Some of the first drum lessons for kids can involve parents or teachers drumming with their children to simple words. At first, kids will have to work hard to maintain a steady rhythm, but with practice, they’ll be joining right in the beat.
Use Words to Create Rhythms in Drum Lessons for Kids
To begin, parents can pick a simple word then repeat it to a steady beat while drumming on each syllable. Kids can jump in whenever they feel comfortable. Parents and teachers should keep the rhythm steady, even if kids lose the beat. The importance of this activity is to give children drumming experience with a rhythm pattern that is consistent for several bars.
Jungle animals are a fun category to start off with. Here is a list of examples grouped from easiest to most complex: lion, tiger, gorilla, elephant, crocodile, alligator, hippopotamus, rhinoceros, and orangutan. The idea is to repeat each word at least ten times before changing to another word or rhythm.
Fruits and vegetables are another category with words representing a wide variety in the number and emphasis of syllables. Some fun suggestions include: apple, banana, strawberry, huckleberry, asparagus, broccoli, coconut, zucchini squash, water melon, and butternut squash.
Finally, for kids who like a rhythmic challenge, parents and teachers can suggest dinosaur names. Children are likely to know these better than their parents, so here’s a list of some of the more popular ones with fun rhythm patterns: ankylosaurus, apatosaurus, brontosaurus, brachiosaurus, deinonychus, iguanodon, megalosaurus, ornithoninus, tyrannosaurus rex, triceratops,
Discovering Sounds on a Kids Gathering Drum or Drum Sets for Kids
Whether parents and teachers are offering drum lessons on a kids gathering drum, Remo drum for kids, electronic drum set, or acoustic kids drum set, they can help children find and make use of the drum’s different sounds. Of course, drum sets for kids and electric drum sets offer several options for tone variety.
On a hand drum, kids will need to experiment to find how striking the head in different places changes the tone. Using the whole hand to strike the middle of the drum will produce a bass tone. Striking the drum closer to the edge will offer a higher tone.
Once kids are comfortable keeping a steady beat on a number of words, parents and teachers can demonstrate how to emphasize the heaviest syllables with a bass tone. Keeping a consistent rhythm with varied tones can be tricky at first.
Making Drum Lessons for Kids Fun
Parents may want to change the drum lessons for kids up with some fun games. For example, drummers can take turns choosing words in a certain category to drum, such as trees, flowers, or car brands. The winner is the last one to think of a word that fits the category.
An advanced exercise might be to play rhythm rounds. Parents and kids can attempt to play two different rhythms at the same time and see how long they can keep it up.
In related articles, parents and teachers can read about combining drums and children’s games, using a drum for kid’s storytelling, and fun drums kids will enjoy making at home.
Marcy Paulson - From the moment Marcy Paulson picked up a recorder in fourth grade music class, she was hooked. Since then, her passion for music has ...
