Weekly Drum Lesson: Two Basic Strokes

Here is a quick lesson on Fundamental Strokes! I did do a much longer in-depth video on the subject a couple years ago, but this is a bite-sized version of the lesson geared towards absolute beginners.

There are actually 4 stroke types, but we're just going to talk about the 2 you absolutely need to get started.

Before we even hit the drum, we need to get in our playing position. All of our drumming begins and ends here, with the sticks just over the drum, just an inch or two away. 

If you just need to play 1 note at a time, then you use the downstroke. That means you hit the drum, and immediately freeze the stick in place just over the drum. To do this you'll want to give a little squeeze with the fingers at just the right time, and lock the wrist. 

If you need to play continuous notes, then we need to use the rebound stroke. I also call these connected strokes sometimes. For this we simply let the stick bounce, so it's right where we need it for the next note. Not all drums are going to provide significant amounts of rebound, so sometimes we have to fake it, and just make sure that the stick never stops moving in between the notes. 

That’s all for today’s lesson!

If you’d like to study with me in person, or online, please use the form below! I am currently teaching drums in Oakwood Village, and in The Beaches, in Toronto Canada. Free trial lessons are available. Thanks for stopping by!