When you first start out on the drums and are looking at playing your first beat, where do you start? The drum set can be a very intimidating instrument that can turn a lot of people away from it. The truth is learning how to play the drums is not very hard at all. The first thing you need to realize is that the drums are a very fun instrument to learn and play. Once you start getting the hang of it, it comes quite naturally. So how do you learn the drums, and how do these professionals play as well as they do? Let me explain the basics of learning the drums, as well as a few tips on drum lessons and more!
Learning the drums is a very long process that does not happen overnight. To be a drummer, you must be willing to give your time and patience to this massive instrument. The first thing you will want to do is learn how to count a basic beat. For a full explanation on this, you can click on this article on how to count time; however for now we will go over things very basic. So first off, learn how to count to 4. This seems very simple and basic, and it is. It is also the basis for most common rock drumming beats.
Once you can count to four without messing up, you will want to apply that to the drum set. When you are first learning the drums, you will want to start on the hi hats, snare drum, and bass drum; these are the most common voices that make basic drum beats. From here you can play the 4 count on the hi hats. From here we just want to alternated the bass drum and snare with our other limbs. so on the 1 and 3 kick you bass drum, and on the 2 and 4, hit your snare drum. Here is what this looks like on sheet music:
That is how you learn the basic drum beat on the drums. Now this is a very small part to drumming. This article is designed to teach you how to learn the drums, so that being said let me give you a few tips on learning this instrument. The first tip is to constantly look online for new material. There are tons of free web pages that offer free lessons and tips on how to learn the drums. This site for example will teach you everything you need to know about starting out on the drums. For more web sites, check out: the Rock Drumming Underground, Learn to Play Drums, or Drummer Lessons. All of these sites are great for learning the drums.
Another great tip I will give you is to look for instructional DVD’s. These are another great resource for learning how to play the drums. This is great for drummers who are looking to take their drumming a lot more seriously. Drum instructional DVD’s cost a lot less then personal private lessons and can be much more beneficial in the long run!
Good luck with the drums!
Here is a list of different beats anyone can learn how to play:
