The Most Important Drum Beat In The World
This free video drum lesson breaks down the most important drum beat you need to know
The Most Important Drum Beat In The World might seem like a cheap attention grabbing title, and maybe it is, but I also stand by it confidently. I’ve been thinking about it for a while in this context and since it’s been in my conscience with this video lesson in mind I have had to play this beat at EVERY single gig I’ve done. It is the only beat that I have had to play at every gig I’ve done. It doesn’t matter if it is rock, pop, disco, funk, jazz or anything else. At some point in your drumming life you will 100% need to play this beat.
But the funny thing is that most of us ignore it. We dismiss it as a really simple drum beat that doesn’t need practice. And anyway there are a million way more interesting drum patterns to practice such as oddtime, polyrhythms, four limb independence and double bass drums at 200bpm. Basically stuff that makes us sound awesome and is fun to work on but that we’ll probably never need in a real musical situation.
And when I say ‘most of us’ of course I mean me too. I was definitely guilty of this and I practiced loads of things I’ve never really needed on a gig or session. But I’m glad I worked on them because they were fun and they give me more musical options to bring to the table. However, when we spend hours practising those less important things and neglect the things that we will need on practically every gig, it’s obvious that there is an imbalance there. And trust me, when you find yourself in a recording studio with several people watching you and knowing that every second is costing someone money then you will want to nail this seemingly simple groove quickly.
And so that is why this is the most important drum beat in the world. If you just learnt one beat to the highest level make it this one and you will still get gigs. Make this one beat feel like the best groove in the world and you will still have a place in the music world.
Why is it hard?
It’s not. But it does take work to get the nuances right. The main aspect is beat 2 and 4. These are the beats where you play hi-hat, snare and bass together. These are the beats where most people fall down. Every limb needs to lock tight together here. If they are played as one it will sound fat. If they are slightly out of time it will create a flam effect and that sounds messy. But even on beat 1 and 3 you are playing a hi-hat and bass so don’t neglect those beats. It might not be as obvious as beats 2 and 4 when they are out of sync but it will have an effect on whether the groove sounds in the pocket or slightly out.
Let’s learn this beat if it’s so important
Yes good point, let’s get on with it. Grab the sheet music for the most important drum beat in the world here so you can see what we’re looking at today. And watch the video below to see what it’s all about.
If you want to browse the other lessons available at Total Drummer check out the free lessons, single lessons, mini courses and main courses.
You might also be interested in the drum less playalongs and the charts of famous songs.
Faster Hands in 7 Days FREE Drum Course
Improve your drum hand speed in a week to get Faster Hands
We all want faster hands on the drums but so many drummers I see are missing the basic aspects of drumming that will take them to the next level.
Many of those drummers are not lazy. In fact it’s the opposite. They are putting in the work but they are missing the fundamental techniques that will allow them to play faster and smoother. This leads to inevitable frustration and despondency.
In effect they are wasting their time!
By clicking below you can gain access to a FREE ‘7 days to faster hands’ drum course that will guarantee to raise your speed by the end or your money back (yes it is free so not the best guarantee ever!). But seriously, it will make a difference in a really short space of time.
But more than trying to create unrealistic miracles in a short space of time, it will also set up long term habits that will help you find your full potential as a drummer long into the future. And that is way more important.
It will show you:
- The fundamental techniques to play at your best level
- How to properly grip the sticks
- How to prepare yourself properly to drum
- How to make the stick do the work so you don’t have to
- How to set your drums up for optimum speed
- How to apply this around the kit
- Exercises to develop control as well as speed
- How to take this on into the future to become awesome!
And more than that you will also get a ton of other great free drum resources to make you a better drummer such as playalong tracks, articles, exclusive video lessons and more. And it’s all free!
Watch the video to get a feel for what the seven day course entails and then scroll down to get the course immediately.
Start today and build your hand speed up
So let’s start the course today. Do it now and begin your 7 day process to get faster hands. This time next week you’ll be enjoying the results and thinking about how you can take it to the next stage (by the way, the course helps with that too as we’ll be checking speed progress over the next 12 months).