You can get ten different people playing on a basic drumset, playing a basic rock beat, and they will all sound different. We each have a signature, and that’s a beautiful thing. It’s not “my way or the highway”—it’s about you doing your own thing. The three basic beats and fills included here should be used as a springboard for discovering your own interpretations. As basic and simple as it may seem, it’s important to play quarter notes on the bass drum and keep them consistent in tempo and volume. When adding 8th notes with the right hand on the hi-hat, play the main beats with downstrokes and the &s with upstrokes. Practice these strokes in front of a mirror, so you can observe the motions of your arm. In Example 1, be sure the 2 and 4 on the snare match up exactly with 2 and 4 within the […]