Difficulty Level Learn how to play this classic drum beat from the song Brianstorm by Arctic Monkeys, performed by the great drummer Matt Helders.

“Brianstorm” Free Video Drum Lesson

View the video on YouTube HERE – Learn How To Play Drums Song Brianstorm Video Drum Lesson (Arctic Monkeys & Matt Helders)

“Brianstorm” Drum Notation

Why It’s Great

Maybe Matt is a robot? It just doesn’t seem possible to play so fast through an entire song AND create something that grooves so hard. This little number has drummers scratching their heads in wonder.

How To Play It

This drum beat occurs at the beginning of the song. Matt anchors the rhythm he plays with his hands by playing solid quarter notes on the bass drum and hi-hat foot pedal for beats 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the bar.

The hands are playing an alternating sixteenth note pattern (RLRL), played between the floor tom and high tom. All floor tom notes are played with the right hand and all high tom notes played with the left.

The right hand moves to the snare drum on beats 2 and 4 of the bar and then back to the floor tom for the rest of the bar. The left hand however stays up on the high tom the entire time.

The first half of the bar contains a broken sixteenth note rhythm between the two hands. The hands then play a continuous line of sixteenth notes (between the floor and high tom) starting on the ‘+’ of beat 2, right up until the end of the bar.

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