The Gojira Right-Hand Bell Pattern

🔖 Drumming

Guitar Pro

Thanks Mario Duplantier 🫡

This drumming system is inspired by L’Enfant Sauvage at 0’26”:

And here’s a 1-bar transcription of what we’re looking into:

L’Enfant Sauvage insane ride bell pattern 😈

If you’ve read my previous articles, you know where this is going. I built a set of rules that allow for the same feel over multiple bars. From article to article, those set of rules are more and more complex. If I were you, I’d go straight to the practice sheets, but if you still want the deets, here it is:

4/4 System

Core Musical Structure

• 16 notes per bar (16th notes in 4/4)
• Each position can be: ride bell, ghosted snare, or accented snare
• Beat 3 must always be an accented snare
• No other position can have an accented snare

Consecutive Note Limits

• Maximum 2 consecutive ride bells
• Maximum 5 consecutive snares (ghosted or accented)
• Bar boundary constraint: No more than 2 consecutive ride bells between bar end and start if you ever want to play the exercices from top to bottom like the beast you are 💪

Minimum Content Requirements

• At least 3 ride bells per bar
• At least 2 ghosted snares per bar
• Must have at least 2 consecutive ride bell pairs
• Must have at least 1 single ride bell (not in a pair)
• More snare hits than ride bell hits (snare count > ride bell count)

Positional Constraints

• If beat 3 accent is preceded by 2+ consecutive ghosted snares, the second 16th of beat 3 cannot be a ride bell
• If beat 2 has a ride bell on the fourth 16th, beat 3 cannot have a snare on the second 16th
• If a ride bell is followed by 3+ consecutive snares, the ride bell must be on the first or third 16th of a beat
• If a bar ends with 2 consecutive ride bells, the first 16th of the next bar cannot be a ride bell

Bass Drum Placement

• All single ride bells get bass drum hits. For pairs of consecutive ride bells: Only the first ride bell of the first pair gets a bass drum hit

• Minimum 2 bass drum hits per bar

12/8 System

Consecutive Note Limits

• Maximum 2 consecutive ride bells
• Maximum 4 consecutive snares (ghosted or accented) relaxed from 5
• Bar boundary constraint: No more than 2 consecutive ride bells between bar end and start

Minimum Content Requirements

• At least 2 ride bells per bar relaxed from 3
• At least 2 ghosted snares per bar
• Must have at least 1 consecutive ride bell pair relaxed from 2
• Must have at least 1 single ride bell (not in a pair)
• Snare hits must be at least equal to ride bell hits relaxed from "more than"

Positional Constraints

• If beat 3 accent is preceded by 2+ consecutive ghosted snares, the second 8th of beat 3 cannot be a ride bell
• If beat 2 has a ride bell on the fourth 8th, beat 3 cannot have a snare on the second 8th
• If a ride bell is followed by 3+ consecutive snares, the ride bell must be on the first or third 8th of a beat
• If a bar ends with 2 consecutive ride bells, the first 8th of the next bar cannot be a ride bell

Bass Drum Placement

• All single ride bells get bass drum hits. For pairs of consecutive ride bells: Only the first ride bell of the first pair gets a bass drum hit

• Minimum 2 bass drum hits per bar

Have fun with sticking

Before letting you work with these insane patterns. Make sure you know how to play 2 consecutive notes on the snare drum, with the first one being a ghost note and the second a huge rimshot. For longer streaks on the snare drum, you’ll have to play the ghost notes with both hands. The system is playable, but you’ll have to think of the sticking a few times to make sure you’re not breaking your wrists 😈.

Files 🎁

As always, the best part 😉