RockBlocks Drum School

A free way to learn drum beats online: 100 lessons, stepwise — each one adds a single new idea to the last. Start at Lesson 1 even if you can already play a beat; the point is to see how a full groove gets built one piece at a time. Every lesson is interactive and plays in your browser — no login, no download, and nothing you change here saves, so everyone gets the same starting point.

The lessons

• 1. Find the PulseSteady quarter notes on the hi-hat and other parts of the drum set→
• 2. Add the BackbeatAdd hits to beats 2 and 4.→
• 3. Add the KickAdd the bass drum to create basic rock beats.→
• 4. Eighth-Note Hi-HatDoubling the hi-hat for a driving feel.→
• 5. Syncopate the KickMoving a kick hit onto the off-beat.→
• 6. Four on the floor with 8th notesFour on the floor beats. Try them slow then increase the speed.→
• 7. Open Hi-Hat AccentsOpening and closing the hi-hat for a splashy good time.→
• 8. Your First Fill: The Tom RunA one-bar fill that walks down the toms.→
• 9. Eighth-Note FillBreaking just the last beat into a quick snare fill.→
• 10. Put It TogetherVerse, chorus, and fills arranged into one song.→
• 11. Sixteenth-Note Hi-HatSubdividing the hi-hat into sixteenths for a smoother, busier feel.→
• 12. Ghost NotesQuiet snare hits between the backbeat, for texture instead of volume.→
• 13. The Train BeatA driving eighth-note pattern voiced on the snare, with the downbeat of each pair accented for a chugging feel.→
• 14. Halftime GrooveMoving the snare to just beat 3 for a laid-back, spacious feel.→
• 15. Double-Time FeelThe same basic rock beat, played fast enough to feel like a different gear.→
• 16. The ShuffleA swung, triplet-based hi-hat feel instead of straight time.→
• 17. Funk Sixteenth GrooveSyncopating the kick within a sixteenth-note grid, plus ghost notes.→
• 18. Linear FillA fill where no two limbs ever hit at the same instant, versus one that stacks hits together.→
• 19. Sixteenth-Note FillFilling the last beat with a running sixteenth-note cascade instead of quarter notes.→
• 20. Crash Into the GrooveUsing a pickup fill and a crash-plus-kick hit together to mark a new section.→
• 21. Odd Grouping: 3+3+2Splitting a bar of eighth notes into groups of 3+3+2 instead of four even beats.→
• 22. The One-DropLanding the kick and snare together on beat 3 instead of spreading them across the bar.→
• 23. Disco Four-on-the-FloorKick on every beat, with the hi-hat opening on each off-beat for color.→
• 24. Cross-Stick BackbeatA quieter rimshot backbeat for a verse, opening up to full snare for the chorus.→
• 25. Building Dynamics: Verse to ChorusLeaving the snare out entirely in a sparse verse, so the chorus has somewhere to go.→
• 26. The Big FillA fill that takes over the entire bar, for a bigger moment than a one-beat tom run.→
• 27. Sixteenth-Note Kick PatternA funk/hip-hop-style kick pattern built from sixteenth-note syncopation.→
• 28. 7-Beat GrooveAn asymmetric 3+2+2 grouping across a 7-beat measure, instead of four even beats.→
• 29. Full Arrangement: Verse, Chorus, FillsCombining a halftime verse, a driving chorus, and two fills into one arranged song.→
• 30. A Song of Your OwnVerse, chorus, and bridge grooves plus a fill — everything from this course, in one song.→
• 31. Paradiddle GrooveAdapting a sticking pattern (RLRR LRLL) onto hi-hat and snare instead of two hands.→
• 32. Half-Time ShuffleCombining the shuffle feel with a halftime backbeat and a ghost note, all at once.→
• 33. Displaced BackbeatMoving the snare off the downbeat entirely, onto the 'and' of 2 and 4.→
• 34. 5/4 GrooveA 5-beat measure grouped 3+2, instead of the usual 4.→
• 35. 6/8 Compound GrooveA 6-beat measure felt as two big pulses of three, not six even beats.→
• 36. Sixteenth-Note Kick OstinatoA continuous running sixteenth-note kick pattern underneath the groove, for a heavy, driving feel.→
• 37. Ride Cymbal GrooveMoving timekeeping from the hi-hat to the ride cymbal for a more open, washy sound.→
• 38. Hemiola: Grouping in 3s Over a 4-Beat BarAccenting every third eighth note, so a steady 4-beat bar briefly feels like it's in 3.→
• 39. Building a Groove From a FillTaking the Lesson 8 tom run's shape and turning it into a sustained groove instead of a one-bar detour.→
• 40. Samba-Influenced FeelA two-beat surdo-style kick pattern (downbeat plus a syncopated push) under steady eighths.→
