Plenty of rock songs have become popular and made it as “pop” songs so it’s kind of irrelevant to distinguish between the two styles here. When it comes to pop, pretty much the same rules apply. They come with 5 different heads and are suitable for a size 22 inch bass drum. The way to achieve this sound is through purchasing a suitable large sized drum kit and tuning the drum heads nice and low so that they produce a deeper tone.ĭrum head manufacturer, Evans, has produced a great set of drum heads which are tailored for rock. A typical rock drum kit will have big loud drums with equally loud cymbals. Rock drums have changed in style too when it comes to the actual drum sound. Some rock songs are based on blues and jazz forms, which we will discuss later. You can have straight rock, funk rock, pop rock, blues rock, and much more. While rock music has a tendency to involve heavy drumming, the format of rock songs can vary a lot. Here’s an example of a typical rock beat with ZZ Top’s smash hit “Gimme All Your Lovin”: The result is a typical rock beat that you might hear today. Also swing eventually gave way to a more straight sounding eight note pattern. The hi-hat and ride combination was replaced with a stronger snare stroke. So this style made its way into early rock’n’roll music. This extra volume on these two beats really enhanced the “swing” feel.

The way they would accent these beats was by pressing down on the hi-hat pedal and playing the ride cymbal a little louder. This would be in a typical swing pattern. The effect a backbeat has on a song is undeniable and infectious.īefore backbeats were widely used jazz drummers would often accent beats 2 and 4 of the bar. The backbeat became popular in the 1950’s and 1960’s and took off in its own way to spawn lots of different types of music.Ī backbeat is typically a snare stroke which is placed on beats 2 and 4 of the bar, in a standard bar of 4/4. What really distinguishes rock music from any other music is the use of a backbeat. It encompasses everything from the 1950’s to modern day and beyond.

Basic rhythm patterns drums