Learn To Play The Drums

In this lecture I will tell you about me and l give you an overview of what you will learn. This drums course is aimed at all ability levels and has something to offer everyone interested in learning the drums.

In this lecture you will learn how to hold your drum sticks correctly, which is necessary before we hit a drum. You will learn how to work out where the pivot/balancing point is of your stick and how to use this so that the sticks balance in your hands.

In this lecture, you will learn the names of the drums and the cymbals and how they sound. You will hear how the size of the drum affects the pitch (how high or low the note sounds). The biggest drum, the bass drum, produces the lowest pitch and the smallest drum, the small tom, produces the highest pitch. 

You will learn why the bass drum has dampening inside, changing the sustain of the note played.

Three pitches of tom tom are explored: the small tom (high tone), large tom (mid tone) and the large tom (low tone). The snare drum has a short snappy sound with the sound characterised by the snare wires on the bottom head.

Hi hats are 2 cymbals that are closed together with the left foot pedal. The Crash cymbal is generally used for beginnings and endings and you'll find out why we usually play a drum at the same time as it. The Ride cymbal is lower in pitch and is generally used in rhythmic playing with an open, sustained sound.

Just hit the drums right? There's a specific way to hit the drums to get a good tone... You will learn how to develop good technique and perform with good tone when you play. Let's start making some noise!

About 10% of the world's population are left handed. In this right hand-dominated world I will show you the difference of playing with a left handed set up to a right handed set up. I will show 'lefties' how they can get the most out of their playing too.

Start playing some rhythms using Quarter Notes, one of the most simple rhythms used in music. First, you'll learn to play this rhythm using the snare, moving onto playing around the drums using the toms. Later you'll build up to use two-way coordination including the bass drum. Finally, you'll include the Crash cymbal to begin three-way coordination. All with using Quarter Notes!

In this lecture, you will learn how to your second rhythm - eighth notes. You will play these on the snare drum progressing to use the toms, bass drum and finally, crash cymbal.

In this lecture, you will learn how to play the main drum pattern for We Will Rock You by Queen. This involves the rhythms of quarter and eighth notes played over the bass, snare and floor tom.

Rudiments are the building blocks of everything we play. In this lecture you will learn how to play the first 3 Rudiments of many: Single Strokes, Double Strokes & Paradiddles.

In this lecture you will learn how to play 'Do I Wanna Know?' by British band The Arctic Monkeys. This song will get you playing a simple pattern using the bass drum and snare drum played on quarter notes. The aim is to use good technique learnt so far and to play in time with the song.

In this lecture the student will learn what the click is and how it is helpful in developing skills needed to become a drummer.

In this lecture the student will get practice experience of playing with the click.

In this lecture the student will learn how to play along with a song.

In this lecture you will learn how to play a rock groove - the most useful groove you will learn. This exercise is broken down using quarter notes to begin with to allow you to gain the coordination to play the groove. Then you will learn how to count this exercise as eighth notes playing the exercise twice in every bar.

With the click, the exercises are played at the following tempos:

100 bpm when written as 1/4 notes,

140 bpm when written a 1/8 notes

In this lecture you will learn how to play with a cross stick/rim click technique. This technique is generally used on the snare drum and produces a wood block-like sound. It can be used in many styles and adds another dynamic to your playing.

In this lecture, you will learn how to play basic Reggae grooves and fills with the song 'Three Little Birds' by Bob Marley. This uses a cross-stick technique as discussed in the previous lecture. Try both the flipped stick and the regular stick. In this performance, I choose to play with a regular stick due to the fills around the kit. The flipped stick will have a deeper sound when playing the cross-stick but will give the drums a different tone when playing the fills. Experiment with both and see which one you prefer.

In this lecture, you will learn how to play an arrangement of the song Black Betty. You will play 3 different parts and a simple fill in this beginners rock song.

In this lecture you will learn how to play  Rock Grooves A - D. These grooves are really important to us as drummers and can be interpreted in many ways in future lectures.

In this lecture, you will learn the song Yellow by Coldplay. This song features rock grooves that you have learnt so far, using the Hi Hat in two different ways, the Ride, and the Crash cymbals. Also: 6 bar repeated sections, simple 8th note fills, groove variations and Crashes on beat 1.

In this lecture you will learn how to play your third rhythm - sixteenth notes. You will learn how to play this rhythm on the snare drum and then build this up to include the bass drum, tom toms and crash cymbal.

In this lecture, you will learn an arrangement of We Will Rock You by Queen. This involves playing the rhythm in a previous lecture but this time includes a rock groove, some variation with crash cymbals on the backbeats and some fills.

In this lecture you will learn how to play And The Cradle Will Rock by Van Halen. This song features a rock groove that switches between the Hi Hat and the Ride Cymbal. We have a variation of an eighth note half bar fill and we also play our first two bar fill!

