the official blog of the Percussive Arts Society

The half-time shuffle is an important feel that has been used in rock, funk, blues, and jazz tunes. In the following video, I show how to develop this distinctive groove.

Here are the patterns demonstrated in the video, plus additional variations.

Here is a list of tunes that feature half-time shuffles. You can listen to these on Spotify.

“Grapevine Fires” – Death Cab for Cutie (Jason McGerr)
“Redzone Killer” – Seal (Ash Soan)
“Rosanna” – Toto (Jeff Pocaro)
“The Amazing Kreskin” – Clutch (Jean-Paul Gaster)
“Hard Times” – James Taylor (Rick Marotta)
“Babylon Sisters” – Steely Dan (Bernard Purdie)
“Lonely Town, Lonely Street” – Bill Withers
“Cornflake Girl” – Tori Amos (Matt Chamberlin)
“Breaking Away” – Al Jarreau (Jeff Pocaro)
“Dreamweaver” – Gary Wright (Jim Keltner)
“Home at Last” – Steely Dan (Bernard Purdie)
“Fast Food” – Pete Townsend (Simon Phillips)
“Walkabout” – Nik Kershaw (Jeff Pocaro)
“Night Passage” – Weather Report (Peter Erskine)
“Fool In The Rain” – Led Zeppelin (John Bohnam)

Nick Costa is an educator based out of Philadelphia, a National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) candidate, and a member of the PAS Drum Set Committee. He is also an independent drummer, clinician, and drum technician, with national and international touring experience. Nick’s primary focus as an educator is on drum set, and he teaches over 150 students weekly throughout the greater Philadelphia region. He has provided ways to integrate drum set studies into K–12 music curriculum for the School District of Philadelphia, and was a consultant for the PA Department of Education as they created and implemented the current state-wide “Modern Band” curriculum. Nick has written and recorded lessons for Modern Drummer magazine and Rhythm! Scene, and he is an active session musician engineering and recording drum tracks remotely from his studio. For more information, visit nickcostamusic.com.

This month's entry features Sean J. Kennedy's groove on “Samsara,” which is featured in The Gardyn Jazz Orchestra's debut release. In his video, Sean explains the evolution of the groove that he plays on the bridge and how Speed Racer even helped to inspire his final version!

Warm-up Exercise

The Full Groove

Video Cues (for study purposes)
0:00 Intro
1:42 Basic Groove
2:20 Bridge (Plans A, B, C, and D)
5:49 Speed Racer
8:16 Slow Funk and refined Bridge Groove
10:01 Sean J. Kennedy performs with recording 

Sean J. Kennedy is an American drum set and percussion artist. He is the drummer for The Doc Severinsen Tribute Band featuring Jay Webb, The Gardyn Jazz Orchestra, and has been principal percussionist with the Philadelphia Boys Choir & Chorale since 2004. He is a multi-faceted musician who is equally accomplished on the stage, in the recording studio, and in the classroom. He has performed on drum set and percussion, receiving standing ovations at sold-out venues such as Radio City Music Hall and Carnegie Hall with such world renowned acts as Il Volo, Roger Daltry and The Who, Evanescence, Lindsey Stirling, The Philly POPS! Orchestra, The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, The Jacksonville Symphony, The Strauss Symphony of America, The Allentown Band, The Allentown Symphony Orchestra, and The Lancaster Symphony Orchestra. Kennedy was appointed to the PAS Drum Set Committee in 2021, is the author of numerous drum set, percussion, and improv books, and in 2018 was invited to present a TEDx Talk about the history of the drumset, titled “Happy Accidents: Drumming Up Serendipity.” Jazz legend Dave Brubeck stated that Sean’s drumming “sounds like it should — it swings!” For more information, visit seanjkennedy.com.

Regardless of where you are on your drumming journey, there are two things you’re constantly playing: basic eighth-note grooves and single paradiddles. In the July Groove of the Month, you learned how to incorporate the single paradiddle into basic eighth-note grooves. Now that you can play with a solid foundation and deep pocket, you can incorporate a variation of the single to change up the groove even more.

Begin by placing your dominant hand on the hi-hat and non-dominant hand on the snare drum. Play two paradiddle variations in a row and add a kick drum to the very first note. Rest on beats 3 and 4 so you can reset before trying the pattern again.

Since you’re playing the paradiddle variation using a sixteenth-note subdivision, play the pattern two times in a row to complete the measure. To make it sound more like a groove, add an accent to the first note of each paradiddle variation. Rest for the second measure before trying the pattern again.

Now it’s time to put this pattern into context. Play the groove in a four-measure loop, and play a fill for beats 3 and 4 of the fourth measure. The goal is to have a fluid transition from groove to the fill and back into the groove again.

Simply adding the paradiddle variation to a basic eighth-note pattern changes the groove without becoming a distraction. Try it for yourself by taking your favorite eighth-note groove and incorporating this paradiddle variation. Below you’ll find lots of examples to get you started!

 

Paradiddle Grooves: Variation 2 by Nick Costa from Percussive Arts Society on Vimeo.

Nick Costa is an educator based out of Philadelphia, a National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) candidate, and a member of the PAS Drum Set Committee. He is also an independent drummer, clinician, and drum technician, with both national and international touring experience. Nick’s primary focus as an educator is in drum set, and he teaches over 150 students weekly throughout the greater Philadelphia region. He has provided ways to integrate drum set studies into K–12 music curriculum for the School District of Philadelphia, and was a consultant for the PAS Education Committee as they created and implemented the current state-wide “Modern Band” curriculum. Nick has written and recorded lessons for Modern Drummer magazine, PAS Rhythm! Scene, and is an active session musician engineering and recording drum tracks remotely from his studio. For more information, visit nickcostamusic.com.