Gavin Harrison

A groove built from odd-note groupings (5s, 7s) that makes 4/4 feel like it has shifted.

Practise: Loop a 7-note grouping across the kit over a metronome in 4/4 until it locks without drifting.

Comes out of: Stage 4 — Odd groupings over 4/4

Heard in: Trains · Blackest Eyes · Arriving Somewhere But Not Here

Moving the backbeat off beats 2 and 4 while keeping the underlying pulse intact.

Practise: Play a basic groove, then shift only the snare hits forward or back by a 16th note.

Comes out of: Stage 1 — Foundations: touch and subdivision

Heard in: Trains · Blackest Eyes · Arriving Somewhere But Not Here

Dense, quiet ghost notes woven between backbeats for texture and groove depth.

Practise: Play a simple groove and add ghost notes at three dynamic levels, softest to loudest.

Comes out of: Stage 1 — Foundations: touch and subdivision

Patterns where kick, snare and hi-hat never sound simultaneously, creating a rolling feel.

Practise: Build a one-bar linear groove slowly, hand-foot-hand-foot, before adding tempo.

Comes out of: Stage 1 — Foundations: touch and subdivision

Heard in: Trains · Blackest Eyes · Arriving Somewhere But Not Here

5- or 7-note phrases layered on top of a steady 4/4 pulse without changing the meter.

Practise: Count the grouping out loud while feet hold quarter notes, then move the grouping to hands.

Comes out of: Stage 4 — Odd groupings over 4/4

Heard in: Trains · Blackest Eyes · Arriving Somewhere But Not Here

Wide dynamic range within a single part, from ghosted whispers to full accents.

Practise: Play one groove for two minutes, gradually building from pianissimo to forte and back.

Comes out of: Stage 1 — Foundations: touch and subdivision

Low, controlled cymbal and snare choices that keep dense parts from becoming cluttered.

Practise: Practise the same groove on a muted snare, then a normal one, matching the touch.

Comes out of: Stage 1 — Foundations: touch and subdivision

Fully written, memorised parts rather than improvised feel, note-perfect every time.

Practise: Transcribe a short section by ear, then play it identically five times in a row.

Comes out of: Stage 3 — Signature techniques: snare displacement

Smoothly shifting the felt pulse using groupings before returning to the original tempo.

Practise: Play quarter notes, then reinterpret them as a different subdivision, then modulate back.

Comes out of: Stage 4 — Odd groupings over 4/4

Heard in: Trains · Blackest Eyes · Arriving Somewhere But Not Here