How To Play In Bloom by Nirvana on Drums

In Bloom features the bombastick skills of modern day drum legend Dave Grohl and a powerful drum part that is a whole lot of fun to play.

Intro
The song starts with the main guitar riff which Dave compliments with heavy crashes on the ‘one’ and the ‘and’ of two followed by a big sixteenth-note fill around the drum set. He then lays into a one handed sixteenth-note groove played on slushy hi-hats.

Verse
Dave continues with the one handed sixteenths through the verse but plays them quieter on closed hi-hats. Backbeats are on two and four with the bass drum on the ‘one’ and ‘e’ of beats one and three. As he approaches the chorus the volume gradually increases and the hi-hats open up.

Chorus
On the chorus heavy eighth-notes are played on slushy hi-hats with a syncopated bass drum pattern. There are some hits on bars five and six that follow the the guitar riff and a sixteenth-note triplet fill.

The main challenge with this track is the ‘stretching’ sensation of the fills in the chorus and keeping them locked in. By singing the melody you should be able to pick this up pretty quickly. Also, try to play lighter on the verse and give it some juice on the chorus to bring some dynamics to what you’re playing.

Now Kill It! DN