Advanced Groove Concepts

Advanced Groove Concepts is a collection of intermediate to advanced level grooves and patterns applicable to all modern styles of music. The focus of the book is to develop the ability to play varied and sometimes complex patterns between the hands while keeping a solid groove, reminiscent of some of the legendary funk and fusion drummers, all while building the weaker hand into a groove-creating engine.

Starting with repetitive hi hat/ride patterns, the book progresses through various ghost notes variations and then combines non-repetitive riding patterns with varied snare drum combinations containing accents and ghost notes. These grooves are practiced with various bass drum combinations. The book can be practiced by right-handed and left-handed drummers, and it can also be played with an open-handed approach.

Included is a video disc containing many of the examples in the book performed by author Sam Aliano.

“Over the many years of my career,” says Aliano, “I’ve spent an endless amount of hours working on and developing my groove. I decided to play one-measure funk grooves and really focused on only changing what my left hand was playing to make the groove feel and sound different. I was intrigued with how the groove sounded different by adding in even just one left hand 16th note and not changing my right hand or bass drum pattern. I kept experimenting with this concept for many years until my left hand became a lead hand (snare drum only), not just a backbeat hand. This new approach, for me, is what was missing in my playing. Advanced Groove Concepts presents this approach for you to discover the untapped potential in your grooves and your weaker hand.”