Beginner Curriculum · Stage 2 · ~2–3 weeks
Reading Foundations
Learn the language so the rest of the curriculum can be read off the page and off the app grid. Run in parallel with Stage 1 — reading is brain work, not hand work.
2.1 · The Staff, the Drum Key & Note vs Cymbal
Read the 5-line drum staff and know which line/space is which drum.
Drill: Label lines/spaces, name the drum before playing. Always read the drum key first — there is no universal standard.
Notation: 5-line staff — kick low, snare middle (3rd space), hi-hat/cymbals high. Drums = round noteheads; cymbals = X noteheads.
✓ Advance when: Correctly name 10 randomly placed notes in under 30 seconds.
Book: Ted Reed — Progressive Steps to Syncopation
2.2 · 4/4 Time & Quarter Notes
Understand 4/4 and play quarter notes on the pulse.
Drill: Read left to right, count “1, 2, 3, 4,” play the indicated drum.
Notation: 4/4 — Kick 1, Snare 2, Kick 3, Snare 4 (count aloud). · Tempo: 60 BPM
✓ Advance when: 8 consecutive measures of varied quarter-note patterns at 60 BPM, counting aloud, no errors.
Book: Alfred's Drum Method, Book 1
2.3 · Rests & Silence
Keep perfect time through silence.
Drill: Play, then rest, keeping the count perfectly even.
Notation: 4/4 with quarter rests: 1 = Kick, 2 = Rest, 3 = Snare, 4 = Rest. · Tempo: 80 BPM
✓ Advance when: 8 cycles at 80 BPM with the rests perfectly timed and silent — no rushing.
2.4 · Counting Eighth Notes
Internalize the eighth-note grid that underpins every rock groove.
Drill: Count aloud with a quarter-note metronome; clap downbeats, then offbeats, then play all 8 on the hi-hat.
Notation: Hi-hat eighth notes — 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & (8 hits per bar). · Tempo: 60 BPM
✓ Advance when: Count 16 consecutive measures of eighth notes perfectly in sync at 60 BPM.
2.5 · Counting Sixteenth Notes
Add the sixteenth grid — the beginner→intermediate reading bridge.
Drill: Count aloud, clap downbeats, then eighths, then all 16, then transfer to single-stroke hi-hat.
Notation: 1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a (16 per bar). · Tempo: 60 BPM
✓ Advance when: Count and clap all 16 syllables per bar for 8 consecutive measures in perfect time at 60 BPM.
2.6 · Two-Limb Reading: Kick + Snare
Read and play a coordinated two-drum pattern straight from notation.
Drill: Read the boom-bap base off the page, then sight-read an unseen one-bar pattern.
Notation: Kick 1 & 3, Snare 2 & 4. · Tempo: 90 BPM
✓ Advance when: Play the boom-bap pattern for 4 bars at 90 BPM without stopping; sight-read and loop an unseen one-bar pattern 4× at 80 BPM with no errors.
Open this beat in the machine →