Introduction to Drums

This lesson moves us into, what we believe is, an overlooked area for songwriters, drums. If we are going to study rhythms we might as well include drums.

We all understand that drums are the foundation of many popular songs, but what does a drummer do? How does he play? We are not going to shy away from this topic. Heck no! You'll need the rhythm ability to create those hypnotic grooves for your song that listeners can't get enough of.

Let’s dive in.

Many of us who are not drummers have never really thought about what that guy or girl is doing back there. We know they are musicians, and we probably have sat behind a drum kit ourselves a time or two and beat on them, but did we ever stop to inquire, “What do you drummers really do?”

Let’s start to make use of what we have learned by studying rhythms with our whole notes, 1/2 notes, and 1/4 notes.

By clapping rhythms, we are simulating drumming. Yes, the beats the drummer is playing.

So, let’s talk first about the basics of drums.

Basic Drum Kit

The basic parts of a drum kit are:

• Kick drum (or bass drum)
• Snare drum
• Hi-Hat

Kick Drum

The kick drum is the largest drum and produces the lowest pitch. A pedal with a beater is attached to the drum rim and is played by the drummer's foot. By pressing down on the pedal, the beater strikes the head of the drum, producing the sound.

A kick drum sounds like this.

Snare Drum

The snare drum is mounted on a stand and sits between the two legs of the drummer. The snare drum produces a very sharp sound, which is enhanced by several wires on its bottom called snares.

A snare drum sounds like this.

Hi-hat

The hi-hat is a combination of two cymbals, a metal stand and a foot pedal. The two cymbals are mounted opposite each other, the bottom cymbal facing up and the top cymbal facing down. It is played by the drummer striking the top cymbal with a drum stick, and by raising or closing the cymbals using the foot pedal, or a combination of both techniques.

A hi-hat sounds like this.

The drummer's job is to set the groove, the pattern for the song.

Let’s listen to a simple drum groove.

A very simple beat, but it has been used in many, many hits. Drums do not need to be busy or complicated. They just need to set the tempo and the emotional groove.

Each instrument in the drum kit is playing a distinct rhythm.

In the kick drum part we just listened to,

The kick drum rhythm pattern plays on beats 1 and 3. We have been learning about rhythm so we know what that looks like in notation, right?

There it is! The kick drum playing on beats 1 and 3, written by using 1/2 notes.

The hi-hat rhythm pattern is different from the kick drum. The hi-hat is playing consistent 1/4 notes. A straight 1/4 note rhythm. The notation looks like this:

The snare drum rhythm pattern is also simple, it only plays on beats 2 and 4. We need to introduce a new element to our rhythm to notate this part, the 1/4 note rest.

A rest basically means rest, don't play. That's all. We will cover this in a lesson very soon, but we wanted to introduce it to you now to keep you going forward.

The snare drum rhythm pattern looks like this:

we rest on beat 1

play on beat 2

rest on beat 3

and play on beat 4

That's all there is to it.

If you need to work with it a little longer, take the time. Listening to drum parts takes some time to get used to. Just listen and focus. You got this!

Here is the track again:

One thing about drums that’s often overlooked by the non-drummer, is how simply changing the rhythm of one instrument can change the entire groove and emotion of a song.

Listen to the next drum pattern.

The snare drum and hi-hat are doing the exact same beat as they were in the previous track. The only difference is that the kick drum pattern was changed.

Changing the kick pattern tells a different story, right?  

Listen to the next 3 patterns. The snare drum and hi-hat continue to play the same solid rhythm, but the kick drum pattern has been changed.

Drum pattern #1

Drum pattern #2

Drum pattern #3

Drum pattern 1 sounds like it belongs in a pop song, but pattern 2 and, especially pattern 3, feel more like rock. In number 3, can’t you just hear the speed rock guitar riff about to start?

The 3 patterns are all common in music. They are using rhythms that we are going to learn soon, not just our whole, 1/2 and 1/4 notes. I just wanted to introduce them to you now so we get a taste of what we will be clearly learning and understanding.

That’s the power of drums. When the beat is right for the music, everyone nods their head, everyone knows it.

But when it’s not, it's easy to lose your audience.

Work on creating great rhythms for your songs, your audience will love you.

🏗️ Rhythm / Dictation Exercises 2 - in process

🏗️ Dotted Half Notes and Ties - in process

🏗️ Rhythm / Dictation with melody

🏗️ The Breakdown Introduction

🏗️ Breakdown 1

🏗️ Breakdown 2a

🏗️ Breakdown 2b