Playing Rock Style Drums
Playing rock music is simple once you know how. The classic ‘rock beat’ on the drums is to count “1, 2, 3, 4” in your head (or even say it out loud), and play the following pattern along with it:
On 1 – high hat and bass drum together
On 2 – high hat
On 3 – high hat and snare together
On 4 – high hat
Keep practicing it slowly, and speed it up gradually – accuracy is key, so don’t go trying to play it too fast and getting all mixed up.
When you can do this, try this variation on the previous beat:
On 1 – high hat and bass drum together
On 2 – high hat
On 3 – high hat, snare, and bass drum together
On 4 – high hat and bass drum together
Now we’re going to speed it up a bit – at the same tempo as before, count “1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and” in your head, so it’s twice as fast. The rhythm has now been divided up into 8 beats rather than 4. Try to play this pattern with the new rhythm:
On 1 – high hat and bass drum together
On the “and ” of 1 – high hat
On 2 – high hat and snare together
On the “and ” of 2 – high hat
On 3 – high hat and bass drum together
On the “and ” of 3 – high hat
On 4 – high hat and snare together
On the “and ” of 4 – high hat
Fills are a major part of rock music, so now you can get involved with those toms and cymbals surrounding you. Try this simple fill:
On 1 – snare and bass drum together
On the “and ” of 1 - snare
On 2 – high tom
On the “and ” of 2 -
On 3 – snare and bass drum together
On the “and ” of 3 - snare
On 4 – floor tom and bass drum together
On the “and ” of 4 - snare
If you can handle that one, try this out too:
On 1 – bass drum and high hat
On the “and ” of 1 – high hat
On 2 – bass drum and high hat
On the “and ” of 2 - snare
On 3 – bass drum and snare
On the “and ” of 3 - snare
On 4 – high tom and floor tom
On the “and ” of 4 – high hat
You should now be well on your way to being able to play basic rock music, so keep practicing these examples, listen and learn by ear to other drummers, and try to recreate their beats and fills on your kit.
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