COLLEGE LONDON = ru PEN Ber ull Sms am == | o%NITY COLLEGE LONDON Introducing Drum Kit by George DoubleStage 1 A basic Drum Kit estan “T ne SD e { N 4 Setting up ‘Te postion af the kit's very important wil ether allow you to move freely around te toms or cause you to contort yourself affecting your timekeeping and sound. Beain seated, with your right foot fr right anders) onthe bast drum peda. Bring the snare drum in between the legs stil facing forware and then, where your let foot naturally als place the hi Rat pedal. The floor tom ito the Fight of your right leg and the high and mid toms shouldbe set where you can comfortably reach them. The ride {yal goes tothe right ofthe mid tom and the crash cymbsl the let of the high tom. Some people preter to Use a four pice hit leaving out the mid tom, The setups the same and you simply bring your ride in closer. Individual parts of the Drum Kit ee ~ eae we Ride/Crash ‘cymbal High tom, Floor tom Mid tom HinatLeft-handed players y ‘Thebit can beset up as easly fr let haners as it can for ight Iie s mirror image, sideways on. With the snare between the legs, the bass rum ‘eda fits under the left foot and the hi hat pedal ‘under the right. The mi tom is mounted tothe a lef ofthe high tom and the floor tom sits othe Fett ofthe let le, Grip ‘The way we hol the sticks and strike the drums is important fr sound production at the kit. There are two types of grip that drummers use fo Rol their sticks: matched rip and traditional grip 1. Matched grip Take the stick in your leading hand. Make sure you grip the shaft ~ the main body ofthe stick ~a third ofthe way up from the butt the bottom end) etween te second jint of your index finger and the tip ofthe thumb, This called the fulerum, andis very important for contral. The other thre fingers shoud est gently around the shat loner down, The stroke f then a smooth are of the tip uP and down, and should fee! asf you were throwing a ball onto the floor with the ‘amount of force neeged for it to bounce up again and be caught. The grip far the ‘other hand iste same, hence the term ‘matcned! 2. Traitiona grip ‘The rghthand grip or right handed players i exactly the same asthe matched ‘tp. For the lethanigrp, hold your hand out fat with the palm upwards. With ‘Your other hand, pace the stick tip towards you) between the base of your thum {and inde finger about a third ofthe way down the stick now ratate your et hand ‘ntl your thumbnail points upwards. Gently curl tne fourth ana ith fingers under the stick to form a cushion. The second and third fingers gently cut over the stick (Similar to matched ri), This controls the amount of bounce. The playing sroke fs produced bya combination of finger, wrist and, ta lesser extent, arm movement, Choosing sticks Fining te right stick s important and willffect your sound atthe k's a goad idea to vis your cal frum shop and try out ciferent weight af stick ona practice pad, There is no right and wrong stick to star with, and a certain make and model wll feel very comfortable andnaturalta you personally. The tip of the stick willbe made either from wood or nylon and each fnsh gives aaifeent tone, Some drummers prefer the warmth ofa wood tip and others lke the added detiition that nylon gives onthe hi hat ‘and ride cymbal ‘As payers develop, so does the size of their stick bal The broom handles" you might use ona big metal gig might overpower the pote conversation of the drinks reception yaute playing atthe fliowing afternoon, so ‘eventually youl need a range of sticks, brushes, mallets and rutes/hot rods ta Suit the afferent situations,Bott Tel ad Starting drum kit notation, easy rhythms and dynamics "Most ofthe time, drummers play on three parts ofthe drum it. These are notated 3 follows sess run = sparen =a —— 60) Remember Did you know? Press down onthe hi ht peda wth you left fot to dose there ‘The rave cum is called because tho eybaetogether Th gives