• 41. Songo-Influenced GrooveA different kick/snare syncopation than the samba feel, both built from the same eighth-note grid.→
• 42. Afrobeat-Influenced GrooveA steady sixteenth-note hi-hat with a syncopated kick and a cross-stick answering on the off-beats.→
• 43. Second-Line GrooveA bouncy, syncopated kick-and-snare conversation instead of a fixed backbeat.→
• 44. Blast Beat IntroKick, snare, and hi-hat all hitting together on every eighth note, as fast as you can hold it.→
• 45. Polyrhythm: Grouping in 3s Over SixteenthsAccenting every third sixteenth note across a steady 4-beat bar, for a rolling cross-rhythm feel.→
• 46. Odd-Time FillA fill built to span a 5-beat measure, matching the 5/4 groove from Lesson 34.→
• 47. Dynamics Across the Whole GrooveAccents and ghost notes on the kick and hi-hat too, not just the snare.→
• 48. Building an IntroA crash-and-tom pickup that leads into the groove, the way a lot of songs actually start.→
• 49. Full Arrangement: AdvancedA shuffle verse, a displaced-backbeat chorus, and two fills arranged into one song.→
• 50. Fifty Lessons InA paradiddle-based verse, a samba-influenced bridge, a driving chorus, and a fill — the advanced half, in one song.→
• 51. Offbeat Skank GrooveA hi-hat pattern voiced entirely on the off-beat 'and' of each beat, with the kick landing alone on beat 3.→
• 52. Jazz Ride PatternA swung ride-cymbal ostinato (the 'spang-a-lang' shape) with soft snare comping underneath instead of a fixed backbeat.→
• 53. Waltz Time: Three-Beat FeelA 3-beat measure with the bass drum on beat 1 and the hi-hat keeping a gentle three-count, instead of grouping in four.→
• 54. Gospel Chop GrooveA busy, syncopated sixteenth-note kick-and-snare conversation with the hi-hat holding steady eighths on top.→
• 55. Alternating Double-Kick FeelA continuous sixteenth-note kick pattern with alternating accents, the way a double-bass-pedal player alternates emphasis between feet.→
• 56. Breakbeat GrooveA fast, syncopated kick-and-snare breakbeat pattern lifted off the sixteenth-note grid instead of landing on the obvious beats.→
• 57. Clave-Influenced GrooveA kick-and-rimshot pattern echoing a generic three-against-two clave shape, spread across the bar instead of a straight backbeat.→
• 58. Funk Ghost CascadeMultiple ghost notes packed into a single beat on the snare, filling space between sparse kick hits.→
• 59. Dynamic Crescendo FillA one-bar snare fill that builds from ghost notes to full accents across the bar instead of staying one volume.→
• 60. Full Arrangement: Groove ToolkitCombining a reggae-influenced verse, a gospel-chop chorus, and two contrasting fills into one arranged song.→
• 61. Triplet FillA one-bar fill built entirely from triplet subdivisions instead of straight sixteenths.→
• 62. Cross-Rhythm FillA fill that accents every third eighth note across a 4-beat bar, carrying the hemiola idea from Lesson 38 into a fill instead of a groove.→
• 63. 5/4 Groove: 2+3The same 5-beat measure as Lesson 34, regrouped 2+3 instead of 3+2 — a different feel from the same meter.→
• 64. Odd-Meter Ghost NotesA 7-beat measure (grouped 2+2+3) with ghost notes woven between the backbeat hits, combining odd meter and dynamics.→
• 65. Rudiment-Style MarchA snare pattern using a ghost sixteenth right before each accent to approximate a flam, over a steady quarter-note bass drum march.→
• 66. Cut-Time Punk DriveA very fast, stripped-down groove with the kick landing on every quarter note and a pushed snare accent into beat 4 — punk and hardcore's forward drive.→
• 67. Displaced Hi-Hat AccentsAccenting the hi-hat on the off-beats instead of the downbeats, while the kick and snare stay put — shifting where the ear locks in without moving the backbeat.→
• 68. Tom-Voiced GrooveA groove where the toms carry the main rhythm instead of hi-hat and snare, for a tribal, low-end-heavy feel.→
• 69. Sixteenth-Note Hi-Hat OpensOpening the hi-hat on select sixteenth-note partials instead of just the eighth-note off-beats, for a busier splash pattern.→
• 70. Full Arrangement: Advanced TexturesCombining a displaced-hi-hat verse, a gospel-chop chorus, and a triplet fill into one arranged song.→
• 71. Half-Time Power BalladA slow half-time groove with a heavily accented backbeat and a sustained crash, the arena-ballad feel.→
