Rock Drumming Lessons
Learn How To Play Rock Music On The Drums
Welcome to the rock drumming section of FreeDrumlessons.com. Here you will have the opportunity to learn a wide range of drumming beats and fills that work well within rock music. It's recommended that you start at the top and work your way through each lesson, but intermediate and advanced drummers may prefer to skip around a little bit. Choose the path that works best for you, and start improve your rock drumming!
Quarter Note Beats - This video lesson teaches six basic quarter note beats that you can use within rock music. They are ideal for beginner drummers that have just learned to play drums, and are now looking for additional beat ideas. Even intermediate and advanced drummers will find value in these simple beats.
Eighth Note Beats - The eighth note drum beats included in this lesson are extremely popular with rock drumming. They are great for drummers that have just learned how to play drums, and are even popular among advanced drummers. This is due to the fact that the beats fit into such a wide range of musical styles.
Sixteenth Note Beats - This video lesson includes six of the most popular sixteenth note drum beats. They are perfect for beginner to intermediate drummers that are looking to take their drumming to the next level.
Two-Handed Sixteenth Note Beats - The two-handed sixteenth note drum beats featured in this lesson are a little different than anything covered in previous lessons. Unlike the regular sixteenth note beats, these patterns have the hands alternating between the hi-hats and snare for the entire measure.
Tom-Tom Beats - This video lesson covers five fun drum beats that are played on the toms. Unlike most drum beats that are centered around the hi-hats or ride-cymbal, these grooves are built around tom-tom patterns. They aren't too difficult to play, and work well in a wide range of playing styles.
Half-Time Beats - Learning how to play half-time beats is essential for any serious drummer. Especially if you play a lot of rock related gigs. The big difference here is the way the beat relates to the music. Instead of the pulse being on the two and four counts, it is only on the three count.
Sixteenth Note Accent Beats - This lesson covers six unique sixteenth note accent beats. The patterns are somewhat similar to the two-handed sixteenth note beats, but they incorporate accents on certain hi-hat strokes.
Bass Drum Independence - This video lesson includes six drum beats that are designed to build bass drum independence. They are musical patterns that can be used in a rock playing situation, but are here for the purpose of developing your bass drum foot.
Quarter Note Drum Fills - This drum lesson teaches six basic quarter note drum fills that are played between the snare drum and tom-toms. The patterns are perfect for beginners that have already mastered the quarter note drum beats, and are now looking for complimentary drum fills.
Eighth Note Drum Fills - This lesson includes six eighth note drum fills that are played between the snare drum and tom-toms. They are great for beginners that have mastered eighth note drum beats, and are now looking for corresponding drum fill patterns.
Broken Eighth Note Drum Fills - This lesson features six broken eighth note fills that fit well within many styles of rock music. The biggest change between these patterns, and the regular eighth note fills, is that these patterns have rests. In other words, the notes aren't continous for the entire measure.
Sixteenth Note Drum Fills - This drum lesson covers sixteenth note drum fills that are perfect for rock music. These simple patterns are a good fit for beginner to intermediate drummers that are learning sixteenth note fills for the first time. They move around the snare drum and tom-toms in groups of two and four.
Broken Sixteenth Note Drum Fills - This free drum lesson features broken sixteenth note fills that work well within rock music. They are perfect for intermediate drummers that are looking for patterns that are a little more challenging than the standard sixteenth note fills.
Sixteenth Note Accent Drum Fills - In this lesson, you will learn four unique sixteenth note accent fills. These are slightly more advanced than the sixteenth note fills from a previous lesson, and are perfect for use within rock and related styles. Try combining them with sixteenth note accent beats.
Funk Drum Beats - Funk is a popular style of music that has a lot of similarities to rock, especially as far as drums are concerned. Therefore, we have this funk drum lesson in the rock section of FreeDrumLessons.com. This video covers six popular funk drum beats that you can use when playing at a funk gig!
Blues Shuffle Drum Beats - This free drum lesson covers six popular blues shuffle beats. They are all based around eighth note triplets, and should be played with a laid-back feel. The first four have the pulse on two and four, while the last two are in a half-time feel (with the pulse on the three count).
Punk Drum Beats - This lesson covers some of the most popular punk drum beats. Many of the patterns are relatively basic, but can still be challenging. This is due to the fact that they are typically played at quicker tempos when peformed in punk rock music.
5/4 Odd-Time Drum Beats - This lesson covers six odd-time beats that are played in the 5/4 time signature. Unlike most rock drum beats, that are played in 4/4 with four quarter notes per measure, these beats are played with five quarter notes per measure.
7/4 Odd-Time Drum Beats - This lesson includes six drum beats that are played in the 7/4 time signature. They are all considered odd-time, due to the fact that they aren't counted like popular 4/4 drum beats. The beats are still counted with quarter notes, but include seven in each measure instead of four.
9/8 Odd-Time Drum Beats - This drum lesson covers 9/8 odd-time drum beats. Here you will learn a few different patterns and applications for 9/8 drum beats. Watch a see which beats you can directly take back to your drum kit, and which ones you can add to and make your own!
Once you have mastered some of the rock drumming beats and fills, try jamming to some of our
play-alongs.
Interested in learning other styles of music? Check out our lessons on
jazz drumming and
Latin drumming!
More Online Resources
Mike Michalkow's
Drumming System is another valuable resource for rock drummers to improve their skills. In includes
Heavy Rock drum lessons,
Mixed Rock drum lessons, and
Groove Rock drum lessons - as well as sections on how to build speed, drum soloing, and live-gig and studio drumming.
