Free Drum Lessons

The Bossa Nova is one of Brazil's most popular forms of Latin music. It is one of the more simple grooves to play, however it is extremely effective. The Bossa Nova is usually played at slower tempos, and is eighth-note based. You will notice there is a standard "Bossa Nova" clave pattern played within this groove.

In this video lesson, you will learn how to play the rumba clave, which is common within Latin drum beats. The clave is an essential pattern for Latin music that must be practiced regularly. The rumba clave is similar to the son clave, however it is different enough to give it a unique feel within Latin music. Watch the video lesson for more information.

Learning how to play the son clave is essential for any serious Latin drummer. In this lesson, you will learn how to incorporate the son clave (a five note pattern) into common Latin grooves. These beats require some independence, however once you learn them, you will have a greater understanding of Latin music.

This section includes Latin drum lessons that cover important topics including: son clave, rumba clave, bossa nova, and songo beats. Work through each lesson carefully before moving on. Then, once you've got a basic understanding of how to play Latin on the drums, check out our drum play-alongs. There you will be able to apply what you've learned by playing with real Latin music!

In this free drum lesson watch Mike walk you through a few 5/4 swing exercises. These exercises are great for strengthening your Jazz Drumming. Use the sheet music below to gain a better understanding of exactly what Mike is playing in this drum lesson.

This lesson includes six challenging beats that include both snare and bass drum comping. These grooves are sure to challenge your limb-independence, and take your jazz drumming to a new level. Work through them slowly at first, to ensure you are practicing them correctly, and then increase the speed as you become more. You can watch the video lesson for demonstrations of all of these beats.

These bass drum comping exercises are designed to build independence within your bass drum foot. They work the same way the snare drum comping patterns do, but are focused around the bass drum. They are great for jazz drumming, but are sure to improve many other areas of your drumming at the same time.

The snare drum comping exercises in this lesson are designed to improve your left-hand control within jazz drumming. All of the patterns are based around the basic jazz pattern, but include unique snare drum patterns designed to challenge your limb-independence. The beats can be a little tricky, so work through them slowly at first to ensure you are practicing them correctly.

The brush beats covered in this video lesson are essential for anyone serious about playing jazz music on the drums. Many jazz gigs will require that you have a basic understanding of how to use brushes, and this lesson will give you a solid foundation on which to build upon. Watch the included video to get started.

This lesson teaches four basic jazz drum fills that you can use with the jazz drum beats we teach here at FreeDrumLessons.com. These patterns are fairly basic, but will enable you to eventually start creating your own unique patterns. Start by mastering these fills, and then modify them with your own ideas. The most important concept you will learn here is that Jazz fills are typically based around triplets. If you don't know how to read triplets, you can go watch the eighth note triplets lesson now. That will give you an excellent overview of how to read, count, and interpret all the fills on this page.

This drum lesson teaches six unique jazz drumming beats that you can use at your next jazz gig. They build upon the basic jazz pattern covered in one of our previous drum lessons, and take the limb-independence to the next level. You can get started by watching the included video lesson, and then take them to your kit!

In this drum lesson, you will learn the basic jazz drumming pattern that is the foundation for most jazz drum beats. It requires a fair amount of independence, so you will learn it through progressive steps. This will simplify the entire learning process, and get you playing jazz with greater ease.

Welcome to the Jazz Drumming section of FreeDrumLessons.com. Here you will learn important jazz concepts including: how to play a basic jazz pattern, jazz drum beats, jazz drum fills, brush beats, snare drum comping, bass drum comping, and some tricky beats that include snare and bass drum comping at the same time. These exercises will enable you to develop powerful skills you need to play jazz with a real band. Afterwards, you can test your new skills by jamming along to one of our free Jazz play-along songs!

Learn how to play 9/8 odd time beats on the drums! Watch this free drum lesson to better understand how you can implement this fun time signature into your drumming. Watch as Mike walks you through a few example beats and gives you a few ideas on what you can play.

This lesson includes six drum beats that are played in the 7/4 time signature. They are all considered odd-time, due to the fact that they aren't counted like popular 4/4 drum beats. The beats are still counted with quarter notes, but include seven in each measure instead of four. Watch the included video for adddition information.