Level 3 · Your First Groove · 3-3
Two-minute groove
Endurance: the groove only counts if it lasts a whole song.
What you play
B bass · S snare · g ghost · rest1
B
&
g
2
S
&
g
3
B
&
B
4
S
&
g
75 BPM
startpass
How to play it
- 1Loop the boom-boom crack groove from 3-2 for two full minutes. This is a song-length test.
- 2If you stumble, keep the pulse going with ghosts and come back in on the next 1. Never stop.
- 3Scan for tension at every 1: jaw, shoulders, grip.
- 4Chase the groove feeling good rather than being perfect.
- 5Record about 120 seconds.
Listen forThe groove holding for the full take at a steady tempo; small mistakes are fine as long as the recovery is smooth and the pulse never stops.
start 75 · pass 85 BPM · take about 120s
Record a take
I start the click at 75 BPM, count one bar, and stop after about 120s. Phone about a metre away, facing the front plate. You get my notes within a minute of sending it.
Watch out for
- • Stopping dead after a mistake. The cardinal sin of playing live.
- • Slow tempo drift over the two minutes
- • Dynamics flattening. Keep the bass, snare and ghost layers alive.
Read about this
- Your first cajón grooveOne bar that fits half the songs you already know, step by step.
- How to practise cajón with a metronomeHow to use a click so it makes you better instead of making you miserable.
Play this for real
- How to play La Bamba on cajón150 BPM · Fast, relentless, and a stamina test. The son jarocho pulse from Veracruz.