Train beat with Heather

Drum instructor Heather tells us about the train beat:

Sticking pattern is simply RLRLRLRL 8th notes, counted 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &
or at faster tempos and depending on the pulse of the song they can also be counted as 16th notes 1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a

Accents are on the 2 and 4 with RIGHT hand
RLRLRLRLRLRLRLRL
1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &
(or on the "ands" if you're counting it as 16th notes.)

For a little turnaround every 4 bars or every other bar, add some accents with the left hand, so:

RLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRL
1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &

Foot pattern is a simple RLRLRLRL walking pattern on the quarter notes, counted 1 2 3 4, bass drum on 1 & 3, hi-hat foot on 2 & 4.

At faster tempos it can be easy to turn the beat around by mistake, so you might inadvertently find yourself playing a "pa-oom" instead of an "oom-pa". If you're used to playing rock beats with accents on the 2 & 4 with your left hand, it can feel a little weird to be hitting the snare accents with your right. The limb coordination can also take some getting used to because your left foot is coming down with your right hand. If you flip it, don't panic, just reset and take the tempo down, sometimes it's easier to start with your feet. If you're in the middle of a song and you can't stop, well you can abandon ye all everything else but just make sure to keep those snare accents on the 2 & 4 going and remember that the hi-hat foot will also come down on the 2 & 4 and you can hop back on that train.

This is a good beat not to think about too much while you're playing it, it's a deceptively simple pattern and it all comes down to feel. OH! And it's called a "train beat" because...well, it sounds like a train chuggin along! It's used in a lot of country music, bluegrass, and some rockabilly, and at faster tempos it can start to turn into a punk beat.

Some train beat examples to play along with:

Ballroom Blitz -    • Видео  
I Walk The Line -    • Видео  
Rock This town -    • Stray Cats - Rock This Town (Official Musi...  
I Want You To Want Me -    • Cheap Trick - I Want You to Want Me (from ...  
The Devil Went Down to Georgia -    • The Charlie Daniels Band - The Devil Went ...  

interesting variation on the accents but same basic pattern:
Poor Tom -    • Poor Tom (Remaster)  

Songs about trains with a train beat
Fulsom Prison Blues -    • Johnny Cash - Folsom Prison Blues Lyrics  
Orange Blossom Special -    • Johnny Cash - "Orange Blossom Special"  
Blue Smoke -    • Dolly Parton - Blue Smoke (Lyric Video)  
This Train -    • This Train Is Bound For Glory - The Rolltones  
City of New Orelans -    • The Highwaymen - City of New Orleans (Amer...  
Freight Train Boogie -    • Freight train boogie - Doc Watson  
I've Got A Thing About Trains -    • Johnny Cash: I've got a thing about trains  
Lonesome Train -    • LONESOME TRAIN - Johnny Burnette