How to Play Quarter Notes on Drums

Video Transcript

"Hi, I'm Shaun Schaefer on behalf of Expert Village and today we're going to learn the basics in rock drumming. I like to call it "Rock Drumming 101 - The Basics". So to get started in playing a basic drum beat first things first. We need to identify what drums and cymbals we're going to use. First, we're going to use the kick drum, the snare drum and we're also going to use the high hat. Now, you ask why those three things? Well, the center, or foundation, of any good band is the kick drum, the snare drum and the high hat. That's where everything originates from. That's where the timing of a song and the rhythm of a song originates right there with those three things. So, those are kind of the center and that's basically the center of a basic drum beat. So now that we've identified the drums, let's explain some music theory, if you will. All basic drumming is counting, and the basic counting is called, they're called quarter notes. And if we take one measure, or one bar, there are four quarter notes in one bar. So, each quarter note is one fourth of the bar, right? So that is exactly what a quarter note is. It's one quarter of one bar. So, four quarter notes make up a whole bar. Two quarter notes, they make up a half a bar. See what I'm saying? That's quarter notes. That's what we're going to start using to get into playing the basic drum beat, quarter notes. So now that we know what quarter notes are, and we can get into that more in depth later, let's practice counting quarter notes. Now, it seems like a pretty easy and generic thing to do, and it is. But it really helps to practice counting. Because, I've been playing drums like I said, for fifteen or sixteen years and I still count. I count when I'm not playing. It's a second nature thing. So, let's practice counting. It's not just one, two, three, four, one, two, three, and four. Put some emotion in and let's slow it down. One, two, three, four, one, two, three, four, and see how I'm like stressing the different numbers? Like on two and four? There's a reason for that and we'll get into that. But, keep practicing it over and over. One, two, three, four, one, two, three, four, and get your body into is a little bit, you know? Flow with it. I know it sounds stupid, and it's kind of dumb. But, it really helps. One, two, three, four. Just keep practicing that and keep doing that and just get used to it. And slow it down. It doesn't have to be fast. Don't rush through it. That is the biggest mistake any one can make. So, just practice counting one, two, three, and four. Just keep practicing, and we'll move onto the next step."