Drum lessons for iPhone and iPad
Play your first beat today.
Badum teaches you the drums one short step at a time. Play on an electronic kit, an acoustic kit, a practice pad or the screen, and after every take it tells you how close to the beat you were.
Level 0 is free for good. Then try everything free for 14 days, and keep it for $29.99 a year or $59.99 once. No ads, no account.
Try it right here.
This is the beat almost every drummer learns first. Press play to hear it. Then tap along: F for the kick, J for the snare, space for the hi-hat. On a phone, tap the shapes.
A cross for the hi-hat, a circle for the snare, a block for the kick. Badum draws every beat this way, so there's no sheet music to learn first.
Badum does this with your real drums, and tells you which hits were early, late or right on. How steady are you? Take the 30-second timing test.
Where are you starting?
Play on what you have.
Pick what you play on once. Change it any time from the top of the screen.
- Electronic kit
One cable to your iPhone or iPad, or Bluetooth if your kit has it. Badum reads every pad and how hard you hit it.
Which cable - Acoustic kit or practice pad
The microphone listens for your hits. Badum counts you in, then goes quiet so it hears only you.
On a pad - No kit yet
Tap the drums on the screen. The first lesson starts there, and a $30 pad and sticks is the next step.
Free lessons
How a lesson works.
- Hear it.
Badum plays the beat while it scrolls past as shapes. Count along out loud.
- Your turn.
Play it as each shape reaches the line. Slow at first: the first beats run at 60.
- See how it went.
A plain sentence after every take, like "16 of 16 notes on the beat". The early, late and missed notes are a tap away.
- Next.
Pass and the next thing opens. Stuck on a bar? Loop it, slower, until it sits.
One path. One next thing.
206 short lessons in ten levels, from a kick on every beat to odd meters and double bass. Each adds one new thing. Badum always shows you what to play next, so you never wonder what to practise.
- First beat FreeCount to four, kick and snare, the basic beat, and your first song with the band.
- Steady rockHolding a groove through a song, the crash and your first fills.
- Sixteenths and accentsSixteenth-note grooves and fills, and making a note stand out.
- Triplets and flamsFeeling three, the flam and the open hi-hat.
- Shuffle and swingSwinging, and pushing a groove off the beat.
- Ghost notes and feelMaking a groove feel good, not only correct.
- Intermediate stylistFunk, jazz, band hits and trading fours.
- Advanced controlAny subdivision, cleanly. A core and four style courses.
- Odd time and two at onceOdd meters, two rhythms at once and band charts.
- AdvancedChanging meter, moving the beat, soloing anywhere. It ends with a recital.
Levels 1 to 9 come with Badum Full.
Original songs with a band.
Every level ends with an original song, played with bass and piano made from recordings of real instruments. You're the drummer in the band. Between lessons, 101 grooves and fills in 14 styles go round with the band until you stop.
Made in Zagreb, Croatia.
Badum is made by a small independent studio, not a big company. Write to hello@badumdrums.com and the person who builds it answers.
Start free. Pay only if you keep going.
Level 0
Free for good
Your first beat and your first song with the band, and grooves to play for fun.
Badum Full
$29.99 a year
Free for 14 days first. Or $59.99 once, no subscription.
- Every level, song and groove
- One purchase covers your family
- No ads, no account
Founding prices until 31 January 2027. US prices; the App Store shows yours. How the trial works
Questions
Do I need a drum kit?
No. You can start on the drums on the screen, and the first lesson does. A practice pad and a pair of sticks (about $30–40) is the cheapest way onto real sticks; Badum hears the pad through the microphone.
Which kits work?
Any electronic kit that a computer sees without installing a driver, over USB or Bluetooth MIDI, and any acoustic kit through the microphone. Badum is built and tested on a Yamaha DTX452. What you need
What is free?
Level 0, for good: seven short lessons from counting to four to your first song with the band, plus a shelf of grooves to play for fun. You don't need to start a trial to play it.
How does the free trial work?
Start it in the app when you want more than Level 0. Every level opens for 14 days. On day 12 Badum reminds you (if you allow notifications). If you don't cancel, the yearly plan starts on day 14 at $29.99 a year. Cancel any time in the iPhone's Settings, under your name, then Subscriptions.
Can I pay once instead?
Yes. $59.99 once opens everything, for good, with no subscription. Both prices are founding prices until 31 January 2027. Price in full
Can the whole family use it?
Yes. With Family Sharing, one purchase covers up to six people in your family, on their own devices. On one iPhone or iPad, each player has their own path, takes and week.
Is it OK for kids?
Yes, from about 6 or 7, with a grown-up nearby at first. No ads, no chat, no account, and nothing collected. Drums for the family
Which iPhones and iPads?
Any iPhone or iPad with iOS 18 or later.
Android?
Coming later. Join the list, pick Android, and we'll write once, when it's out.
Does it replace a teacher?
No. It gives you a path and tells you how your timing went, every day, between lessons or before you find a teacher. A teacher sees and hears what an app can't.
Which languages?
English only, for now.
Your first beat is five minutes away.
Badum is coming to iPhone and iPad this December. Leave your email and we'll write once, on the day it's out. Android comes later; pick it below and we'll write when it's ready.