Hemiola funk series: S3B

Another variation on the hemiola funk thing, with the main pattern ending with a double on the bass drum— a snare hit + 3 bass hits. I continue to tweak the basic template to cover the major rhythmic possibilities, with some practical variations, while still being playable for younger students. I have a couple of students under age 10 who are sounding great with these materials.

Ex. 1 is simply the hard part of the pattern isolated— play it a few times with a long pause after, to get the coordination. The main potential problem with this system is if students play the ideas by feel and accidentally lapse into 3/4 when they're supposed to be playing in 4. I have the students count the overall rhythm of the patterns before playing them, and this has not been a problem— my students can improvise variations on these ideas without getting lost.

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