heh otk porlr ek ofthe wes or snes svetched | sound wen you sk wth the ck ‘coe the boom of the drum Wisisacrichet por Tsisacrotchet Thisisaminim = Torreon PT Gaternaores, 2 atest iisarte wn represents oe represents wo ts tor ne bet beat of sence beat of aence ‘ur fist pattern, or groove, combines al three parts of the crum kitin 3 sequence of crotchets in time, Play this alongwith CD trac e com 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4e6 rack Did you know? Dram kt and pression rue writen sing @ pression clef oo vera fe = ( Mondytip ‘iso time signature which tee you thee ae fou roche beat abo. Dynamics are the markings that tell us how loud or sft our paying shuld be forteorfmesnsiovd (Bid you kno ano orp means soft {Dynamics create exreson ond entrain he mateExercises Play the following exercises, remembering to look atthe dynamic marking before you start Count the beats of the bar as you ge along cout 1 2 4.42 9 4 412 3 4 12 34 Bouti 2 9 4 1 2 8 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 9 4 Hout: 2 3 4 1239 4 123 4 128 4 Gout: 2 9 4 12 8 4 123 4 12 8 4 Con 1 2 3 4 1 2 39 4 12 3 4 1239 4 Gouri 2 3 4 12 34 1 2 $ 4 1 23 4Performance piece Get to knowhow the pice should sound by lstening to CD track 2, which sth ful version with drums. Now it’ time for yout try playing te pice along with the backing track (CD track 3). & ‘Tracks 2 and 3 Getting Started Count in 4 pe ————— nn Remember | Wh out forthe resin hs pier Mak sre you cout carly fenda tp rumbered tthe begining ofeach Ine of muses hat Players con coy fee where they ore inthe piece Did you know? “The recon of not sts cn var in drum mae, Composers ‘and rangers ry to present mse nthe most saighforward way pore, babe prepared for vraton.More rhythms and rests Tisisaquwver gor Tiss semreve Handy tip eantrnato. BD (avo note rest. ~ con abo meno wile tisenote which ‘repent our Seas lst tora beat beats of tence (rine J Did you know? Cuoves rly beamed eget n ups of wo ITD ewe tea, 1 and 2 and 9 and 4 and Couavers are counted the this: rrerer te 1424 ae ae ‘This can aso be writen as: trererce Exercises Practise the following exercises to get used to playing quavers. In exercises 6-8, make sue the crotchets on bass drum and snare drum line up neat with the quavers on hi hat. Dnt forget to check the dynamics of each exercise before you begin,‘Try jamming this pattern with CD track 4, or ee fit fits with your favourite songs. ®& Track 4Fills using crotchets and quavers [fills a pattern which fil the time beten one pase or section and the next. Spot the ils inte fourth bar af exercises, 2 and 4 below. This symbols commonly used in drum notation and means to repeat the previous bar ‘mezzo forte a gf Is another dynamic marking and means moderately (medium) lous. Handy tip Did you know? “Typing the fling execs Pring Tne he ot ipo kl foro dre Indl nd then in he together Teneo 0 ly sedan consent ea | make oshr st pace Exercises ‘Try laying the following exercises, Don’ forget the repsted bas,Performance piece Get to know haw the piece should sound by listening to CD trackS, which ste full version with drums Now it’ time fr yout try playing the piece along with the backing track (CD track 6). Handy tip A great del of the muse we ploy made up of four, eight, twee od sixteen praes. The indduel bors of these poses ae often nanbered a byockets above the stave, whlch le curmes hee thee place amongst many repeat br. (% miss Straight Eighth Groove @ sf oy 2 wo t slo Remember ce oto known oe eghh note. Asvaight eighth’ ptsStage 4 More drum kit notation ‘The toms andi hat with fat are notated as flloms: a vistom = Foo tom = Hinat with foot Exercises Here are some exercises which make use ofthese new pats ofthe drum kitPerformance pieces ‘Ths isa duet for pupil and teacher to play together. The teacher’ part has been recorded andis track onthe CD. Orem Andante Pui Count in Teacher2 Note totescner: Did you know? Handy tip