Punk rock drums are usually classified under the easy to play section for most drummers. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Because most of these beats are somewhat simple, most drummers pass off professional punk rock drummers to be less skilled then the rest. In actual fact, punk rock is a very fast paced style of drumming that takes endurance, creativity, and speed on the drum set. Something that only practice can develop. This article is designed to teach you how to play basic punk on the drums. These beats are somewhat easy played at slower tempos; however playing these up to speed is where this style gets challenging.
Before we start on these beats, you should first read up on developing your bass drum speed, and stick speed. Punk rock requires speed and control of these two limbs, so make sure you are playing the proper technique. Check out developing stick speed and control for your wrists, and developing bass drum technique for you feet. Also, a lot of drummers will incorporate the double bass pedal into punk rock grooves .This adds a lot of extra feel and speed to these already fast paced grooves. So check out this lesson on how to play double bass!
Punk rock legend Travis Barker has mastered these grooves and is able to change them around to add more creativity. Also, the speed he plays these at is unbelievable. So play these next beats and try to play them as fast as you can while maintaining the timing. This beat is the most popular basic punk rock beat around. Notice how the hi hats and snare are played with eighth notes. When you are feeling comfortable with this, try to play 16th notes on these to increase the speed of the beat. Try this slowly, and count aloud! If are having troubles reading sheet music, check out this lesson on reading drum notation!
This next beat is very similar to the beat above. The only change is the bass drum pattern. You are playing fast doubles on your bass drum. This is very common with punk rock, so get used to this style. If you notice, the thing that makes this style of music different is the bass drum, so work on your bass drum technique a lot! Try this beat below:
If you are having troubles with your bass drum, you may want to check out Bass Drum Secrets. This is a DVD that is devoted to playing blazing fast doubles on your single and double bass pedal. Good luck with these grooves; hopefully you will be playing punk rock before too long!
For additional information on the double bass drum, visit www.bassdrumsystem.com
For additional information on free drum lessons, visit www.freedrumlessons.com