Rock Drumming System
PRG

2 Handed Rock Drumming Beats

Most of the rock drumming beats you have learnt thus far on this web site have been single handed patterns that are fairly easy to play. These rock drum lessons are great to learn; however there is so much more you can add when you bring in your second hand. That is why in this rock drumming lesson I will show you how to play a few 2 handed rock drumming beats. Now you may be wondering why they call this 2 handed beats when you use two hands all the time on the drum set. Well that is because with these beats, we will be keeping the time with both hands instead of just one hand on the hi hat. In fact, you can use this technique for Latin drumming, jazz drumming, Metal drumming, and more! Let me explain this a little better below.

The best thing about playing 2 handed rock beats is being able to play much quicker then before. Adding your other hand in on the hi hats or ride cymbal allows you the play fast 16th notes or even 32nd notes to increase the tempo or feel of a song. It is generally a great way to add a lot more feel to any groove. The best part about all of this, is it is fairly easy to do! All you need to do is develop the mind set of driving the beat with both hands. The best way to do this is by practice the single stroke roll rudiment.

With this next beat, play the hi hats with both left and right hands. With slower tempo’s you may be able to play this with one hand; however we want to develop the feel of using both. With most of these beats, you will be leading with your right hand. This means you will be hitting your snare drum with your right hand as well. Try playing this at a slower tempo to make sure every hit on the hi hat is even. Try this beat below:

Next we want to add some spice to the beat. Now regularly, we would use our left hand to play additional hits and accents on the snare drum. However this time both of our hands are busy with the hi hats. To solve this, you will simply move your hands from the hi hats to the snare drum. Make sure you are playing everything on time. Also another thing to look out for is that you don’t hit your other hand. When you are moving forth with your left and right hands, you may accidentally hit your hands with your sticks. Play this slow before you speed things up.

This is the basics to playing two handed patterns. It is fairly simple. Remember to play everything nice and clean; because these beats utilize your left hand more, your beats may seem a little uneven. When you have mastered this, try to change up the beat by playing it on the ride cymbal and hi hats. This is what this would look like:

So take these beats to your drum set, and have fun with them!

By: Dave Atkinson

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