How to Play Quarter Notes on a Bass Drum

In lots of different drumming situations, the bass drum is key to effecting rhythms. This is often true in the traditional "4/4" (four beats in a bar) rhythm used in rock/pop and many other genres. Drummers choose to play a series of beats on the bass drum to regiment the drumming patterns. As a drummer you can choose half notes, quarter notes, eighth notes or other tempos of bass drum patterns. Here's how to do quarter notes on the bass drum.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. Get your kick set up right. To play any kind of notes on a bass drum, you need to make sure the kick is set at the right balance to the drum. Otherwise, you run into all kinds of problems. This is a common problem with beginning drummers: check the setup before starting play.

2. Count fours. If you are using a metronome, you'll hear four beats. Set it to the right rhythm, something you can drum along to, and count along in fours. Each set of four is a "bar," and within the bar, each of these counts, 1, 2, 3, and 4, represent a "quarter note."

3. Strike the bass drum with your foot on each count: 1, 2, 3, and 4. You're playing quarter notes on the bass.

4. Keep it up. Playing consistent beats on the bass is a large part of drumming integrity. Try to add other drums as much as you can without losing that essential quarter note bass beat. If you mess up, don't worry, start over again.

5. Change tempo as necessary. It's a good idea to start slow and build up to faster beats; starting out too fast can make you mess up and that can be discouraging.