Do you love music ? do you want to know all about drums, basic beats? This is a tutorial by Vana Zeitounian

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Knowing about the
drums
Prepared By: Vana Zeytounian
TONIGHT…WE’RE GONNA ROCK!!!! ;)
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2. Table of Contents
1. Definition and contents ....... 2
2. Basic Theories ...................... 4
3.Learning the Basic Beat ........ 5
Table of figures
Figure 1: Drum set ................... 2
Figure 2: The sticks .................. 3
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3. 1. Definition and contents
The drums is a percussion instrument played by the struck of sticks, meant to maintain the beat and to organize a song or melody
Figure 1: Drum set
Cymbals
Toms
Hi‐Hat
Cymbal
Ride Cymbal
Snare
drum
Bass Drum
Floor
Toms
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Figure 2: The sticks
Tip
Shoulder
Shaft
Butt
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2. Basic Theories
Measures are used in every musical instrument, and especially in the drums, it’s a segment of given beats divided
by a certain time period.
We mainly have 2 kinds of beats:
‐ 4/4
‐ 3/4
. The 4/4 beat: 4 quarter beats per measure (common time), as in saying 1‐2‐3‐4, 1‐2‐3‐4, etc…
This kind of beat can be used in any type of music like pop, rock, R’n’b, etc…
. The 3/4 beat: 3 quarter beats per measure (common time), like saying 1‐2‐3, 1‐2‐3…
This kind of beat is used mostly in Waltz, jazz, traditional folkloric music, etc…
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6. 3.
Learning the Basic Beat
1. The first step is to know how to sit correctly on the special drumming chair. Our back must be straight, the
snare drum must be positioned between our legs, and both foots should be placed on each pedals (right
foot: bass drum’s first pedal/ left foot: Bass drum’s second pedal Or the Hi‐hat’s pedal).
2. To hold the sticks correctly, you should find its gravity point (it’s the point where the bounding of the stick
is doable), the stick is supposed to bound right up with every single stroke.
3. Put your right stick on the Hi‐hat and the left stick on the snare drum.
4. Start counting 1‐2‐3‐4, 1‐2‐3‐4 slowly, and don’t forget to keep a certain tempo in it.
5. Do a 4 quarter beat [(1)‐(2)‐(3)‐(4)] of a Measure with your right stick on the Hi‐hat continuously without
stopping.
6. Add to every 3rd quarter of the measure a stroke with your left stick on the snare drum. So it’s going to be
like [(1)‐(2)‐(3 snare drum)‐(4)]
7. After getting used to the stroke on the snare drum, you add on every 1st quarter of the measure a kick with
your right foot on the bass drum’s pedal. So it’s going to be like… [(1 bass drum kick)‐(2)‐(3)‐(4)].
8. Finally when both snare drum stroke and bass drum kick are done correctly you can combine them and
have a full basic beat, that goes like this: [(1 bass drum kick)‐(2)‐(3 snare drum stroke)‐(4)] .
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