What can I say? They’re pretty… Killer!

I’m so sorry.

(Please Bonham, have mercy on my soul.)

Okay, so this song is super fun to learn. But beware! It’s easy to learn but difficult to master! (And by that I mean to play it how fast they play it.)

Get the PDF on my PDF’s Page.

Thanks guys. You rock.

Chris.

“Ugh, the drums are way to loud of an instrument… Oof, I hate playing all these huge tom fills.”

Do you?

Well then you pick up a clarinet or something! THIS ISN’T THE SONG FOR YOU!!!

Cause today we’re learning one of the loudest, tom-iest songs that has ever been written on the drums. It’s “In Bloom” by Nirvana.

Just a heads up, this song is definitely more in intermediate territory, but if you’re cool with that then I’m cool with you.

As always, you can pick up the PDF for this song on my PDF’s page.

Thanks guys,

Chris

This song is very, very fun to play VERY LOUD! I hope you enjoy mastering this song so you can annoy your mom/sister/neighbours/spouse for the next few weeks.

The main things to look out for in this song are the crash shots in the chorus. They might take a little practice if you haven’t done shots like this before.

Okay, here we go:

Get the PDF from my PDF’s Page.

You think I didn’t think of that? What kind of drum teacher do you think I am?

In this song, “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” by Daft Punk we’re emulating some of the on/off volume slider effects by either cutting in or out of the beat.

It’s fairly easy to learn this song, and it offers something new for people who are getting to the intermediate level.

Enjoy!

You can get the PDF for this song on my PDF’s page

Sweet, thanks guys.

Chris.

Again, pick up the PDF for this song on my PDF’s page. Thanks guys

Chris.

Double Bonus: You can also learn a slappin’ song!

Okay, here we go. “Smile Like You Mean It” is seriously one of my favourite songs to jam. We get to practice going from 1/8th note beats on the hi-hat to 1/16th note beats on the hi-hat, which is fun.

Again, this is one of my earlier videos, so sorry if it’s rambly!

Pick up the PDF for this song on my PDF’s page.

Thanks guys,

Chris.

You can find the PDF to this song on my PDF’s page.

This song is super fun, and super funky, and I hope you guys like learning this one!

(This was the first video lesson I ever made so it’s a little all over the place. It feels way to drawn out, so sorry about that!)

Chris.

But even though you might feel like you have to move into a tiny place and give up on your dreams of learning the drums this might not necessarily be true! I’ve seen many drummers make due with their small bedroom or studio setups. As well, I feel like like somewhat of an authority on this topic since my current setup (which I’ll show you at the end of the article) is currently in the hallway of my apartment! You really can play the drums even if you don’t think you have the space for them.

If you don’t have space in your place for a drumkit you can do a few things. Aside from playing an imagination-powered drumkit, you could try switching to an electric kit, you could make better use of your room’s corners, or you could take down and store your drumset after each use. Let’s take a look at all these options.

Using An Electric Kit

If you’ve ever played an electric drumkit you’ll know that they are much more compact than a standard acoustic one. Just about every component on them is smaller since you don’t need bulky shells for tones to resonate. Because of this an electric drumkit almost half the footprint of an acoustic one. 

However, something people don’t always consider about their space when they buy an electric kit is where they’re going to put the amp. Since all the electric drumkit’s noise comes from a line-out connection you’re going to need to plug the drum’s signal into some powered speakers it you want them to make any sound. Luckily amps are nice and box shaped and they’re a lot easier to fit under a side table or tuck beside a bookshelf. 

If you’re really wanting to save space (and money!) you can always do without the amp and just play into headphones. However, it will be more difficult to play with other musicians should they come over to jam, as well as show off how good you are at the drums

Taking Advantage of Corners

If you had a nice, big, open room it would be really nice to put your drums smack-dab in the middle of it. But if you only have a tiny living room which also houses the couch, TV, coffee table, and a bookshelf, then this might not be the best option. In this case the best thing you could do is take advantage of your corners. 

There are a two different ways to set up your drums in a corner: either facing in or facing out.

If you face your drumset in you’re going to have a little more space that if you face out. You can also store your drum throne when you’re not using it to save even more space. However you are going to have a hard time jamming with other musicians as you’re faced away from anyone else in the room. You might also feel like you’re standing in the corner like a disciplined child.

