How to Play the Drums

1. Step 1

   Listen to a song of your choice and count along to the beat.

2. Step 2

   Count the beat in fours: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4. In this example, we'll use the Beatles' "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds."

3. Step 3

   Put your right foot on the bass drum pedal and your left foot on the high hat pedal.

4. Step 4

   Keep the high hat pedal pressed down while you play.

5. Step 5

   Begin with the music playing, and use only your right stick on the high hat.

6. Step 6

   Hit the high hat once for every syllable in the chorus: "Lu-cy-in-the-Sky ..." Keep this steady rhythm throughout the song.

7. Step 7

   Add your bass drum pedal on beats 1 and 3 when you can keep a steady beat on the high hat. For our example, the bass drum would sound on "Lu-," "Sky," and "Dia-."

8. Step 8

   Add the snare drum to complete the beat.

9. Step 9

   Use your left stick on beats 2 and 4, which is when you might naturally clap to a song. In our chorus, it would be played on "In" and then just after the word "Sky," and on "-monds."

10. Step 10

    Try playing your rhythm throughout an entire song without a missed beat.

11. Step 11

    Try new songs with different tempos.