"Anchoring"

One concept that I feel has tremendously helped my groove has been what I call "anchoring." An anchor keeps the ship in a stationary position, and until that anchor is brought up, that ship is not moving. Relating to time and groove, I have found one note to be most potent in this regard.

It is the offbeat 8th note, the "an" of any note. Somehow, when I get this happening, the time and groove seem to be so interelated and effortless that the music becomes a joy. Now, how I manifest it is simply either one of two ways. I can either accent that note on the hi-hats with my right hand or I can play that note with my foot on the hi-hat. Somehow, in my mind, just hearing that note accented, MAKES me play to that. All of a sudden other notes start coming from my left hand, ghost strokes that fill out the rest of the rhythmic spectrum, and it happens quite naturally.

How do you develop this? It takes work and mental energy. Start slow, but play an 8th note groove on the ride cymbal. Get that going for 4 bars. Then at the 5th bar, get quarter notes happening on the hi-hat with your left foot. You should have a duplication of 8th notes. Now, simply begin to remove the quarter notes. This will take some time to get used to, but when you hear it, I think something will begin to click.

Another way to approach this is to play a brush groove on your snare drum, 1 & 3 on the kick. Instead of accenting the 2 & 4 on your hi-hat, accent the offbeat 8ths. See what happens.

Now, as with anything, learning to intuitively make this musical is an art. IT IS NOT APPROPRIATE FOR EVERY SONG. That said, you might be able to employ it in many songs, at certain points in the song, perhaps a chorus or a bridge. What it will do is help your groove develop in new ways and your time will feel more steady.

For a master study on this concept, check out Bernard Purdie's work on the Steely Dan album "The Royal Scam." Rick Marotta is also credited on the album at http://www.steelydan.com/citizentracks.html, but if I was a betting man (I'm not!) I would say that the tracks that best represent what I am talking about were played by "Pretty" Purdie. For this concept, check out "Kid Charlemagne," "The Fez," and "Green Earrings."

Hope this helps.

Blessings,
Frank