Finger Drumming: The Ultimate Guide To Finger Drumming For DJs

The evolution of DJing gear has opened up creative opportunities for DJs to complement their track selection with various effects and impressive techniques.

Learning finger drumming is another excellent way to showcase your rhythmic talent and bring a more dynamic approach to performance that sets you apart from the competition.

This complete step-by-step guide covers everything you need to know to master the finger drumming technique and develop a new approach to DJing and music production.

What Is Finger Drumming?

Finger drumming is a technique that uses performance pads on DJing and production hardware to generate beats in real-time.

Applicable for live music performances to introduce original percussion patterns into a set, finger drumming is also one of the essential skills for creative music production.

The technique involves assigning different percussions, such as kick drums, snares, and various cymbals, to individual pads on a controller’s drum pads.

By placing different fingers on individual pads, artists can tap out a sequence of drum patterns that complement tracks or create entirely original beats.

Finger drumming rose to prominence with the release of new DJ equipment, such as the Akai MPC and Ableton Live’s APC64 Live Controller, which offer a portable option for the technique.

It’s an exceptionally fun way to develop new skills for live performances that have broader applications for sequencing percussion in productions or learning to play the drums.

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How to Finger Drum: Step-By-Step

Whether you’re focused on performing the latest cutting-edge electronic dance music or want to develop more musical skills, finger drumming is an essential technique to learn.

Let’s break down everything you need to know to learn finger drumming, from getting the best gear and software to adopting the best hand positions to maximize muscle memory.

Step 1. Invest In A Pad Controller

In order to practice finger drumming, you’ll need to invest in the correct hardware, which features a selection of pads that can replicate a drum kit.

This feature is a relatively new addition to the evolution of DJ equipment, and additional hardware options include dedicated performance pads for finger drumming.

Some of the most popular hardware options for finger drumming include the Akai MPC and MPD, the Korg Pad Kontrol, and Native Instruments Maschine.

Each of these platforms includes robust and dynamic touch pads that respond to different degrees of pressure and allow for a nuanced finger drumming technique.

Additional hardware used for finger drumming, such as the Nektar Aura, allows for versatile music production through a 16-pad beat composer with full software integration.

Step 2. Install The Right Software

While most finger drumming hardware comes with the relevant software needed to get started, other software options also work well.

Novation’s Launchpad Pro includes the relevant software for finger drummers to use on their hardware’s impressive velocity-sensitive pads.

Some of the other software options include Addictive Drums, which functions as a high-quality drum emulator and produces realistic sounds.

Steven Slate Drums is another high-level drum emulator with a free version, while Melodics includes finger drumming tutorials to help with learning on Apple devices.

Other smartphone apps and Melodics for practicing finger drumming on the move, such as Drumstik, allow users to create their own scores.

Step 3. Set Up The Drum Pad Layout

Setting up the layout of your drum pads is essential for ensuring your fingers are positioned optimally to perform complex drum patterns efficiently.

Most standard drum pads present each pad in a four-by-four grid, with the user assigning different percussion sounds to each pad as desired.

While there is some subjectivity when it comes to the pad layout depending on the music played, the standard layout for each row from left to right is as follows:

• Top row: Low tom, mid tom, high tom, cymbal 1
• Second row: Hi-hat 1, open hi-hat, hi-hat 2, ride cymbal
• Third row: Sidestick 1, snare 1, snare 2, sidestick 2
• Bottom row: Cymbal 2, Kick 1, Kick 2, cymbal 3

This layout offers a great deal of leeway for switching up the type of drums and cymbals you use when you practice finger drumming without compromising your technique.

There’s also scope to incorporate various DJ samples alongside the traditional drum sounds to switch up traditional finger drumming with more creative hits.

Step 4. Learn The Correct Hand Position

Once you’ve set up your individual pads in the orientation outlined above, you can work on positioning your hands in the correct position to finger drum.

By positioning the left and right hands on the left and right sides of the grid, respectively, fingers and thumbs can instantly access and combine different percussive elements.

The thumbs and forefingers can be used to keep the rhythm going steadily, while each hand’s elongated index and middle fingers can use their strength for more rapid taps.

This orientation allows for the use of alternating hands to switch between the core kick drum that drives the tempo and incorporate cymbals and snare pads in alternating sequences.

As with the art of DJing, practice helps to improve muscle memory and allows you to perform finger drumming without looking at the drum pads.

The more you play with your drum pads, the stronger your fingers will become, leading to quicker taps and more complex patterns that flow smoothly.

Step 5. Analyze Drum Patterns

Once you’ve begun to feel comfortable with finger positioning and get a feel for the muscle memory involved in finger drumming, you can explore various drum patterns.

Drum patterns can vary between music genres, but some core principles unite them that will become evident through analyzing your favorite tracks.

The most common drum pattern for dance music is four on the floor, with a steady kick drum on each beat and staggered hi-hats and snare drums throughout the bar.

