Kick Drum Basics

Hey, guys! Welcome back. I hope you're all warmed up now after our first lesson together. Today, we're going to go through the basics of the kick drum.

What is a Kick Drum?

The kick drum is the pulse or the heartbeat of any rhythm, and it sounds like this:

Now, to create the sound, follow these steps:

1. Say the Word "Boo":

   • Just say that:
   • Boo. Boo. Boo.

2. Focus on the Consonant:

   • Focus on the consonant B at the start.
   • Make it as tight, powerful, and loud as possible.
   • Repeat:
   • Boo, boo, boo, boo, boo, boo.

3. Take Away the Vowels:

   • Remove the oo and keep the B.
   • It should sound like this:

Common Mistake:

• People often say P rather than B.
  • It sounds like this: instead of...
  • The only difference is where you release the pressure from your lips.

How to Make the Sound

• Building Up Pressure:

  • You're building up pressure in your mouth and then releasing it.

• Lip Technique:

  1. If you release it from the front of your lips (with the outside of your lips touching), it sounds like a P.
  2. If you touch the insides of your lips together and purse your lips slightly, it sounds like a B.

This is where you create the bass sound, which produces the pulse of your beat.

Practice It Together

Let's try it together very slowly. It should sound like this:

• Once you get the hang of that, try taking a deep breath in, then use your diaphragm to push out even more air.

This way, your kick drum will be even more powerful, and it should sound like this:

• Depending on where you release the pressure, how tight your lips are, and how relaxed the sides of your mouth are, you can start to experiment with different kinds of tones. Create your own personal kick drum!

Simple Beat Practice

Once you've got the hang of the kick drum, you can practice with a very simple beat from We Will Rock You, which goes like this:

• This will give you a cool way to learn the sound while having some fun!

Stay tuned! Next up, we'll be learning some more sounds.