Drumming – It’s Not THAT Hard… Right? (Part 2)

by Jc Lam

It’s easier than it seems actually, once you get the hang of it. Well, I mean playing the drums that is. Sure, it involves technically more movement of more body parts than any other basic instruments (guitar, saxophone, and piano to name a few), and yet, to me, basic drumming seems a whole lot simpler. Today we continue from where we left off last week.

The First Beat

Now that you know what a snare and a bass drum, a crash and a hi-hat is, shall we start learning how to hit the drums? Well, not quite. Hold on to your pants there for a second and let’s take a look at some of the basics of drumming. After all, you can’t just grab a club and take a swing at a golf ball and call that golfing now can you?

Okay, maybe you can. But that defeats the purpose!

First thing’s first, let’s start by conditioning your hands into holding the drumsticks – properly. It is a common misperception that holding the drumsticks doesn’t require any sort of know-how. This is wrong. It is very common for fresh drummers to start their drumming careers holding the pair of sticks the wrong way and then having to later relearn the process.

As the saying goes, old habits die hard. And in this case, that is very true indeed. Holding the drumsticks the right way is essential as it helps build technique during the later, more advanced part of your drumming. So how exactly, do you hold the drumsticks? Well, there are several methods to do so, but popularly, the preferred one is the identical grip.

It’s relatively simple. Stick your right palm out with your fingers straight and place one of the drumsticks on top. Place the bottom tip of the stick on the middle section of the left corner of your right palm, and let the stick cross under your index finger. Not too tightly, grip the stick and push it down so that the bottom of the stick protrudes about a centimeter.

And voila! You’re holding the drumstick. Now, do the same with your left hand and you’re ready to hit the drums.

As I’ve mentioned in my previous column, a basic drum beat consists of the hi-hat, snare and bass drum. For a right-hander, the best placement is for your right hand (assuming you’re already holding the drumsticks) to hit the hi-hat, the left to hit the snare and you’re right foot on the bass drum pedal.

Now, count 1-2-3-4 out loud. And as you repeat saying those numbers, slowly start by hitting the hi-hat on all four counts (1-2-3-4). Then, add in the bass drum by stepping on the pedal every time you mention ‘1’. And once you’re comfortable with that, add in the snare on beat ‘3’ while keeping the rest consistent. Once you’ve successfully completed one round of this rudiment, you can be proud to say that you’ve just learnt your first drum beat!

What’s next is to try out new arrangements to get your hands and feet to be better coordinated and independent. One easy way to do this is to search up for tutorial videos over the internet. Don’t worry, as there are plenty! And with this, all that is left comes down to three words – practice, practice, practice.

Next Week: A drummer cannot be a drummer alone. Or at least, it won’t be as fun.