Sometimes the eters Rand oppor above he soe, These dren and for | || —— io crescendo rah nda hand ond el you he order of sicking in a prt pater Ieee to i radu oer Did you know? (nthe sel of your rare ru the sare lever. Ths simple switch tht ms upg poston Goares on causes the wires tobe tout aos the botom ofthe drm nore head) fing the dante porter souna With the sre inthe dou pation nares of he dra fas diferent more melow sound. Th technique sometimes used in Latin us a joAccents » Hereis a note wit an accent, which means to play the note wth emphasis, === ‘This sa second duet for pup and teacher to pay together. The teacher's part has been recorded andi track Bon the cD. Ome Boogie for Two Drummers Pupil (snares off Teacher Note to teacher n order to make it easir to move Dulepaeens ‘arcand the drum it at this tempa, there sno qaver The Boog 2 fs, ding ryt, ‘movement in the pups ine of ths lee «Quavers on the bass drum So far this book the bass drum has ony played crotchet rhythms. In thisstage, quaver rhythms are introduce. == ‘ez20 piano or mp is another dynamic marking ané means moderately sot. Exercises ‘count carefully in these exercises and make sure that the bass and snare rum ine up neatly with the quavers on thehi hat. —Ride Cymbal ‘The notation of the ride cymbal can vary slohtly between aferent pleces of music. [tis mostly writen on the top ine of the stave to cistingish it rom the Hi Hat and ‘rash Cymbal, but you wil seit written above the stave too with 3 text direction, either Ride, Ride Cymbal or RC.Crash Cymbal ‘The Crash Cymbals usualy notated asa circled, cross note head onthe first ledger {2dded) tne above the stave. You may aso see less often asa ctced notehesd on the top tne, [Handy tip i ) ‘Wen thers 6 ond no traction on the mus, ia tb plod Untike the close hi at, cymbals have a sustained sound which fades gradual. This is ‘notated onthe stave by alow arc coming fom the notehead. Thi s called an lv. mark, loce ver which means to et the cymbal ing on‘shoul the rng of the crash cymbal need to be silenced before its natural fade, it should be grabbed bythe hand to stop the vibration Tiss notated asa choke e Choke Cym ‘4 throughout Performance piece ‘This next piece incorporates all the elements of this stage ~ seehiow many you can spot. Get to know how the piece should sound by Istenng to CD track 9, which f the fll version with drums. Now it's time for yout try playing the pece along with the backing track (CD track 10) (GB 2s 9 and 10 Finale Count in 5Stage 6 Rudiments Every instrument has a st of technical exercises which provide bulding blocks fom which musics created, On| the drum kt, an unpitched instrument where scales and arpeggios are not possible, we havea series of patterns ‘or rudiments with timtless creative possibities, Patent practice of these rudiments improves cur sound and confidence atte drums ana prepares us forthe cferet things we meetin our study Here ae te fst three rusiments. Aim fora full and rich tone on each drum and a balanced sound and stroke between the hands Single strokes Aua Double strokes AR OL Single paradiadle RU RR These sticking rections re for right handers ~lf-handed players should reverse the sticking Try making up your wn exercise foreach of these three rudiments. Ask your teacher to help you write them awn on some manuscript paper Exercises Here are some exercises which make use ofthese three rudiments. AL AL AL AL REAR REAR20Stage 7 ‘Semiquavers and metronome marks This is semiquaver or (eitoenth not) FP — (Did you know? isa nte whieh sts Semis ee of bared foc aquarter of abet together groups of our Faw reigns xem Po a ded tan cote Semiquoves oe counted ites: 1 90 and a 2 eo and a 3 coand a 4 oo and a HS This can also be written as tesarzeracseratera Handy tip sr] Amarone nat sows he spd ot hich he mise hl payed and i expe othe rambo pr Inte og 460 mao 80 ce bets pr mt Ty pao one oh ocr who meena Exercises