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Progressive Beginner Drum Lessons assumes that you have little or no prior knowledge of music or playing the drums. This book begins with learning the parts of the drumkit, how to sit at the drums and how to hold the drum sticks. You are also introduced to:

  • Reading and understanding music as it relates to the drums.
  • Learning to play using all the drums and cymbals around the entire drum kit and gaining control of all four limbs.
  • Playing drum beats in a variety of styles including Rock, Blues, Funk and Jazz.
  • How to invent your own drum beats and fills.
  • How to make your drum parts work with other instruments, in particular the bass and guitar.

After completing this book you will have a solid basic understanding of the drums and will be ready to move on to more advanced study of specific musical styles. All drummers should know all of the basic information contained in this book.

The best and fastest way to learn is to use this book in conjunction with:

  • Practicing and playing with other musicians. It is surprising how good a basic drums/bass/guitar combination can sound, even when playing easy music.
  • In the early stages it is helpful to have the guidance of an experienced teacher. This will help you maintain a steady practice schedule and obtain weekly goals.
  • To be sure to develop a good sense of time right from the beginning, it is essential that you always practice with a metronome or drum machine. If you choose to use a metronome, use an electronic one with a volume control and earphones input, as an old style metronome will not be loud enough to hear when you are playing.

Using The Enhanced Features

This enhanced eBook contains video and audio recordings for all exercises. The book explains where to put your fingers and what techniques to use, while the video and audio lets you see and hear how each example should look and sound when played correctly.

Practice the examples on your own, playing slowly at first. Then try playing to a metronome set to a slow tempo (see Metronome), until you can play the example evenly and without stopping. Gradually increase the tempo as you become more confident and then you can try playing along with the recordings.

To play along with the video and audio your instrument must be in tune with it (see Tuning).

A purple bar with a play icon and an exercise number indicates a recorded example like this:

Each enhanced exercise includes:

Video

Watch a close up of the example being played by a professional teacher so you can check your technique and hear how the example should sound when played correctly.

Click the play icon (triangle) to start the video playing and then click the full screen icon (2 arrows) to expand the video to fill the screen. A band is performing with the teacher so you can hear how the exercise sounds when played together with other instruments. Drag the slider to watch different parts of the exercise again. Please note that the video is best viewed in landscape orientation.

Solo Track

You need Flash Player 9 or later installed to play this s3audio

Listen to the example played by itself so you can focus on the part you are learning. Click the play icon (triangle) to start the audio playing. Drag the slider to hear different parts of the exercise again.

Backing Track

You need Flash Player 9 or later installed to play this s3audio

When you are comfortable playing the exercise, use this audio to practice playing along with the backing band by yourself. Click the play icon (triangle) to start the audio playing. Drag the slider to hear different parts of the exercise again. Adjust the volume of your instrument and the recording so that you can hear yourself and the band at the same time.

Full Page Score

For longer examples, the music score for the exercise is available as a single image for easy viewing. Double-tap the image to open it full screen and then use your fingers to swipe up and down or zoom in and out. Please note that you can have the audio playing and the full page score open at the same time.

 

 

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