Lesson 2: The money beat

There is one beat behind more hit records than any other, and drummers call it the money beat because it has paid so many mortgages. Eighth notes on the hi-hat, snare on two and four, kick on one and three. You can learn it today. Making it feel good is the rest of your life.

Watch first

Build it in layers

Do not try to play all three limbs at once. Stack them.

Layer one: the hi-hat. Right hand on the closed hi-hat, eighth notes, counting out loud: “one and two and three and four and”. Eight even taps per bar. Count with your mouth, not just your head; it matters more than it sounds like it should.

▶ Play80 BPM−5+5

Layer two: the snare. Keep the hat going and drop your left hand on the snare on “two” and “four”. Those are the backbeats, and they are the loudest thing you play. The hat hand must not stop or stumble when the snare lands; if it does, slow down until it does not.

▶ Play80 BPM−5+5

Layer three: the kick. Right foot on “one” and “three”. Now all three are going. This is the money beat.

▶ Play80 BPM−5+5

What goes wrong, and the fix

• The hat hand hesitates when the kick plays. Your brain is treating the kick as a new event. Play layer one and layer three together (no snare) for a minute, then add the snare back.
• It speeds up. Everyone’s does. Lesson three fixes that with a click. For now, count out loud and play at 80 BPM or slower.
• The snare is quiet. Lift the stick higher for the backbeat than for anything else. The snare on two and four should be the loudest note in the room.

Hear it as a record

This exact beat, played so evenly it became a reference for drum machines, is Billie Jean: kick on one and three, snare on two and four, eighths on a tight hat, and nothing else for four and a half minutes. Open it, press play, and that is what you are aiming for.

Practise

Open the money beat in the Groove Lab, press play and play along on the kit (or pad and floor: right hand taps, left hand on your leg, foot on the floor). Use the ½ speed button if 80 is too quick. Five minutes on each layer, five on the whole thing, then log it.