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Course Syllabus
Rock and Pop Drum kit - Beginner

This course aims to teach a complete beginner in music, to play the drum kit up to an
intermediate standard. You will learn a wide variety of pop and rock grooves and fills and
gain a good knowledge in rhythm notation.

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Module 1 – Knowing Your Instrument

This module will give you all the information you need to ensure that your drum kit is set
up correctly and ready to play. It will inform you on which drums and sticks to purchase
based on the style of music you want to play.

Lesson Lesson Name Key Objective

Number
1-1 Kit Selection To make an informed decision on
which drum kit to purchase.
Different drum kit configurations all
have different benefits and
hindrances, this lesson will cover
some of the most common.
1-2 Kit Setup Learn about how to set up a drum
kit once you have purchased one.
1-3 Drum Tuning Learn the basics of assembling and
tuning as well as the anatomy of a
drum.
1-4 Stick Selection Learn about all the different
varieties of drum stick and find out
which particular stick will suit your
style of music.
1-5 Technique Get starting playing your drum kit.
Learn about how to hold the drum
sticks, how to hit a drum correctly
and how to maintain a steady pulse.

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Module 2 – The First Steps

This module will teach you how to play some basic grooves and fills and how these
rhythms are notated on the stave. Begin playing along to custom made backing tracks.

Lesson Lesson Name Key Objective

Number
2-1 Quarter Note Groove Learn how to play a basic quarter
note rock and pop groove using the
bass drum, snare drum and hi hats.
2-2 The Crash, Fills and Phrases Understand the importance of
creating longer phrases within
music. Learn how to do this by using
the crash cymbal and fills.
2-3 Eighth Note Groove Learn how to play a basic eighth
note pop and rock groove with the
bass, snare and hi hats.
2-4 Rudiments 1 Learn what drum rudiments are and
why they are so important in
mastering the drum kit. You will
learn 3 rudiments in this lesson.
2-5 Musical Form Learn how to create variation in
your groove to highlight different
sections of a song such as
verse/chorus or A/B.

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Module 3 – Bass Drum 8th Notes

This module will help you to begin playing bass drum 8th notes in your grooves. You'll
also learn how to incorporate 16th notes into your fills.

Lesson Lesson Name Key Objective

Number
3-1 Bass Drum 8ths Learn how to add bass drum 8th
notes to your 8th note groove. This
lesson will look at 2 common
grooves.
3-2 More Permutations This lesson will expand on our
previous bass drum 8th note
grooves by looking at some other
permutations.
3-3 16th Note Fills Learn how to create your own
simple 16th note fills to add some
speed and intensity to your playing.
3-4 Longer Phrases Learn how to combine the grooves
you have already learned to create
longer musical phrases.
3-5 Musical Example Learn how to play a groove taken
from a famous pop/rock song.

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Module 4 – The Left Foot

Begin playing the hi hat with the left foot. Learn how the left foot can work in the context
of a groove and start using it to add depth to your playing.

Lesson Lesson Name Key Objective

Number
4-1 Why The Left Foot? Understand why it's important to
develop left foot coordination and
what role the left foot plays.
4-2 8th Note Groove with Left Foot Add hi hat quarter notes while
playing a basic 8th note groove on
the ride cymbal.
4-3 Open Hi Hat Begin opening the hi hats to create
a different timbre. Learn to play a
funky groove using the open hi hat.
4-4 Open Hi Hat 2 Learn some other open hi hat
applications and learn to combine 2
different open hi hat grooves.
4-5 Rudiment Coordination Develop your four way coordination
in this lesson. Add a foot ostinato to
the three rudiments we looked at
previously.

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Module 5 - Backbeat Variations - Stylistic Studies

This module will focus on some variations on the standard backbeat and will analyse how
displacing the snare drum plays a key role in many pop and rock sub-genres, from rock n'
roll to hip hop.

Lesson Lesson Name Key Objective

Number
5-1 Rock n' Roll Backbeat Learn the rock n' roll 8th note snare
drum groove. This lesson will crank
up the tempo and really push your
technique.
5-2 Hip Hop Backbeat Variation Learn a common hip hop backbeat
variation by removing the snare
drum from beat 2.
5-3 Funky Delayed Backbeat Start displacing the snare drum by
8th note subdivisions across the
bar. This can sound really funky
when played tastefully.
5-4 Motown/Soul Backbeat Learn a common Motown groove,
Variation playing the snare drum on every
beat of the bar to really give your
groove momentum.
5-5 The 6/8 Ballad Understand the difference between
simple and compound time
signatures. Learn what 6/8 means
and begin playing a slow 6/8 groove.

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Module 6 - 16th Note Grooves

This module will teach you how to add snare drum 16th notes to your 8th note groove,
creating a busier more funky feel. Begin playing hi hat 16th notes and learn some new
rudiments.

Lesson Lesson Name Key Objective

Number
6-1 Snare Drum 16ths 1 Begin adding syncopated snare
drum 16th notes. These grooves are
really common in funk, indie and
grunge music. This lesson will look
at four common permutations.
6-2 Snare Drum 16ths 2 Take the grooves learnt in the
previous lesson to the next level by
combining these 16th note snare
drums with bass drum 8th notes.
6-3 Snare Drum 16th Learn how to combine all of these
Combinations snare drum 16th note permutations
into longer phrases.
6-4 Hi Hat 16ths Learn two very different grooves
which both use hi hat 16th notes.
6-5 Rudiments 3: The Paradiddle Learn about 3 more paradiddles;
the inward Paradiddle, the reverse
Paradiddle and the delayed
Paradiddle.

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Module 7 – Bass Drum Independence

This module will look at some more linear grooves and will focus on freeing up your right
foot. This will enable you to play some really involved funky grooves.

Lesson Lesson Name Key Objective

Number
7-1 Bass Drum 8ths Over Hi Hat Revisit the quarter note groove from
Quarter Notes module 2, take the tempo up and
add bass drum 8th notes.
7-2 Bass Drum 16ths 1: Four This lesson will take a similar
Permutations approach to our snare drum 16th
note grooves but will focus on the
bass drum.
7-3 Rudiments 4: The Double and Understand the uses of a further
Triple Paradiddle two paradiddles and how they can
be combined to make longer more
complex fills.
7-4 Bass Drum 16ths 2: Hi Hat Revisit the hi hat 16th note grooves
16ths adding bass drum 16ths to add a
funky edge.
7-5 Bass Drum 16ths 3: Consolidate everything in this
Consolidation module. Combine 16th note
grooves with some tasteful
Paradiddle fills.

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Module 8 - Making It Musical

Take your drumming to the next level by improving your musicality. Learn about the
importance of articulation and dynamics, learn about how to enhance a song with band
hits, stabs and stops and bring this all together by learning an original composition
designed to test your drumming skills to their limit.

Lesson Lesson Name Key Objective

Number
8-1 Articulation Understand what articulation is and
how it can be used to make your
music groove!
8-2 Band Hits Learn some common band hits,
how to set them up and how to
interpret them from a chart.
8-3 Bass and Snare 16ths Learn complex 16th note grooves
Combinations 1 using syncopated bass drums and
snare drums.
8-4 Bass and Snare 16th Enhance the material from the
Combinations 2 previous lesson by thinking
creatively about dynamics and
articulation.
8-5 Case Study Learn how to play an original song
complete with backing track. Learn
how to make it groove by focusing
on the finer details of your playing.