37-How to Play the Drums: Reading Demisemiquavers

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

In this lesson, we'll learn about reading another type of note: “demi-semiquavers”, or “thirty second notes”. Demisemiquavers sound twice as fast as semiquavers, so most of the time we have to use double strokes in order to play them fast enough. There are lots of ways that we can use demisemiquavers, and this lesson and its supplementary files explore a few of them. Where quavers have one tail and one beaming line and semiquavers have two tails and beaming lines, we'll learn that demisemiquavers have three of each.

Because there are so many of them in a standard bar, and they go by so quickly - we often write them out in a special shortened way, which you'll also learn in this lesson. Additionally, your counting to keep track of the beat will vary for demisemiquavers (just as it did for crotchets versus quavers versus semiquavers). He'll review how most people keep count verbally (and in their head) when playing demisemiquavers.

After learning about demisemiquavers, Jim will introduce an exercise to help you get accustomed to and familiar with reading and playing demisemiquavers in simple demisemiquaver music patterns.

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.

• Once you purchase this lesson you will have access to these files:
• 37.pdf

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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