This drum transcription is the drum intro to “Shimmer and Shine” off of the Ben Harper and Relentless7 album, White Lies for Dark Times. Drummer Jordan Richardson creates a very catchy and tricky drum intro that sets the tone of the song and foreshadows his fills for the rest of the song.
The first thing to be aware of is that the drum intro is a six bar phrase. Measures one and two introduce the rhythmic melody used in measures three and four. The rhythmic melody is based off of phrases of five that are accented on the Snare drum. The biggest difference in measures three and four is the addition of the driving eighth-notes on the second Floor Tom.
In measures five and six, the accents on the Snare outline a dotted-quarter-note for the rhythmic melody. To gain the same feel, I would suggest using an alternate sticking. However, I would also suggest experimenting with different stickings. You could use a Double Paradiddle, a Paradiddle-Diddle, or anything you can dream up of; the sky is the limit. The Bass drum in the last two measures of the drum intro really helps give the intro a driving energy. Finally, on the beat four of the last measure, Richardson plays a Crash cymbal and chokes it, but experiment with other sounds like a China cymbal or using the Hi-Hat.
Ben Harper and Relentless7 - "Shimer and Shine"