If you face your drumset outward you might take up a little more space, but you’ll be able to play facing the room. This is important if you think you’re ever going to play with another musician. You just have to remember to give yourself enough space on one side to squeak past to get to your drum throne. I find it’s easier to give yourself that space on the hi hat side of the drums.

Also, if you choose to face outward be aware of the space that you leave your elbows for drumming. It’s very easy to underestimate the amount of space you’ll need to actually move your arms, and the last thing you want to do is change your technique to work with the space you have. Sometimes it helps to position your drums so that your back is parallel with the wall instead of your back facing the corner. That way you can get closer to the wall without the corners infiltrating your elbow space, and it also makes it easier to get behind your drumkit.

Taking Down Your Drumkit

The third option if you really wanted to save space would be to take down your drumset every time you play. This might sound like a drastic option, but if you only use your drums once a week to practice and the other 99% of the time they’re not even being used, then this makes a lot of sense. 

Once you get good at setting up acoustic drums it only takes about ten minutes. Then when you’re done playing you can stack them up into a little drum tower. Like this!

Electric drums are even easier to store. A lot of times you can easily collapse the drumset without taking it apart making tear-down and setup a breeze. 

If you are extremely low on space, an electric drum kit that I highly recommend is the Roland TD-4KP. It’s super easy to fold up and store behind a dresser or under a bed. Check it out!

Another great thing about this drumkit is that it’s one of the cheapest electric kits out there, but Roland doesn’t sacrifice build quality or sound quality. I own one of these kits to give out to my private students, and it sounds just as good as my more expensive electric kit. You don’t have the ability to tweak many settings, but the defaults are dialled in so well I don’t think I’d ever want to.  

One more point to add: While taking town your drumkit every time you play is the best solution in terms of reclaiming your space, it could be demotivating. It’s a lot easier to practice if your drumset is already set up and ready to play if the mood strikes you. 

Conclusion

So even though many of us are living in smaller and smaller spaces, this doesn’t mean we have to sacrifice our favourite multi-limb coordinated musical hobby. We can either switch to an electric kit, take better advantage of our corners, or take down our drumsets entirely. If you have any others that you’ve thought of leave me a comment so that anyone who reads this can get even more ideas.

And, as I promised, I’m going to give you guys a look of my own cozy set-up. I knew I could use myself as an authority on small practice spaces because I don’t even have the luxury of a room to house my drums: They’re in my hallway! 

So first off here are some photos of the space:

This space is only about 6” by 12”, and about 2 of those 6 feet need to be clear to get through the hallway. As you can see I have a compact electric kit (a Roland TD-11K if you’re interested) which faces out, since I’m in a band and need to be able to play with other musicians. I leave my drums set up since it’s easy enough to get past them, though I often scooch my kick drum trigger out of the way. I also have some pretty massive old stereo speakers which I use when I’m playing with others. They’re placed in the least intrusive way possible.

Before my drums were there the hallway wasn’t really used for much since it is a bit of an awkward dead space. But now, it’s a place to play drums, to teach drums, and to even have band practice! And I’m able to fit this all into the little corner behind my banister.

So there you go! If I’m able to do it with my hallways I hope you can do it with your home too, whatever the size may be. 

Playing the drums is easy.

It really is! On the guitar or bass you have to learn the melody of every new song you want to play. The cool thing about the drums is that once you learn the basic rock drumbeat you’ll probably be able to play along to almost all of your favourite songs at a basic level. I have a video of me doing just that at the end of this post. 

And the thing is playing that basic rock beat really isn’t that hard either! After about ten minutes of effort most of my new students can play it relatively well. So do you want to learn how to play this beat? Are you ready to spend 10 minutes learning how to play the drums to almost every song you know? It’s seriously so easy!

(Oh man I feel like such an infomercial right now. But really guys, you’ll get this.)

What Is The Basic Rock Beat?

Ok, here we go. This is the beat. Are you ready? Ok, 1-2-3-4…

If you’ve never read drum notation before this might look a little scary to you. But don’t worry! I’ll explain what you need to know.

The notes at the bottom of the music staff are the kick drum, which you’ll be playing with your right foot on the foot pedal. The next notes up, which are sort of in the middle of the music staff, are the snare drum. You’ll be playing that with your left hand. Lastly, the x’s at the top are closed hi hat strikes. You’ll play those by holding down the hi hat pedal with your left foot, then striking the hi hat with your right hand crossed over your left. 

(If you’re playing a kit that’s set up left handed you’ll play the kick with your left foot, the snare with your right hand, and the hi hat with you left hand.) 

