Sean Kinney

≈ 145 (7/8 feel) · 7/8

Prep with: Stage 1 — Foundations — weight and space

Primary technique:

Odd-meter riff lock

Also trains:

Heavy backbeat, Accent placement, Tight ensemble timing

Key groove:

A driving groove in 7/8 that locks tightly to the riff's asymmetric phrasing.

Signature fill:

Snare-and-tom fill that resets the 7/8 phrase cleanly.

Transition:

Fill lands exactly on beat 1 of the next 7/8 cycle.

Listen for:

How the groove never feels uneven despite the asymmetric meter.

Training:

Playing convincingly in 7/8 while locked tightly to a riff.

Challenge:

Play the full riff-locked groove without losing the 7/8 feel at speed.

• Intro: Riff and groove establish the 7/8 cycle together.
• Verse: Tight riff-lock through the asymmetric phrase.
• Chorus: Heavier backbeat within the same 7/8 structure.
• Outro: Groove drives hard to a final cut-off.

≈ 96 · 4/4

Prep with: Stage 1 — Foundations — weight and space

Primary technique:

Heavy syncopated groove

Also trains:

Double kick accents, Cymbal darkness, Riff-lock at heavier gauge

Key groove:

A thick, syncopated groove with double kick hits accenting the sludgy riff.

Signature fill:

Aggressive tom-and-kick fill marking each structural shift.

Transition:

Double kick burst driving into the chorus riff.

Listen for:

The double kick accents landing exactly with the riff's low-end hits.

Training:

Syncopated double kick control locked to a heavy riff.

Challenge:

Keep double kick accents completely locked to the riff at full volume.

• Intro: Heavy riff and groove lock in together immediately.
• Verse: Syncopated double kick accents follow the riff.
• Chorus: Fuller backbeat, cymbal darkness increases.
• Outro: Groove and riff drive together to a heavy finish.

≈ 88 · 4/4

Prep with: Stage 1 — Foundations — weight and space

Primary technique:

Dark, heavy pocket with tension-building dynamics

Also trains:

Half-time chorus, Cymbal swells, Riff-locked verse groove

Key groove:

A brooding verse groove that locks to a dissonant riff, opening into a heavier half-time chorus.

Signature fill:

Weighty tom fill bridging verse tension into chorus release.

Transition:

Cymbal swell building directly into the half-time chorus downbeat.

Listen for:

How the cymbal swell builds tension before the chorus lands.

Training:

Building tension into a release using cymbal swells and half-time weight.

Challenge:

Make the transition into the chorus feel inevitable, not sudden.

• Intro: Dissonant riff and groove establish a dark mood.
• Verse: Riff-locked groove builds tension gradually.
• Chorus: Half-time feel lands with full weight.
• Outro: Groove recedes back into the verse tension.