Much like with our last exercise on tones, practicing slaps can help build stamina and rhythm. When practicing slaps, you’re going to follow the same basic steps as you did in the tone practice. You can refer to that exercise for more information.

So what makes a good slap? These are the basics:

1. Start with your hand back and straight.
2. Hit the drum clearly.
3. Bring your hand back to the starting position.

This seems simple (and familiar if you’ve been practicing tones). So let’s focus on putting that technique into action.

To start, hit the drum softly. You don’t have to make sound in this stage, only focus on how you are striking the drum. Make sure your hand is in the right position and that you are hitting the edge of the drum with the distal part of your palm, just beneath your fingers.

As you increase the intensity of your strikes, keep your fingers stiff so they don’t hit the drum. You want to hold your fingers back and make sure you are not making contact with the surface of the drum. This will make some noise but again, focus on your technique.

Then, when you feel confident, you can bring your hand down on the drum harder and let your fingers relax and bounce off the top of the drum. Don’t let them rest there! Make sure they are returning to the upright position as you bring your hand back up off the drum.

For your practice exercise, you will set your timer (one minute for beginners) and play two good slaps with one hand. Once you’ve completed it with one hand, switch to the other. Repeat. Remember to download a free copy of the practice worksheet to record how many slaps you completed in that time. You’ll want that worksheet as a way to look back and see your progress!