6 Steps to Start Learning Percussion Instruments and Drums

1. Listening is key to begin Learning Percussion

Listening is the most crucial aspect of learning Percussion instruments techniques. You cannot learn only by being in sync with the music.

The Drum is a maker of vibrations, the waves we understand as music, and playing it is feeling and being part of it. 

Only by listening, can we be part of music from the inside out. 

There are many who say that great percussionists have rhythm.  

Better yet say that the great percussionists have a superb feeling, and know to listen to the rhythm.

The reason that in Brazil, African Diaspora in the Americas, and Africa people organize to play Polyrhythms, and the different rhythms match seamlessly is that everyone is hearing one another.

Two can’t play together without listening to each other and being able to feel each other rhythms. 

This is why the most used studying aid for percussionists and drummers is something that you hear, the metronome, but more on this later.

• 2) Exercise

Percussion, especially hand drums playing is not only a musical technique but also a physical exercise. In the same way that Capoeira, the Afro-Brazilian culture is both dance and martial arts

 Percussion is both musical and physical.

The physical aspect of percussion must not be downplayed:

To achieve success in Percussion, you must be fit technically.

This goes in two ways: 

One is something we can cover in another article, stretching, strengthening your rotator cuffs and having body consciousness, and keeping good posture.

The other is doing specific exercises that will enhance your ability to perform different motions and hand and note combinations.

Read up all the way, and you’ll get a sample of free percussion lessons with some beginner percussion exercises to kickstart your training,

These exercises can be considered one of the most technical parts of learning Percussion, and can be summed up as: 

Strengthening your body so that it can be physically apt to perform within the rhythm.

Doing these exercises is a fundamental part of percussion, as you’ll be fit physically to perform the motions needed to be in sync with the song. 

There is still a fundamental aspect of being in Sync with the song, that will connect with the listening aspect.

• 3)Your Next Best Friend: The Metronome

Ideally, you would be practicing together with a more experienced player who can keep a perfect rhythm, and tell you when you are speeding or lagging behind. 

You can’t have both at will, but: 

You can have any time, for free, one out of these two: The metronome

The metronome is the perfect Rhythm keeper

Listen, and you’ll know when you are keeping the rhythm, and when you’re out of sync

So how can you practice with the metronome?

The metronome is a challenging companion: You have to start counting with it, beat in sync with it, and listen to see if you’re deviating from the starting point.

If you type metronome in Google, it will have a built-in tool you can use. We recommend starting slow, beginning at 60 bpm.

The great thing about the metronome is that you’ll improve your listening and rhythm at the same time.

The best advice in this guide: 

You can practice the exercises and the rhythm keeping all at the same time

• 4) Play-along!

  In fact, the Metronome works the same way as a song. You can in fact use them in place of one another:

You can play a rhythm from a song on the metronome at a slower velocity to properly understand the rhythm.

You can play the exercises with the song, so you can get a better idea of how the exercises can fit inside the music rhythm.

The vast majority of songs are recorded with metronomes used to align the tracks of the different instrumentists, so at a basic level, they’re tied. 

Playing organically has different challenges, but this will help you prepare for them.

• 5) Be part of a group, or record yourself and play with your own tracks!

While a steady rhythm is an essential part of any music, independent of tradition, while playing with other players organically, the rhythm can vary. It may slow down, or go faster. 

To help you with this the best ways are:

• Doing exercises with the metronome:  Listen and catch the timing faster, and keep it steadier as you listen to your own variations
• The original and Traditional way: Playing with others who have basic listening and rhythm-keeping skills 
• Recording yourself, and playing with your recording: You’ll need to use the metronome to start the first rhythm or recording so that your track can fit with the next rhythms you’ll add

You’re own your way to begin learning percussion! How can you go further thought?

• 6) Listen, feel, and improvise:

Tinho ‘Pequeno’ First Timbalada Soloist – Heard on Songs such as Mulatê do Bundê, Sambaê, Meio da Maré

One of the aspects that make African and Afro-Diasporic Percussion unique is the improvisation techniques employed.

To improvise, first, listen to the master improvisers: 

Mamady Keita (Republic of Guinea)

Giovanni Hidalgo (Cuba)

Timbalada, especially early albums (Brazil, Bahia)

Olodum live Performances, and early Cd`s (Brazil, Bahia)

Naná Vasconcelos (Brazil, Pernambuco)

Cara de Cobra and other Ivete Sangalo Percussionists (Brazil, Bahia)

Playing a rhythm is reading a language. Improvising is speaking that language. 

There’s no universal improvisation technique because improvisation happens when you have a grasp of the language that each rhythm represents.

Improvisation is aided by the exercises or rudiments.

But the basis of improvisation and solo is understanding the rhythm and what are its expressions. 

There are many rhythms, and like languages, many share common roots. You may see similarities in Brazilian, African, and Cuban Rhythms for example. 

The semantics and the accents will be unique in different languages, and so with rhythms.

Samba in Salvador and in Rio will certainly sound different.

To know how to improvise within a culture, it is needed to understand the language of the rhythm within that culture.

The first tip remains the best: Listen, immerse yourself.

Looking for more content on Percussion?

Read our Samba Guide to discover The Origins and Unique History of Samba

Read about Brazilian Rhythms, the Full Guide