Simple Drum Beats: 6 Grooves, Each One Step Harder
Six simple drum beats in order, each changing one thing from the last. Play along with the notation and drum kit view and find your level.
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Simple drum beats aren’t just for beginners. They’re what you play for most of most songs, and the drummers who sound great are the ones who play simple beats really well.
These six are in order. Each one changes exactly one thing from the beat before it, so if you can play this one, you can play the next. When one falls apart, that’s the one to practise — not the whole list.
1. Quarter-note hi-hat
Hi-hat on every beat, bass/kick on 1 and 3, snare on 2 and 4. On the snare beats both hands play together, so listen for one sound, not two.
Position follows the click, including through silent gap-click bars.
2. Eighth-note hi-hat
Double the hi-hat. This is the rock beat, and the one to make automatic before going further: the hi-hat even, the snare loud, the bass/kick locked to the snare’s opposite beats.
Opens the metronome, drum kit and sticking for this exercise. One at a time, so the click always belongs to what you are playing.
3. An extra bass/kick on the “and” of 3
One new note. The bass/kick now plays just after beat 3, with the hi-hat. It’s the first beat where the feet stop following the hands, which is why it feels harder than it looks.
Opens the metronome, drum kit and sticking for this exercise. One at a time, so the click always belongs to what you are playing.
4. The bass/kick moves to the “and” of 2
Same idea, new place: the extra note comes straight after the backbeat. This one pulls the bass/kick towards the snare, so it’s easy to rush — keep the snare on 2 exactly where the click is.
Opens the metronome, drum kit and sticking for this exercise. One at a time, so the click always belongs to what you are playing.
5. Sixteenth-note hi-hat
Back to beat 3’s feet, with the hi-hat doubled again. At slower tempos play it with one hand; once it gets quick, it’s time to look at playing it hand to hand. Either way, the snare still wins.
Opens the metronome, drum kit and sticking for this exercise. One at a time, so the click always belongs to what you are playing.
6. An open hi-hat at the end of the bar
Open the hi-hat on the last “and” and close it again exactly on beat 1. It’s a tiny change that makes the groove breathe, and the close is the bit people miss: the foot has to land with the bass/kick.
Opens the metronome, drum kit and sticking for this exercise. One at a time, so the click always belongs to what you are playing.
How to use this list
Don’t practise all six every day. Find the first one that isn’t solid at a tempo you care about, and spend your time there. When it’s solid, it moves into your warm-up and the next one becomes the work. That’s how a list turns into progress rather than a routine you run through.
If you’re not sure which one that is, don’t guess.
