How To Play Drum Set

Updated: Apr 6th, 2022

"Yannick, how can I efficiently learn to play drums as a beginner?" – I've heard this question so many times that I idea it'south time to write down my exact thoughts of the topic.

If you don't know how to start your drumming journey the right way – I'one thousand confident this article volition get in all clearer. To make it easier on you, dearest offset drummer, I decided to arrange my tips & advices in a pace-past-step tutorial. Just follow these 9 steps and you'll know how to play the drums in no time.

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one. Get Your Essential Equipment

Maybe you'll think I'm kidding when I say that the most important slice of "equipment" for drumming is your torso. But I'm not joking at all.

Think about information technology: what enables any drummer on this planet to hitting any pulsate or cymbal on his drum kit? His legs or his feet – which are coordinated past his brain and muscles.

That said, you will need some equipment to engage in your get-go drumming session – but you lot don't need much. For sure, you lot don't need to buy a whole drum set just nonetheless. This is great, because I've met lots of people who eagerly bought their beginning pulsate kit (which isn't the cheapest thing to practise) but to discover out that drumming wasn't as fun as they expected.

So I recommend you to taste the water while spending as little equally possible. And the first and easiest way to do this is to buy a pair of (very inexpensive) drum sticks, take hold of a cushion (or a bunch of them) and showtime hitting it / them. Afterwards all, hitting a sturdy cushion is not that different from hitting a pad of an electronic drum kit, so with a little imagination your experience volition be the same.

In case you lot detect that this kind of drumming doesn't really spark your interest – go to a local music store and fool around with a drum fix there. Or: go yourself a practise pad and play on that.

One of these 2 methods – or both together – should enable yous to decide whether yous want to pursue drumming in the start place.

If so, slap-up – you're in for an amazing ride…

ii. Learn How To Hold Drumsticks

Once yous've completed your beginning absorber or local shop drumming session, it's time to engage in your get-go practice session.

Practicing is different from fooling around in that it is mode more challenging and requires you to button through barriers in order to experience a breakthrough. And luckily, this feel too, can be had without a drum kit and still while playing your cushion kit.

In order to do that properly, though, you need to know how to hold your drum sticks (don't worry, it'south an piece of cake one):

Start by standing with your hands at your sides and use your left hand to place one of the sticks in your right paw
Adjacent, employ the flat part of your pollex to press the stick, and wrap the rest of your fingers around. Now, yous can repeat the process of placing the next drumstick in your paw.
While gripping the drumsticks, y'all should practise and then behind the balance point or the middle of the stick. Although there are a handful of methods for using your sticks to play your drums, as a beginner, you'll take plenty of time to effort out different techniques and determine what works best for you!

three. Learn Your First Rudiment

At this stage, yous'll exist ready to play your first meaningful rhythm as a drummer. Don't worry, information technology'due south not hard, it volition just take some time to adjust to:

And don't underestimate this rudiment either. While you're only using the snare drum – or rather your practice pad or cushion – right at present, you can make this one simple rhythmic pattern sound like this after on:

And since nosotros want to get you in that location every bit soon every bit possible it's not time to:

4. Buy a Drum Kit

I don't think in that location's much to say nearly the "why" here. Yet, the "how" is quite a bit too intricate to cram it into this article.

Instead, become here to detect an electronic drum kit (they are helpful if you can't make too much noise in your exercise space) – and hither to detect the best acoustic pulsate kit for beginners (the standard option you run across on any stage). Also, hither yous'll find a choice of inexpensive pulsate gear up options (both acoustic, electronic and for kids).

5. Become to Know Your Drum Kit

Once you lot are a proud possessor of your first drum kit, I recommend you familiarize yourself with the unlike parts of your drum kit. This is the prerequisite to play them similar a pro every bit well as to intendance for them.

