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Learn how to drum to a rhythm
Learn how to drum to a rhythm
Student music resource developed by The Arts Unit
Years 3 to 6 Music
What will I learn?
What will I learn?
You will:
learn about rhythmic notation
practise basic drum patterns (single stroke and double stroke)
combine these patterns and play them at a faster tempo
experiment with drumming along to music.
Before you begin
Before you begin
You will need:
a device to watch the videos on
drum sticks
practice pad
a metronome.
If you don't have these items, don't worry! There are other objects you can use instead. If you don't have:
drum sticks: you can use things like chopsticks, wooden spoons or even pencils!
a practice pad: you could use a pillow, place mat, chair or table
a metronome: use an online version such as this one from Musicca.
Learn about rhythmic notation
Learn about rhythmic notation
Before you begin drumming, view the diagram and watch the following 2 videos to review or learn about rhythmic notation.
Music is made up of long sounds, short sounds and moments of silence (called 'rests'). Rhythmic notation tells us how long to play each note for, in a piece of music. This is what makes the rhythm.
In this lesson, you will see:
minims (2 beats long)
crotchets (1 beat long)
quavers (half a beat long).
1. Note Values (Music Theory Lesson)
Duration: 6:022. Music Basics - Rhythm (Part 1)
Duration: 2:04Holding the drumsticks
Holding the drumsticks
Are you ready to learn about the basics of drumming? We will learn two different types of strokes before we combine them together.
Dave Lockeridge (or Drummer Dave!) is going to show you what to do in these videos. Before we start drumming, we need to know how to hold the sticks correctly.
Watch the video Holding the sticks to learn how to hold your drum sticks correctly.
Practise holding your drum sticks.
What do you need to remember when holding drumsticks?
Holding the sticks
Duration: 2:53Single stroke
Single stroke
Now that we can hold the drumsticks, let's learn how to do a single stroke.
Watch the video Single stroke and play along with Drummer Dave.
Pause and replay the video when you need to.
Remember:
These notes are called crotchets. The 4/4 means there are 4 of them in every bar. The 4/4 is the time signature.
Exercise 1: single stroke
Single stroke drumming, starting with the right hand. Set your metronome at 80 bpm (beats per minute).
R L R L
Double stroke
Double stroke
Next, let's learn how to do a double stroke.
Watch the video Double stroke and play along with Drummer Dave.
Remember, you can pause and replay the video as much as you need to.
Exercise 2: double stroke
Single stroke drumming, starting with the right hand. Set your metronome at 80 bpm (beats per minute).
R R L L
Exercise 3: double stroke reversed
Single stroke drumming, starting with the left hand. Set your metronome at 80 bpm.
L L R R
Combining the strokes
Combining the strokes
Are you ready for a challenge?
It's time to combine the single stroke and double stroke together!
Watch and follow the video Combining the strokes, to combine the single and double strokes.
Pause and replay the video when you need to.
Combining the strokes
Duration: 02:46In this combination, single strokes will be crotchets:
R L R L
In this combination, double strokes will be quavers:
R R L L R R L L
Exercise 4: single and double strokes
You will be starting with the right hand. You will be playing a bar of single strokes (as crotchets) and a bar of double strokes (as quavers).
Set your metronome at 80 bpm (beats per minute).
R L R L R R L L R R L L
Exercise 5: single and double strokes reversed
This time you will be starting with the left hand. You will be playing the same combination of single and double strokes as you did in exercise 4.
Set your metronome at 80 bpm.
L R L R L L R R L L R R
Getting faster!
Getting faster!
Super challenge! Let's play the combination, but get a little bit faster!
Watch the video and play along with Drummer Dave to Getting faster!
This can get a bit tricky, so pause and replay the video when you need to!
Getting faster!
Duration: 01:46Exercise 6: getting faster
You will be playing the same combination of single strokes and double strokes as you did in exercise 4 and 5, but we will play at a faster tempo (speed) each time. You will take turns starting with your right hand then your left hand.
Challenge 1: set your metronome at 90 bpm.
Challenge 2: set your metronome at 100 bpm.
Challenge 3: set your metronome at 120 bpm.
Combination starting with your right hand:
Combination starting with your left hand:
Experiment with drumming along to songs
Experiment with drumming along to songs
Can you drum along to these songs?
Play the following 3 videos and see if you can drum along with different strokes:
single stroke
double stroke
single and double combination
You can also make up your own patterns using the single and double strokes.
1. "Can't Stop The Feeling!" Official Movie Clip Trolls
Duration: 2:242. Zootopia (2016) - Arriving (Try Everything)
Duration: 2:353. Imagine Dragons - Believer (Thunder) Cover by One Voice Children's Choir
Duration: 3:27Review
Review
Can you remember what each of these words mean?
fulcrum
front stroke
back stroke
sub-dividing
metronome
single stroke
double stroke
Check your answers by watching the video Reviewing the basics.
Reviewing the basics
Duration: 01:28Third-party content attributions
Third-party content attributions
In Concert image, photographer: Anna Warr.
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