Learn to playGet Down On Itas made famous by Kool & The Gangon drums
Start with kick and snare to lock the disco pulse, then add hi-hats and learn to sit inside the groove. Finish with George "Funky" Brown's full, breathing drum part.
With our step-by-step drum lesson you can recreate the beat behind Get Down On It. We’ve broken down the main sections of the song and will take you through each part beat by beat, with video demonstrations.
Get Down On It
Drums Tutorial - Step by Step
Intro
Pick up on beat 4 with the snare. Play the groove, and watch for the fills at the end of each 4 bar phrase.
Chorus
Continue the groove in the chorus, watching for the open hi-hat in bar 4, and the extra kick in bar 8.
Verse
Continue the groove in the verse, again watching for the variations every 4 bars. Finish with a fill using the open hi-hat.
Bridge
Begin the bridge with 1/4 notes on the hi-hat. Return to 1/8 notes, with an open hi-hat in bar 2. Stop on beat 4 at the end of this section before the outro.
Outro
Groove through the outro, hitting the crash every 4 bars. Finish the song with a fill using both hands on the snare, and crash.
Combine and play
Now combine the sections to play the full arrangement.
Learn to play
Get Down On It
with Melodics
Behind the track
Get Down On It
by Kool & the Gang
Robert "Kool" Bell and his brother Roland grew up in Jersey City, crossing the bridge into New York as teenagers to play jazz alongside McCoy Tyner and Pharaoh Sanders. They started out as The Jazziacs, cycled through a few names, and released their debut as Kool & The Gang in 1969, spending most of the 70s as a largely instrumental funk outfit. The disco era pushed them toward tighter grooves, added vocals, and big horn arrangements. "Get Down On It" landed on Something Special in 1981 - their thirteenth studio album - and the pivot paid off: the record went platinum in the US.
Tips for learning Get Down On It on drums
Tip 1: Slow it down
Break it down: Tackle each section of Get Down On It individually for precision mastery. With Melodics, you can slow the pace of the song and work up to full speed.
Tip 2: Review your performance
Identify growth areas: Listen to playback of your performance to learn where you need to develop your timing, technique & rhythm. Melodics provides instant feedback on your performance.
Tip 3: Practice makes perfect
Stay consistent: With regular, focused practice you'll see rapid progress when learning the song. Even a short session each day will make a huge difference.
- Get access to 100s of interactive lessons and popular songs
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FAQs
- Get Down On It is an intermediate level song. Fortunately, there are beginner versions of the song available on Melodics to check out!
- You will need a strong basic beat and intermediate dexterity and independence
- 109 bpm
- 4/4
- E minor
- New songs are released every week on Melodics! And we love to take requests - the best place for this is within our Discord community where you can also connect with other music learners around the world. Check out https://melodics.com/info/community.