Lesson 3: Basic Techniques of Drumming
Before you can sit behind a drum kit and play anything meaningful, there are a few rudimentary techniques which need to be mastered. These rudiments will be dull and boring to begin with, but they are essential to learn if you are to become a quality drummer.
The first thing to be learnt is how to hold the drumsticks. There are two recognised methods of doing this: the matched grip, and the traditional grip, however, since I have never learnt traditional grip, I am unable to explain it to you.
As its name implies, both drumsticks are held the same in a matched grip. Take hold of the drumstick as you would usually hold any other similar object, and then modify your grip so as to match the photo. Note carefully the following:
If you turn your hand over, the drumstick should be in a straight line right up your arm.
Do not place your index finger on top of the drumstick, rather, wrap it around with the other three fingers. A drumstick is NOT a pencil!
Don't hold the stick too tightly, as this causes unneccessary tension, and uneven playing. Likewise, make sure your grip is not so loose that the stick falls out or moves around in your hand excessively.
Each hand holds its drumstick exactly the same way. Just mirror one hand with the other.
Once you have a correct grip, it's time to practise a few strokes with each hand. You don't need a real drum to do this. Any surface which won't be damaged by your drumming on it is fine. A phone book is fine for this, or a towel spread over a table, but the best solution is to use a practise pad, as this will get you used to the bounce of a real drumhead when you later go to play on one. A practise pad is a low-cost, and low noise alternative for practising your "sticking" - believe me your neighbours and family will love you for buying one!
Ok... it's a good idea to start off really slowly so that you get used to the action of making a stroke. Just try one stroke a second, for starters. Make one stroke a second with your left hand for one full minute (60 strokes). Then do the same with your right hand. After this, alternate each hand for one minute. Click here for a metronome at 60bpm.
When you are used to this, you can try to do it a little faster. I stress "a little" faster. It's a common trap for beginning drummers to try to play too fast too soon. Especially in the beginning stages, easy does it. With one stroke a second, you are playing 60 strokes (or beats) per minute. Raise that up to about 80 bpm now - here's an 80bpm metronome.
When you can play at 80bpm smoothly, try 90bpm, then 100bpm, then 120bpm, 144bpm and finally 160bpm.
Do each tempo three times: once with left hand only, once with right hand only and once with both hands alternating.
Don't rush your strokes! If you find it hard to keep up then go back to the previous tempo and try again.
Here are some other sticking patterns to try:
01: L L L L L L L L
02: L L L L R R R R
03: L R L R L R L R
04: L L R R L L R R
05: L L R R L R L R
06: L L L L R L R R
07: L R L L R L R R
08: L L R R L L L R
Also try these in reverse; ie. #8 would be R R L L R R R L.
A few of these sticking patterns have special names because they are used often in drumming.
#3 is known as a single-stroke roll.
#4 is likewise known as a double-stroke roll.
#7 is called a paradiddle.
All three of these are used in drum kit technique in various ways, and so you should concentrate on learning at least these three sticking patterns very well. Practise them until you can play them smoothly as fast as you can. Never sacrifice timing for speed. If you cannot play smoothly at a given tempo - SLOW DOWN.
Ok, so far, all the strokes have been of equal time value, ie one beat each. Now it's time to add a few rhythmic variations to the sticking exercises.
As you play these, it's very important to count to make sure you play the rhythm as it is written. Use a metronome - there are 9 different speeds available:
60bpm 80bpm 90bpm 100bpm 110bpm 120bpm 128bpm 144bpm 160bpm
Play for one minute each at five gradually increasing tempos.
There are literally thousands of possible combinations. I've only put 25 here. But you can make this into many more very easily by playing them with different sticking combinations, eg:
alternate single strokes (L R L R L R L R, etc.)
alternate double strokes (L L R R L L R R , etc.)
four single strokes followed by two double strokes (eg. L R L R L L R R)
any other combination of single and double strokes you can think of
If the number of notes doesn't synchronise with the sticking pattern of your hands, then just repeat the rhythm again from the start, continuing the sticking pattern until it resolves itself.
