Building a Drum Beat
Most drum beats require the use of three limbs and sometimes all four. When learning any new beat, it is a good idea to practice coordinating two limbs at a time before combining all the parts. In the following example, the bass drum is played with the right foot on every beat and the snare drum is played with the left hand.
In this example, the right hand plays either the hi hat or ride cymbal (try one and then the other) on every beat and the bass drum is varied.
Once again the right hand plays the cymbal, but this time it is played in conjunction with the snare drum.
This example is a full drum beat based on quarter notes. The right hand plays quarter notes on every beat, the left hand plays on the 2nd and 4th beats and the right foot plays on the 1st and 3rd beats. The alternation between bass drum and snare drum is a common element of drumming in many styles of music. The use of the snare drum on beats 2 and 4 is called a backbeat.
Here are a couple of variations on this basic beat. In the following example, the bass drum is used on every beat.
The following example is a combination of the previous two beats. The bass drum is used on all four beats in the last bar. This helps build momentum for a return to the beginning.
