Learn to playTake Fiveas made famous by The Dave Brubeck Quarteton drums
You learn Joe Morello’s 5/4 groove from the ground up - ride swing, triplet comping, and the rhythmic feel that inspired Take Five.
With our step-by-step drum lesson you can recreate the beat behind Take Five. We’ve broken down the main sections of the song and will take you through each part beat by beat, with video demonstrations.
Take Five
Drums Tutorial - Step by Step
Play the ride
Play the ride pattern, focusing on the 1/4 note pulse, and counting "1 - 2 - & - 3 - 4 - & - 5". Play kick on 1 with hi-hat pedal on 2 and 4.
Add snare
Add the snare on beats 2-& and 4.
Add ghost notes
Now add a pickup into beat 4, and triplets on the last beat on the snare - play these gently as ghost notes.
Play pattern A
Learn a jazz comping pattern in the form: A-A-B-A, adding a snare on beat 1-& in the third bar.
Play pattern B
Play another A-A-B-A comping pattern, with snare variations.
Combine and play
Now play through the whole song, beginning with an intro, followed by the head, a saxophone solo, and the head out.
Learn to play
Take Five
with Melodics
Behind the track
Take Five
by The Dave Brubeck Quartet
The Dave Brubeck Quartet spent 1958 touring Eurasia, absorbing rhythms that had no equivalent in the American jazz tradition. That exposure shaped Time Out, a 1959 album built entirely around odd and compound time signatures, now enshrined in the Grammy Hall of Fame. Paul Desmond wrote "Take Five" - not Brubeck, despite the quartet bearing his name - specifically around Joe Morello's habit of soloing in 5/4. The first recording session ran for 20 takes before the band gave up entirely. The version everyone knows came from the second attempt, on July 1, 1959.
Tips for learning Take Five on drums
Tip 1: Slow it down
Break it down: Tackle each section of Take Five 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
- Take Five is an advanced level song. Fortunately, there are beginner versions of the song available on Melodics to check out!
- You will need basic 4 way jazz independence and command of triplets and jazz syncopation.
- 161 bpm
- 5/4
- Eb 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.