Learn Drums Lesson 03 - 1/4 Note Rock Groove Video Lecture - Learn how

in today's session we'll be continuing
our study of hand technique and looking
at how to incorporate playing at
different dynamic levels when playing
drums there are times in the music where
we must be able to play very softly or
at a medium volume or in the case of
some stars of heavy rock very nice to be
able to control the sticks at different
volumes we tend to think in terms of
stick height rather than the amount of
energy being transferred to the stick
ie hitting harder and faster let's look
at this a little closer if we consider
that the point of impact of the stick on
the drum is zero degrees and our loudest
start position is ninety degrees away
from it we can break our levels into 15
degree increments dropping the stick
from fifteen degrees away from the head
produces a very soft stroke pianissimo
thirty degrees away from the head
produces a soft stroke piano forty-five
degrees a moderately soft stroke mezzo
piano sixty degrees a moderately loud
stroke mezzo Forte seventy-five degrees
a loud stroke forte and ninety degrees a
very loud stroke fortissimo notice that
at this stage I'm only giving the stick
a gentle push we're talking about using
stick height rather than muscular force
to generate the different volumes we
require remember also to stay relaxed
and try to let the stick rebound
even at low levels okay so now we've got
some dynamics on the goal let's do a
quick warmup warm-ups are a good way to
start your
practice routine and help us get the
blood pumping to your muscles and to get
your joints and tendons ready for
playing we'll also be using a new tool
to help us warm up it's called a
metronome a metronome is a device that
we use to help us learn to keep a steady
beat or pulse it can produce a series of
beeps or clicks which will try and stay
in time with on the metronome we've got
some numbers which refer to beats per
minute this means if I set the metronome
to 60 beats per minute it will click at
the same speed as seconds 120 beats per
minute would mean we would hear two
clicks per second I'll set this
metronome to 90 beats per minute for our
warmup I'll be trying to hit at the same
time the click is being produced on the
metronome so if I'm in time the sound of
the drum will mask the sound of the
click this warm-up involves playing the
same number of hits on each hand
alternately eight with the right hand
eight with the left seven with the right
seven with the left six with the right
six with the left and so on until we're
playing one on each hand for a while
then we'll work back up to eight again
it's up to you how many times you repeat
each number just remember to try and
keep everything nice and relaxed and
focus on the sound you're making and
also make sure your sticks are at the
same height let's play this warm-up with
a stick height of about 45 degrees I'll
give you two bars of click to lead into
the exercise one two three
okay let's now go back up again one two
three four
here's another warm-up which
incorporates an exercise from our
previous video lesson this time let's
add another part to it the new part is
called a single paradiddle and it's made
up of two single strokes right left and
then a double stroke right right and
then another set of single strokes the
other way around
left-right under double left left let's
try to play the paradiddle with the
metronome
I'll give you two bars of click to lead
into the exercise one two three four now
let's add that to the bottom of our
previous exercise the exercise is now
eight rights eight left's
single strokes double strokes and now a
paradiddle I'll give you two bars of
click to lead into the exercise one two
three four use either of these exercises
as a warm-up and remember it's just that
a warm-up so just go steady and start
slow in order to warm up properly
now that we've covered some warm-ups I'd
like to look at some notation for drums
here are some notes written on some
lines we call the stave the notes are
placed in boxes called bars you'll
notice that the black dot of the note
head is on the second space down that
indicates all these notes are to be
played on the snare drum the two numbers
at the beginning are called the time
signature and tell us that we have four
quarter notes in each bar this means we
should count one two three four one two
three four the thick and thin line with
the two dots at the right hand side tell
us to repeat this exercise again I'm
going to play this exercise on the snare
drum using single strokes one two three
four one two three four one two three
four one two three four one two three
four because all the notes are the same
it means we have a steady pulse just
like the metronome but we can change
this by removing some notes and adding
quarter note rests this series of notes
is still to be played on the snare drum
with a steady pulse but whenever you see
the squiggly line you must rest to the
value of one quarter note that is
because the squiggly line is a quarter
note rest this effectively gives us hits
on beats one two and three but a rest on
beat four one two three four one
two three four one two three four one
two three four one two three four
here are four quarter notes on the
hi-hat you can see the note head has
been changed to a cross and the position
of the note head is above the stave the
notation is telling us to play four
quarter notes on the hi-hat remember to
count one two three four one two three
four and play the hi-hat with the tip of
the stick on the bow of the hi-hat
cymbals use your right hand for this one
two three four one two three four one
two three four one two three four one
two three four let's add the snare drum
on beats two and four use your left hand
for this one two three four one two
three four one two three four one two
three four one two three four okay now
for some bass drum place your foot on
the footplate and whilst keeping your
heel down pushed gently until the beater
strikes the drum the tension in this
spring will try to return the beater to
the start position again so just allow
it to return while keeping the sole of
your foot on the footplate at all times
like playing a drum with a stick try and
keep a relaxed motion at all times and
allow as natural a rebound as PO
possible play the bass drum exercise
while counting 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 and
strike the drum on beats one and three
only 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2
3 4 you'll notice that the bass drum
note heads are on the bottom space
that's because the bass drum has the
lowest pitch of all our drums ok let's
put it together to play our first
quarter note rock beat this is what the
notation looks like we've got the hi-hat
playing quarter notes continuously with
the right hand 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 we've got
the snare drum added on beats 2 and 4
with the left hand 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 and
now we've got the bass drum playing on
beats one and three with the right foot
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
you'll notice that basically the snare
and bass drum alternate over a repeating
pattern on the hi-hat cymbals 1 2 3 4 1
2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
one two three four take your time with
this exercise
it's tricky at first and you may need to
start with one lamb at a time or try to
limbs at a time in different orders for
example play the high hat and the bass
drum parts or just the snare drum and
the bass drum keep practicing and
remember to count one two three four one
two three four to help you keep a good
steady pulse after some practice try
playing this beat along with the
metronome - good luck and bye for now