Bass Pulsate

The bass drum, also known as the kick pulsate, is the largest drum in the kit. Normally, bass drum shells are made of wood, such as mahogany and maple, but can also be made of some metals. The bass pulsate works by striking a petal against it to produce a distinct thumping audio. Also, it'due south one of the most essential parts of a drum kit, since it creates the "pulse" of a vocal.

Snare Drum

The snare drum is the center of a typical five-slice drum kit and in charge of delivering the loud crack you hear during songs. The sound a snare drum makes comes from its shell, which is usually made from forest (maple, mahogany, birch) or metallic (bronze, brass, stainless steel) and the sound is triggered whenever you hit the surface of the snare drum called the "drum head".

Toms, How-do-you-do-Chapeau, and Cymbals

The toms are mounted on top of the bass pulsate or tin can be held in place using adaptable legs. There are normally ii different types of toms: floor toms and rack toms, which are used during drum fills, and are made from either woods or metal. Other parts of your drum set include the hi-hat and cymbals, which can add accents to your music and allow a transition from i song to the next.

6. Detect a Good Teacher

Locating a good drum teacher is maybe the well-nigh crucial step in order to learn to play drums for beginners.

For equally much every bit you can try learning on your own via books you tin buy through online stores – this won't exist equally useful every bit learning from a qualified person at an official local music schoolhouse. Yet, pulsate lessons can present exist taken online just as well equally on the premises of a drum school.

In any example, no matter what instructor you hire, it's crucial yous do enough of research to make sure they fit your needs (learning level) and budget. After all, not everyone can afford a premiere drum teacher – and mostly you don't demand that either.

7. Take Intendance of Yourself and Your Drums

Every bit important as information technology is to acquire to play drums for beginners, it's just as essential yous accept care of yourself and your musical instrument likewise.

You lot can hands take care of yourself earlier playing the drums past exercising and stretching your arms and legs. This tin help increment blood flow in your body, especially in your limbs, which you'll demand to have in optimal shape to play the drums.

While playing your instrument, it'south likewise essential you accept adequate hearing protection, such equally headphones or in-ear monitors. Since the drums can become pretty loud while you're playing, if yous don't have proper protection, you could eventually end up losing some of your hearing.

Besides, since y'all'll be sitting down while playing the drums, it'due south essential you develop proper sitting habits, such as preventing slouching, which tin put a strain on your lower back. Piece of work on sitting up straight while playing the drums, fifty-fifty if you get tired.

Finally, I also recommend y'all have adept care of your drum kit to ensure that it will serve you for many years.

That includes cleaning your drums every once in a while and changing your pulsate heads once they are browbeaten downward. Still, the most important aspect of caring for your drums – and making them audio good – is to learn to properly tune them and to maintain that tuning over time:

8. Wait for Friends to Play With

As a commencement drummer, it'due south important to surround yourself with other people who play the drums too.

This won't only enable y'all to share your thoughts and opinions of your progress but likewise motivate you to play together and improve your skill prepare. Plus: you'll exist making new friends in the process.

So look for a local drumming group, a schoolhouse or community orchestra or a neighborhood brass band (despite the proper name, they practise have a rhythm section). Then join and let the magic happen.

9. Start Reading Drum Sheet Music

At present, this is the concluding and an optional step, since technically you don't need to know sheet music in lodge to play the drums.

I however, learned to read sheet music and information technology helped me tremendously. For case, most music groups require that every musician knows their part – and this is much easier to attain if every role player can only read what's on their sheets. This spares you from having to memorize, say, a local band'southward songs which can easily take a few weeks before you tin can even start to play together.

Using pulsate sheet music, too, is a elementary just nuanced task, so I've put together a comprehensive guide on how to read & write pulsate sail music.

Your Questions?

That's it – the 9 steps I regard equally crucial in lodge to acquire to play drums for beginners.

Try them out and let me know what you call back. Or drop me your question in the comments below.

I'll answer every single 1 of them (mostly within 24 hours.)

Source: https://www.kickstartyourdrumming.com/learn-to-play-drums-for-beginners/