Now, there are 4 beats for every measure of music. Here’s what they look like over the beat:

[that thing pic. Maybe overlay colour rectangles over the music?]

As you can see you hit the kick drum on beats 1, the snare on beat 2, the kick again on beat 3, then the snare again on beat 4. Another way to look at this is kick on beat 1 & 3 and snare on beat 2 & 4.

As for the hi hat, you strike it twice for every beat. Once directly on the beat and once right in between beats

So at this point hopefully I haven’t confused you too much and you have a concept of what we’re doing here. Now how do you make your limbs play it?

How Do I Learn The Beat?

There are two different ways I like to approach learning new things on the drums. We’ll work our way through each of these approaches one at a time, but usually it takes a combination of each. This first one is the one-limb-at-a-time method, and the second is the throw-tempo-out-the-window method. 

One Limb At A Time Method

Let’s start with the one-limb-at-a-time way of doing things. So here’s what we’re going to do. As the name suggests, we’re going to play each individual part one limb at a time, just like how I showed you the hi hat part above. Then we’re going to start combining different limbs together. 

Hi Hat

Here’s the hi hat part:

Like I said, you’re going to want to use your right hand on the hi hat. If you don’t have a drum kit you can just tap your fingers on your desk or something, or you can make your own imagination-powered drumkit. Now, try striking the hi hat twice every beat. Like this:

Kick

Awesome job! That’s the hardest one!

Ok, next thing your going to do is the kick.

Here’s the notation for just the kick part. Those little squiggly things are called rests. They just mean you don’t play for that beat. As you can see we’re just going to play on beat 1 and beat 3:

Great, now try following along to the video.

Snare

You’re doing so great! (Well, um, hopefully.)

Ok, last one. I think you know the drill at this point. I’ll show you the notation and you try playing along to the video. This time you’re going to hit the snare on 2 and 4:

And try following along to the video:

Combining Separate Limbs

Sweet! So now that you have all the different parts in each of your limbs you’re going to try and do what drummers are famous for: Multitasking!

Kick And Snare

So first we’re going to try playing just the kick and the snare parts together. Here’s what that looks like:

Alright, let’s give this a go!

Kick And Hi hat

Ok, next up is kick and hi hat. I bet you’re starting to get what’s going on now.

Let’s do it.

Hi Hat And Snare

Last one. Give this a go!

And finally the video:

Wonderful! 

Bringing It All Together!

Alright guys, here we go! We’re going to do it! This is the last step. You’re going to play the kick, snare, AND hi hat all together at once.

(Yes, this is the same video as I posted above. But learning takes repetition, right? Right.)

Guys. That’s it. You did it. Well, hopefully. I don’t really know. But if you didn’t do it you can redo the parts you had trouble with and you’ll definitely get it!

But if you didn’t quiet get it we’re going to use one other technique:

Throw-Tempo-Out-The-Window Technique

This process has far fewer steps. With this technique you just kinda try ploughing through the beat, going as slow as you want, processing the notation as it comes. Here’s a video of me pretending to do that:

(This is the same notation as before.)

We’re Done!

You guys! You did it! You can play the drums! Now if a friend has a drumset and you wanna impress them you can put on a track and play a rock beat! Congrats!

Also, if you’re jamming with friends just play the beat to the tempo. It’s not anything fancy, there’s not much flair, but hey! You’re playing the drums! Isn’t that cool?

What Are Some Songs I Can Play Now?

The cool thing about drums is that you can play almost any beat to anything and it will usually sound good. And, since this is the most stripped-down drum beat there is, it works with almost anything! 

And just to prove you really can play this beat to anything, here’s a video of me playing only this beat to a bunch of different songs.

You can literally play this beat to thousands, if not millions, of songs and it will sound good.

Once you feel like you’re confident with this drum beat download my pdf of all my favourite beginner beats. The one you just learned is up at the top.

Thanks again for reading guys. Ok, now go join a band. 

Chris.

Yes, learning on a real drumkit will have its advantages. It will expand the sounds you can play with which could inspire new rhythms and sticking combinations. A kit also adds your feet into your rhythms, adding a completely new dimension to your playing. But, if you want to learn drums RIGHT NOW your can definitely sink your teeth into beginner lessons with just a pair of drumsticks and your imagination. Today we’re going to look at different ways you can practice the drums without owning a drumkit.

