Grade Level: K-4
In music class, we use different drum patterns to learn about the beat, keeping it steady, and moving along with it. You can think of this as the first steps toward dancing different steps. Linked below are tracks with simple drum beats meant for walking, jogging, galloping, jumping, leaping, skipping, and hopping. You can use a drum (or other noise maker) to recreate these beats. It's great for the kids to learn to play the patterns as well.
The beats are played as follows:
In music class, we use different drum patterns to learn about the beat, keeping it steady, and moving along with it. You can think of this as the first steps toward dancing different steps. Linked below are tracks with simple drum beats meant for walking, jogging, galloping, jumping, leaping, skipping, and hopping. You can use a drum (or other noise maker) to recreate these beats. It's great for the kids to learn to play the patterns as well.
The beats are played as follows:
- Walking: A steady, slow, beat that is constant and does not change. Played on the skin of a drum.
- Jogging: About double the speed of the walking beat. Played on the skin of a drum.
- Galloping: An alternating short-long pattern. Played on the skin of a drum. A click means to switch which foot is in front.
- Skipping: An alternating short-long pattern. The long sound is played on the skin of a drum, the short sound is played by clicking the drum stick on the rim of the drum.
- Jumping: A very slow, big drum hit. The beat of the drum should be lined up with the landing of the drum. As you are about to play the drum you should swing your hands in the air as if they are jumping and hit the drum as they land.
- Leaping: A walking beat, where the first beat of a group of 4 is louder than the others. Students leap from one foot to the other on the louder beat.
- Hopping: The same speed as a walking beat, but all sounds are rim clicks instead of drum hits. A double click means to switch feet.
- Crawling: A sound made by running finger nails along the skin of a drum, making a constant sound.