In this free drum lesson, Jared Falk teaches five beginner drum beats that incorporate cross-sticking, and goes through a bunch of very cool tips and tricks for playing the cross-stick accurately. Cross-sticking is a very popular method of changing the overall feel of a song. Although its mellower sound is used primarily to tone down sections of songs by subbing snare shots, cross-sticking can be used to raise the intensity level of a song as well, especially when included after sections striped down of snare shots. You’re gonna love what this small nuance will do for your drumming.
Cross-stick is also known as side-stick and rim-click, and is played by clicking the drumstick, which is laid on top of the drumhead, against the rim of the snare drum. The idea behind this technique is that of getting a woodblock type of sound from the snare drum. This approach for playing the snare drum is actually very popular in a lot of different styles of music, such as reggae, jazz, bossa nova, pop, cha cha, mambo, rock, funk…you name it. Therefore, knowing how to play the cross-stick perfectly is crucial for your aspirations as a drum set player – it’s that essential. Be sure to take your time with these drum beats.
Once you’re done with this free drum lesson, we encourage you to take this concept and apply it to any other drum beat featured on this website. You just have to play the cross stick wherever there’s a snare shot. If you’re not sure where to start out, check the free drum lessons “Beginner Opening-Closing Hi-Hats” and “Half-Time Drum Beats“. These are great free drum lessons for working on new ideas that incorporate side-sticking. If you’d rather keep furthering your knowledge on cross-sticking, we encourage you to check the free drum lesson “Intermediate Cross Sticking“.