Bleach

SONG TITLE: BLEACH

GENRE: MODERN ROCK
TEMPO: 110 BPM
q =110 Modern Rock
TECH FEATURES: FLAMS

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HI-HAT FOOT
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OPEN HI-HAT GROOVE

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COMPOSERS: JAMES UINGS &
J J
KUNG FU DRUMMER

PERSONNEL: JAMES UINGS (GTR/BASS)

NOAM LEDERMAN (DRUMS)

OVERVIEW hardcore (hardcore is an offshoot of punk and rock).

Their music was more expressive than that of other
‘Bleach’ is a track inspired by emo bands such as hardcore bands and was accompanied by melodic
My Chemical Romance, Jimmy Eat World and Fall guitars and varied rhythms.
Out Boy. It features hard rock beats accentuated with
heavy flam driven accents played around the kit in In 1993, American band Jimmy Eat World formed
unison with dynamic guitar stabs. and in 2001 brought emo to the masses with their
fourth album Bleed American, which became a
multi-platinum seller. The four-piece were one of the
STYLE FOCUS cornerstones of emo rock and have inspired a slew
of other bands, some of which have added an even
The emo rock drumming style relies upon the harder rock edge to the sound such as Brand New.
drummer exuding great musicianship and having a

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repertoire of different rhythms to complement the The 2000s belonged to My Chemical Romance
various emotions conveyed by the vocals and guitars. whose own brand of emo incorporated a dramatic
You will need to lock in tight with the music because stage presence and dark lyrical content.
there is little room for error when emphasising stabs

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at slow to medium tempos. The drums and bass will
lock down the tempo of the song while the guitars RECOMMENDED LISTENING

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play melodies over the top. Some verse sections may

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only contain drums, bass and vocals, with the guitars Start with Bleed American; in particular, the title
held back for the choruses. Confidence and precision track and ‘The Middle’, both of which feature solid
when playing are essential to this style. drumming from Zach Lind. My Chemical Romance’s
The Black Parade (2006) is also worth listening to.
Hits like ‘Welcome To The Black Parade’ and ‘Famous
THE BIGGER PICTURE Last Words’ demonstrate their musical versatility.
[5] More recently, Danger Days: The True Lives Of The
Emo began in the 1980s when groups like Rites Fabulous Killjoys (2010) displays the group’s change of
Of Spring and Embrace were labelled emotional direction and a range of drummers.

Rockschool Drums Grade 2 © Copyright 2012 Rock School Ltd.

Bleach
James Uings & Kung Fu Drummer

q =110 Modern Rock

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Rockschool Drums Grade 2 © Copyright 2012 Rock School Ltd.

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A A A A A A A A Aœ A Aœ A Aœ A Aœ A 1 1 1
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[29]

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Walkthrough

A Section (Bars 1–12) bars. Aim to perform the movement with accuracy and
The first three bars feature flams on the backbeat with conviction to avoid any unnecessary splashing sounds.
occasional bass drums. In the fourth bar, a fill signals the There are two techniques that can be used when attempting
arrival of the full groove in bar 5. The groove consists of a hi-hat foot pattern: heel up and heel down. Use the
eighth note open hi-hats and bass/snare drum variations. technique that suits you best and feels more comfortable
to execute. With both techniques, your foot should always
Bars 1–3 | Backbeat flams remain in contact with the hi-hat pedal.
Play the flams in these bars on the backbeat (the second and
fourth beats). When performing flams on the kit, ensure
that your hands are well placed to achieve the grace note/full C Section (Bars 21–32)
stroke combination. The groove in this section is similar to the one that began in
bar 5, but develops from bar 27 and leads to the final crash
Bar 4 | Unison fill hits in bars 31 and 32.
In this bar, there are consistent eighth notes played on the
floor tom and snare drum. You can achieve consistency of Bars 27–30 | Snare on every beat
sound and ‘togetherness’ by lifting both hands to the same In this groove, there is a quarter-note snare on every
height before hitting the surface of the drum. The concept of beat. The eighth note open hi-hats should remain even
togetherness is also known as unison (Fig. 1). throughout the section. This type of groove creates more
intensity in the drums and can therefore lead to speeding
Bar 5 | Open hi-hat groove up. Keep the pulse steady and ensure a consistent sound is
The hi-hat in this groove is played in the open position. produced from each part of the kit played (Fig. 2).
Loosen your foot that holds the hi-hat pedal to create the
open hi-hat sound and aim for consistency. Remember that Bars 31–32 | Sound production: crash cymbal
your hi-hat foot needs to remain in contact with the pedal at In order to produce the best sound from the crash cymbal,
all times. Taking it off will affect your posture and timing. allow your hand to bounce back after hitting the cymbal and
be careful that your grip of the stick is not too tight. Leaving
Bars 5–11 | Snare and bass variations the stick on the cymbal surface for too long can choke the
In this section, there are many variations of the bass and cymbal and affect its natural decay. In order to achieve a
snare drum pattern. Try practising this pattern (the lower convincing sound from the crash, try playing with the neck
part of the stave) without the cymbals initially and make part of your drum stick.
sure that all of the rhythmic values are accurate.

Bar 12 | Break and fill

On the first beat of this bar there is a quarter-note flam on

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the snare, then a beat and a half rest followed by a fill on the
offbeat of the third beat and the fourth beat. Counting the
rests between the break and fill maintains continuity and
develops a stronger sense of pulse. The two stroke fill on
snare and floor tom should follow the unison principle.
Fig. 1: Unison fill

B Section (Bars 13–20)

The first six bars of this section are similar to the opening
of the piece but with the addition of the hi-hat foot on each
beat. Bars 19 and 20 consist of a long preparation fill for the
arrival of the groove in bar 21.
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Bars 13–18 | Co-ordinating with the left foot
Your hands primarily play backbeat flams in these bars. Aim
to get this pattern synchronised accurately with your hi-hat
foot and then work on the variations in bars 14 and 16.
Fig. 2: Snare on every beat
Bars 13–18 | Hi-hat foot
Your hi-hat foot should be played on every beat in these

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