In today's article, we will talk about the groove and it's role in music. The groove (which is not a technical term, but rather how I choose to describe it), occupies a special role in a beat because it is a part that has a dual-function of helping establish the rhythmic foundation of a song as well as the harmonic foundation of the song at the same time. The other parts that we've covered already or that we will cover in future articles do one or the other of those functions but the groove does both.
The groove appears in all genres of music but the instruments used to fill the role differ depending on the genre. In rock music, the rhythm guitar plays this role while in funk music, the guitar also plays it but the wah effect is applied to give it that distinctive funk feel. In techno, the groove role is usually filled by plucks or stabs while in hip-hop, marcato strings or the piano (a al Dr. Dre), are typically used for it. Some good examples of the groove appearing in hip-hop include "No Hands" with Wakka Flocka, Wale, and Roscoe Dash or "Still D.R.E" with Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg. In "No Hands", you hear the low and dark marcato strings outlining the chords and the pulse of the song while in "Strill D.R.E", you hear the piano providing the chords and a constant rhythm.
The groove is often times a linking agent between the rhythmic parts of a song and the harmonic parts because of it's dual nature. The groove both of these parts to blend together. Often, if something seems missing from a track despite having a full sounding rhythm track, leads, and pads...it is the groove.
Besides linking the harmonic and rhythmic parts of a song together, the groove provides motion to a track. Sustained parts such as the pads are void of motion because although they have harmonic content, they have no rhythm. The groove can provide this missing element to a track. Use the groove as a complement to the pads and use it to bring rhythmic and harmonic parts together. Use the groove's ability to provide motion to your advantage. During certain parts of the track, have only sustained parts with no groove and then during other parts of the track (such as the chorus), bring in the groove to provide a sense of movement and to differentiate one part from another. This use of switching between sustained and motion will give your track dynamic characteristics that will make it more interesting. Combine this with what we learned about earlier with the hi-hat's and have the hi-hats go from 8th notes to 16th notes or 16th notes to 32nd notes as the track changes from stillness to motion.
The groove can really help a track gel and have energy via the use of motion. Try incorporating the groove into your beats, and be sure to listen to how other producers incorporate the groove into their tracks. Next time, we'll discuss the leads.
The groove appears in all genres of music but the instruments used to fill the role differ depending on the genre. In rock music, the rhythm guitar plays this role while in funk music, the guitar also plays it but the wah effect is applied to give it that distinctive funk feel. In techno, the groove role is usually filled by plucks or stabs while in hip-hop, marcato strings or the piano (a al Dr. Dre), are typically used for it. Some good examples of the groove appearing in hip-hop include "No Hands" with Wakka Flocka, Wale, and Roscoe Dash or "Still D.R.E" with Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg. In "No Hands", you hear the low and dark marcato strings outlining the chords and the pulse of the song while in "Strill D.R.E", you hear the piano providing the chords and a constant rhythm.
The groove is often times a linking agent between the rhythmic parts of a song and the harmonic parts because of it's dual nature. The groove both of these parts to blend together. Often, if something seems missing from a track despite having a full sounding rhythm track, leads, and pads...it is the groove.
Besides linking the harmonic and rhythmic parts of a song together, the groove provides motion to a track. Sustained parts such as the pads are void of motion because although they have harmonic content, they have no rhythm. The groove can provide this missing element to a track. Use the groove as a complement to the pads and use it to bring rhythmic and harmonic parts together. Use the groove's ability to provide motion to your advantage. During certain parts of the track, have only sustained parts with no groove and then during other parts of the track (such as the chorus), bring in the groove to provide a sense of movement and to differentiate one part from another. This use of switching between sustained and motion will give your track dynamic characteristics that will make it more interesting. Combine this with what we learned about earlier with the hi-hat's and have the hi-hats go from 8th notes to 16th notes or 16th notes to 32nd notes as the track changes from stillness to motion.
The groove can really help a track gel and have energy via the use of motion. Try incorporating the groove into your beats, and be sure to listen to how other producers incorporate the groove into their tracks. Next time, we'll discuss the leads.
About the Author:
A founding member of the Jam Sonic production team, Frank Lubsey produces beats for hip-hop artists, jingles for small businesses, and background music for film and tv. His love of music began at a young age and never went away. Be sure to check out his website for beatmaking articles and videos and hip-hop beats for sale.
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