Okay, so the title is probably a little misleading because obviously, I think that learning music theory and studying rhythm patterns is very important to musicians regardless of what instrument they play. I, more so than a lot of people, tend to forget that there is more to creating music than practicing a set pattern found in a book, or practicing the same rudiments time and time again. But there comes a time when you need to put all that practice to use, and actually create something rhythmically appealing. It's easy for some of us to get comfortable with our nose buried behind some book and never step out of our comfort zone. This could be because we have become familiar with the exercises in the book and it offers security, or it could be because we don't feel that we have enough creativity to actually use everything we've learned so far. Honestly, it takes a measure of confidence to put the book away and trust your instincts, along with the lessons you have learned up until now, and simply play the drums. You won't be able to hone your own personal style and sound unless you take time to experiment. There are several very important benefits that come with taking the time to freely express yourself on the drums. It stimulates creativity and improves your mastery over the instrument as you are forced to improvise. The goal is to take what you have learned on paper and apply those concepts to your playing, even when the book is closed. The idea is to constantly challenge you to think on your own. What you will find is that different patterns and exercises resonate differently with every drummer, and these ideas will begin to emerge as time goes by. Practice: Random And Linear Patterns As you know in drumming, your sticking will either be right hand lead or left hand lead. Always written with an R - for right hand, or an L - for left hand. The goal here is to create a random pattern of 8 notes. But feel free to add more notes if you desire. It could be anything you want. Start by playing everything on the snare drum. As you get better you can move these patterns around your drum set. LRRLRLLL for instance. Just to keep things simple, by creating a random pattern of eight notes, it will be like playing one measure of eighth notes in 4/4 time. Or RRRLRLLR It's entirely up to you. The point is, we are forcing our mind to think, as opposed to mindlessly playing the same thing whether it be a drum beat or a rudiment. Those become second nature after awhile, and that isn't creating music, that is simply replaying music. Next, we are going to incorporate another drum into the mix here. It can be anything you want. Just pick a letter to represent it. If it's the floor tom, you could use the letter F. If it's the crash cymbal, maybe go with a C. I like to incorporate the bass drum (B). This is where we are also going to get into linear drumming. And by that, I mean that none of your limbs are striking a drum at the same time.

1. Bass Drum Mastery (Online Drum Course)
Okay, so the title is probably a little misleading because obviously, I think that learning music
theory and studying rhythm patterns is very important to musicians regardless of what
instrument they play. I, more so than a lot of people, tend to forget that there is more to creating
music than practicing a set pattern found in a book, or practicing the same rudiments time and
time again.
But there comes a time when you need to put all that practice to use, and actually create
something rhythmically appealing. It's easy for some of us to get comfortable with our nose
buried behind some book and never step out of our comfort zone. This could be because we
have become familiar with the exercises in the book and it offers security, or it could be because
we don't feel that we have enough creativity to actually use everything we've learned so far.
Honestly, it takes a measure of confidence to put the book away and trust your instincts, along
with the lessons you have learned up until now, and simply play the drums. You won't be able to
hone your own personal style and sound unless you take time to experiment. There are several
very important benefits that come with taking the time to freely express yourself on the drums. It
stimulates creativity and improves your mastery over the instrument as you are forced to
improvise.
The goal is to take what you have learned on paper and apply those concepts to your playing,
even when the book is closed. The idea is to constantly challenge you to think on your own.

