Yussef Dayes

≈ 90 · 4/4 with broken-beat phrasing

Prep with: Stage 1 — Foundations — loose hands, steady time

Primary technique:

Broken-beat pocket

Also trains:

Ghost notes, Hi-hat texture, Dynamics

Key groove:

A loose broken-beat groove with the backbeat scattered but the pulse always clear underneath

Signature fill:

A fluid hand run that extends the broken-beat feel rather than resolving to straight time

Transition:

The groove simply loosens further rather than a hard cut into the next section

Listen for:

How relaxed the groove feels despite the backbeat rarely landing where you expect

Training:

Feeling a displaced pocket as genuinely locked rather than merely loose

Challenge:

Play the whole groove while tapping the true quarter-note pulse with your foot internally

• Intro: Sparse broken-beat groove establishing the feel
• Verse: Full displaced backbeat groove with ghost notes
• Fill: Fluid hand run extending the broken-beat feel
• Bridge: Hi-hat opens for added texture
• Outro: Groove loosens further, fading out

≈ 96 · 4/4

Prep with: Stage 2 — Core grooves — broken-beat pocket

Primary technique:

Displaced backbeat groove

Also trains:

Kick variations, Melodic orchestration, Written fills

Key groove:

A groove built from displaced snare hits and varying kick placement under a mellow melody

Signature fill:

A melodic fill moving around toms and cymbals that keeps the broken-beat feel going

Transition:

The fill's final cymbal choice leads smoothly back into the displaced groove

Listen for:

How the kick variations keep the groove feeling alive without adding density

Training:

Writing fills that continue a groove's feel rather than interrupting it

Challenge:

Play the fill so it feels like a continuation, not a break, from the groove before it

• Intro: Displaced groove entrance, mellow feel
• Verse: Full groove with varying kick placement
• Fill: Melodic fill around toms and cymbals
• Chorus: Groove opens slightly, more energy
• Outro: Returns to the mellow displaced feel

≈ 100 · 4/4

Prep with: Stage 3 — Signature techniques — hi-hat texture

Primary technique:

Hi-hat texture over a steady foot ostinato

Also trains:

Hi-hat foot chatter, Independence, Dynamics

Key groove:

A groove where the hi-hat's constantly shifting openness is the main rhythmic interest

Signature fill:

A texture-based fill using hi-hat chatter and cymbal choices rather than extra drum hits

Transition:

The hi-hat's openness itself signals the shift into the next section

Listen for:

How much rhythmic information comes from the hi-hat alone

Training:

Using hi-hat texture as a primary groove element, not a background detail

Challenge:

Play the groove using the hi-hat as the main rhythmic voice, keeping the rest minimal

• Intro: Hi-hat pattern alone, establishing the texture
• Verse: Full groove with ostinato feet underneath
• Fill: Texture-based fill using hi-hat chatter
• Bridge: Hi-hat opens fully for a dynamic peak
• Outro: Returns to the hi-hat pattern alone

≈ 84 · 4/4

Prep with: Stage 1 — Foundations — loose hands, steady time

Primary technique:

Fast fluid hand runs

Also trains:

Linear phrasing, Snare-tom combinations, Dynamics

Key groove:

A laid-back groove punctuated by quick fluid hand runs that never feel rushed

Signature fill:

A fast snare-to-tom run that stays loose even at speed

Transition:

The hand run itself carries the transition into the next groove variation

Listen for:

How fast the hand runs are compared to how relaxed they sound

Training:

Playing genuinely fast hand runs while staying visibly and audibly loose

Challenge:

Play the signature hand run without any audible tension or rushing

• Intro: Laid-back groove, sparse hand fills
• Verse: Groove with occasional fast hand runs
• Fill: Full-speed snare-to-tom run
• Bridge: Dynamics drop for a quieter section
• Outro: Groove fades with a final short run

≈ 112 · 4/4

Prep with: Stage 2 — Core grooves — broken-beat pocket

Primary technique:

Ride and bell-driven broken-beat groove

Also trains:

Bell accents, Displacement, Speed

Key groove:

A faster broken-beat groove carried by a ride and bell pattern rather than the hi-hat

Signature fill:

A fast linear fill that keeps the ride pattern's implied pulse audible throughout

Transition:

The bell accent marks exactly where the true pulse resumes after the fill

Listen for:

How the bell keeps you oriented even as the groove around it gets busier

Training:

Playing fast broken-beat grooves while keeping a clear ride-and-bell pulse reference

Challenge:

Play the full groove at tempo while staying completely loose in the wrists

• Intro: Ride pattern alone establishing the pulse
• Verse: Full broken-beat groove with bell accents
• Fill: Fast linear fill keeping the ride pulse audible
• Bridge: Displacement intensifies before the final section
• Outro: Returns to the ride pattern alone, fading