Just Snare Stuff

You’ll only ever be as good as the control you have over your sticks and the rhythms you can think of in your head. And trust me, you don’t need a lot to get better at these things! In fact, you only really need one drum and a pair of sticks. But, as this post suggests, you don’t even need a drum!

The first and most important drum on a drumset is the snare. This is the drum that sits in between your legs and usually has a white drum head. This drum also has thin coiled wires which run taut along the bottom which give this drum its characteristic raspy sound. This is the drum you hear very often on the backbeat—on the “2” and “4”—in most songs. As a drummer you’re going to use this drum the most, by far. This is the drum we’re going to try to replicate so you can practice.

Like I said, you don’t have to buy the drum, but you are going to have to buy a pair of drum sticks. (If you wanna be really intense about not spending any money I guess you don’t really have to buy sticks. You could just practice rhythms by tapping your lap or something. But stick control is such a crucial thing if you ever decide to move to a drumkit that I’d strongly recommend starting with at least sticks. Don’t worry though, a good pair are only like ten bucks at your local music store or on amazon.) 

But not all sticks are created equal, and you’re going to have to pick which ones are right for you. So I’ll really quickly run you through the basics of choosing the right drumsticks. If you wanna go more in depth with this topic I’m going to be writing a post on this, so keep a look out for it!

Choosing Sticks

Here’s a quick low-down on which sticks to get. The most common size are 5A’s, which is good for all types of drumming, and probably the best bet for most people. But if you have big hands like me you might want to want to go for bigger sticks like 5B’s, which are what I use. If your hands are a little smaller I’d go for 7A’s, or even child sized sticks. If you go to your local music store they should have a nice selection to choose from.

In terms of brand, there are tons to choose from, but don’t overthink it. In the end sticks are just sticks, and who makes them doesn’t really matter. I really like Vic Firth, but that’s mostly because those were the first sticks I bought and the brand my drum teacher used. I guess they’re also marketed to jazz people more than any other brand and I like to pretend to be sophisticated.

Now that you have your sticks you’re going to need something to play them on!

Practice Pad or No Practice Pad?

For that I’d recommend you getting your hands on a practice pad. You can play on other surfaces, which I’ll talk about in a second, but starting your technique with a practice surface that replicates a real drum is a pretty good idea. There are so many different practice pads out there, but they all essentially do the same thing so I’d recommend you get the cheapest one you can find

Another alternative to a practice pad is to get these cool practice tips that you just put on your drum sticks. I’ve never used them but they seem like a pretty good idea! I’d just be scared of losing them.

If you don’t have a practice pad, or you’re desperately waiting for it to arrive, you still have options! Something I like to do is put a kitchen towel or a folded t-shirt over a hard surface and use that. It will be sort of loud (though not as loud as a real drum kit) but it will simulate the bounce of a real snare drum well enough.

There you go! with a pair of sticks and something to practice basic rhythms you are well on your way to learning what you need to master the drums! 

But once you’ve gotten this far you’re left with the next question of…

What Should I Practice?

People often forget that the key to being good at the drums isn’t in the ability to play complicated ideas. It’s in knowing your ideas and playing those ideas clearly and cleanly. However, doing this doesn’t come quickly or without effort. Like so many things it takes a lot of practice! In my years of teaching I’ve discovered you need three things to get good at drums:

1. Learn how to read music.

2. Learn rudiments and technique

3. Come up with your own ideas.

Let’s break these down.

Learn How To Read Music

Music notation is the language of music. If you have no way to record and remember your ideas, or the ideas of others, you’re going to be at a major handicap. It’s like trying to become fluent in French without ever having even learned the alphabet! 

And trust me, learning to read music really isn’t that hard! Just check out my post (I’ve yet to write, sorry) to dip your feet into it. I swear it’s easy enough for anyone to do. When you’re ready to move beyond that get a good beginner drum book and work through it. This one’s my favourite, but there’s like a million out there to choose from. 

Once you get confident with your reading we can start with step 2, which is…

Rudiments and Technique

No matter what skill level you’re at you can always practice your rudiments. They are the fundamental building blocks from which all the rest of your drumming will be built, and they are so important to getting good stick control. You want to know them well. Play them over and over and over and over again. And then again. Meditate to them. You’re looking to perfect your muscle memory. 

Start with the basics. Play your single strokes (R L R L R L R L) for like ten minutes, or until you don’t have to think anymore. Try going up and down in tempo as well as volume to really stretch your stick control. 

