Learn to Play Drums
This article is for anyone who has ever wanted to play the drums. Read our tips and tricks for beginners, and you'll be well on your way to being a drummer!
Drums Are Important
The drum is an ancient instrument. Drums were amongst the first ever human experiments in music. The drum kit however is a relatively new invention. As such, the drum kit is a blend of the primal and the contemporary. Drums are a powerful and easily identifiable 'untuned' instrument that create rhythms or patterns with different sounds and timbre. In addition, it is an instrument which often sits in the background and together with the bass creates the foundation for other instruments.
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Parts of the Kit
The Bass Drum
The bass drum is the biggest drum in the kit and is played with a foot pedal. It sits at the centre of the setup. Some bass drums have a hole the size of a roll of duct tape in the front drum head. This allows the air inside the drum to escape and avoids putting too much pressure on the front drum head. This also allows for dampening the sound of the drum - try it out by folding a towel and lying it inside the bass drum, against the front or back drum head. You can change this up depending on what room you're playing in, and what best fits your sound.
The Snare Drum
The highest pitched drum in the kit is called the snare drum. It has strands of metal called snares attached to its underside, which is what gives it its unique sound and makes it great for 'rolls'. The metal snares vibrate against the drum when struck, giving it a multidimensional sound. It's worth spending some time getting to know this drum and how it sounds when you hit it in different ways. The snare is often used as a fundamental part in a basic beat, and you'll be using this a lot!
The Toms
Usually, a drum kit has three toms - rack tom 1 and 2, and a floor tom. When you hear big dramatic fills in a rock song, this is usually what's used! They have a deeper, fuller sound than the snare and are usually used for fills rather than keeping a basic beat.
Cymbals
There are usually three types of cymbals in a standard drum kit:
The hi hat: consists of two cymbals on top of each other. The hi hat can be controlled with the foot pedal and can be struck with the drum sticks also. For beginners, the hi hat is usually left closed, as using the foot pedal can be difficult to do at the same time as playing.
Ride cymbal: the ride cymbal is a single cymbal. It often plays a similar part to the hi hat but with a more open sound.
Crash cymbal: the crash cymbal is used for highlighting certain points in the music e.g. with a hard strike in the start of the chorus. It has the fullest, loudest sound of the three cymbals.
Drumsticks
When finding the right drumsticks, it's best try out a few different styles and makes to see what's comfortable for you. Most drumsticks are made from hickory wood but they can also be made from maple, oak, aluminium, carbon fibre and plastic. It all depends on the sound you want but the most important things is making sure that they are comfortable to play with.
All manufacturers have a 7A model which is quite light, thin and short. These are great for children. Models 5A and 5B are quite an average size. Here you get more stick and more weight, so they're great for adults playing rock where you'll need to hit the drums harder.
Drum Stands
Drums sound best if they are placed on stands so that both drum heads can resonate freely. Placing the stands properly ensures there are no other elements effecting the vibration of the drums - for example, if one was against a wall, it could dampen the sound. It's also important to make sure that the toms which sit on the bass drum are suspended without making contact with any other part of the kit. This will ensure a clean sound. If you are planning to play styles of music which require more powerful playing, investing in durable stands is a good idea to protect your precious drums and cymbals!
Bass Drum Pedal
The bass drum pedal or kick pedal is a very important part of the kit. Whilst they can be played without adjustment, it is possible to change the angle of the footplate, the speed of response via the spring and the length of the beater rod. There are a few different techniques you can choose to play the bass drum - a great drum teacher will be able to talk you through these in your drum lessons.
Setting up a Drum Kit
Here is an example of a standard drum set-up:
The bass drum is set up and the chair is set at a distance so the knee is not bent under 90 degrees.
Place the hi hat the same distance to the chair as the drum pedal and the chair.
The snare drum is placed in between the bass drum and the hi hat so the drummer can strike the centre, with the drum stick held normally and the elbow is placed out from the torso.
Toms are placed as shown above so they can be struck with ease.
The cymbals should be placed as shown above.
