Jungle Drumming by Johnny Rabb

Jungle and Drum ‘n’ Bass music are still fairly new on the music scene. These two names really represent many different sub-styles, however for the sake of simplicity I will refer to them as Jungle/Drum ‘n’ Bass. Jungle/Drum ‘n’ Bass was born on DJ’s turntables and is primarily composed with samplers, drum machines and sequence/computer software. This energetic, quick, beat-driven music is packed with enough excitement and energy to power dance floors all over the world. As soon as I heard the up tempo loops and grooves, I was hooked!

The best way to describe a basic jungle/drum ‘n’ bass groove is to imagine speeding up an old classic funk groove or breakbeat to about three times its original tempo. If you did this you’d hear the drums blazing at 160 beats per minute or faster!

Even though most Jungle/Drum ‘n’ Bass music is computer generated, I thought it would be a great thing to try to transfer these killer beats to the acoustic drumset. My goal here is to not only to get you started, but interested in this futuristic style of drumming, as well. To get a head start on this up-tempo music, be sure to check out the groove exercises on the back. I’d also recommend checking out Jungle and Drum ‘n’ Bass music either via the internet or by purchasing a compilation album at your local record store. This will not only immediately expose you to the style, but will give you a great practice/play-a-long tool.

The Acoustic Drum Machine

The first thing that I noticed when I started listening to jungle/drum ’n’ bass music was that, since all of the grooves are played or programmed at such fast tempos, the pitch of the drums is high. Another characteristic is that the sound of the snares and cymbals change all the time— sometimes even within the same measure. To recreate the sound of these programmed grooves, I began my mission by attempting to achieve these sounds acoustically. My set-up is comprised of three different snare drums (10”, 12”and 14”). This gives me easy access to the variety of sound options which is crucial in simulating the Jungle/Drum ‘n’ Bass style. My cymbal set-up is also designed to simulate electronic music by allowing me to get multiple sounds from each cymbal. I can play a trashy sounding hi-hat pattern and turn around and play a clean flat ride sound in an instant. I love to see people’s reactions when they find out what I am using to create these sounds.

It was also helpful for me to experiment with unorthodox tunings for each of my drums. For example, to achieve a trashy/Lo-Fi snare sound, I detuned the top head of my main snare drum (really loose and flappy). Keep in mind, you wouldn’t tune like this for a country, pop or even rock gig. Next, I took my smaller auxiliary snares and tuned them up high to simulate a snare that has had its pitch electronically changed in a sampler. For Jungle/Drum ‘n’ Bass I will often tune my drumset differently between songs or grooves. This way, one drum set can sound like many different kits throughout the course of a live or recorded session.

Adding electronics to my acoustic drumset is another way to to achieve these sounds. When acoustic meets electric, the options expand even more. With a hybrid drum set my left hand can play patterns on my snare drums while my right hand adds other sounds electronically. Playing an ostinato (repeated pattern) with my feet either acoustically or electronically and then playing the kit over the top is another way to expand the kit for Jungle/Drum ‘n’ Bass. This sounds like a loop is playing under my kit groove.

When I was done with my experimenting I began calling my drum set “the acoustic drum machine” because, with an open mind, a drum key and a little electricity, one drumset can equal endless sounds. To hear an example of this in action, you can check out my latest album “Acoustic Machine” at www.johnnyrabb.com. The same drums were used to record the whole album, but they were tuned differently for each song.

Playing Live and in Real time

In playing Jungle/Drum ‘n’ Bass music my goal is to sound as if I’m a human drum machine playing a programmed groove. Playing in real-time means that there are no loops or pre-programmed tracks/sequences playing along with me. It takes a lot of discipline to achieve this, not to mention various drumset configurations and sound options, but, give it a try. You’ll find that whether you’re playing pop, funk, jazz, latin or any other contemporary drum style, Jungle/Drum ‘n’ Bass grooves will open new doors for your creativity, technique and independence.

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