- FRACTIONSAND BASIC DRUM BEATS HOW TO
- FRACTIONSAND BASIC DRUM BEATS SERIES
- FRACTIONSAND BASIC DRUM BEATS FREE
FRACTIONSAND BASIC DRUM BEATS HOW TO
This activity teaches you how to count various music rhythms, which can help improve your music reading skills.ġ. See how many rhythms you can come up with! If you need help, try slowing down the tempo, or listen to the rhythm for a little while before trying to clap again.Ĥ. Once you have the new rhythm in your head, try clapping that rhythm. Once you feel comfortable clapping to the beat, try changing the rhythm (by clicking on the notes).
FRACTIONSAND BASIC DRUM BEATS FREE
Feel free to drag the Tempo slider left and right to change the speed of the beat if you think it's too fast or too slow.ģ. Make sure you clap at the same time the beat sounds. When you're ready, try clapping your hands or tapping to the beat. Listen to the starting beat for a little while - this should be 4 quarter notes, which look like this:Ģ. Now click the green Play triangle button at the bottom right to start playing the rhythm. Start the program by clicking the green flag at the top right corner. You don't need any experience reading music to perform this activity.ġ. For now, you can start working on the first 3 drum beats.This activity is a good first step towards learning to read music rhythms. In the next post, we’ll review beats 4 through 6. In this post, we covered the first 3 of the 6 essential drum beats. Songs as diverse as Single Ladies by Beyonce and Forever and Ever, Amen by Randy Travis use this beat. This beat can be played as slow as 130 bpm ( Maggie May by Rod Stewart) to 208 ( It’s the End of the World by R.E.M.). Play quarter notes on the hi-hat, bass drum on 1 & 3 and snare on 2 & 4. On the Super Fast beat we leave out notes to keep the tempo from slowing down (dragging). Notice how we added notes on the Super Slow beat to keep the tempo from rushing. Next is the fastest of all the drum beats. The 16 th notes on the hi-hat help to keep the tempo steady without speeding up (rushing). Songs like It’s Been Awhile by Staind, Purple Rain by Prince and Free Bird (the slow part) by Lynyrd Skynyrd can be played using this beat. It’s played at tempos from 50 to 80 beats per minute (bpm). This beat is played with sixteenth notes on the hi-hat (by the right hand), the bass drum on 1 & 3, and the snare on 2 & 4 (with the left hand). The slowest drum beat I know is what I call Super Slow. Songs like Viva La Vita by Coldplay, Billie Jean by Michael Jackson and Another Brick In the Wall by Pink Floyd all have this as their basic drum beat. What’s great about this beat is that it can be played at many different slow, medium and fast tempos between 70 and 160 bpm. Quarter notes are played on the bass drum if you want a driving beat or played on 1 & 3 for a more laid-back feel. This beat is played with eighth notes on the hi-hat and the snare drum on 2 & 4. If you’ve been reading and practicing the lessons on the blog, you’ll recognize this as the first drum beat you learned. The simplest and easiest drum beat to play is what I call the Eighth Note beat. If you need to refresh your memory about how to read drum music, visit this post: The Key to Reading Drum Music. Then in the next post, we’ll talk about a couple of blues beats and finish with a beat named after the famous guitar player, Bo Diddley. We’ll start with the basic eighth note beat, and then go from super slow to super fast. So what are the most powerful, most important drum beats? Sure, there are some minor variations, but you can sound good playing all of the most popular rock, pop and country songs in the past 50 years by knowing 6 drum beats. As I was researching which songs to include on the list, I was surprised that all the songs I listened to could be played with 6 drum beats. I’m working on a drum book that includes a list of the best play along songs for drums. And playing along with recordings helps you improve your tempo, and gives you a feel for playing with a band. Learning the drum beats and fills played by top drummers on recorded music helps you have a strong foundation on which to build your own style. I believe that you can become the best drummer possible by constantly learning songs, lots of songs! Listening to music helps you learn from other drummers, what they play and how they work with other musicians. Then in 6 future blog posts, you’ll learn how to play each beat by breaking it down, starting with something you already know and gradually adding to it. In the next post, we’ll quickly cover beats 4-6. In this post you’ll learn a little bit about the first 3 beats.
FRACTIONSAND BASIC DRUM BEATS SERIES
This is the first in a series of blog posts where you’ll learn how to play these 6 powerful drum beats. Knowing these beats will allow you to get your first drum audition with a band and jump-start your musical career. These six drum beats are easy to learn, easy to remember, and form the basis for learning any song imaginable. Did you know that by learning just 6 simple drum beats, you can play almost any rock, pop and country song ever written? Pretty amazing, huh!