Click on any section:

• The basic rock beat

• Part A and part B



The basic rock beat ................................................................. top

Music mostly counts beats evenly from 1 to 4 then starts again.
It happens over and over in every song – and each 4 beats is called a
a. baa baa b. barber c. bar

Rock is an endless-loop of the same four beats.
(with lots of possible variations)

The kick drum (big bass drum) still accents beat 1 each bar,
but the snare drum answers back on beat 2…LOUDER!!

Adding the snare on beat 2 is what makes rock rock - it’s called the
a. shoulder beat b. back beat c. i'm beat

That simple pattern is repeated on beat 3 and beat 4
(the second half of the bar)

See if you can tap that on your legs.

Meanwhile the cymbals (called hats or hi-hats) fill out this basic rhythm pattern by playing two pulses on each beat.

Instead of counting 1 to 8, just say “&” between each main beat.

"1&2&3&4&"

That makes it a bit easier to keep track of where you are each bar.

Make sure you know what happens on each beat in the basic rock beat.

Click here to order CD 1, with a video showing the rock beat on drums.



Part A and part B ..................................................................... top

Rock music is made up of two vital ingredients:

Part A - someone singing the
a. national anthem b. tune c. wrong way
PLUS
Part B - someone playing the rock rhythm with
a. gusto b. chords c. the beatles

The main driving force of contemporary music today is rhythm.
You'd be flat out finding even two songs in any current top 20 which
play the melody all the way through.

Many people think the band is playing the tune. But they’re not.
The tune is played by the singer - they are the tune!!

There are so many ways to combine the three voices of kick, snare, hats by playing them on different beats across different instruments.
What can you hear in the songs you like?

Reckon you've got the hang of how to play the rock beat?
Click here to make sure you can play the basic rock beat
Click here to play along with 10 minutes of rock beat

And now you know the rock beat, it must be time to play a song...

Click here for a FREE lesson on playing songs ....................... top