Learn to Play Drums/Lessons/A 4\4 Beat

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The key to playing drums well is practice. You will need to build up your co-ordination, and it is better to start off with something simple, so you will not get put off by difficulty.

Here is the first, most simplistic beat you are likely to ever come across. Also known as the basic 'rock beat', this drum beat (or some variation of it) is seen in many of the 'classic rock' songs of the '60s and '70s.

HH|x---x---x---x---|
T1|----------------|
Sn|----o-------o---|
T2|----------------|
T3|----------------|
BD|o-------o-------|

Don't worry if you don't get this done the first time, just keep practicing it until you get it right.

Next up is a slightly different and longer beat, which is good for gaining co-ordination in these early stages.

HH|x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x|
T1|-------------------------------------------------------------|
Sn|----o-------o-------o-------o-------o-------o-------o-------o|
T2|-------------------------------------------------------------|
T3|-------------------------------------------------------------|
BD|o---o---o---o---o---o---o---o---o-------o-------o-------o----|

Keep practicing this beat until you can get it right, then try playing it a couple of times in a row to make sure it wasn't a fluke.

This beat is heard in Green Day's Boulevard of Broken Dreams (that's the first song that popped into my head, there are plenty more songs that utilise this beat though.)

HH|x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-|
Sn|----o-------o---|
BD|o-------o-o-----|

A little more difficult now, this one requires you to play a bass drum beat between 2 high hat hits!

HH|x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-|
Sn|----o-------o---|
BD|o------oo-o-----|