Various other common patterns can be found that are based on specific genres, so take the time to break these down when working out a practice schedule.

You can also branch out from electronic dance music to explore drum arrangements in other genres, including rock, jazz, and pop music.

There are plenty of informative DJ forums you can research that break down the structure of patterns that can be applied to drum pads, which will help develop your knowledge.

The more patterns you analyze, the larger your vocabulary of drumming techniques will become, particularly if you explore multiple music genres.

Recommended: Find out how to use stems in your DJ sets.

Step 6. Choose A Simple Pattern

While it can be tempting to jump into rapid and elaborate drum patterns and make the most of your MIDI controller, it pays to start simple unless you’ve had lots of drumming lessons.

If you’re a DJ who enjoys listening to EDM music, many inspirational tracks feature a simple pattern that works well for beginner finger drumming.

One example is the Bread n Butter pattern, which starts with a drum and snare and introduces a closed hi-hat at a steady tempo.

Using just three hits for a complete loop, this pattern helps to ease you into maintaining a smooth tempo without any complicated fills or other flourishes.

Other simple patterns to try when you first learn finger drumming include the Big Bell Bounce and the Hi-Hat Hotness pattern, each with some combinations of kicks and cymbals.

These will give you a flavor of how the kicks interact with hi-hats and other cymbals to maintain a rhythm before you work up to more intricate arrangements.

Step 7. Practice Your Finger Drumming Technique

Learning finger drumming is a great way to improve your house party DJing, but you’ll need to be confident in your skills before performing in public.

This means practicing the technique until you’re completely confident in your abilities and can deliver a full performance without mistakes.

You can start by focusing on the hand orientation outlined above to learn and master the basics, then branch out to more complex patterns as your confidence grows.

Other techniques, such as Mad Zach’s Musiago technique, can provide additional variety to your practice through different drum pad layouts.

If you’re feeling uncomfortable, you can try moving your hand position into a diagonal formation and focus on holding your wrists still while articulating each finger.

You may find that your fingers and wrists start to ache after extensive practice sessions, so make sure you take regular breaks if this happens.

There are plenty of excellent DJ tutorials and other resources on platforms such as YouTube, where you can watch experienced finger drummers and copy their approaches.

Step 8. Play Over Other Music & Loops

Another great way to improve your finger drumming technique and experiment with combinations is practicing over your favorite tracks or other drum loops.

You can organize your music library with tags for finger drumming practice sessions, making it easier to find the songs you want to use for your next session.

This approach will help you develop an appreciation for percussive composition as you aim to copy the patterns featured in different songs.

If you’re using a digital audio workstation to practice your finger drumming techniques, you can easily import various tracks and dedicated loops into the software.

Many sample packs include drum loops that can be used as companion beats for your sessions, spanning all music genres.

Finger drumming over other loops and music is also a great way to hone your music production skills and use the technique when arranging beats for original tracks.

Step 9. Use The Record & Quantize Feature

Another key advantage to practicing finger drumming using a digital audio workstation is the ability to record and quantize your sessions to review performance.

If you’ve used popular DJ controllers, such as those released by Pioneer DJ, you’re likely already familiar with the quantize tool and how this can assist with finger drumming.

Quantizing essentially snaps beats into position on a beat grid, so if you’re slightly out of time, it will show you the correct position for each hit.

The ability to view these errors will help you to refine your taps to ensure they land where they should and don’t create a dissonant effect.

This function is particularly useful if you’re using the finger drumming technique for music production, saving countless hours of manually adjusting out-of-place hits.

Recording loops also allows you to layer up more complex percussion by recording a few hits on each pass, such as beginning with kicks and adding snares and cymbals.

Step 10. Experiment With Different Patterns

Experimentation is the key to engaging the brain with new information, which enhances the learning process by firing off synapses in your brain.

This is as true for learning how to finger drum as anything else, and the more patterns you practice, the more adept you’ll become at the technique.

Switching up genres and branching into music with a faster tempo as you progress will also help to speed up the overall learning process.

If you’re a fan of house and techno music, consider exploring genres such as hip-hop and drum and bass, both of which take a different approach to percussion arrangements.

By doing so, you’ll become more adept at performing diverse and better beats that retain that all-important groove without paying for finger drumming lessons.

That said, there are plenty of resources online where you can find completely free lessons if you’re still struggling with mastering the basics.

Once you’re confident in your abilities, you can incorporate finger drumming into your sets, standing out from the competition and staying relevant as a DJ.

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Summary

Finger drumming is a remarkably flexible skill that suits most music genres. It can be applied to all types of drum patterns using various techniques and hand positions.

Following the instructions in this guide and practicing finger drumming regularly will ensure your technique improves over time and lead to exceptional versatility.

As your confidence, speed, and accuracy improve, you can then move on to more complex drum patterns and genres that demand a higher degree of dexterity.