Lesson 0: A Simple Pulse

If interested in hand drumming, you can start here, before you even see a jembe!

To get started with "big beats", just walk - your feet will play crotchets as you do so, and we can notate that as...

F f F f F f F f F f F f F f F f ...
|_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_...

...where F = strong foot, f = weak foot (usually corresponding with strong and weak hands; more folks are right-handed than left-handed).  These "big beats" are what you stomp to, when listening to "doef" dance music.  Foot stomping and walking on the spot don't work for me, as well as an unbounded natural walk!

Your two hands are more agile, and can play twice as fast; try that as you walk, so that each strong hand slaps your body whenever one of your feet hit the ground.  Using H and h for hands, we have:

HhHhHhHhHhHhHhHhHhHhHhHhHhHhHhHh...
F f F f F f F f F f F f F f F f ...
|_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_...

More opportunities to practice; anywhere you are standing sitting is good, using your legs, sink, steering wheel etc. as the "drum skin". 

Practice alternating hands evenly, for your first pulse; just as sitting on a motorcycle is an essential skill before anything else, so this is to drumming!