≈ 88 · 4/4

Prep with: Stage 1 — Foundations — loose hands, steady time

Primary technique:

Relaxed broken-beat groove at a slower tempo

Also trains:

Ghost notes, Kick variations, Dynamics

Key groove:

A slow, warm broken-beat groove that leaves plenty of space between hits

Signature fill:

A simple, sparse fill that adds just one or two extra notes to the groove

Transition:

A single dynamic swell is enough to move into the next section

Listen for:

How little needs to happen for the groove to still feel complete

Training:

Applying broken-beat feel at a slower tempo without losing its character

Challenge:

Play the groove using fewer notes than feels natural, prioritising space

• Intro: Very sparse groove, mostly space
• Verse: Ghost notes and kick variations added subtly
• Fill: Simple, sparse fill
• Bridge: Dynamics rise slightly
• Outro: Returns to the sparse opening feel

≈ 94 · 4/4 with odd-grouping fills

Prep with: Stage 3 — Signature techniques — hi-hat texture

Primary technique:

Independence with hands free over a steady foot pattern

Also trains:

Odd groupings, Hi-hat foot, Independence

Key groove:

A steady kick-and-hat foot pattern under hands that roam freely with occasional odd groupings

Signature fill:

An odd-grouping fill dropped into the groove without disturbing the foot pattern beneath it

Transition:

The foot pattern never changes; only the hands signal the shift into the next section

Listen for:

How steady the feet remain no matter how busy the hands get

Training:

Keeping a foot ostinato completely unaffected by increasingly free hand ideas

Challenge:

Play the full groove with the foot pattern audible and steady throughout every hand fill

• Intro: Foot ostinato introduced alone
• Verse: Hands added freely over the steady feet
• Fill: Odd-grouping fill over the unchanged foot pattern
• Bridge: Hands ease back to a simpler pattern
• Outro: Foot ostinato remains, hands fade out

≈ 80 · 4/4

Prep with: Stage 1 — Foundations — loose hands, steady time

Primary technique:

Ride-driven, spacious jazz feel

Also trains:

Bell accents, Dynamics, Ghost notes

Key groove:

A slow, spacious ride-driven groove closer to straight jazz than broken beat

Signature fill:

A quiet brush-like fill using ghost notes rather than loud accents

Transition:

A soft dynamic build is the only signal that a new section has arrived

Listen for:

How the ride pattern alone carries almost all the groove's momentum

Training:

Playing a convincing, spacious jazz feel using ride and dynamics alone

Challenge:

Play the whole piece using only the ride, bell and ghost notes, no other drum voices

• Intro: Ride pattern alone, very sparse
• Verse: Ghost notes added quietly under the ride
• Fill: Quiet, brush-like fill
• Bridge: Dynamics build gently
• Outro: Returns to the ride pattern alone

≈ 98 · 4/4

Prep with: Stage 6 — Fills & transitions — melodic broken-beat fills

Primary technique:

Melodic orchestration under a broken-beat pulse

Also trains:

Linear 32nds, Crash placement, Written fills

Key groove:

A groove that orchestrates accents across the kit while the broken-beat pulse continues underneath

Signature fill:

A composed fill that treats the whole kit as one melodic phrase before resolving

Transition:

The composed fill lands its last note exactly as the groove re-enters

Listen for:

How the accented pattern reads as a melody even without any pitched instrument

Training:

Writing and executing an orchestrated fill that stays musical under pressure

Challenge:

Compose your own melodic variation on this fill using the same orchestration idea

• Intro: Broken-beat groove establishing the pulse
• Verse: Orchestrated accents layered over the groove
• Fill: Composed melodic fill across the whole kit
• Chorus: Crash-accented open groove
• Outro: Returns to the opening broken-beat pulse

≈ 90 · 4/4 with loose internal phrasing

Prep with: Stage 2 — Core grooves — broken-beat pocket

Primary technique:

Full loose-but-locked vocabulary combined

Also trains:

Hi-hat texture, Melodic orchestration, Free interpretation

Key groove:

Combines broken-beat displacement, shifting hi-hat texture and melodic fills in one piece

Signature fill:

An improvised-feeling fill that draws on the whole vocabulary studied so far

Transition:

Transitions feel improvised and organic rather than cued by a fixed fill

Listen for:

How loose everything sounds while never once losing the underlying pulse

Training:

Applying the complete loose-but-locked vocabulary across a full, demanding piece

Challenge:

Improvise your own version of this groove, keeping the same loose-but-locked feel

• Intro: Sparse groove with shifting hi-hat texture
• Verse: Full broken-beat pocket with ghost notes
• Fill: Improvised-feeling melodic fill
• Bridge: Dynamics drop to near silence
• Outro: Groove fades, staying loose to the very last hit