The opening and closing of the hi-hat is a very cool way of enriching drum beats, drum fills, and most important of all, music. These techniques add a whole new world of possibilities and textures to your drumming, while improving your four-way independence at the same time. In this free drum lesson, Jared Falk teaches three beginner drum beats that include the opening and closing of the hi-hat, and explains how to notate these techniques on sheet music. Jared also delves a bit into a couple of approaches for getting different sounds from the opening of the hi-hat. More »

The heel-toe technique has been around for quite some time, but only recently has it become very popular amongst the drumming community. This is a great technique for playing fast double strokes with the feet. In this free drum lesson, Jared Falk breaks down the heel-toe technique for you, showing you exactly how and what to practice to develop it. He takes the time to debunk some of the more common myths associated with the heel-toe technique as well, like foot size, type of footwear and bass drum pedal. More »

This is the last free drum lesson in the three-lesson series on 7/8 odd-time signature drum fills. The three advanced 7/8 drum fills Jared Falk teaches you how to play in this free drum lesson are 16th note triplet and 32nd note based. These drum fills are extremely musical and incorporate hand-to-feet combinations and cymbals. More »

This free drum lesson is the second installment in a three-lesson series on drum fills played in 7/8 odd-time signature. In this video, Jared Falk teaches three intermediate 7/8 drum fills and discusses how these drum fills – or any other pattern for that matter – should be practiced. These drum fills incorporate 32nd notes, hand-to-foot combinations, and some cool cymbal patterns. More »

In this free drum lesson, Jared Falk, of the DrumLessons.com team of instructors, takes you through your first drum fills in 7/8 odd-time signature. These three patterns are a great way of getting you started with 7/8 odd-time signature drum fills. These drum fills will also have you working on your feel for playing in 7/8 odd-time signature, hand-to-foot coordination and playing drum fills with rests. Give this lesson a whirl – you won’t be disappointed. More »

Learning how to play in an odd-time signature can be a bit challenging at first. This is especially true if you’re only used to playing in 4/4 time. In this free drum lesson, Jared Falk teaches you how to play your first 7/8 drum beat and drum fill, and a couple of exercises that will help you develop the feel for playing in 7/8 odd-time signature. He also goes a little bit into how the numbers of a time signature relate to the way you count it out, and to what you see in a measure of music. More »

Warming up properly is crucial for any drummer. Doing so will help you play to your fullest potential while making sure you don’t injury yourself. Some drummers tend to play without warming up. Most do so because they don’t know what to warm-up with. If you’re one of those drummers, you came to the right place. In this free drum lesson, Jared Falk teaches a cool 16th note warm-up that makes use of the triple stroke roll. This is a great warm-up since you’ll be practicing hand technique and drum rudiments while getting your hands warm and relaxed. More »

This is the last free drum lesson on developing speed with your bass drum foot. The exercises you’ll find here are very challenging and will have you working on 16th note triplet and 32nd note double strokes, as well as developing your feel for going from one note value to the other with a greater ease. Jared Falk, your instructor for this lesson, also takes the time to give you some cool tips on how to count these exercises and how to practice them effectively. More »

This free drum lesson is the next natural step in developing speed with your bass drum foot. The exercises presented in this free drum lesson by Jared Falk are sure to foster your ability to play double and triple strokes with a single bass drum pedal. He also shares some extra tips on some of the techniques you can use to play double and triple strokes at slow and fast tempos. These exercises can be used to develop your weaker foot as well. Doing so is invaluable if you want to play double and triple stroke rolls with your feet at faster tempos. More »

Getting faster with the bass drum foot is a matter of how much time you spend improving your pedal technique with the right set of exercises and tips. In this free video drum lesson, Jared Falk teaches you three exercises that are great for working on your bass drum speed with either heel-up or heel-down playing. He also shares some important tips on foot technique and methods for practicing the exercises accurately. These exercises can be used with each foot individually so you can improve your double bass drumming chops as well. Remember that you’re as fast as your slowest foot. More »