Beginner drummers sometimes try to jump right in and learn complex drum beats without proper preparation – which can lead to all sorts of complications. First and foremost, you need to ensure that all your instruments hit together correctly – this includes drums and cymbals!
Start off by practicing the most straightforward drum beat: count ‘1 and 2, 3 and 4, and tap each hi-hat cymbal on every quarter note.
French Grip
The French grip is an exceptional playing technique for finger control, making it ideal for drumming styles requiring intricate and controlled stick play such as jazz or orchestral drumming. Furthermore, it makes an excellent choice when performing paradiddles, single stroke rolls, or ghost notes on the ride cymbal.
With the French grip, both of your thumbs rest along the shaft of the stick while the pointer fingers wrap lightly underneath each other. Your goal should be to balance the stick on its fulcrum; that is, the part that receives natural rebound when hitting a snare drum or ride cymbal. Dropping it onto a snare drum may help. As your fingers move around it you should count bounces that occur while moving it. Eventually you will discover a position which gives a natural yet comfortable balance.
As you practice French Grip, keep in mind that it requires more wrist movement than other grips such as Matched Grip or German Grip. Listening to your body and not overworking wrists could result in injury.
Practice this technique on any snare or kit drum to gain mastery over it and integrate it into your regular drumming practice routine when ready. Not only will you increase stick skills but it’ll broaden your knowledge base as you expand upon more techniques!
German Grip
Get your grip right is the first step of drumming. There are various methods of holding a stick, but what matters most is making sure your fingers do not curl under or clench in any way. Additionally, consider holding it at a 90 degree angle from your forearm; most likely with thumb on top for optimal playing at higher tempos (this grip type is known as German grip).
As you practice, you may switch between all the various grips throughout your playing. As you get comfortable with each one, transition will become simpler; eventually you may even discover that one grip is preferred over another in certain situations or styles of music.
Some drummers prefer using the French grip on the ride cymbal and German grip on the snare drum, since snare drum is comprised of many high-pitched hits that may cause ringing in their ears; conversely, ride cymbal contains low-pitched hits without this effect.
American Grips are another common style, which combine elements of both German and French Grips. Here, the pinky finger rests on a fulcrum for fast finger strokes while rings and index fingers hold above the stick while supporting it by curving under it slightly. Finally, the stick itself sits around a 45 degree angle from your forearm; both fingers and wrist can be used to move it.
Single Stroke
The single stroke roll is one of the core drum rudiments. Used in everything from drum beats to fills, learning it early can make you a much more versatile drummer. Lionel Duperron provides this free video lesson on practicing and using single stroke rolls within various drum beats and fills. Practice on a pad before moving over to playing it on your kit for maximum versatility – then experiment with various tempos while striving to have even, consistent stroke spacing between hits.
After becoming comfortable with the single stroke roll, move onto the first drum beat in this song incorporating a single stroke four (one of many single stroke patterns from drum rudiments). Begin with playing a simple quarter note rock drum beat before adding in single stroke fours on count 3 of every bar (learn without hi-hat first!). Focus on having consistent sounding strokes evenly spaced.
Lionel shows an advanced version of single stroke four using 8th note triplets to practice this rudiment at an increasingly challenging tempo. Once you get used to playing it, experiment by playing it both with and without accents to see which feels best to you.
This song’s final drum beat is a single stroke seven, one of several single-stroke family drum rudiments. While this pattern may prove challenging at first, once mastered it can be added to other drum beats or played using both hands leading simultaneously!
Double Stroke
Beginners should begin learning this rudiment as their first drum rudiment. Although playing slowly can be more challenging due to requiring both hands rather than only wrists for playback, once mastery has been achieved it opens up many more possibilities within a drum set. Furthermore, this rudiment serves as an excellent foundational piece that builds off of other drum rudiments such as paradiddle, single paradiddle and Swiss Army triplet rudiments.
As a beginner, it is recommended that you start practicing this drum rudiment using just your fingers, before progressing to using only wrists when comfortable, then eventually all three together for optimal sound production. If your wrists only are struggling, try working on this technique on a soft surface such as a pillow – this will develop better hand-to-wrist connections and foster greater accuracy of movements.
For optimal practice of double stroke roll it is critical that each successive double stroke be of equal volume. To accomplish this goal, observe each hit to ensure all stick heights come to the same point when they make contact – this will produce the smooth and powerful sound you are seeking when playing double stroke rolls.
One effective strategy for playing double strokes is focusing on two-syllable words like “BOG” and “OF”. This will provide a rhythm and help develop timing between every double stroke alternating, as well as focus on the second stroke “OF”, creating the roll sound.
When practicing the double stroke roll, utilizing a metronome is strongly encouraged to develop your internal timekeeping and keep a steady tempo as your double stroke speed increases. Drumeo members take this exact approach when preparing for their drum exams – this approach can have incredible effects on overall drumming ability!
Rudiments
Rudiments are at the core of drumming, making them an excellent place to begin learning drums. Rudiments are patterns used to combine stick and groove combinations – they form the building blocks for all styles of drumming! Of the 40 official rudiments available today, most drummers begin by mastering seven must-know ones such as single stroke rolls, double stroke rolls, paradiddles, drags, and flams.
Single stroke rolls are an easy pattern that involves moving both hands evenly across the surface of a drum. Beginners should start slowly and focus on accuracy over speed as this builds muscle memory. Over time, your fingertips will become independent from each other to perform this pattern effortlessly.
Double Stroke Rolls (DSRs) represent an intermediate step up from single stroke rolls. Though repetitive, DSRs require greater finger and wrist control for proper playing at higher tempos. To make them a success, one must maintain steady, even notes with every stroke.
Paradiddles are advanced rudiments that can be utilized as drum fills in various ways. From cool additions to snare drum grooves to adding an eccentric element to hi-hat patterns, using one paradiddle can add spice and dimension. However, their execution may prove challenging at first; therefore be sure to practice slow before working up to your desired tempo.
Flams is a distinctive two-stroke rudiment used to add dynamic accents on snare and hi-hat drums, featuring an unusual grace note that transitions into stronger strokes. Hip-hop music often makes use of this type of accent as its sound adds thickness and density on hi-hat drums.