By altering familiar drum beats using permutations and variations you can create new drum beats without a huge amount of effort. Take a drum beat or phrase you’ve got “in the bag” (one that you can play without even thinking about it), and alter it... Read More
Dynamics are an important part of playing drums. There are two basic ways to use dynamics in your playing; short dynamics that apply to a specific note, or long dynamics which apply to a series or group of notes across time. “Short” dynamics A loud note... Read More
This groove is based on the “Triceratops Triplets” idea we covered in the previous article. See the original post on Triceratops Triplets to get familiar with these. If you’ve followed through the previous post, the result is a pattern using three... Read More
This is a ‘dinosaur’ of a challenge based around groups of 3 notes, hence the name Triceratops Triplets. It is deceptively simple when broken down into its component pieces, but as these components get layered the challenge develops some interesting... Read More
Paradiddles can add a fun and unique sound to your drumming. We’re going to explore how to spice up paradiddles and move them from the practice pad onto the drum kit. A paradiddle is two single strokes then a double stroke. When paradiddles are played after each... Read More
A technical teaser with a creative twist for you this time… We’re going to combine the Bo Diddley rhythm with paradiddles – to give us “Bo Diddley Diddles”. First things first If you’ve never encountered the Bo Diddley rhythm or... Read More
There is no universally correct method for how you should practise drums – some things will work better for some, whilst other things will work better for others. That said, there are a few basic principles that you can follow to get the most out of your time... Read More
A method for playing better double strokes Continuing our series of articles about drum rudiments, today we’re going to apply an interesting creative twist to the double stroke. We often get asked about technique and control, especially when it concerns playing... Read More
It’s that time of the year when we delve into the archives and pull out some of the best bits from our free online lessons. Popular topics Most viewed topic: A career in drumming Most educational topic: Drum lessons Most commented topic: Lifestyle / Practise... Read More
In this article we will be taking a little look at the humble art of holding the drum sticks. Before we get into it, don’t forget that drum sticks are not the only type of drum-hitting implement you can use. Brushes, rutes and rods can be used instead of sticks.... Read More
Triplets are groups of 3 notes. They are used in many different forms of drumming, whether constructing drum fills, solos or grooves. In this article we’re going to look at using triplets to construct a groove. Andy Burt gives us an introduction to triplets and... Read More
The ‘highlights’ of the drum rudiments: Part 1 – Rolls. Drum rudiments are the building blocks of developing stick control. The rudiments are useful and relevant to almost every aspect of drumming. They help build drumming ‘vocabulary’,... Read More
