Free Drum Lessons

Six Choice Shuffle Drum Beats & Fills

Six shuffle beats and fills to satisfy any of your shuffle urges. The examples are arranged from simplest to most complex. Feel free to interchange the drum beats, and explore how each beat brings a different transition and feel to the drum fill.

Rhythm Builder: How Far Can You Go?

Starting with a simple rhythm on the snare drum, this exercise gradually builds throughout each measure. In the audio demonstration, each example is played 4 times before moving on.

Seven Half-Time Shuffle Beats & Fills

Explore the half-time shuffle with these seven drum beat and fill examples. The first beats and fills are simpler concepts, while later fills become more complex.

Twelve "Walking" Beats & Fills

The Walking foot pattern is a lot of fun to play and makes for a great drum solo concept. The term "walking" refers to the motion of your feet while playing the technique — right, left, right, left — like you're walking.

Six Linear "Skeleton" Drum Fills

The term "Skeleton," in drumming, refers to drum parts that use only the snare, bass, and cymbals. In other words, no toms or other drums are used. If you see a drum kit with only snare, bass, and cymbals, you could call it a skeleton setup (or skeleton kit).

Six Ghostly Beats

Enjoy a collection of six drum beats using varying ghost stroke techniques to fill out the sound. After learning these, try adding ghost strokes to beats that already play. Note how the sound/feel of the groove changes.

Rock Ride & Tom Build - 6 Beats

Starting with a straightforward rock groove, each beat builds from the previous. The first grooves are easier and grow with complexity. The audio example plays each groove 4 times before moving on.

Six Two-Bar Rock Grooves

These six rock grooves use a two-bar repeating pattern. The beginning grooves are simpler and become more complex throughout.

Four-on-the-Floor Drum Beats

The four-on-the-floor phrase is a catchy way to describe drum beats that feature the bass drum on beats 1, 2, 3, and 4. This bass pattern is often used in dance music, pop, rock, funk, and any song that benefits from a driving feel.

Non-Standard Open Hats

The open hi-hat technique is often used to create an off-beat feel or to accentuate a particular stroke or two. These 8 groove examples incorporate 4 unique open hat patterns that instead create a rhythmic layer on top of the grooves.

Unique Crash Placements in "Down-the-Tom" Fills

Accenting the down-the-tom fills with crashes brings a new flavor to the classic fill technique. These four drum fill examples feature the bass drum along with each crash. The audio example plays each fill one time before moving on.