Introducing Drums

Covers the fundamentals of drums, including parts of the drumkit, reading music, and playing various styles.

The fundamental components of a drumkit include the bass drum, snare drum, hi hat and ride cymbals, crash cymbal, and tom toms.

Optimize drumming posture for comfort, reach, and reduced muscle strain through proper sitting technique.

Traditional and match grip drumstick holding methods are introduced, highlighting their uses in modern drumming.

Staff notation, bar lines, and time signatures are introduced to read drum music.

Introduces whole and half note values used in instrumental music beyond percussion.

Quarter, eighth, and sixteenth notes combine to form drum beats and rhythms.

Recognizing and producing distinct sounds from individual drums and cymbals in a drum kit.

Tom patterns and snare drum combinations are covered.

Rests in notation indicate specific periods of silence, beyond mere sound absence.

Recognizes and plays cymbals like hi-hat, ride, and crash, while understanding whole notes, half notes, and rests.

Develops hand-eye coordination by synchronizing limb movements to play complex rhythms and melodies.

Hi-hat techniques for adding rhythmic interest and texture to drumming.

Rhythmic patterns and backbeats are covered in this material.

Eighth notes are covered, emphasizing even and consistent execution on drums and cymbals.

Building on eighth notes, quarter notes, and basic rhythms, covers the foundation of a fundamental rock drum beat and its variations.

Identifies notes in time by labeling beats and ands for precise drum timing.

Covers the fundamentals of drumming, including backbeat patterns and bass drum placement for precise control.

Dotted quarter notes are introduced as a fundamental drumming technique, along with exercises that test counting and timing skills.

Varying snare drum parts enables independence and control.

Singing specific sounds, such as bom for bass drum and tsst for hi-hats, helps develop focused awareness of individual elements.

Musical fills are introduced through the use of alternate sticking and varied drum patterns.

Covers the fundamentals of triplet counting in drumming, improving rhythmic accuracy.

Introduces the 12 note positions for triplets, a crucial aspect of music rhythm.

Develops snare drum control through practice of 12 positions within a bar of triplets.

Develops polyrhythmic fills using triplets, alternating hands and drums for nuanced rhythmic expression.

Swinging notes in jazz, blues, rock, and country music covers techniques for creating shuffle rhythms.

Notation and playing of swing rhythms, featuring shuffle patterns, accents, and swing beats.

Sixteenth-note rhythmic techniques and their applications in drumming are covered.

Introduces techniques for playing 16th-note rhythms, including varied bass drum and snare drum placements.

Introduces fundamental techniques for achieving precise snare drum control across all 16 positions in a standard bar.

Softly articulating snare drum notes is covered, with techniques applicable to Funk and Jazz styles.

The role of the left foot in controlling hi-hat cymbals and developing limb coordination is examined.

The mechanics and applications of playing the open hi-hat are covered.

Introduces fundamental concepts of time signatures, including 3/4 and 12/8, and covers the development of simple swing beats and rhythmic patterns.

Introduces techniques for creating a 12-bar Blues solo, emphasizing coordination with bass and guitar, as well as ear training exercises.

The structure of songs and pieces is analyzed, covering 8- and 12-bar forms, with practical applications for drumming.

Develop skills in harmony, chord progressions, and melody writing to enhance your contributions to band arrangements and songwriting.

The musical alphabet, treble clef, and bass clef are introduced, along with reading sheet music for various instruments.

Introduces the concept of the grand staff as a single stave combining treble and bass clefs for reading piano sheet music.

The arrangement of keys on a keyboard is discussed, relating note positions to musical concepts such as major scales.