BLUES DRUM SAMPLES

Learn Blues Drums

Playing blues drums is a very old American music tradition that dates back to the 19th century. African plantation workers created songs about their hardships and labor with rhythms coming from their homeland. What came out from these exotic melodies is a musical culture that went global in the next 100 years. Learning how to play the blues is very important. Often asked what are some examples of blues music? Contemporary musical styles that we are listening to now, such as slow rock, metal, pop, R&B, Hip-hop, and funk, trace back their roots to blues music. Let’s look at the different blues patterns that you can use during your gigs and rehearsals.

Below you can listen to songs that feature famous blues rhythms.

Now you can download the blues drumming notations.  

Chicago Blues Shuffle Drumming

Boogie Blues Drumming

Box Car Blues Shuffle Drumming

Jimmy Reed Big Boss Man Blues Drumming

Jimmy Reed Style Blues Drumming

Delta Traditional Slow Blues Drumming

 

Delta Variation Blues Drumming

 

Buddy Guy Style Slow Blues Sidestick Drumming

B.B. King Style Slow Blues Drumming

Rock Style Blues Drumming 

Eight Bar Blues Drumming

Slow Blues Box Car Style Drumming

Chicago Westside Driving Slow Blues Drumming

Bo Diddley Style Blues Drumming

Funk Blues Style Drumming

 Muddy Waters Style Blues Drumming

Muddy Waters Mojo Blues Drumming

Jazzy Swing Blues Drumming

Swing Shuffle Blues Drumming

Rhumba 1 Blues Drumming

 

Train Beat Blues Drumming

Surf Blues Drumming

Texas Style Blues Drumming

 
As it so often happens with drummers learning to play the blues regarding blues drumbeats, many will easily lump blues rhythm into one particular stereotype. First, thinking playing the blues is easy, and second, even more important, thinking a blues shuffle only has one pattern for all blues music, which is not valid. As a musician who plays the blues, you have to be passionately dedicated to your craft.   

Drumming Style: Blues Drumming is a unique style for drummers to learn that can rightly be given its own niche. The grey areas turn to shades of blue when it comes to this art. Certain features and characteristics make this style of drumming leap out of your stereo and fire the neurons between your ears.

Pocketful of Power: Exponents of great Blues Drumming all have an X factor, born from playing deep in the pocket, if not slightly behind – more profound than any other band member. From this place, the stick-wielding maestro can perform powerful and tasteful fills while locking the band into a groove that only hand full of blues drummers can accomplish.

The Bouncy Shuffle: whether played on the Hi-Hat, the snare itself, the ride, or floor tom, the shuffle is at its best when given some playful bounce to move the song along. The infectious quality of this feeling has the power to make an audience dance, let alone inspire other members of the band to push their limits of creativity and improvisation. A thumping thud of 4 beats on the Bass Drum is the foundation on which a shuffle thrives. Double-handed shuffles make for twice the pleasure.

Drummer’s Best Friend: undoubtedly, Kenny Beedy Eyes Smith is your lifeline to help pull you out of a groove that you may have sunk into and keep you on your toes so that the music flows and to prepare you with some heavy drum shuffling technics.

Blues Patterns: There are basic blues drumbeats you need to learn, such as the 4/4, 2/4, 6/8, and 12/8 bar pattern, the Chicago blues shuffle and the Texas shuffle, and many others. Remember that there are so many blues styles, each with its own flavors; eventually, you will learn blues drum beats by following these patterns and variations. There are so many materials about the blues that you can fill-up a bookshelf about it. Remember, your beat is vital. It is not enough to hit a basic 4/4 beat pattern or a complicated shuffle beat; using triplets or sixteenth note rhythms. What is important is that your rhythm fits with the musical melodies of your band.