Free Drum Lessons

The Pad - Exercise 3

Being the third edition of our The Pad exercises, I see it only fitting to focus on the threes this week — Triplets!

This lesson introduces a simple way to embellish your hi-hat today. The technique doesn't dramatically change the feel of the groove, which is good. It adds interest to the groove without changing it too much.

Simple, Head-turning Drum Fill

If you can play 8th and 16th note triplets, you can nail this fill with just a little practice. The most difficult thing about playing it will most likely be getting used to playing triplets across two different drums.

Triplet Crossover Groove

An easy to learn, hard to master triplet crossover technique. But, it's a lot of fun to practice, so you'll have it mastered in no time! Buddy Rich...

Simple Drum Fill, But Not Simple Sounding

This lesson focuses on a sixteenth-note triplet fill that's easy to grasp, but because of the syncopated snare strokes that really stand out, this groove sounds much more difficult than it actually is. Of course, playing difficult-sounding drum fills shouldn't be your main goal. This drum fill has a lot of tasteful applications.

Triplet Tom Fills

This lesson explores some ideas for half-measure triplet tom fills. All of these patterns use alternating sticking (i.e. R L R L, etc.). Make sure you pop the accent on beat 4 to make these grooves rock. You can also explore other dynamics such as a crescendo to bring these to life.