Van Halen · 1984 · drums by Alex Van Halen
Hot for Teacher
From 1984. Expert · Shuffle · rock
Tempo
128BPM
- Time signature
- 4/4
- Feel
- Shuffle
- Tempo band
- 120–150
- Difficulty
- Expert
"Work up to it" opens the tempo trainer at 98 and climbs to 128 in steps of four every eight bars. Members get the climb; everyone gets the click. "Play the groove" opens the beat itself in the Groove Lab.
What the drums do
The double-kick shuffle intro — sixteenth-note triplets on two bass drums, in a shuffle feel, at 128 — is one of the hardest intros in rock. The song then rides a fast shuffle with the double kick under the riff. Learn the feet first, slowly, as a triplet exercise.
Expert: Years of work. Play it at half speed and be proud.
Alex Van Halen
- Read the Alex Van Halen feature →Who they are, how they play, and what to listen to next.
- Alex Van Halen's drum rig in the Rig Vault →The kit, snare, cymbals and hardware, era by era — look for the 1984 setup.
- Log the sessionNote the BPM you got it clean at, and next time starts from there.
More Alex Van Halen songs
Songs at about 128 BPM
Practise these together: one click, several songs.