 In this course you will learn step by step how to read and play the essential drums beats that are widely used in western pop music.
Lets think and dream about drums…… Close your eyes. Can you see yourself playing? Is it playing a drum solo in front of your class, or as a year 12 in front of the whole school? Busking in local mall? Marching in the Christmas pageant. Playing jazz in a small club. Playing in a rock band in a pub. Playing in music festival or touring the world playing stadium shows? Playing in a drumline at the Edinburgh tattoo? What does it look like for you? What does it sound like? What kind of music are you playing? The day that you first hit a drum is the day that you start the on the road to achieving that dream. Learning to become a musician can be a life long journey. You never arrive at an end point. The journey is all about becoming more able to better express the ideas that happen inside our head. Learning an art form takes patience. It takes practice. It takes disciple. That means playing or practicing even when you don’t really feel like it. But ultimately it can be one of the most rewarding part of your life. We will learn how to hold the sticks. How to hit a drum. How to read and play rhythms. How to use these rhythms to create beats. How to play these beats along to music. How to create your own music. Lets begin...
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Matched GripThere is no right or wrong way to hold the drum sticks. However there are a few common methods that the majority of the worlds players find helpful. Below is an outline of the matched grip methods which have become the most common method since Ringo Starr appeared on the Ed sullivan show in 1964.   German grip (click on video to watch in youtube) French Grip
 click here to download Full Strokes can also be called 'Free Strokes' or 'rebound strokes'. In this video we see some demonstrations of single hits (step 1) and then some quicker hits where we create some momentum to keep the stick in constant motion (step 3). Try to think about allowing the wrist to follow the natural bound of the stick as you play. I can demonstrate German and French Grip I can show rebound strokes in both hands I can play rebound strokes along with the metronome I can play eighth notes along with the metronome at tempos between 60 bpm to 120 bpm I can move smoothly between singles strokes and double strokes while keeping a consistent sound and rhythm I can play a single paradiddle with even sounding strokes I can move smoothly between single strokes, double strokes, and a single paradiddle while playing eighth notes at 120bpm Click here to download checkpoint 1 sheets
The concepts for this lesson come from the famous drum book 'Stick Control' by George Lawrence Stone. It is a basic introduction to learning to control our hands and creating short patterns that we can memorise. We can then play on the drum kit to create new patterns. Start by hitting each hand on a different surface to create two different sounds.   You can download the sheet here
The single most important factor is practicing regularly. 20-30 minutes each day is ideal. Though as this is not always possible work out what is an achievable weekly routine for you. A little bit of practice everyday will see more improvement than practicing for a long time only every now and then. Here is a suggested routine that you can use for each practice session. Warms ups 5 steps to full strokes - rebound strokes Single strokes, groups of 2-8 on each hand. Stick control exercises Try playing the rudiments that you know along with a metronome to see how you are improving your speed.   New Work Your teacher will set several exercises or pieces of music for you to work on during the week. The aim is to try to master these exercises, by gradually increasing the speed that you can play them each day. Play Along with Music Play exercises along with some recorded music. Practice any songs that your teacher has set. Revision Play through any exercises or songs from past lessons This is a good time to play some of your favorite rhythms or songs   The Drum kit usually consists of 5 drums and 3 cymbals. Smaller 18" bass drums are sometimes used in small Bebop Jazz drum sets. In Rock bass drums are usually 20" or 22". Snare Drums are usually 14" and can be made of either wood or metal. Toms range in sizes from 8"-18". Having only 1 mounted tom and one floor tom was common until the 70's. Three toms is usual now. Drum kits usually consist of a pair of 14" Hi-Hats, a 16' Crash cymbal, and a 20" Ride cymbal. Some drummers have many more cymbals to expand there sound pallet.
 Drums are usually written as notes, and cymbals are usually notated with X's The Big drums are written down low in the stave and go higher as the drums get smaller. 
.This little drum solo gets you practicing playing quarter note rhythms, working out where each drum is written, as well as four way limb coordination! That's a lot to think about all at once. Try looping each line until it is memorized.  click here to download
 Click here to go Norm Weinbergs Web Rhythms where you can practice along with a rhythm track. How fast can you play it? Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, or Diamond?
 you can download the file here Once you can play this version, you can try this one that includes the triplets in the the Chorus  I can name all the drums and cymbals of the drum kit I know where the drums and cymbals are commonly written in the stave I can play a Quarter note Rock Rhythm at 124bpm on the Ride, Hi-Hat, and Crash cymbals I can play a quarter rock beat along with other musicians I can play quarter notes rock beats with music in a song I can play written rhythms containing quarter notes and rests I can play along with the song Seven Nation Army with no mistakes Click here to download the checkpoint 2 sheets
In this lesson we will learn to read and play quarter and eighth note rhythms     Click here to download the sheets
 Once you have you can play and loop all of these beats, try playing along with this next lesson and putting them all together click here to download the sheets
If you can play the first page of Eighth Note Rock Beats, then its now time to try including some rests in the bass drum parts to create some more interesting rhythms.  Once you can play and loop all these beats, try playing along with this lesson and putting them all together. Click here to download the sheet
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