Rock Drumming Lesson

Okay, so in this section, we're going to start learning about rock drumming. One of the most popular styles of drumming, I would say some of my favorite drummers would be:

• Ringo Starr from The Beatles
• Charlie Watts from The Rolling Stones
• Dave Grohl (brilliant in Nirvana, loved the Foo Fighters)
• Neil Peart from Rush (a lot more complexity in his playing)

Finding Inspiration

Listen to lots of different players for inspiration. The variety in styles can greatly enhance your playing.

Playing Dynamics

As a starting point for rock drumming, we want to play a little bit louder. Here are some tips:

• Hit the hi-hats with this part of the stick rather than the tip for more attack.
• You can also experiment with opening the hi-hats a little, especially when playing quarter notes per bar.

Rhythm Structure

• Generally, the snare drums will be on 2 and 4.
• The bass drum phrasing can vary, but typically, we place the bass drums on beats 1 and 3.

Keeping Time

• It's important to keep your counting going: 1 and 2 and 3 and 4.
• This will help you remember where your snare drums land: 2 and 4.

Simple Rock Groove

A simple kind of rock groove that you might learn could be structured like this:

1. Start with basic patterns.
2. Progress to something more complicated, like occasionally adding 16th notes on the bass drum.

Note: Keep the snare drum strong on 2 and 4, and play eighth notes on the hi-hat.

Drumstick Techniques

Some rock drummers like to turn the drumstick around to get even more attack on the snare drum. This changes the balance slightly, giving more weight at the tip of the stick:

• While it’s less common, some drummers turn the hi-hat stick around for added variation.

Practicing Unison

We need to practice playing a lot of things in unison—that means when the hands or the hand and foot land together. Aim for tight timing.

• There's a lot of hi-hats and bass drums landing together, and hi-hat plus snare landing together.
• Try to avoid a flam effect (where one hits slightly before the other).

Flam Example:

• A flam can be demonstrated when one stick is slightly out of time with the other. Avoid this effect with the hi-hat and bass drum.

Playing Techniques

You can visualize the hand and foot going down at the same time. As right-handed drummers, we may find it easier to coordinate our right hand and right foot together.

Practice Tips:

• You might find it frustrating at times when your timing with the snare and hi-hat isn't aligning perfectly; adjust as needed.

Snare Drum Techniques

Now, we'll start looking at some examples for practicing your snare drum techniques:

1. Single Strokes:

   • Strike the snare with the right hand, then the left, alternating (right, left, right, left).
   • Play quarter notes at a nice, easy tempo.
   • If you're left-handed, you may want to reverse this pattern.

2. Double Strokes:

   • Play two notes with each hand (right, right, left, left).

3. Paradiddle:

   • This pattern combines single and double strokes:
     • For right-handed players: right, left, right, right.
     • This will naturally reverse in the second bar: left, right, left, left.

Conclusion

We’ll work on all these patterns together, giving you the chance to play alongside me. Let's have fun practicing!