• 72. Funk Groove with Hi-Hat SplashesLayering open hi-hat splashes onto a syncopated sixteenth-note funk kick pattern.→
• 73. Alternating Blast BeatA blast beat where kick and snare alternate every eighth note instead of hitting together, for a different kind of relentless drive.→
• 74. Bossa-Influenced FeelA relaxed Latin-adjacent feel with a steady eighth-note hi-hat and a syncopated rimshot pattern, quieter than the samba and songo feels.→
• 75. Ride Cymbal DynamicsAccenting select ride-cymbal hits while keeping the rest at normal volume, the way a bell accent cuts through a ride pattern.→
• 76. Full-Bar Linear FillA fill spanning the entire bar where kick, snare, and toms trade sixteenth notes without ever overlapping.→
• 77. Syncopated Ride GrooveA ride-cymbal pattern with the off-beat 'and' dropped out here and there, instead of playing every eighth note evenly.→
• 78. Shuffle in FiveThe shuffle's swung triplet hi-hat feel, now stretched across a 5-beat measure instead of 4.→
• 79. Groove That Builds Within the BarA single groove where the hi-hat itself ramps from ghost to accent across the bar, so the intensity builds without the pattern changing.→
• 80. Full Arrangement: Grooves in MotionA half-time-ballad verse, a funk chorus with hi-hat splashes, and two fills — the busiest arrangement yet.→
• 81. Three-Over-Two Kick PatternA kick pattern that lands every dotted quarter note against a steady straight pulse, a simple polyrhythm you can feel in the feet.→
• 82. 6/8 Bell Pattern FeelA 6-beat groove with a rimshot outlining a bell-pattern rhythm underneath a steady pulse.→
• 83. Snare-Led Sixteenth GrooveA continuous sixteenth-note snare ostinato with the kick only accenting select hits underneath, flipping which instrument leads the groove.→
• 84. Inverted Accent GrooveAccenting the off-beats and ghosting the downbeats on the hi-hat — the reverse of where accents usually land.→
• 85. Shuffle-Feel FillA tom fill built from the shuffle's triplet skip shape instead of straight sixteenths.→
• 86. Kick Ostinato Meets Ghost SnareCombining the continuous sixteenth-note kick ostinato from Lesson 36 with a dense ghost-note snare pattern underneath a steady hi-hat.→
• 87. Dotted-Eighth Loping FeelA hi-hat pattern built from dotted-eighth-plus-sixteenth cells instead of straight or swung eighths, for a loping, uneven pulse.→
• 88. Sixteenth-Note Cross-Stick GrooveMoving the quiet cross-stick backbeat from Lesson 24 onto a syncopated sixteenth-note grid instead of a plain quarter-note backbeat.→
• 89. Call-and-Response FillA fill built as a short snare phrase answered by tom phrases, trading back and forth within the bar.→
• 90. Full Arrangement: Polyrhythms and GhostsA polyrhythmic-kick verse, an inverted-accent chorus, and two fills arranged into one song.→
• 91. Half-Time Double-Kick GrooveA half-time backbeat with a continuous sixteenth-note double-kick pattern underneath, instead of a sparse kick.→
• 92. Breakbeat in FiveThe syncopated breakbeat feel from Lesson 56, now fit into a 5-beat measure instead of straight 4/4.→
• 93. Inverted Paradiddle GrooveThe paradiddle sticking pattern from Lesson 31, with the two voices swapped — landing the accents in different spots than before.→
• 94. Independent Limb DynamicsAccenting the kick at the same instant the snare plays a ghost note, so each limb carries its own dynamic level independently.→
• 95. Full Triplet GrooveA groove where kick, snare, and hi-hat all sit on the triplet grid together, not just the hi-hat like the shuffle.→
• 96. Full-Kit Crescendo FillA fill where the hi-hat, kick, and snare all ramp from ghost to accent together, for a big buildup into the next section.→
• 97. Latin-Influenced Ghost GrooveLayering ghost notes onto the clave-influenced kick-and-rimshot pattern from Lesson 57.→
• 98. Odd-Meter Triplet FillA fill spanning a 7-beat measure built from triplet subdivisions, combining odd meter and triplet phrasing.→
• 99. Full Arrangement: The Home StretchA polyrhythmic-kick verse, a half-time double-kick chorus, and two fills — one last full arrangement before the final song.→
• 100. Graduation: Everything You've LearnedA full song combining sixteenth-note ghost/accent dynamics, a driving double-kick chorus, a 7-beat odd-meter bridge, and a full-kit crescendo fill — the whole hundred-lesson course, in one song.→