records. I discovered these exciting sounds from albums by Here are double paradiddles presented as 8th-note triplets
Israel “Cachao” López, New York City salseros Eddie Palmieri in 4/4 time.
and Ray Barretto, and Los Van Van and Grupo Irakere from
Cuba. I checked out Brazilian artists like Elis Regina, Airto
Moreira, and others. I developed my own vocabulary from
listening to this great music.
Some people say that mambo was invented by Cachao
and his brother, Orestes, in Havana, Cuba, in 1929. The music Here’s a groove using the double paradiddle with a very
of mambo spread to New York, and then it became a world- simple bass drum addition.
wide sensation. Today you can hear the influence of mambo
in many styles of music. For instance, check out Ahmir
“Questlove” Thompson’s playing on the Chappelle’s Show skit
with John Mayer, when they’re jamming in a barbershop.
Quest is laying down a funky mambo.
You’ll find another mambo groove on Joss Stone’s “Arms of
My Baby,” from the album Introducing Joss Stone. Here Here’s the most common sticking for the Cuban 6/8 pattern
drummer Khari Parker plays a quasi-mambo bell pattern on (in the right-hand part). It’s written as triplets in 4/4, but it
the cymbal. The mambo bell, called contra-campana in Cuba, could also be notated as 8th notes in 6/8 or 12/8.
is typically played by the timbalero (timbale player). In
contemporary Latin music, however, the drumset player often
handles the mambo bell.
There are many mambo bell grooves, and here are some
that I’ve heard and played. I’ve written them with the rumba
clave, as that’s the clave rhythm most often played with the Here’s that same sticking used within a groove, with a
mambo bell. simple bass drum addition.

Funk drummer Adam Deitch puts his own stamp on the

pattern, on the band Lettuce’s cover of the famous Billy
Cobham tune “The Red Baron.” He does this by crafting an
The mambo that Parker plays is wonderfully basic and over-the-barline type of feeling, phrasing the triplets in
right to the point. It’s just a simple and elegant groove. Learn groups of four 8th notes. This groove begins on beat 4 of the
it, as it may come in handy the next time someone says, “Play first measure. The hi-hat accents outline the four-against-
something Latin.” three polyrhythm.

64 Modern Drummer February 2014

 Blackwell’s beat resembles a songo groove. Here are two
patterns I learned from the inventor of songo for drumset,
José Luis Quintana, aka Changuito. Within these grooves you
can hear a little of what might have influenced Blackwell.

Later, Deitch adds 16th notes on the hi-hat to spice up the

rhythm. They give the beat personality and flow.

On the Prince song “Everywhere,” from The Rainbow

Children, John Blackwell plays some blistering Latin-
influenced grooves.

These are just a few ideas from great masters of groove. If

you find others, feel free to drop me a line at my website,
chucksilverman.com.

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