You can click on each rhythm to hear its MIDI file a click track (metronome) at 100bpm.
Remember to count out loud!
Lesson 1: Basics of Music Theory
Lesson 2: Parts of the Drum Kit
Lesson 3: Basic Techniques of Drumming
Lesson 4: Basic Drum Kit Technique
Lesson 5: Reading Drum Score
Lesson 6: Eighth-note Grooves
Lesson 7: Sixteenth-note Grooves
Lesson 8: Mixing It Up COMING SOON!
Lesson 9: Tricks and Tips COMING SOON!
5.2.3.1 - d-Wizz' Online Academy of Membranophonic Instruction Main Page
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0 - Main Page
Each hand holds its drumstick exactly the same way. Just mirror one hand with the other.
Once you have a correct grip, it's time to practise a few strokes with each hand. You don't need a real drum to do this. Any surface which won't be damaged by your drumming on it is fine. A phone book is fine for this, or a towel spread over a table, but the best solution is to use a practise pad, as this will get you used to the bounce of a real drumhead when you later go to play on one. A practise pad is a low-cost, and low noise alternative for practising your "sticking" - believe me your neighbours and family will love you for buying one!
Ok... it's a good idea to start off really slowly so that you get used to the action of making a stroke. Just try one stroke a second, for starters. Make one stroke a second with your left hand for one full minute (60 strokes). Then do the same with your right hand. After this, alternate each hand for one minute. Click here for a metronome at 60bpm.
When you are used to this, you can try to do it a little faster. I stress "a little" faster. It's a common trap for beginning drummers to try to play too fast too soon. Especially in the beginning stages, easy does it. With one stroke a second, you are playing 60 strokes (or beats) per minute. Raise that up to about 80 bpm now - here's an 80bpm metronome.
When you can play at 80bpm smoothly, try 90bpm, then 100bpm, then 120bpm, 144bpm and finally 160bpm.
Do each tempo three times: once with left hand only, once with right hand only and once with both hands alternating.
Don't rush your strokes! If you find it hard to keep up then go back to the previous tempo and try again.
Here are some other sticking patterns to try:
01: L L L L L L L L
02: L L L L R R R R
03: L R L R L R L R
04: L L R R L L R R
05: L L R R L R L R
06: L L L L R L R R
07: L R L L R L R R
08: L L R R L L L R
Also try these in reverse; ie. #8 would be R R L L R R R L.
A few of these sticking patterns have special names because they are used often in drumming.
#3 is known as a single-stroke roll.
#4 is likewise known as a double-stroke roll.
#7 is called a paradiddle.
All three of these are used in drum kit technique in various ways, and so you should concentrate on learning at least these three sticking patterns very well. Practise them until you can play them smoothly as fast as you can. Never sacrifice timing for speed. If you cannot play smoothly at a given tempo - SLOW DOWN.
Ok, so far, all the strokes have been of equal time value, ie one beat each. Now it's time to add a few rhythmic variations to the sticking exercises.
As you play these, it's very important to count to make sure you play the rhythm as it is written. Use a metronome - there are 9 different speeds available:
Play for one minute each at five gradually increasing tempos.
There are literally thousands of possible combinations. I've only put 25 here. But you can make this into many more very easily by playing them with different sticking combinations, eg:
If the number of notes doesn't synchronise with the sticking pattern of your hands, then just repeat the rhythm again from the start, continuing the sticking pattern until it resolves itself.
You can click on each rhythm to hear its MIDI file a click track (metronome) at 100bpm.
Remember to count out loud!
Lesson 1: Basics of Music Theory
Lesson 2: Parts of the Drum Kit
Lesson 3: Basic Techniques of Drumming
Lesson 4: Basic Drum Kit Technique
Lesson 5: Reading Drum Score
Lesson 6: Eighth-note Grooves
Lesson 7: Sixteenth-note Grooves
Lesson 8: Mixing It Up COMING SOON!
Lesson 9: Tricks and Tips COMING SOON!
5.2.3.1 - d-Wizz' Online Academy of Membranophonic Instruction Main Page
5 - d-Wizz Services
0 - Main Page