In this lecture the student will learn how to play sixteenth notes around the drum kit.

In this lecture, you will learn how to play an arrangement of the song Billie Jean by Michael Jackson. This song includes the simplest rock groove, some half bars fills and some simple variations of our rock groove.

In this lecture you will learn how to play 'Jump Into The Fog' by The Wombats. This band were formed in Liverpool - the same city as the Beatles. In this arrangement of the song, you will use two different grooves using the Ride and the Hi Hat. The Chorus also features a floor tom groove with the bass drum keeping a 'four to the floor' rhythm.

In this lecture you will play the Blues song, 'I Believe I'll Dust My Broom' by Robert Johnson

In this lecture, you will play three Rudiments: Single strokes, Double strokes, and Paradiddles using the Snare drum and the Tom Toms around the Drum Kit.

In this lecture, you will learn the drum parts for Uptown Funk. This track is a modern classic funk-pop track that was released in 2014 and was a massive worldwide commercial hit. In the lecture, we break down the parts and play a shortened arrangement all the way through.

In this lecture, you will learn how to play The White Stripe's song Seven Nation Army. This features a thumping rhythm that supports the main guitar riff. Other skills needed are crescendos played on the floor tom and snare and a quarter note groove played on the crash cymbal.

In this lecture you will play all the rhythms learnt so far around the drums

In this lecture, you will learn how to play the bass drum using two techniques - heel up and heel down

In this lecture, you will play three Rudiments: Single strokes, Double strokes, and Paradiddles. You will add the bass drum on the downbeats while playing these three Rudiments on the Snare drum.

In this lecture you will learn how to play the song 'Float On' by Modest Mouse. It features a '4 to the floor' rock groove in the verses whilst in the Choruses you will play a 16th note Hi Hat pattern

In this lecture you will learn how to play Green River by Creedence Clearwater Revival. This American band were huge in the late 60s and early 70s. The song features a quarter note rock groove both using the ride and the hi hat with some simple fills using mostly the snare drum.

In this lecture you will learn how to play the Muse song 'Sing for Absolution'. This features a Hi Hat 'pick up' just before the first Verse and an 8th note Floor Tom groove featuring a 16th note Snare drum.

In this lecture you will study Jumpin Jack Flash by the Rolling Stones. This song features some 2 bar rock groove loops and fills using a mixture of 8th notes and 16th notes. The Chorus peaks with a syncopated crash cymbal pattern which leads to the outro. A must for any classic rock fan.

In this lecture the student will do a playback test. This tests what the student has learnt so far and the student will learn how to read, listen and play some drum music back along to a click.

In this lecture you will learn how to be creative with what you've learnt so far. You will create a 2 bar loop involving one bar from the rock grooves learnt (A - D) and one bar from the subdivisions leant (quarter notes, eighth notes, sixteenth notes) so far. You will also learn what a 'fill' is.

In this lecture you will learn how to play Linear patterns using the bass and snare drums.

In this lecture the student will learn how to put a 2 bar loop together using 2 of the rock grooves learnt so far. You will play one groove and then the other and then back to the first creating a loop. You will then be able to play this along with Lady Gaga's song 'Brown Eyes'.

In this lecture the student will learn how to play Rock Groove E. This rock groove uses 2 bass drums but is played over the bar so one bass drum is played on the '+' and the next is played into the downbeat.This groove is used in the song 'Some Unholy War' by Amy Winehouse.

In this lecture you will learn how to play a rock groove using the Ride cymbal instead of the Hi Hat. With this groove the Hi Hat is free. You will then learn how to play the Hi Hat with your weaker foot at the same time as the snare drum to create a groove using 4 way coordination.

In this lecture you will learn how to make your playing sound more interesting, by adding dynamics and accents. You will learn how to play soft, medium and loudly and how you can get these sounding good. Emphasising single notes also makes your playing sound better and this will be taught in the second part of the lecture with accents.

In this lecture you will learn how to play a Latin groove. This involves playing the backbeats with a cross stick snare drum on beat 2 and a small tom on beat 4. You will also learn how to play the Ride Cymbal bell.

In this lecture, you will learn the basic musical theory of time signatures. You'll hear examples of 4/4, 3/4, 5/4 and 7/8.

In this lecture you will learn how to play in the style of a March. This type of music uses the snare drum and bass drum heavily. The bass drum will keep a solid quarter note pulse whilst the snare drum plays rhythms that keep in time with this pulse.

In this lecture you will learn how to play an arrangement of the song 'Road to Nowhere' by Talking Heads. This song features a repeated snare drum pattern which gives the song a March-like feel. In the Chorus we switch to a Rock groove with some half bar fills to finish.

In this lecture you will learn how to play in a different time signature. Instead of playing in 4/4 we learn how to play in 3/4. You learn 4 different types of rock grooves in 3/4.

