5-How to Play the Drums: Reading Notes & Rhthyms

This lesson is part of the series: Introduction to Drumming: The Basics, Drumming Lessons: Reading Rhythm, Drumming Lessons: Basics through Advanced

Rhythms are made up from different notes. The different types of notes have different lengths, and its these lengths which control what the rhythms will sound like. Shorter notes will sound faster than longer notes because each one lasts for a shorter amount of time. This does not mean that the music is faster when the notes are shorter - it just sounds faster. Once we decide on the tempo (this is the musical word for speed) for the music - each bar lasts for the same amount of time. We can fill that time with lots of short notes, one or two long notes, or some of each.

This lesson is excerpted from a broader course available from www.begindrumming.com. The Begin Drumming course is a 100% comprehensive drumming course which takes you from absolute beginner to expert soloist without any gimmicky short cuts! Through a combination of video and written lessons, the course will teach you proper technique as well as how to read drum music.

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Let me introduce myself. My name is Jim McCarthy. I'm a drum clinician and teacher and have specialized in pure technique for many years. I consider myself still a student as well, because I have a passion for constantly learning. I learn every day when I watch other drummers, and I analyze what works and what doesn’t. Performing, Educating and Learning have been my life and my living for well over 20 years.

I've had a tremendously broad background in drumming. I've played in rock bands, orchestras, marching bands - everything from high-brow contemporary music to Latin American stuff.

I spent six years at university studying percussion performance full time, and I ended up with a...

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