Here are some exercises to practise playing semiquavers. The metronome marking fr these is d= 60.f Performance pieces hiss a duet for pupil and teacher to pay together. Te teacher's part has bean recorded andi rack lan the CD. Groce Time and Fills Duet ‘Countin TeacherHandy tip Trine cmntsinban 118 espace tbs Grodaly incase the da fom ptofPlaying on the rim of the snare drum Sometimes drummers play beats two and four on therim of tre snare drum, withthe inverted stick ing fat across the head This technique, known a5 cross stick, oF Sometimes arim cc, can be notated as flows: by using an notenesd IE or by using acl around te naehead ofthe sare ot: Exercises Here are some exercises to practise paying rim clicks.This next piece introduces the use of im clicks. Getto know how the plece should sound by listening to CD track 2, which isthe ful version with drums. Now it's time for you to try playing the piece along with the backing tack (co track 19, OP toes 2 as Ballad LTS CCountin Did you know? Handy tip Rock and pop songs at ower tempos and on emtiorl themes ar often Pray the writen roshes on he ‘ale ballads. Con you nk of bold which ues therm ofthe snare ‘de ynbal or a ight el {rum on bets wo ond our? } osStage 8 More rhythms and time signatures ‘Acomman rhythmic device isthe combination of two consecutive semiquavers and one quaver to make a rotchet’s worth of time. 14a tee ep tomiems pee vernennet | ‘So far all the examples in this book have used the time signature 4, which means four crotchet beats to.a bar. In this stage the time signature is introduced, which meanstwo crochet beats to ba. Exercises These exercises use the rhythmic ideas above and a mixture of # and time signatures. The metronome marking for these is 4= 60-70.3 time ‘The vast majority of what we pay as drummers isin tne. though you wil met other tne signatures inculng i tie, wnchs introduce nthe Tiny Callege Landon eum kt syabus a Grade2 $time, or tree crtehets per bari eatively rare in rock music but salen encountered in musica theatre {nd wind or concert bands. Exercises ‘These exercises practise the use of § time signature, cont? 2 3 4 2 3 1 2 8 1 2 8Performance pieces ‘This isa duet for pupil and teacher to play together. The teacher's part has been recorded and is track 4 on the cd, io derercend or dinuend emeas to get goduolly sof. Dynamics cote contro. Use the dynos broadly to Did you know? (Handy tip (8) m0 March Duet for Two Snare Drums Jeww Pupil Teacher 22Here isthe fnal performance piece which covers ll the tops mentioned inthis introduction to drum kt ‘Ge to know how the piece sould sound by listening to CD tract 15, which the fll version with drums. Now it’ time for you to try playing the piace along with the backing track (CD tack 6). Handy tip Use the acarsin bors 1 ond 2 to enphosse the tine @ reason Easy Does It Countin o 1 JTT 20Congratulations ‘You hove now complete theze eight sage of dy and should be able to enjoy making use with eter, wheter bejrming rock Song with your fens reading osnple i pare in a concert band Your understending of mis theory ond notation i le thecugh enough for you to move om mediately o Tiny Colage London's Dram Ki 1 (Grades 1 & 2) or Rk & Pop Grade T and t beg prepartion for your fst drum kt exam should you wish, Enjoy your lair Recommended listening “The study of any instrument should involve as much Iistening as pssible. There are so many fantastic players, past and present whom we can enjoy and be inspired by My favourites, and top of many drummers ists re Buddy Rich and Steve Gadd ‘other great names, from a wide range of musical styles ae, in no particular order: hn Bonham Davi Gaciala Billy Cobham Max Roach ‘ett Pocearo “im Kettner Travis Barer ave Weck Ed Thigpen Tony Thompson lan Paice Louie Belson Berard Purdie Philly Joe Jones ‘Gene Krupa Richie Hayward Carter Beavtord Hal Blaine Dave Groh! Dennis Chambers Vinnie Colaiuta and Steve Smith ”