In this lecture you will learn a variety of different 16th note fills played around the drums working from the snare drum around to the floor tom. It is important to keep the 16th note rhythm and just to change the drum on which you play to improve movement between the drums.

In this lecture you will learn how to play one bar of groove followed by one bar of fill using the snare and toms around the kit.

In this lecture learn how to play another rudiment - Flams. These involve playing 2 notes close together, one soft, and one loud. Flams make a snare note sound bigger, wider and create more of an impact. Here we play them very slowly, in time with a click and I show you an example of how they can played in context.

In this lecture you will learn how to play drags. This involves playing 3 notes close together. The first 2 notes are played with the same hand as quieter 'grace' notes and then the final note is the strong note played on the beat with the other hand. It helps to be good at playing double strokes to be able to play the quieter 'grace' notes so these two rudiments are linked.

In this lecture you will learn how to play ruffs. This involves playing 4 notes close together as single strokes. The first 3 notes are played quietly with the final strong note being played on the beat.

In this lecture, you will play three Rudiments: Single strokes, Double strokes, and Paradiddles using the Snare drum and the Tom Toms around the Drum Kit whilst maintaining a Bass drum on the downbeats.

In this Top Tip the student will learn the best way to position their drum stool/throne.

In this lecture you will learn how to set up a drum kit in the most efficient way.

In this lecture you will learn how to play a Paradiddle-Diddle. You will already need to know how to play a Paradiddle from previous lectures.

In this lecture you will learn how to play a Flam Tap. This requires you to already know how to play a Flam.

In this lecture you will learn how to play a specific sticking pattern of RLRLRRLL to create grooves and fills around the drum kit.

In this lecture the student will learn how to play Rock Groove I

In this lecture the student will learn how to play Rock Groove J

In this lecture the student will learn how to play Rock Groove K

In this lecture the student will learn how to play Rock Groove L

In this lecture the student will learn how to play a different style of drumming - the shuffle groove.

In this lecture you will learn how to play triplet fills that will fit with our shuffle and 12/8 styles. This involves playing in groups of 3 instead of 4s and 2s. When playing in odd numbered groups this means the downbeat will be fall on your weaker hand meaning you develop more coordination.

In this lecture the student will look at the page Rock Grooves A-P and interpret the music into playing in a shuffle style.

In this lecture you will develop your left foot coordination by playing open Hi Hats within a Rock Groove.

In this lecture you will learn how to play 'In My Place' by Coldplay. This song features a strong 8th note rock groove involving some 16th note bass drums. A coordination challenge between your bass drum and hands should provide a good practice opportunity.

In this lecture you will learn how to play 'Yesterday Threw Everything At Me' by Athlete. This song will allow you to develop your coordination and feel for playing a 16th note snare drum added into an 8th note rock groove. 

In this lecture you will learn how to play an arrangment of the song 'Are You Gonna Go My Way' by Lenny Kravitz. This song requires a range of skills to be played including, Flams, Rock Grooves, 16th note snare drums within 8th note rock grooves, Syncopated Crash cymbals, Bass and snare independence, 16th note/8th note fills and Single strokes with crescendo across several bars.

In this lecture the student will learn how to play Rock Groove M

In this lecture the student will learn how to play Rock Groove N

In this lecture the student will learn how to play Rock Groove O

In this lecture the student will learn how to play Rock Groove P

In this lecture, you will learn how to play Half Time Grooves. These are grooves that change the feel from normal time to half time which makes it sound like you are playing at half the speed. Your snare drums will move from beats 2 and 4 to beat 3 only. To explain this process we can think about one bar being played over the space of two.

In this lecture you will develop your coordination further by playing open Hi Hat notes on the down beat. This is particularly challenging due to having to raise your left foot to 'open' the hi hat whilst playing the bass drum with your right foot.

Learn how to play a shuffle groove with some variation in this lecture of 'Madness' by Prince Buster. You will play along with a live video of Billy playing with band The Dualers, in front of a large festival audience. Skills include adding an open hi hat on the last swung note of the bar and you'll learn one of my favourite fills to play in this song.

In this lecture, you have the opportunity to play along to the drums version of Alive by Pearl Jam. This song features many skills that have been developed previously including 8th note rock grooves with 16th note bass drums, broken 8th and 16th note fills, 16th note fills in 7/8 time, 32nd note fills, and syncopated crashes.

In this lecture, you will learn the RnB song You Know I'm No Good by Amy Winehouse. The groove has no crashes but features many ghost notes which give it it's distinct feel.

In this lecture, you will learn The Riverboat Song by the band Ocean Colour Scene. This song features a 6/4 groove throughout with two distinct feels.

In this lecture, we look at the groove for Happy by Pharrell. This popular song features a quarter note groove with 8th note bass drums along with an open hi hat. This gives us a co-ordination challenge which sounds great up to tempo.