medium lesson
Playing in 6/8
Most beats divide each pulse into two; in 6/8 you divide into three, which gives that rolling, triplet-feel sway behind slow ballads and blues. Here we treat the bar as two main pulses, each split into three eighth notes, using the first 12 steps of the grid (steps 0-11) and leaving the last four silent. We'll build the classic slow 6/8 ballad groove that drives songs like 'House of the Rising Sun'.
Feel the 6/8 pulse on the hi-hat. Play six steady eighth notes across steps 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and count '1-2-3, 4-5-6'. The accent lives on counts 1 and 4. Leave steps 12-15 empty; this bar lives in the first twelve slots.
Add the kick on the two main pulses: count 1 (step 0) and count 4 (step 6). These are the two heavy beats of the bar, each beginning a group of three. Foot and hand land together on both.
Add the snare on count 4 (step 6) to create the backbeat that answers the kick on count 1. This call-and-response between kick on 1 and snare on 4 is the heartbeat of the 6/8 ballad. Count out loud '1-2-3, 4-5-6' and keep it slow and rolling.