How to Play Drums - Percussion can be very fun, cool and impressive. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world and is cooler than most instruments, after all, how many rock star trombonists do you know of? It will take months or years of practice and dedication to master them. Like any other instrument the drums are hard to learn, as there is more to the drums than just hitting something with a stick. If you get disappointed or discouraged because you can’t play them very well, don’t give up! With time, practice, and experience you’ll get better. Then you can show off to your friends.
How to Play Drums - The first steps to playing the drums is by counting. Without being able to count or understand time signatures, you are useless behind the kit. Everyone knows how to count to 4 – this will be the basis of your beat. Most basic rock drumming beats are in the time signature of 4/4, meaning there are 4 counts each bar. (or 4 counts before the beat repeats). From here, you want to follow your counting with your dominant (usually your right) hand. With this hand, hit the hi hat on every count. The rest is actually quite simple, now that you are counting, simply add your bass drum and snare drum on the counts. Add your bass drum on 1, and the snare on 3. This will be your basic drum beat.
How to Play Drums - Start with the single and double stroke roll. The single stroke roll is very basic. It is simply left, right, left, right, etc. Start this rudiment slow, making sure you are hitting with even strokes on left and right hands. Make sure you are also playing with a metronome so you can record your progress with this. The next rudiment to learn is the double stroke roll. This is done similar to the single stroke roll; however, you play 2 strokes on each hand. This looks like this, right right, left left, right right, left left. Fairly basic, but rather tricky to master.
How to Play Drums - Your First Drum Beat
Let’s get starting by learning the most basic beat. As simple as this groove is - it is still popular in todays rock music. More importantly, it is the foundation of many rock beats you will be learning over the coming weeks and months.
Playing the Drums
How to Play Drums - Sit on the drum stool so your right foot is on the bass drum pedal and your left on the hi-hat pedal (people who play left-handed will need to reverse the way the kit is laid out). Take one drum stick in each hand. Begin counting repeatedly and slowly to four. Each time you say “one,” bring your foot down on the bass drum pedal. On “two,” hit the snare drum directly in front of you, using the stick in your left hand. On the third beat, kick the bass drum again, but twice, very sharply. Then on four, hit the snare once more.
How to Play Drums - On paper it sounds easy. But when you try it, you’ll discover that it takes concentration - and a while to master so it sounds even and natural. Once you’ve practiced that basic backbeat pattern until it’s become second nature, you can add another layer. With your left foot, push down on the hi-hat pedal to close it, and keep it that way. Now, as you play the drum pattern, use your right arm (keeping it above your left arm) and hit the hi-hat cymbal on each of the four beats. Once again, it’ll probably take time and effort to play properly.
Well this article has covered some simple ways on how to play drums to help you with your question to how to play drums.
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