23 replies to this topic

[gompol]

Hi,

My 6yr old son can pretty much play basic rock beats (about 8 kinds).
His past teachers have taught him beats and some fills to practice, but never a complete song.

I'm trying to continue his interest by drumming to songs he know.
Most of the time he doesn't want to practice, but after learning complete song, he became much more interested.
I would I sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" while he drum and the beat/fill is something like below.

K = bass
H = closed hihat
S = snare
C = crash

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
H H H H H H H H
_ _ S _ _ _ S _
K _ _ _ K _ _ _

(Normal Beat)
Twinkle twinkle little star

C (Normal Beat except crash on the "How")
How I wonder what you are

C (Normal Beat except crash on the "Up")
Up above the world so high

C (Normal Beat except crash on the "Like")
Like a diamond in the sky

C (Normal Beat except crash on the "Twink")
Twinkle twinkle little star

C (Normal Beat except crash on the "How")
How I wonder what you are

So anyways, what I wanted to know is if there are any music sheets for nursery rhymes with very easy beats and fills that he can do out there.
I tried googling and youtube but the stuff out there is just way too advanced and can be discouraging.
And I know drills are important, but I have to first spark interest before doing the boring drills.

Thanks much

[Nate Brown]

Welcome to the forum! Great to have you here!

That's an interesting concept. I don't know that there's anything like that available, but it might be worth looking into other popular children's music, aside from nursery rhymes. I think he'd enjoy playing along with other songs, as well.

We don't have any sheet music for children's music, but I would think it wouldn't be hard to pick out the beat.

You also might encourage him to try to create rhythms and beats for nursery rhyme songs. It's a great exercise, and he might really enjoy it.

Interesting topic!

Anyone else?

[Andy Ziker]

Welcome to the forum! Great to have you here!

That's an interesting concept. I don't know that there's anything like that available, but it might be worth looking into other popular children's music, aside from nursery rhymes. I think he'd enjoy playing along with other songs, as well.

We don't have any sheet music for children's music, but I would think it wouldn't be hard to pick out the beat.

You also might encourage him to try to create rhythms and beats for nursery rhyme songs. It's a great exercise, and he might really enjoy it.

Interesting topic!

Anyone else?

I have a new book coming out in hopefully a month or two called Drumset for Preschoolers: A Guide for Parents/Teachers of 2-6 Year-Olds published by TRY Publishing (based out of the Hollywood Pro Drum Shop). This book is based on my experiences teaching young children both as a drum teacher and an elementary school teacher. Nursery rhymes are used as part of the subject matter.

[gompol]

I have a new book coming out in hopefully a month or two called Drumset for Preschoolers: A Guide for Parents/Teachers of 2-6 Year-Olds published by TRY Publishing (based out of the Hollywood Pro Drum Shop). This book is based on my experiences teaching young children both as a drum teacher and an elementary school teacher. Nursery rhymes are used as part of the subject matter.

Nice! That's exactly what I'm looking for. Can't wait to see the book.
Part of the problem with drum teachers, is they focus so much on lessons/drills/techniques and the kid/student can't see the point of why he is drumming to begin with. No fun. I was surprised when I told my son he doesn't have to practice one night and he replied "Dad, I want to, but can you sing the Twinkle Twinkle Star with me?"

As a developer/computer programmer, the first lesson usually learned is how to program the computer to say/print "Hello World". A very simple program to spark interest and it shows you a complete program from start to finish (kinda like a full song).

Thanks again!

[Rhythmaticus]

This is kind of on the back of some of Andy Ziker's work. It's not really my idea, it was his to begin with. I've found that using a colour-coded method for teaching reading to a very young students works very well. It basically involves placing some coloured stickers (or coloured pieces of paper... use your imagination) on the heads of your drums and providing worksheets that match up with the colours. I'll post up two of such worksheets for you.

The colours are:
Snare drum - Yelllow
Bass drum - Red
Tom tom 1 - Purple
Tom tom 2 - Blue
Floor tom - Green

You can use this concept to fit your own child's needs, do what you want with it. I've just found that my youngest students (ages 6-10) really enjoy the colours more than plain black-and-white and it makes the drums far easier to read as a bonus.

 Basic Fills Colored.pdf   57.83K   205 downloads

 Kit Summary One (City Beat) Colored.pdf   77.75K   217 downloads

I don't know if it's what you're after, but I hope it helps in some way.

[Andy Ziker]

This is kind of on the back of some of Andy Ziker's work. It's not really my idea, it was his to begin with. I've found that using a colour-coded method for teaching reading to a very young students works very well. It basically involves placing some coloured stickers (or coloured pieces of paper... use your imagination) on the heads of your drums and providing worksheets that match up with the colours. I'll post up two of such worksheets for you.

The colours are:
Snare drum - Yelllow
Bass drum - Red
Tom tom 1 - Purple
Tom tom 2 - Blue
Floor tom - Green

You can use this concept to fit your own child's needs, do what you want with it. I've just found that my youngest students (ages 6-10) really enjoy the colours more than plain black-and-white and it makes the drums far easier to read as a bonus.

 Basic Fills Colored.pdf   57.83K   205 downloads

 Kit Summary One (City Beat) Colored.pdf   77.75K   217 downloads

I don't know if it's what you're after, but I hope it helps in some way.

Awesome job, Rhythmaticus!

I think you're going to like the new book. I just received the author's proof today, so it should be out pretty soon (hopefully before the holiday season).

[Nate Brown]

Wow Andy! You're keeping busy! Awesome!

[kev2lz]

I have a new book coming out in hopefully a month or two called Drumset for Preschoolers: A Guide for Parents/Teachers of 2-6 Year-Olds published by TRY Publishing (based out of the Hollywood Pro Drum Shop). This book is based on my experiences teaching young children both as a drum teacher and an elementary school teacher. Nursery rhymes are used as part of the subject matter.

That's awesome! Please keep us posted. I bought a kit for my 6 year old son last year and have been searching for something to focus him on. While mad hits around the kit are lots of fun for him, I'd like to teach that kid how to keep a beat!

[smallbutdeadly]

Hi,SBD here.
that's cool, a good way to keep him interested.
I used to love playing along to alsorts when I was that age, i had to be peeled off the kit

[golfdogs]

This is kind of on the back of some of Andy Ziker's work. It's not really my idea, it was his to begin with. I've found that using a colour-coded method for teaching reading to a very young students works very well. It basically involves placing some coloured stickers (or coloured pieces of paper... use your imagination) on the heads of your drums and providing worksheets that match up with the colours. I'll post up two of such worksheets for you.

The colours are:
Snare drum - Yelllow
Bass drum - Red
Tom tom 1 - Purple
Tom tom 2 - Blue
Floor tom - Green

You can use this concept to fit your own child's needs, do what you want with it. I've just found that my youngest students (ages 6-10) really enjoy the colours more than plain black-and-white and it makes the drums far easier to read as a bonus.

 Basic Fills Colored.pdf   57.83K   205 downloads

 Kit Summary One (City Beat) Colored.pdf   77.75K   217 downloads

I don't know if it's what you're after, but I hope it helps in some way.