Beginner Online Drum Lessons - No Drums Required

With the online drum lessons on these pages you can start learning drums right now, this instant, without even touching a drum set. This is no joke!

How is this possible? The answer is "air drums". Playing air drums is the practice of practicing drums without drums.

In the following short lessons you are going to tap your right hand to simulate a hi-hat, your left hand to simulate a snare, and your right foot to simulate a bass drum. If you're left handed you may switch left and right. Also, if you do have a drum set and are looking for your very first drum beat lesson, just follow what's written here on your set.

And now for your first lesson. Sit down comfortably, preferably at a desk or a countertop, and start tapping steadily with your right hand. Now, start counting mentally or out loud as you tap "one, two, three, four, one, two, three, four...", where each number gets a tap. You don't have to keep counting, but for now at least keep in mind that we're going to do things in cycles of four.

Next, let's bring the snare drum in. For every count of three, tap your left hand. When you tap your left hand, tap it a bit harder than the right. You can also tap with the left hand finger nails, which make a sound more similar to a snare drum.

And we're finally up to the bass drum. Keep both hands going, and at the same time tap your right foot for every count of one. The beat you're tapping is the most basic rock beat in 4/4 time.

As always, you should start practicing slowly and speed up as you gain more confidence in sustaining a steady beat.

The framed box below concisely shows how to do this beat using sounds and a drum tab diagram. Click the help link within the box for an explanation on exactly how it works.

The interesting thing about this beat is that it fits nearly every pop song out there, since most songs are written in 4/4 time. To have some fun, put on your favorite song, and see if you can count 1, 2, 3, 4... with the song's beat. Once you can do that, add the tapping beat you just learned, and play along.

At this point, if you can easily play the basic beat, you are ready to add a little bit of complexity, and move on to the next online drum lesson.