easy lesson
Your Very First Beat
The simplest possible groove: one sound per beat. You'll build hand-and-foot coordination with a hi-hat on every beat, a kick on 1, and a snare on 3. If you have never sat at a kit before, start here.
Play it yourself — keyboard or your own kit
Count out loud — 1, 2, 3, 4 — and tap the closed hi-hat once on every number. Four even hits, slow and relaxed. This is your built-in metronome.
Now add the kick drum on beat 1 with your foot, landing at the exact same instant as the first hi-hat.
Add the snare on beat 3 with your hand. Kick on 1, snare on 3, hi-hat on every beat — that is a real drum groove.