Jazz groove in 5/4: drum pattern and how to play it
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Practice
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Song grooves
· Simplified drum grooves in the style of famous songs — not exact transcriptions.
- Time signature
- 5/4
- Tempo
- 172–172 BPM
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Loop
- 1 bar
| Ride | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hi-hat | |||||||||||||||
| Snare | |||||||||||||||
| Kick |
Each row is one drum, each column one step. Large dots are accents, small dots normal hits, faint dots ghost notes.
About this groove
The time is kept with the classic “ding, ding-a-ding” swing pattern on the ride. The snare accents fall on 5. Four ghost notes sit between the main hits — play them barely audible.
In our catalog it is used at 172 BPM.
Who plays what: notes per bar
| Cymbal hand | 7 |
|---|---|
| Snare hand | 2 |
| Kick foot | 3 |
The kick always lines up with the cymbal, so the work is in the snare hand: 1 of its 2 notes are ghost notes.
How to practice it
- Press Play and listen to a few loops while counting out loud: 1 & a 2 & a 3 & a 4 & a 5 & a.
- Lower the tempo to 105 BPM and play just the kick and snare along with the player.
- Add the ride part. When the loop feels relaxed, move up to 140 BPM.
- Finally play the full groove at 172 BPM, then try it without the player.
- Keep ghost notes very quiet: hit them from just above the head, so the accents stand out.
- Think in groups of three: every beat is split into a triplet “1-&-a”.
- This groove is in 5/4: count all 5 beats out loud until the bar length is in your body.
- At this tempo, economy of motion matters: keep the sticks low and let them rebound.