Drums lessons
A free, connected curriculum, one concept per lesson, in order, from the absolute basics up. Taught by Pocket. Start at Lesson 01 and work down.
Foundations
- 01parts of the kit and holding the sticksA basic kit has a bass drum (played with a foot pedal), a snare, hi-hats, a couple of toms, and crash and ride cymbals, plus a throne to sit on. Hold each stick with a relaxed matched grip: pinch it between thumb and index finger at its balance point and let it rebound.
- 02the basic rock beatThe basic rock beat layers three voices. Your hi-hat hand taps steady eighth notes, one two three four and. Your kick lands on beats one and three, and your snare cracks the backbeat on two and four. Count it slowly out loud, keep the hi-hat even, and this one groove covers most popular songs.
- 03counting and the metronomeCounting means saying the beat out loud, one and two and three and four and, so you always know where you are. A metronome is a steady click you play along to. Set it slow, line your hits up with the click, and aim to make your hit and the click sound like one sound, not two.