Tuning and Getting a Great Drum Sound
When adjusting the sound of the kit, a really important thing to consider is the drum heads. The drum heads impact on the sound and projection of the drum. A drum has two drum heads: One on the top called the batter and one on the bottom called the resonant. The batter head is the one which should be struck and the bottom one is for resonance and carrying the sound. Both drum heads impact the sound in different ways and through accurate tuning, can work together to find your perfect sound!
When a drum is in tune, it means that the drum head is even across the whole of the surface and you can hear the same note/pitch if you carefully strike the head where the tension rods are. You do not need to tune the two drum heads to the same pitch but this will give you more sustain.
When tuning a drum there are two ways to go about it:
Tuning from the bottom with a loose drumhead
Finetuning: tuning a head which is already tightened
A Blend of Art and Science
Tuning your drum takes practice but is a good way of exploring your drums and finding out what sounds good to you. Here's some advice for tuning a drum head from the start:
Your drum head should not be tight at the start
Tighten all the screws (tension rods) with your fingers before using a drum key. Finger-tight is the point where they just start to offer resistance.
Imagine the snare drum is a clock face and use the drum key to apply tension one turn at a time at opposite numbers on the clock. For example, one turn 12 o clock, 6 o clock, 3 o clock, 9 o clock until all the tension rods have been turned. Then test the sound and apply more, or less as desired.
Tuning drums is both art and science: use your ears and don't be worried if it takes some time to get a sound you like.
Purchasing Your First Drum Kit
Getting started with drums can be daunting due to the size of a kit. Often teachers will let you try out on a kit before you make a commitment, so have a look at our qualified drum teachers to get started.
When purchasing a kit, we recommend you shop in person at your local music store, so that you can sit behind the kit and try it out. It is important that the kit is setup to your specific needs, so ask an employee to help you out. If you are buying a kit online, make sure to read carefully what is included. Importantly, don't forget about drumsticks!
Learn to Play Your First Beat!
This is a rhythm common in pop and rock songs - you can play along with most songs in 4/4 time using this beat.
To start off with you should be sitting by the kit and hold the left drumstick over the snare drum. Then you will cross your right arm over the left in order for you to reach the hi hat.
Put your feet on the pedals (right on bass drum and left on hi hat). Your feet should be resting on your heels. Without thinking about the tempo, play the drums in this order:
First strike is the bass drum and hi hat together
Second strike is the hi hat alone
Third strike is the snare drum and hi hat
Fourth strike is the hi hat alone
This is Rock 1 in full without a tempo.
For finding a good starting speed (tempo), take a watch which shows seconds. Try going through the rhythm so the four beats fit with four seconds. When you have mastered this it is time to get the tempo up. It has to be about twice as quick so the first and third points fit with the seconds so the sequence now only takes two seconds.
Beginners - Some Tricks to Get You Started
Practise Makes Perfect!
The only way to get better is by practicing. It is important to remember that you will benefit more from 10 minutes a day every day, rather than practicing for an hour just before your lesson.
Co-ordination
Learning to play drums means that your hands and feet need to work together. In the start it will be easier for some than others but this is not central to your future development. Co-ordination, like anything else, can be trained and the key is to practice it no matter your level of skill.
Tempo - Tempo - Tempo!
When learning something new you should set your expectations as low as possible. Before you think about performance, practise at a slow tempo until you've got it right. Then, gradually increase the speed and you'll be away!
Break it Down!
If you have new material which is hard to learn, try focussing on the most difficult parts, and practising them in isolation. If it's a long phrase divide it into smaller parts. This makes it much more manageable and prevents you from just playing the whole piece through and learning your mistakes
Play Along with Music
Make your practise more exciting and rewarding by playing along with the track you're learning. This way, you'll get to hear how your part fits in with the whole ensemble. This is also good practise for playing with other people!
See all of our qualified drum teachers here!
Relevant Music Education
The drum kit can be one of the most exciting instruments for kids, with good reason! Playing the drums will be a positive outlet for your child's energies, as well as teaching them invaluable skills such as resilience, responsibility and musicality. It also means that in the future they can join ensembles and bands, and share their passion for music with others. Giving your child the opportunity to start learning to play the drums is the first step on this journey.
Feeling up to learning the drums yourself? Why not take some drum lessons? We have lots of talented, experienced teachers all over the country. Find a teacher in your city today!
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