Tuesday, 24 January 2012



Rudiment: Basic Flam

Now, here's an important rudiment that all good drummers SHOULD know: the flam. This is the basic one which you'll need to know if you want to progress in the rudiment system.

Here is a measure of alternating drum flam:
Flam Stroke #1


So, as you can see, the flam stroke is two notes being played as though they are one. The first one is smaller to indicate that it is played at a lower volume and the second one is played at a normal volume. Now, what you're supposed to do is play the notes a little off-set so that they sound fatter. 

Wednesday, 12 October 2011

Metronomes, Basic


  If you're looking for a basic, inexpensive yet quality metronome to aid you in your practice routines then check out the stuff on this page. For the perfect Korg metronome that's even a good guitar tuner! Both of them really pack a punch in terms of functionality as well.



Want to Master your Rudiments on Drums easily and quickly? Want to double or even triple your dynamic range? Want to get your fundamental drumming technique as perfect as possible? Click Here!

Applying The Single Paradiddle!

Below is a great drum beat that uses the single paradiddle rudiment.

1)










(Go back to the first lesson if you are unsure of what drum 'voices', or sounds, each line or space is)

Play it slow at first (the point is to get it down and do it right!), then slowly speed up the tempo. It's highly recommended to use a metronome so that you can get the timings right.


Single Paradiddle

A single paradiddle is most commonly placed within drum beats, drum fills, and also certain solo patterns. This is on the top five of the most popular and must-know drum rudiments. Let's say, it's practically a must for any drummer who wants to make it big and expand there possibilities for the future! This is the basic pattern:

1)






So basically, this single paradiddle is a combination of both single and double strokes. First, play to alternating strokes and then a double. - That would be the first half of the rudiment. Next do the same pattern just with the opposite hand starting first. When you play it altogether you get the single paradiddle! Simple? 

Saturday, 8 October 2011

LESSON 3: counting eighth notes

In this next lesson you will learn how to count eighth notes within a 4/4 time. Also, you will learn how quarter notes and eighth notes relate so that you can understand how sub-divisions work. This will help you build a solid foundation in which to grow on. Before you go through this lesson, however, make sure you fully understand the one before on quarter notes. It is very important that you fully understand all this before moving on to the other theory and notation lessons.

Eighth notes are sub-divisions of quarter notes. This means, there are eight of them in a measure of 4/4 time. The first example show a measure of eighth notes with the counts on top of each note. If you have a metronome, set it to 80 BPM and count this measure like this: one, and, two, and, three, and, four, and (then, re-start at one). Look at and remember, how the eighth notes have a horizontal line connecting the to the quarter notes in groups. You should be able to distinguish between a quarter note and an eighth note.

1)






The second diagram shows a measure of quarter notes leading up to a measure of eighth notes. This exercise is pretty important because it shows you how to go from one sub-division of time to the other.

The counts one, two three, four to remain consistent through both of the measures. Then, for the second measure the 'and' counts simple get added into double the speed of those notes. So, this way you can play double the speed while still maintaining consistent time.

2)










The third diagram mixes quarter and eighth notes into four measures. As you can see, the bottom two lines have notes in different vertical positions. This simply indicates the different drum sounds across a drum set; however, they are still quarter and eighth notes.

3)
























If you have a metronome, set it to 80 BPM and count it like this: one, two, three, and, four, and, one, two, three, four, and, one, and two, and three, and four, one, and, two, and, three, four, and (then, repeat from the start again). It is not necessary to be able to play this on the drum set. It is simply placed in this order so that you can really understand that no matter where in the measure and on the line a note is, you should be able to count and identify the timing and beat.

Now, if you have any questions, please feel free to comment and ask. If you understand all of the above and can do this exercise seamlessly you are ready to move on to the next lesson.