C OUR SE B E G I N N E R DR UM

BEGINNER DRUM COURSE

Get started on the drums

© 2018 www.totaldrummer.com

Beginner drum course

Welcome to the Total Drummer beginner drum course. Here we will cover some of the main rhythm

types that you need in most styles of music.

Work through each drum beat slowly and repeat it until you can play it in a relaxed manner. After

enough repetition you won’t have to think about it when you play the beat and then it loosens up

and starts to flow.

Once you get each beat to that level try playing it in a sequence with a fill like you will do in the

‘Four bar loop’. Then play that sequence with one of the beginner backing tracks. There are several

which can be accessed in the member’s area on the Total Drummer website.

Use the drum practice schedule to plan what you will practice before each lesson. This helps you

stay focussed and achieve more per practice session.

You can also record how much practice you do each week on the ‘Record of minutes practised’

sheet. This allows you to see at a glance whether or not you are staying on track and then spurs you

on to get back on the practice if you fall short one week.

Remember to have fun and don’t put too much pressure on yourself. It’s not a competition so work

at your own speed. Practice everything slowly and take your time. As long as you practice

frequently you will improve – it just doesn’t always feel like that when you’re having a bad day!

© 2016 www.totaldrummer.com

Practice Tips

Becoming a great drummer takes commitment, perseverance, determination and discipline. Often

the one thing that separates those that succeed from those that fail is simply the tenacity to keep

going when it would be easier to switch on the TV and lie on the sofa.

Regardless of natural ability, the only way to progress to a good level is to have a regular practice

routine and to stick to it. The more you practice, the more you will progress. It's as simple as that.

Here are some basic tips to help you keep going.

1. Set your practice goals out for each week and day.

2. Schedule the practice sessions in your dairy and make sure they are set in stone

3. Have a schedule for each practice session

4. Practice the difficult things first when you're most motivated and alert

5. Always build in time for having fun/jamming/soloing/going crazy for the last part of your

practice

6. Keep practice varied. Don't always practice the same things.

7. Split each session up to cover several things; rudiments, timing, new techniques,

improvisation, etc.

8. Learn things SLOWLY! The most common mistake people make is to try learning fast and

they sacrifice quality and technique.

9. Push yourself and challenge yourself daily. Don't practice what you already know just

because that's easy. You already know it. Push forward to learn new things.

©www.totaldrummer.com 2018

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Just like playing a sport, you don’t want to steam into something very physically challenging

with cold muscles. Warm yourself up physically, mentally and get all your limbs aligned and

ready. Rudiments are great to use here – remember to incorporate feet though!

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Work specifically on timing exercises (see the Total Drummer timing course for ideas)

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Give yourself 20 minutes of really focused practice on your new content – this is where you

really develop your weakest areas and increase your vocabulary.

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Reward yourself with a free, fun session. This can be longer than five minutes but make sure

you give yourself this really fun session. Jam with your favourite songs, play solos, have fun.

Don’t think or analyse – just play!

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Date: _______________

PRACTICE CHARTMonday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday TOTAL

WEEK 1WEEK 2

WEEK 3WEEK 4

WEEK 5WEEK 6

WEEK 7

WEEK 8

WEEK 9

WEEK 10

WEEK 11

WEEK 12

WEEK 13

WEEK 14

WEEK 15

WEEK 16

WEEK 17

WEEK 18

WEEK 19

WEEK 20

WEEK 21

WEEK 22

WEEK 23

WEEK 24

WEEK 25

WEEK 26

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1 2 3 4

Note Values

Semibreve/Whole Note

1 2 3 4

Minim/Half Note

1 2 3 4

Crotchet/Quarter Note

1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +

Quaver/Eighth Note

1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e

© www.totaldrummer.com 2016

+

Semiquaver/Sixteenth Note

a

Standardised Drumkit Notation Key

/

lasts for 4 beats

∑

/

lasts for 2 beats

/

lasts for 1 beat

/

lasts for half a beat

/

lasts for quarter of a beat

/

Snare

Drum

Bass

Drum

Tom

1

Tom

2

Tom

3

<

Ghost

Note

>

Closed

Hi-Hat

Open

Hi-Hat

Hi-Hat

W/foot

Ride

Cymbal

Crash

Cymbal

¡

Cross

Stick

Rimshot

w

˙ ˙ Ó Ó

œ œ œ œ Œ Œ Œ Œ

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

J

‰ œ

J

‰ ‰ ‰ ‰ ‰

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

R

≈ œ

R

≈ ≈ ≈ ≈ ≈ ≈ ≈ ≈ ≈ ≈ ≈ ≈ ≈

œ

œ

œ œœ

œ

¿ ¿

o

¿

¿¿

œ h

Drum Beat

Drum Fill

Four Bar Loop


.

.

4

4

4

4

4

4

4

4

4

4

/

1+ 2

+3 + 4

+

/

1 + 2+

3 +4

+

/

1+

2 + 3 + 4 +

/

1 +2 + 3

+

4+

/

1+ 2 +

3 + 4+

/

1+ 2

+ 3+ 4 +

¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿

¿ ¿

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¿ ¿ ¿ ¿

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¿ ¿

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Œ

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Œ Ó

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Œ

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8 Beats

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8


16 Beats

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8


Quarter Note Beats

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Half Time Grooves

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8


C OUR SE B E G I N N E R DR UM

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