Drummers Aptitude Test
NOTE: These lessons are just a sample of my complete, 125-lesson 'online' course in DRUMSET techniques.
Within the first 10-lessons, it's possible to go pro. The remainder of the 125-lessons are designed
to help you become the BEST PRO DRUMMER, in the business!
Do this now!
. . . and I promise that you will be playing drums before this page has finished loading. It is
so easy to become a drummer.
With your RIGHT HAND, tap FOUR times on the desk in front of you
ONE
. . . TWO . . . THREE . . . FOUR.
Now we will do it again but this time you will pat your RIGHT FOOT on the count of ONE
and tap your LEFT HAND on the count of THREE. Think of it this way:
COUNT ( 1 2 3 4)
R=RIGHT HAND R R R R
L=LEFT HAND L
F=RIGHT FOOT F
Work very slowly at first until you get the hang of it. Keep it steady! Repeat this pattern over and over until you can play it comfortably and rapidly from memory. It might take four or five minutes of intense concentration before it becomes easy to do.
Now for the fun part!
Pop on some music, any music . . . It doesn't matter what kind, just get a song playing. There is a
forty-five percent chance that any song you choose will be in this beat category. It is called
eighth rock 4/4. Listen deep into the music. Can you hear the drums? Listen for the
consistent boom sound of the bass drum. Pat your foot in time with the bass drum in
the music. Next, listen for the snare drum in the same song. It will be falling opposite the
bass and will be more of a repetitious snap sound. Tap your left hand along with this, If
you are following along in time with the music, you are playing drums. Next, add the
right hand (cymbal) like it is written above. Get into the habit of trying to do this with every
song that comes up. Like magic, you will become a drummer! The shocking news is that it is easy
to play about 5 in ten songs with this beat. OK, there is a little more to learn but it is this
easy if only you will STAY WITH ME ANOTHER 5-MINUTES, AND . . .
NOTE: These lessons are just samples of my complete, 125-lesson 'online' course in DRUMSET techniques.
It is possible to go PRO, Within the first 10-lessons. The remainder of the 125-lessons are designed
to help you become the BEST PRO DRUMMER, in the business!
You practically learned to read drum notation on the previous page when you were learning
to play the rock beat.
Remember? It looked like this:
COUNT ( 1 2 3 4)
R=RIGHT HAND R R R R
L=LEFT HAND L
F=RIGHT FOOT F
The correctly written version of that beat pattern would look a little more like this:
Can you see how they resemble? The beat is read and played the same way. The right hand (cymbal) is written on the top line and the snare and bass lines are written on the center and bottom lines respectively. When one note falls below another on the staff then both notes are played at the same time.
Rock is most often written in 4/4 time like this:
You are hearing two full measures of the pattern. Notice the double dots at the beginning and end of the measure. These are musical symbols indicating an indefinite number of repeats. In other words, play it over and over until it has been memorized.
Encouragement!
Reading drum notation can be a tedious affair. You will get better at it with a little practice.
Don't try to go too fast, too soon. Slowly count the number of cymbal notes as you tap with your right
hand, then gradually add the right foot and left hand as you relax and feel the flow of the rhythm.
It will get a little easier with each repetition. Practice makes perfect! Move on to the next
lessons when you feel you are ready.
The bulk of modern music is based on these few simple beat patterns. Learn these beats and play any
song. Playing with music will come NATURAL, and you will be playing by 'ear' once you have mastered
these rhythms. AS A BONUS, you'll be learning to read
DRUMMING-NOTATION TOO, the absolute, easiest possible way. It is amazingly easy to become a drummer!
This is the fastest, easiest possible, way to learn. Don't let the other complex, boring
and confusing, methods intimidate you. There isn't an easier or better way on earth to learn, than the
way I'll be showing you for free, in the next 10-minutes.
The following page will provide you with the basic beat patterns needed to play ANY SONG,
regardless of your personal taste in music.
As you study and learn these beats, notice that
a mathematical pattern becomes evident between the speed or tempo of the beat, and the number
of cymbal (hi-hat) notes being played. Slow songs require more fill notes on the cymbal and
fast songs require less. (Hairstyles and bodyart have nothing what-so-ever to do with any of
this, haha.)
No matter what style of music you listen to, you'll be playing along, the very
next time you turn on your radio, or listen to your favorite CDs.
Simply repeat the beats 'as if' you were on a real drumset. Pound on the desk or anything
near-by, and pat your right-foot on the floor for the bass-drum. MEMORIZE THESE BEATS,
and by tomorrow, you'll be playing along like a natural PRO. (Better make a bookmark now! You'll want to
come back again and again. There's much more to learn, but it's all this easy.)
IMPORTANT TIP!
Make a bookmark and get a printout of this page. Learn each beat separately . . . drum away on the
computer desk.
Shortly after that, no matter what songs play on the radio, you will discover that
you can listen for the drums, then join in, and play along . . . almost like magic. When that
begins to occur (and it will), come back to this web site and we will proceed with the heavier stuff.
MEMORIZE THESE FIVE BEAT PATTERNS!
Dance beat #1:
16th 'SLOW ROCK' 4/4
Approximately 15 songs per 100 will utilize some form of this basic beat.
I am assuming that you can read and understand these patterns. If you are experiencing difficulty then return to the previous lesson and learn to READ DRUM NOTATION. Go over that lesson until you understand it, then come back.
HINT: On top of the 16th rock example you will see the counting procedure. It often helps to say the
actual words "one,ee,and,aah,two,ee,and,aah" and so on. You will be saying "and" with each "+" that you see.
Pat your foot as you say "one" and tap your left hand as you say "two". Follow through and keep it going.
Try it! If it helps then use it.
Dance beat #2: 6/8 'BLUES'
Approximately 12 songs per 100 will utilize some form of this basic beat.
Writing conventions dictate that most of these patterns may be written several ways. For example,
the above pattern could be written as 'Triplet 2/4' or even 'Triplet 4/4'. Don't let that
issue confuse you. The beat will sound the same, no matter how it is written.
Dance beat #3: Eighth 'ROCK' 4/4
Approximately 45 songs per 100 will utilize some form of this basic beat.
We studied this beat in the previous lessons because it is the most often used. It is
included again here so that you can see how it falls into the tempo scale of primary dance beats.
This is a medium tempo beat. Remember, faster tempos (speeds) require less notes on the cymbal.
Dance beat #4: 6/8 'SWING/SHUFFLE'
Approximately 20 songs per 100 will utilize some form of this basic beat.
Swing/shuffle is the nightmare of them all and will be much easier to learn if associated with a song. Notice the eighth rests on the cymbal line. Think in groups of three but omit the middle cymbal of each group. . . (what a nightmare).
IT IS MUCH EASIER THAN THAT! Find a familiar song in the shuffle category and let it play as you study this beat. Listen deeply to the song and feel the rhythm. Move ahead if you are having problems. It will seem much easier after you have been playing a while longer.
NOTE: These patterns may be written many various ways. Only the most simple forms are being shown here.
Dance beat #5: Quarter note 4/4 or 'QUARTER ROCK'
Approximately 2 songs per 100 will utilize some form of this basic beat.
This is a dance beat with many nicknames. It may be called Quarter rock, Doubletime, Cut time, Jazz,
Breakdown, Uptempo, Quicktime, Polka or others that I haven't mentioned. If a song is fast . . . really fast,
then this is the beat to use.
