Jazz Samba Drum Beat
Learn this basic Samba drum beat
The samba drum beat is closely linked to the bossa nova drum rhythm, both of which are from Brazil. However the samba drum beat is taken from much livelier, carnival dancing music whereas the bossa nova is usually slower.
And so authentic samba sees groups of percussionists, ranging from small to hundreds strong, making up the percussion group (bateria) performing these beats in the street at carnivals. There are different sounds being played from large surdo drums, through shakers, tambourines, caixa, cuica, pandeiro, repinique and whistles.
The collective sound is entrancing and impossible to ignore. It is driving and has the goal of making everyone dance.
Over time this has been adapted for the drum kit and this means that we use all four limbs to try and create the parts normally played by several musicians.
Therefore learning the samba is a very challenging four limb independence exercise but the reward is great.
Because the reward is that you can play this incredibly infectious rhythm.
Today we are looking at an adaption of the samba which uses the ride cymbal to create a more jazzy interpretation of it. A lot of South American and Caribbean rhythms found their way up to North America through the 1950s and 1960s through experimental jazz musicians who made great use of these exciting new rhythms.
There are so many different things we can do with a samba drum beat once we’ve learnt the fundamentals of it. You can bring it into a jazz context, play a more authentic street version, add a back beat and create a rock samba groove. It’s so versatile and usable across many genres.
Total Drummer also has other samba lessons where you can learn the street samba and an advanced samba groove.
But for now let’s check out this jazz samba drum beat. Watch the video below and scroll down to access the lesson if you like it. You will get a video breakdown of the jazz samba drum beat as well as full notation so you can learn it easily.
Click below to access the full lesson.
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