What Are Reggae Drum Beats?

Series Summary

The drum is the oldest known musical instrument in the history of man and its basic design has not changed in thousands of years. Far from today’s uses as a percussive foundation for pop music or for fueling marching band excitement, drumming has a more profound history as a method of communication, and the drum as an implement of religious symbolism.

The drum was perhaps first created from the primal idea of mimicking the human heartbeat, yet today its music has developed into a technical, complex arrangement of beats and grooves. Different sized drums and cymbals are arranged into kits, where a drummer can pick from a variety of sounds to lead or accompany a particular song. Kit sizes vary from the simple to the outrageous. Modern drummers, including the likes of Buddy Rich, Billy Cobham, Neal Peart, Dave Weckl, and Jimmy Chamberlain, have helped drummers develop their playing skills by inspiring new beat and rhythm patterns, new combinations of sound upon sound. The modern approach to drumming, then, is to try and master the fundamentals of beat and time signature, and then to create fresh, innovative patterns and fills for each song.

In this free instructional video series, learn how to play the drums, both as an absolute beginner, and as a drummer who is looking to improve their skills. Our expert, Kevin Grossman, will show you how to work on your chops. Drum clinic lessons include tips on how to play specific drum beats associated with Reggae music and beyond! Learn how to do drum fills in each of these beats and how to play different variations of each as well as how to incorporate different styles of beats into Reggae music.

Video Transcript

"In this series, we're going to get you started working with some Reggae. I'm going to show you the basic Reggae groove, the "one drop". You can swing it. I'm going to show you the "rocker's" beat. You can swing that, too. I'm going to show you the "reggae-rock" beat, which you hear a lot in sublime music, if you listen to that. You can swing that, too. I'm going to show you the "ska" beat. I'm going to show you some fills, some ways to mess around with the snare drum, and you will be able to sit down with a Reggae group and, hopefully, start playing with them."