Beginner Drum Set (Mini Book)

Book Pages

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  p.1 — Eighth Beats in Rock Drumming

  Explore the core rhythms of rock drumming with this collection of beats that use eighth notes. The notation is written in both “one voice” and “two voices” so that you can become acquainted with both versions. Two voices will be used for the notation in pages that follow.

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  p.2 — Common Eighth Beats in Rock Drumming

  Drum beats using eighth notes are at the heart of rock drumming. The beats on this interactive page are some of the most common of these.

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  p.3 — Rock Drumming with Eighth Rests

  Eighth rests are counted the same way as eighth notes, but you do not play during a rest. Including rests allows for the creation of more syncopated, “rhythmic” sounding beats.

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  p.4 — Two-Bar Patterns in Rock Drumming

  So far, you’ve played one-bar repeating drum beats. To create a more developed and interesting sound, rock drummers often use two-bar repeating beats.

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  p.5 — Moving the Snare

  While rock drumming often has a snare drum backbeat on beats “2” and “4” (like you have played so far), moving the snare drum strokes or adding additional strokes can add punctuation to parts of a song and change the feel of the beat almost entirely.

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  p.6 — Displacing the Backbeat

  “Displacing the Backbeat” refers to a beat that doesn’t have a backbeat on either beats “2” or “4.” Moving the backbeat from beats 2 and 4 creates a dramatic change in feel.

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  p.7 — Your First Rock Drum Fills

  Drum fills are not only fun to play, they’re fun for the listener, too. Drum fills stray from the foundational drum beat of the song, providing a break from the beat and more commonly a transition to another part of the song.

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  p.8 — Drum Set Etudes

  These short pieces incorporate drumming concepts you’ve practiced so far in a more realistic way that mimics a part of a song.

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  p.9 — Beginner Drum Set – Test Yourself

  Test your skills with this 32 bar piece, which incorporates all of the concepts you’ve practiced in the mini book so far.