Four Tips for Learning to Play the Drums

If you’re working with a drum teacher or teaching yourself to play the drums, there are few techniques that will allow you to experiment while staying in control. Beginner drummers should focus of the  following goals as they learn their instrument:

1. Follow a beat. Use a metronome to ensure that you can keep a steady pulse with all four appendages that you’ll be playing with – left hand, right hand, left foot and right foot. This will train you to play steadily while keeping your feet and hands in sync.
2. Master the rudimentary strokes. Rudiments are the building blocks of more complex drum patterns. You’ll want to practice rudiments – or basic strokes – of drumming until they enter your muscle memory. Once you have trained yourself, you ‘ll be able to perform the rudiments reflexively.
3. Learn to read music. Start with the basics, like learning time signatures and knowing the difference between whole notes, half notes, quarter notes and eight notes. Eventually, you can build up to more complex forms of sight-reading, which will open you up to be able to play with a wide variety of bands.
4. Pick a practice routine you ‘ll stick to. Practicing is the only way to improve your skills on the drum set, so pick a realistic routine that you can commit to doing every day. If you live in an apartment, you might want to invest in an electronic drum set so you can practice without constant noise concerns.