by We are living in an age of music where genre is well and truly becoming obsolete. From rock ‘n’ roll to hyperpop, the idea of staying within the confines of one specific style doesn’t make sense.
Throughout the history of music, artists who are willing to blend different genres and step outside the confines of their style. It was done by the likes of Eric Clapton, Led Zeppelin and The Beatles, as they merged pop, rock, folk and psychedelic music. In the modern age, the genres which are blended are much more extreme, and it makes for music which sounds as though it shouldn’t exist, yet we are grateful it does.
It takes a good ear to pick out where genres have potential to overlap, but once you are able to select different patterns, you’ll be able to pinpoint exactly where different styles can be compared with one another. One of the most common crossovers when it comes to rhythm is classic rock and disco. You would be surprised how many classic rock drum beats are perfectly suited for disco classics.
Don’t believe us? Here are some of the greatest classic rock songs ever written, which have a rhythm section that would work perfectly on a disco track.
Five classic rock drum beats that belong in disco:
‘Crazy Train’
We’re all probably listening to Ozzy Osbourne a bit more than usual in the wake of his death (other than Roger Waters, of course), and upon doing so, you might have picked up on something. The drums in ‘Crazy Train’ have a little bit of funk to them, so much so that they wouldn’t be remotely out of place on a disco tune.
The spaced-out introduction with just bass kicks and toms is the perfect beginning for a disco song, one which would be introduced with sporadic timing and some large synth hits. As things start to get more upbeat and frequent, that’s when you have the chance to start using more guitar lines, bass runs and vocals. Just think it over, the truth is that the drums on ‘Crazy Train’ would be perfect for the dancefloor.
