You will basically play 2 against 3 or 4 against 6.

If you have a full measure of eighth-notes in 6/8, you could only have 6 eighth-notes right? So, if you have two groups of 2 eighth-notes in 6/8, and those notes have a number 2 over the two groupings, this means you are playing 4 evenly spaced notes in one bart of 6/8.

If you count 6/8 like this:


you would divide the beat like this:


which means you are counting sixteenth-notes in 6/8.

Then ... to play the groupings of 2 in 6/8 you would play as follows (the bold designates what you actually play):


Make sense?

Notice how you are able to play four notes that are evenly spaced out while remaining in 6/8 time.

Personally, unless you are doing a metric modulation, I think that would be more difficult and dangerous ... especially for just one or two figures or measures. Counting in this case shouldn't be that difficult. You are just playing notes in between the pulses.

Bottom line ... do what works for you. My philosophy has always been, and always will be, if you can't say it, you can't play it. I recommend working on being able to count it, clap it, then play it while counting out loud. Doing this ... you'll own the rhythm and the feel.

I understand, but just keep in mind we are giving advice to a high school student. He needs to be able to count this out so he understands it.

There's a lot of things we take for granted. We've done it for years so we no longer have to follow the same procedure. When I drive my car, I don't think about each maneuver like I did when I first started driving; much of it is second nature now.

So my point ... someone who doesn't understand the groupings of 2 in 6/8, or anything of the like, needs to learn to be able to count this out. Once you get it, you don't have to keep counting all the time. The point is that you count and figure out how it should sound. Not doing this will allow the student to go through their school years not playing it correctly ... just guessing. When I was in school, I didn't know (and wasn't taught) how to play quarter-note triplets correctly. I just guessed, thinking "tri-pl-et" really slow in an attempt to get the three notes evenly spaced. That is ridiculous. There is an exact, precise manner in which to play quarter-note triplets; you can count them out ... it's just math.

That's where I'm coming from. 

A young person or beginner needs to learn and understand the correct way to play/write this type of thing. The only way to do it is learn the theory and the math behind it. Count!

Yes; it's wrong. You are trying to fill up the space without being exact. This just proves my point; you're doing what I did when I was your age.

Do me a favor ... talk to your band director and ask them to teach you the way to play this stuff. It's their job to help you. If they can't, then I'm more than happy to help. You can also do a little searching here at the Drummer Cafe; I know that I've explained how to count quarter-note triplets before ... but I'll do it again if need be.