Learn and Practice Drum Set

New to drum set? Set up the kit so everything is in reach, then learn how drum set music is written and play your first grooves one hand or foot at a time. Practice with a drum set you can tap or play from the keyboard.

Practice in the Percussion Trainer

Play-along
Read a groove and play it on the kit while it plays with you.Start
On your own
Play the groove with only a click, and see every note marked.Start
Free play
Just the kit: no music and no score.Start
Practice Reading RhythmsMost grooves differ in the bass drum. Read rhythms faster in Rhythm Trainer.
Tools
Metronome
30 to 240 BPM

Start here

PercussionHow to set up a drum setSet the throne, pedals, drums, and cymbals so everything is in reach.PercussionHow to read drum set musicWhere each drum and cymbal sits on the staff, and how to read a beat.Percussion10 common drum beats: rock, pop, disco, swing, bossa nova, and moreTen common grooves, from rock to bossa nova, with playable examples.PercussionDrum fills for beginnersCount into a fill and land on the crash.

What should I practice first?

  1. 01Adjust the throne and pedals first, so your feet rest flat and your thighs are about level.
  2. 02Learn the rock beat one layer at a time: hi-hat, then snare, then bass drum.
  3. 03Count out loud, slowly, with a metronome. Speed up only when the hands and feet land together.
  4. 04Once a groove is steady, add a simple fill at the end of every four bars.

More to explore

PercussionDrum set coordination: playing hands and feet togetherExercises that add one limb at a time.PercussionHow to read a jazz band or pep band drum chartSlashes, ensemble figures, and road maps in a jazz or pep band chart.PercussionFrom concert band to jazz band: what changes on drumsMoving from concert band percussion to drum set in jazz band.PercussionHow to hold drumsticks: matched grip for beginnersFind the fulcrum and let the stick rebound.PercussionDrum rudiments for beginners: which 5 to learn firstThe hand control fills are made of.RhythmSyncopation without the panicCount the bass drum notes between the beats.

All drum set guides

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