Playing the drums is often described as “Layin’ down a groove.” This means playing a song’s drum beat at a consistent speed (“layin’ it down”) and with a good feeling (“a groove”). The speed of a songneeds to stay steady but it also must “flow” and not feel “stiff.” The best way that I’ve found to learn a song’s “feel” is to dance to a recording of a song before playing it. In this lesson, you’ll learn the importance of “feeling” a song before you try to play it. We’re following a plan to play drums in 4 weeks and this is Lesson 3 of 12. See the complete Plan by clicking here.
The drummer has many roles in a band but the most important one is “timekeeper.” As timekeeper, it’s up to you to know a song’s speed (it’s tempo) and to count it off (like “one-two-three-four”) so that the rest of the band members start together. As the song progresses, it’s critical for you to keep the speed of the song consistent. There’s nothing worse than a drummer who speeds up (rushes) or slows down (drags).
Your mastery of a song’s tempo starts with the count off. Memorizing a song’s tempo can be difficult. I tend to count songs off faster if I’m excited and slower if I’m tired. I use a metronome during band practice to get the tempo of a song in my mind before I count it off. However, it takes too long to set a metronome during a performance (a gig) and I don’t want the audience waiting while I set up a metronome. The most effective way I’ve found for remembering tempos is to sing the most familiar part of the song and imagine I’m dancing to the song. My performance tempo is more accurate and I play the song with a better “feel” if I move my body to the song before I count it off for the rest of the band.
Following the steps below you will be able to play the drum beat you learned in the last lesson to a song of your choosing and play it with a great “feel.”
- Practice the drum beat you learned in the last lesson
(Your First Drum Beat (No Drums Required)) and review what it feels like to play at 60 beats per minute (bpm). - Choose a song with a tempo that is close to 60 bpm. Here are some examples (click on the links and album covers to hear song samples on Amazon.com):
60’s Rock: Whiter Shade of Pale – Procol Harum, Voodoo Chile – Jimi Hendrix
70’s Rock: Imagine – John Lennon, Dream On – Aerosmith,
Hotel California – The Eagles
80’s Rock: Purple Rain – Prince, Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now – Starship, Every Rose Has It’s Thorn – Poison
80’s Country: Don’t Close Your Eyes – Keith Whitley, God Bless The USA – Lee Greenwood
90’s Rock: Free Fallin’ – Tom Petty, I’ll Stand by You – The Pretenders
90’s Rap: Gangsta’s Paradise – Coolio
90’s Country: Only God Could Stop Me Lovin’ You – Chris Ward
2000’s Pop: Take a Bow – Rihanna, Beautiful – Christina Aguilera
2000’s Country: Where The Blacktop Ends – Keith Urban
2010 Rap/Hip-Hop: There Goes My Baby – Usher, Lose My Mind – Young Jeezy Featuring Plies, Bittersweet – Fantasia
2010 Rock: End Of Me – Apocalyptica, Waiting For The End – Linkin Park, World So Cold – Three Days Grace
2010 Pop: Secrets – One Republic, Love The Way You Lie – Eminem Featuring Rihanna, Just A Dream – Nelly
2010 Country: Voices – Chris Young, Real – James Wesley, If I Die Young – The Band Perry - Dance to the song a couple times. Standing up and dancing is best but it also works to sit down, close your eyes and tap your foot or nod your head in time with the music.
- Sit down at your imaginary drum set (like in the last lesson). Play the song again and count out loud in time to the music (“one-and-two-and-three-and-four-and-one-and…”). For most songs you should hear the bass drum being played on “one” and the snare drum on “two” and “four.”
- Continue counting out loud and tap your right foot (bass drum) in time with the music on “one”, “two”, “three” and “four.”
- Once you are playing your right foot exactly on each number beat of the song, start rocking your left foot heel on “one” and “three” and your toes on “two” and “four.”
- When your feet are playing together with the song, tap your right hand once on each word (two taps per beat).
- Once your right hand is playing with the song, add your left hand on “two” and “four.” Continue playing for the whole song. Don’t worry about the other beats that you hear the drums playing in the recording. Focus on playing your beat and making it feel good.
- When the song is done, replay it, only this time, start playing your hands and feet together. Keep practicing until you can start your drum beat on the count of “one” with your right hand, right foot and the heel of your left foot all coming down together.
Congratulations! You’ve just played your first song! Try using the steps above to play a different song. You’ll be surprised how easy it is to learn the second song. Now you are ready to pick up drumsticks and build on today’s lesson by learning to play faster, more complex beats.