Make Beats with Your Pencil

You don’t need a drum kit to practice beats and improve your rhythm. You can create beats by only using a pencil and a bit of creativity. The pencil acts as a higher pitched percussion instrument for creating beats on a desk or table. Pair the pencil with you hands and feet to create a well rounded beat.

Steps

Performing Basic Techniques

1. Set up a table drum kit. You can imitate a lot of tones from a drum kit with the proper table setup. Since most people like to use pencils to procrastinate at school and work, you might have a variety of notebooks and books. Hardcover books or textbooks make great drum tones when played with pencils. Notebooks create a smoother tom sound.
   • Experiment with the supplies you have.
   • Water bottles can create a variety of tones based on how full or empty the bottle is.
   • Play around with two pencils and pretend like you are John Bonham playing Moby Dick.
2. Understand the cymbal’s function. Many people, without knowing it, imitate playing a cymbal on a drum kit using a pencil. There are several types of cymbals on a drum kit. The common cymbals are the hi hat, ride, and crash. The Hi-hat is the most commonly used drum cymbal because drummers can have it closed or open, which make the cymbal versatile. The ride is a smoother cymbal that creates a larger sound than the Hi-hat.
   • A crash cymbal is usually for accenting parts of a song. The crash is used sparingly and for louder parts.
   • Both the Hi-hat and ride cymbals are used as a steady beat indicator.
3. Play a steady Hi-hat part. An easy sound to imitate with a pencil is the closed Hi-hat. The closed Hi-hat is a crisp tone that doesn’t resonate like a ride or crash cymbal. Practice playing a steady beat by counting 1-2-3-4 1-2-3-4 while tapping along to the number with your pencil. This is a standard 4/4 timing.
   • To play an even steadier beat, play along to a metronome or to the radio. Not all songs are played in 4/4 time.
   • You can also practice triplets by counting 1-2-3 1-2-3. A triplet is a beat that equally balances three notes as a measure or half of a measure.
4. Utilize your hands and feet with the pencil. All good pencil beats are accompanied by other parts of your body. If you use the pencil as the cymbal, you can utilize different hand shapes to create other sounds of the drum kit. Create a fist to imitate a bass drum, or kick drum. You can then use an open palm to create a snare drum.
   • You can also use your feet to imitate a kick drum or low toms. Toms are parts of the drum kit that vary in pitch. They are typically used for drum fills and soloing.
   • Try to incorporate other drum sounds with your cymbal pencil.

Playing Advanced Beats

1. Imitate a swing beat. The swing beat is a common jazz rhythm that is easy to imitate with a pencil. If you’ve ever listened to jazz or swing music, you’ll be able to recall this beat. Try counting out 1-2-3/4, and for the 3/4, don’t pause like you do between 1 and 2. Once you start to get a feeling for the swing beat, you can add your own varieties.
2. Perform a snare roll. Snare rolls are a type of drum fill purely performed on a snare drum. Play a snare roll by holding a pencil in each hand. Count out 1-2-3-4 1-2-3-4, but alternate your hands after every hit. You can keep time by tapping your foot in half time. Start slow and work your way towards a fast snare roll, or in this case, a pencil roll.
3. Practice paradiddles. Paradiddles are drum exercises you can practice to improve your rhythm and coordination. Most paradiddles consist of a 4/4 tempo where you alternate between your left hand and right hand in a specific way. A paradiddle played in 4/4 means that each hit falls on a number when you repeat counting 1-2-3-4. This is an example of a 4/4 paradiddles explained in right hand (R) and left hand (L) :
   • R-L-R-R-L-R-L-L
4. Play beats on the go. Carry around two pencils and play when you feel the urge. The beauty of playing on the go is that you can play on any given surface. This is a great way to sample various sounds. For example, a pencil hit against a chain link fence will sound different than one hitting a metal pole.
   • Finding different sounds can benefit you if you like to record sounds outside of a recording studio.
   • Bring a field recorder with you and document any sounds that stand out to you.

Utilizing Tone Possibilities with One Pencil

1. Balance the pencil in your hand. Playing a beat with just one pencil is a bit more complicated that using your hands in combination with a pencil. You should hold the pencil in a way that you can utilize both ends of the pencil quickly.
   • Hold the pencil with you index finger and thumb directly in the middle of the pencil. Feel the weight and make adjustments to your hold until the pencil feels balanced.
2. Play bass sounds of the pencil. You can imitate bass tones from a drum kit by using the eraser side of a pencil. The eraser side of the pencil produces a muted tone similar to a tom or a bass drum. Increase the bass tones of the pencil by playing on a hollow surface like an empty bottle.
3. Experiment with the treble of a pencil. The point side of a pencil is better to be used for the higher pitched tones on the drum kit. Sharpen your pencil to increase the amount of treble in the sound. You can increase the treble sound by playing on a hard surface like a desk something metal.
   • The tip will probably break off if you make hard hits for the beat.
4. Create beats with just a pencil. Practice alternating sides of the pencil from the balanced position between your index finger and thumb. Try to make a simple beat by counting 1-2-3-4. Play the treble side for 1-2-3 and then play the bass on the 4. Start slowly and work your way towards a unified beat.
   • Play along to your favorite songs to get a better feeling for holding the pencil this way.
   • You could also play along to a metronome to help your timing.

Video

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Tips

• Remember when you smack, don't let your pointer finger and thumb go. And also remember practice everyday and just freestyle. It doesn't matter what sound it makes.

Warnings

• Doing this in the middle of a test at medium volume in the front row is also not a good idea.
• Don't do it to the point where teachers can tell it's you doing it.

Related Articles

• Begin Drumming
• Play the Drums Like a Pro
• Write Drum and Bass
• Spin a Pencil Around Your Thumb

Sources and Citations

See also

• Spin a Pencil Around Your Middle Finger
• Make a Crossbow Using Pencils
• Sharpen Your Pencil at School Without a Sharpener
• Spin a Pencil Backwards Around Your Thumb
• Create an RSVP MX for Pen Spinning
• Spin a Pencil Around Your Thumb
• Flip a Pencil

What links here

• Pen Tap