Using the ‘slice filtration’, defined by effectivity conditions on Voevodsky's triangulated motives, we define spectral sequences converging to their motivic cohomology and étale motivic cohomology. These spectral sequences are particularly interesting in the case of mixed Tate motives as their $E_2$-terms then have a simple description. In particular this yields spectral sequences converging to the motivic cohomology of a split connected reductive group. We also describe in detail the multiplicative structure of the motive of a split torus.