Quarter notes are also called crotchets.

Quarter notes and their rests are simply one beat, one count, or one foot tap of any music or rhythm. They are the main beat or pulse of music.

Quarter notes are represented by a dot with a straight stem, up or down:

A quarter note rest looks like this:

Start by clicking on each example and listening to it and then play the parts on your drums. All examples and backing tracks have a one bar count in with a rim-click or stick sound. Each exercise should be practiced until it is comfortable to play. Spend at least one minute on each exercise ensuring you master every aspect. Once mastered, try them faster by increasing the tempo (BPM controllers on your MIDI player or metronome).

Practice the exercises every day for at least a week. Revisiting pages at a later date to increase speed is also advised.

These first exercises are all on the snare drum. Swap hands with every stroke you play.

Practice these exercises from 80 - 200 BPM. The first examples are at 120 BPM.

2a.

2b.

2c.

2d.

2e.

2f.

These exercises combine the snare drum and bass drum together. Aim to hit the snare and bass drum notes precisely together so they sound like one note.

These examples are at 100 BPM.

2g.

2h.

2i.

2j.

2k.

2l.

These exercises have the bass drum playing continuous quarter notes.

2m.

2n.

2o.

2p.

2q.

2r.

These exercises have just one drum hitting at a time.

2s.

2t.

2u.

2v.

2w.

2x.

The last 8 patterns are quarter note grooves. The crosses at the top are your hi-hats. Play the hi-hats with your right hand above the left. Have some fun with these and speed them up!

3a.

3b.

3c.

3d.

3e.

3f.

3g.

3h.