Next play double strokes (R R L L R R L L). Play for the same amount of time, and again vary your tempo and intensity.

Next do your Paradiddles (R L R R L R L L). Again, same time, same deal with tempo and volume. 

After this you can start working on all the other rudiments. Here’s a pdf (again, I’ve yet to make) with all the official ones, plus a few extra I think are important.

Sometimes working on your rudiments can get a little boring. Sometimes if I’m practicing them but falling asleep I put on some music and play the rudiments in time to the song, or else I put on a podcast or Netflix or something. Other times I really like the repetition of them and I can fall into trance-like state. That’s fun too. 

Once you get pretty good at the rudiments I’d get a book of snare solos. This is the one I have, and it’s awesome. All the solos are very musical and playful, and just sound good. Practice these, not just so you can play them through but so you can play them through cleanly and quickly. They might sound really march-y but storing these ideas in your muscle memory really help you out when you start soloing and you need to come up with your own ideas. Speaking of which, the next thing we’re talking about is…

Coming Up With Your Own Ideas

This is what drumming is all about! Drums are the improvisational instrument. More than any other instrument we are given free rein to play whatever we want, however we want, whenever we want. We don’t have to follow chord structure or any specific melody. We don’t even have to repeat the same fills all the way through the song. As long as we play in the same time signature as the others (but not even always! We’ll talk about implied metric modulation sometime) and are playing something that fits with the mood, or contrasts it in a cool way, then then we’ve succeeded as drummers!

This section is a little harder to talk about because this is really where you inject your own style and character into your playing, and developing this is something only you can do. Play what excites you. Play the ideas you think are cool. Write your own “melodies”. Try and mess with people’s ear. Try to be playful with the audience. Surprise them! Play things you feel could only come uniquely from you.

Coming up with your own ideas and soloing are huge topics, and they probably deserve their own website. I’ll try my best to write a post on those subjects another time.

Cool. So I think that’s all I’m going to talk about when it comes to only playing snare stuff. Now let’s talk about how to get a feeling for the whole kit.

Replicating A Whole Kit

First we should quickly go over the different parts of a drumset because you’re going to be trying to replicate these. Actually, you know, let me just show you a picture. I think that would be easiest.

After the snare, which we’ve already gone over, the second part of the kit we’re going to try to replicate is the kick drum. This is the big drum that sits on the ground in front of you which you hit with a kick pedal. It makes a big, low, booming sound which usually emphasizes the first and third counts of the measure. 

The kick is going to be the easiest to simulate. Just like you would tap your toe to the beat, what you can do is pretend that tapping your foot on the ground is you engaging the foot pedal to the kickdrum.

The final piece of the drumkit we’re going to replicate is the hi hat. This is the stand and two cymbals that you can open and shut with a foot pedal. Typically you use your right hand (crossed over your left which is on the snare) for steady, repetitive strikes on the hi hat. Being able to find a sturdy, raised, padded surface for the hi hat is what we’re after. But where on earth are we going to find something like that?

Alright. Are you guys ready? Here we go.

The Solution

What I learned a long time ago as an eager, young, broke, aspiring drum student was this: If I took one of my parent’s kitchen chairs and spun it around I could use the seat as a snare drum and the backrest as a hi hat and crash cymbal, then just tap my foot on the ground for a kickdrum. And voila! With a kitchen chair and some imagination you have a basic structure for a full drumkit! With this you can practice drum beats, fills, and play along to songs without a drumset.

If you really want to pretend that you’re playing more of a kit you can grab another chair and use that as a floor tom for when you’re doing fills. 

The Last Thing To Make It Real

Now that you’ve got your fake drumkit set up, try doing one more thing. It sounds a little weird, but I swear it’s going to help your imagination powered drum set work even better.

First thing is relax. Go one at a time through each drum and cymbal. Hit the “snare”, and when you do, really imagine the snare sound as you strike. (If you don’t know what a snare sounds like try looking up a video on YouTube.) Do this for each drum and cymbal you’re going to use for about a minute each, or as long as you want. Now when you start playing your brain will partially fill in the sounds that are missing.

(I know, I know, I’m a master drawer. I should’ve made a website about that instead.)

Once your imagined drumset is creating real noise inside your head, try learning some beats! A great place to start is my post on how to play a basic rock beat, and once you’ve done that try to teach yourself some other beginner drum beats.

Thanks everyone! Happy Hitting Things!

Chris