How to Teach a Child to Play the Drums

Most kids love to play the drums, and it can be a great way to let off steam for an active child. But no one wants to listen to a child just banging on the drums. Take the time to teach him or her simple rhythm and separation by practicing with hands and feet before they ever sit at a drum set.

Things You'll Need

• Hands and feet
• Rhythmic music
• Standard drum set
• Drum sticks

Instructions

How to Teach a Child to Play the Drums

1. Teach your child to recognize the beat. Tap your right hand along with simple music and encourage her to do the same. Dancing and singing along with music also help instill a natural sense of rhythm.

2. Teach your child to recognize the downbeat, as soon as he is old enough to count to 4. In a song that's in simple 4/4 time--which includes almost all rock 'n roll and simple nursery songs--count out the beat with your child: 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4. Tap the right hand along with the beat as you count. The downbeat is on number 1. Teach your child to tap his right foot on beat #1 ONLY. It would look like this: 1 (tap both right hand and right foot), 2 (tap right hand only), 3 (tap right hand only), 4 (tap right hand only). Repeat.

3. Add the backbeat. In a 4/4 song, beat #3 is the backbeat. Tap the backbeat with the left hand and left foot simultaneously. If this is too difficult at first, start with just the left hand. The beat now looks like: 1 (tap right hand and right foot), 2 (tap right hand only), 3 (tap right hand, left hand, and left foot), 4 (tap right hand only).

4. Practice this beat with pencils on the edge of a desk (or spoons on the edge of the kitchen table) until the beat becomes natural, and encourage your child to "jam" with you. Once she can feel the four beats of a song and can perform the taps in the manner described above, it's time to let her sit at a real drum set.

5. Adjust a standard drum set so the little drummer can reach the bass pedal with his right foot and the high-hat pedal with his left foot. Lower the snare drum and high-hat cymbal, if necessary, so he can tap the edge of the high-hat cymbal with a stick held in his right hand, and the center of the snare drum with a stick held in his left hand. Note, his arms will be crossed in front of his body. Tighten down the snares all the way, and clamp the high-hat cymbal almost closed. Hand him the drum sticks.

6. Play the rhythm, which looks like this: 1 (right hand taps edge of high-hat cymbal, right foot depresses bass drum pedal); 2 (right hand taps edge of high-hat cymbal); 3 (right hand taps edge of high-hat cymbal, left hand hits center of snare drum, left foot hits high-hat pedal); 4 (right hand taps edge of high-hat cymbal). The right hand keeps all four beats on the high-hat cymbal, adding the right foot bass drum pedal on the downbeat and the left foot on high-hat pedal/left hand on snare for the backbeat.

7. Play some music and let the child try it out. If transferring the rhythm pattern to the drums seems overwhelming at first, go back to basics and repeat steps 1 to 4, but sitting at the drum set. If she can just tap the edge of the high-hat cymbal with a stick held in her right hand for all four beats, that's a great first step. If she can just hit the downbeat with her foot on the bass drum pedal on count #1, that's also great. Or practice just the hands, then add the feet. The four components will come together in time.

Tips & Warnings

• Learn this basic rhythm and separation yourself and let your child observe you in action while you count out the beat. Some children learn best by observation, and this beat is actually much easier to play than to describe.

• Teach your child to practice whenever she hears music, except in school or church.

• Teach your child to practice quietly by using just his index fingers tapping on his knees and his big toes tapping silently within his shoes.

• Be aware that when your child forms or joins a band, practice is going to be at your house.