Hallelujah - A New Pattern for a 3/4 Song

First, I need to let you know that I am sorry for the mix up we had between which version of hallelujah we were supposed to play for the Thursday evening service. I got complacent, and didn't actually LOOK UP the written music that was going to be used for the service. I've done that kind of thing before, and am hoping to never do it again. You folks were all great in your graciousness and flexibility as we did the switch from a 4/4 pattern to a triple meter. You did well, considering that the triple meter was a 3/4 time, rather than a 6/8 or 12/8 time song. 3/4 has a different feel to it, and is a bit less common in drumming music than the duple or compound meters.

Although we did fine with the pattern we played for the service, it is a little bit static, so I'd like to give you a different pattern for the song we played. The patterns here use rhythms that come from the words of the song. They difficulty with these patterns is that they don't all 'start' on the first beat of the measure. The phrases actually start in different places in the two measure sequence. (That's one reason we didn't use them for the service - they DO take a little extra rehearsal time.)

For a nice entrance build, start with the cowbell, then add the medium drum, then (starting with the 2nd measure) the high drums, then the axatse and gankogui, and finally the low drum. (Starting on the 'hal' of the 2nd measure.) The words are just to get a rhythm pattern - not to be sung as the song is performed. 

The low, medium and high drum specifications are suggestions. As I check it out, I might switch the medium and low drums, or the high and medium drums. Just try to have some differences between either the relative timbre, or the space in which the drums are playing. 

 

Here's a mp3 of the basic beat. Done at about 148 bps. It is not real instruments, but it's my garageband software, using the 'African Kit' drum set. Not very soulful, but it gives the basic idea. (Also, the video is only there because it's a placeholder. I really need to get some nice drum photos, and then put them in there instead, but you get the idea.)