How to Learn Drums for Beginners

Learn how to play drums and percussion with these step by step instructions!

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• drumsticks
• practice pad or pillow
• patience
• metronome

1. Hold drumsticks in matched grip style (explained below) preferabaly in front of a mirror

2. 
   matched grip

   Using a matched grip is usually easier to get started with and is most widely used for any situation or musical style. Begin by placing the drumstick in the palm of one hand with the butt end (end of stick without the beater head) about 1-2 inches from the bottom of your hand. Next place thumb on side of drumstick and allow other fingers to hold the stick without much pressure except for your pointer finger. At this point, turn hand over so that the beater head can strike a drum or practice surface and allow stick to move freely without loosing control of stick.

3. Using a drum practice pad or drum, tap in front of a mirror using alternating wrist movements of left, right, left, right, and so on as a warmup. Count out loud 1,2,3,4 with each alternating hit and repeat. Aim to use mostly your wrist and forearm muscles in this exercise and not your shoulders and back.

4. If you have a metronome (time keeper), set it to 60-80 bpm and on each click, use the excercise above trying to make impact on each click. Focus on each alternating hit to sound the same for both hands. You should be relaxed and make sure to breathe in your nose and out your mouth to calm your nerves.

5. This is a basic get started excerise for learning how to play the drums that can applied to any situation. It is most important to learn how to hold a pair of drumsticks properly and to keep good time. Once you feel more comfortable, purchase a beginners drum book or read more of my how to articles. Good luck and persistance and practice is key!

Tips & Warnings

• Drumming and percussion is difficult, so dont give up
• Mastery of stick holding and time keeping will allow an easier transition to drumset playing later on
• There are many great drum instruction videos online and allow yourself to be involved in music
• Drumming is a step-by-step progression. Realize that you will be a lifelong learner and musician
• Be careful not to play very forceful and hard, especially when beginning.
• If your wrists are sore, allow time to heal and be mindful of wrist injuries if playing in a unconventional manner.
• In time you will build your muscles in your arms and wrists and as such, your playing should improve.