Play Punk Drums
So you want to play punk drums. Whether you want to play in a band or just play along with your favorite songs. You're at the right place.\
Steps
- Get some equipment. Get some drumsticks. Any stick that is of a medium weight and feels comfortable to you will do. A basic drum set including a hi-hat, snare, bass drum, and crash cymbal. Tom-toms and floor toms aren't necessary for basic drumming, but you can add them in as you go along.
- Be in good shape. Punk drumming is fast and exciting, so it requires great stamina and speed. This comes with practice. The only way to achieve speed is by practicing slowly.
- Learn how to hold your drum sticks. To hold your drum sticks, your wrist must be relaxed and your grip must allow the stick to bounce slightly when it hits the hi-hat or the snare. The grip is mostly between the index finger and the thumb; the rest of the fingers should be loosely arched above the stick providing balance.
- The hi-hat hand(your dominant hand) will cross over the snare (non-dominant) hand slightly. Make sure that there is a comfortable distance between them so they don't hit each other when you begin to play.
- Get the beat. Punk music is usually made up of measures of four beats per measure. That is 1-2-3-4-cont during this how to rhythm patterns will be written within this template. For example, if the snare was to be played on the second beat I would write it like this 1-snare-3-4
- Use your dominant hand and beat the hi-hat four times according to the pulse and repeat. Practice this until you are able to do this in time to the beat without concentrating. It must be natural and it must act independently of the snare and bass drums. The hi-hat is the timekeeper of the drum set and must not stop.
- Coordinate the snare drum beating. Using your non-dominant hand you can either strike the snare on every second beat, e.g. 1-snare-3-snare, or you can beat it on every pulse e.g. snare-snare-snare-snare etc. and repeat. The most difficult part of this is coordinating the right hand and the left hand as the hi-hat must play continuously and independently of the snare and vice versa. Your snare hand's wrist must be relaxed and allow the stick to bounce slightly after each strike of the drum.
- To complete the basic punk drum beat you require the bass drum. This involves playing the bass on the first and third beat of the measure, e.g. bass-2-bass-4, while also coordinating the snare and hi-hat. The snare usually hits on 2 and 4. So, you'll have bass-snare-bass-snare, with the hi-hat hitting every beat.
- To play the bass drum effectively the pedal foot must be relaxed with the heel raised slightly allowing the foot and ankle to move freely and independently of the calf muscle so as to avoid strain.
- Take it to the next step. When you have practiced and mastered this basic beat, you may move onto more complex hi-hat patterns involving 8 strokes of the hi hat per measure, that is two strokes of the hi-hat per beat e.g. 1hi hat hi-hat- 2hi hat hi-hat- 3hi hat hi-hat - 4 hi hat hi hat. this requires practice and complete relaxation as the hand and shoulders may cramp (and nobody needs a cramped drummer at a high octane punk show).
- Take the bass and snare to the next step. A very common punk beat has 2 eighth notes on beat 3 or both beat 1 and 3. b-s-bb-s, or bb-s-bb-s. You can add the eighth notes on snare as well for example: b-ss-b-s, b-s-bb-ss, or bb-ss-bb-s. Keep in mind that the hi-hat is playing eighth notes consistently just like the other rhythms. Lastly snare can also be played on the offbeats as well. (if you perfect snare on the offbeats it is one more step towards sounding like a pro).
- Learn to do rolls on your drum set. Begin slowly and then begin to speed up until they are as fast as you can possibly do them. Learn to move the rolls from different parts of your kit.
- Rolls are done like this. R =right hand and L = left hand.- RLRLRLRLRLRL. practice slowly and move to speeding them up. this is just a basic roll and you can find many more online.
- Mix and match the hi-hat beat onto tom toms and the crash cymbal( this is great for punk drumming as it creates an unusual and raucous sound).
- Listen to punk music honing in on the drummers. Listen to different punk sub-genres whether it be Hardcore Punk such as Minor Threat, Black Flag, or Bad Brains. Classic Punk: Sex Pistols, Ramones, or The Clash. Proto-Punk such as The Stooges, or MC5. Anarcho such as The Crass, Dead Kennedys, or Discharge. Pop Punk, such as Blink 182 or Green Day. Get yourself out of your comfort zone and experiment with different sub-genres. Don't limit yourself to one type of punk genre.
- Listen to completely different styles and genres of music to add an edge to your drumming. something new and different is always appreciated. Listen to jazz as jazz drummers are especially creative and could provide some inspiration. Punk is an inclusive genre and the DIY ethic allows people to add new and unusual things into the music. For example The Clash incorporated reggae into their music
- Watch videos of drummers and try to pick up parts of their style and technique. Try watching Keith Moon from The Who in action. Watch Buddy Rich and see the speed and accuracy with which he plays.
- Play fast and loud. The most important thing in punk drumming is speed and volume. Learn to play loud and fast, but accurately. The drummer is the person who controls the speed of the song so you must be confident enough in your technique to play as fast as you desire. However also learn how to play quietly as this can be key to creating contrast in a song and also helps stop the neighbors screaming if you decide to practice at four in the morning.
- Develop an attitude that comes out in your drum playing. Many drummers get sidelined because they are situated at the back of the stage. Create an attitude that won't let you or the rest of the band be forgotten.
- Have fun while drumming. It will improve your performance.
Tips
- Don't get disheartened if the hand coordination doesn't come quickly. It will get easier after practicing
- Practice perfecting the hand coordination as much as possible. Either using the palms of your hands as sticks and your knees as the snare and hi hat or bring your sticks everywhere.
- Protect your ears, if you go deaf you won't be able to hear all the great music in this world...So get ear protectors or earplugs, you still be able to hear just fine but they will protect your inner ear from sonic damage.
- If you cannot afford a drum set, so what, DIY is a part of the punk ideology use saucepans and buckets and get practicing. Try using a saucepan as a hi hat, a bucket with a lid filled with gravel or popcorn kernels to get the rattling sound of the snare, and for the time being use the floor as the bass. Your first investment should be a bass pedal that you can use against a cardboard box etc. until you've saved up.
- Get into a band with your friends and you'll learn how to drum through experience.
- Consider buying gloves. Padded leather finger-less ones or support gloves to provide protection and support to the palm and wrist.
- Wrap grip tape around the ends of your drumsticks, it helps grip and prevents sticks flying off in every direction. (Be careful though, as you can get blisters.)
Warnings
- Keep your back straight. Bad posture will eventually damage your back and also makes drumming more difficult.
- Stretch before playing or practicing--legs and arms.
- Don't get caught up in the age old poser and fashion debates. It doesn't matter what you look like so long as you can play your drums fast and well. Let everyone else argue amongst themselves.
- Beware of muscle strain. if you feel your muscles beginning to tighten, stop, loosen yourself out and start again. Slowly, until you are able to maintain speed without cramping or strain.
- Do not smoke as smoking affects your lung capacity, making it difficult to maintain stamina and thus affecting your performance and practice.
Things You'll Need
- Drum Sticks
- Drum Kit or buckets and saucepans
- Bass Pedal
- Place to Practice
- Stamina