2. What you will find is that different patterns and exercises resonate differently with every
drummer, and these ideas will begin to emerge as time goes by.
Practice: Random And Linear Patterns
As you know in drumming, your sticking will either be right hand lead or left hand lead. Always
written with an R - for right hand, or an L - for left hand. The goal here is to create a random
pattern of 8 notes. But feel free to add more notes if you desire. It could be anything you want.
Start by playing everything on the snare drum. As you get better you can move these patterns
around your drum set.
LRRLRLLL for instance. Just to keep things simple, by creating a random pattern of eight notes,
it will be like playing one measure of eighth notes in 4/4 time.
Or
RRRLRLLR It's entirely up to you. The point is, we are forcing our mind to think, as opposed to
mindlessly playing the same thing whether it be a drum beat or a rudiment. Those become
second nature after awhile, and that isn't creating music, that is simply replaying music.
Next, we are going to incorporate another drum into the mix here. It can be anything you want.
Just pick a letter to represent it. If it's the floor tom, you could use the letter F. If it's the crash
cymbal, maybe go with a C. I like to incorporate the bass drum (B).
This is where we are also going to get into linear drumming. And by that, I mean that none of
your limbs are striking a drum at the same time. If you haven't done this at all before, it's a bit
harder than you would think, although it is absolutely a great way to practice. I don't know the
science behind it, but I have a hunch that it has to do with your brain not being able to pick out a
steady pattern.
Changing Things Up And Getting Weirder

3. If you are comfortable playing the previous ideas, you might want to push the envelope a little
and substitute all of your R or L hand strikes with a hit on the ride or crash cymbal, and make a
groove out of it. It won't be the best groove, but it will be a groove nonetheless.
In addition, you can pick an odd number of notes to play. Again, this can be any random sticking
you want. Most likely this will put you in an odd time signature, but it doesn't necessarily mean
so
Don't worry if you screw up, remember we are creating and it's natural to fumble around. The
main goal is to get better at working this out in real time.
So, as promised here are a couple ideas for some linear practice runs. Remember (B) is for the
bass drum, and by default every R or L strike should be on the snare drum.
RLBLRRBR
LBLRRBRL
If you want to add some additional elements: Crash (C), small tom (S), medium tom (M), floor
tom (F), hi-hat (H) try some of the exercises:
LCBLBRMF
RCBSLRLF
Here are some runs with an odd number of notes that won't put you in an odd time signature.
For simplicity's sake we will stay in 4/4 time. I will separate every beat to keep it as simple to
count as possible, but the lead sticking will change:
LRL - BLR - FLR - LR
FCRL - BLRF- CRHB - HHH
LRLL - MCFF - LRLL - BHBB (that was 4 paradiddles)
Please, use your own creativity and adapt these and work them into a groove or a fill. You
probably noticed that there where no accents placed in any of the prior patterns, but there was a
point to that. If you continue to play these, you will find spots where you naturally want to place
accents.

4. The awesome thing is, since there are no real specific rhythms to each pattern, the way you
choose to phrase the notes is how it will be. Think of it this way. A hundred different drummers
can work on a pattern and it won't take long for that pattern to go in one hundred different
directions. And that is GOOD.
You Probably Know More Than You Realize
Imagine a blank sheet of paper. This is what your brain looks like when you sit down to play.
Although you know a lot and can play a lot as well, you seem to have a very hard time figuring
out where to start, and you simply draw a blank most of the time.
My opinion is that if you take that small step by writing down your idea and working it out, you
will realize very quickly that you possess all the creativity you need. Everything you need to
know is already there, and you might just be surprised to find out that you know more than you
thought.
Figuratively speaking, drums are a relatively new instrument in the overall picture of
instruments. Although the drum has been around for thousands of years, the instrument we
recognize today as a drum set, played by a single person didn't appear on the scene until the
invention of the bass drum pedal in 1909.
Take your time and enjoy learning as much as you can. It is a great instrument, and one that
probably many of your friends don't know how to play!
The one thing I hope you take away from this, is that no matter how much you practice your
rudiments, speed or stamina, your ultimate goal is to be able to take the skills you have learned
up to this point, and just play the drums
[http://www.duleydrums.com/put-the-book-away-and-just-play-the-drums/].
Let your creativity flow without over analyzing anything. This is the ultimate exercise in
expression, and one of the best rewards for learning the drums [http://www.duleydrums.com].