How to Play Modern Drum Beats

Most aspiring drummers dream of becoming another Ringo Starr or Charlie Watts. They want to live the glorified life of a famous musician. Achieving that goal, however, requires hard work, dedication and mastering the art of playing a variety of modern drum beats.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Knowledge of drum beats
• Some drumming experience

1. Familiarize yourself with the so-called modern drum beats. The most popular drum beats are those found in various styles of rock, blues and swing music.

2. Play slow rock drum beats in 4/4 time, or four beats to every measure. Roughly 15 out of every 100 tunes call for this modern drum beat. Count it out loud by saying, "one, ee, and, aah, two, ee, and, aah. Tap your foot on every "one" and your left hand on the word "two."

3. Master the blues beat of 6/8 by playing a 2/4 or a 4/4 triplet. Triplets are three notes grouped together and played for a different interval than the song's usual tempo. This beat is found in about 12 out of 100 tunes.

4. Learn the "swing ride pattern" of playing by hitting the bass drum on beats one, two and three and hitting the snare drum on beat four. Now play over the swing ride pattern by hitting the bass drum for beats one, two and four and the snare drum for beat three. Once you master the pattern at a comfortable tempo increase it gradually. (See the related eHow article titled "How to Play Swing Beats on Snare Drums.")

5. Listen to all types of music--from the 1920s and '30s to today--and play along on your drums. This is a great way to adapt your style of playing and knowledge of technique to any beat by feeling its "groove."

6. Practice. Practice. Practice. It is the only way to free your musical mind, develop your own style of drumming and reach your maximum potential.

Tips & Warnings

• Consider taking lessons from a professional drummer to learn the rudiments and proper technique to play modern drum beats.