Drums are in the family of percussion instruments, and most people seem to have the perception that percussion instruments are exciting. That may be because of the rock rage that we have in our century, and the idea that striking an object with adequate force (or even violently) will produce music instead of noise.

The notion may be derived from the belief that people playing drums may (or may not) have anger inside them, and hitting the drums is a method for them to let go of their aggressive emotions.

To play a drum, it is crucial to understand what a beat is, and whatever beat you conceive of should have timing, pattern or rhythm. Without a beat, just noise and not music would be the output of hitting your percussion instruments.

It is possible to begin learning and practicing a beat even without a drum set. Use your hands and even your table to experiment and practice those beats you have in your head. When you have the beat rolling, you can now move to your drum set and hit those notes with your drums.

Before you start playing your drums, though, it is helpful to learn the different kinds of drums and the sound that they create. The Bass drum with its low resonance, the snare with its sharp, rasping sound, the resonating cymbal, which can be further differentiated as high hat, ride, crash and splash, and the tom-toms.

Now, hitting those drums with your hands would be a little excruciating, unlike when you're practicing on your table, so having and properly holding drumsticks would make a big difference. You only hit the drums with the tip of the drumsticks, holding each stick close to the bottom.

Making music by striking objects may be a challenge, but do not become disheartened if you fail to make music at first. Eventually your arms and feet will move to the beat in your head, and your skill will get better as your movements become coordinated.