Contenidos
Un bolígrafo, un pupitre y una batería entera
Lennie Simo started in sixth grade, tapping his school desk with a pen. Today he fills theatres with two of them. Here you learn his four sounds and build your first beat without leaving your chair.
Why this
You have probably seen him on Instagram: a guy with two pens who gets a whole drum kit out of a table, with kick, snare, hi-hat and even vinyl scratches. His name is Lennie Simo, he posts as @lenstrumental, and he has millions of followers on TikTok and Instagram. He has been on Got Talent España and Italia's Got Talent.
What matters is not that he is famous. It is that he started exactly where you are now: at a desk, bored, with a pen in his hand. Watch this video, which goes from level 1 to level 13 in a minute and a half. You can get the first three levels today.
Pen tapping levels 1 to 13
The four sounds
A drum kit has three parts you cannot do without: the kick (low, on beats 1 and 3), the snare (dry, on beats 2 and 4) and the hi-hat (high and continuous, filling the gaps). A pen and a table give you those three, plus one more.
- Kick: the body of the pen lands flat on the table with a relaxed hand. Low and short.
- Snare: the cap or the tip hits the edge of the table sideways. Dry.
- Hi-hat: the pen scratches across the table without lifting. Continuous.
- The fourth sound is the one you discover: the click of the cap, a hit on the chair leg, a hollow desk. Every table sounds different, and that is part of the game.
This short tutorial explains the four basic sounds one by one: kick, snare, hi-hat and scratch.
The four basic sounds in two minutes
The first beat: the backbeat
Count out loud: one, two, three, four. Kick on one and three. Snare on two and four. Nothing else. That dry hit on two and four is the backbeat, the same one we study in Why does everyone clap in the same place?. With a pen in each hand, one plays kick and the other snare, and you already have the base of almost any rock, pop or reggaeton song.
When the backbeat holds without speeding up, add the hi-hat: a short scratch between hits. Now you are playing the drums.
Lennie recorded this beginner tutorial for the schools in his home town. It is the best place to start.
How to pen tap with Lennie Simo
Another beginner tutorial, from a music teacher.
Pen tapping tutorial for beginners
With a song
A pen beat is made for accompanying. These three songs are already in our books, and here they are with table percussion.
- I Ain't Worried: table drumming with nothing but your hands and a pen. Follow the video, which marks every hit.
I Ain't Worried table drumming
- Sweet Home Alabama: the video is meant for buckets, but a desk works just as well.
Sweet Home Alabama bucket or desk play-along
- "I Want to Break Free" by Queen, with pen and rhythm reading: the video shows the note values while the song plays. It is the step from playing by ear to playing from notation.
I Want to Break Free with pen and rhythm reading
Classroom activities
- Desk rules. Cap on, so you do not mark the table or the person next to you. Pen in hand, never thrown. And the desk is a drum only when the teacher says so.
- Echo. The teacher plays two bars; the class repeats them. Kick and snare only at first; then with hi-hat.
- Rounds. In groups of four, each person plays one bar and passes it on without stopping the pulse.
- A whole song. Pick one of the three above and keep the backbeat from start to finish. Mark section changes (verse, chorus) with a long scratch.
- Two pens, two hands. Once the backbeat comes easily, try Lennie's levels video as far as you can get. Nobody gets past level 5 on day one.
To watch
In this half-hour interview Lennie explains how he gets each sound and where the beats come from.
Interview with Lennie Simo on Rob Scallon's channel
And here, his performance on Italia's Got Talent.
Lennie Simo on Italia's Got Talent
Key vocabulary
- Pen tapping: percussion with pens on a surface, usually a table.
- Backbeat: the dry hit on beats 2 and 4 of the bar.
- Kick, snare, hi-hat: the three basic parts of a drum kit; here, three ways of hitting with a pen.
- Groove: a repeating rhythmic pattern that makes the body move on its own.
- Echo: the teacher plays and the class repeats exactly the same thing.
Por dónde entrar
Seguro que lo has visto en Instagram: un tío con dos bolígrafos que saca de una mesa el sonido de una batería entera, con bombo, caja, charles y hasta rascados de vinilo. Se llama Lennie Simo, firma como @lenstrumental, y tiene millones de seguidores en TikTok e Instagram. Ha pasado por Got Talent España y por Italia's Got Talent.
Lo importante no es que sea famoso. Es que empezó exactamente donde estás tú ahora: en un pupitre, aburrido, con un boli en la mano. Mira este vídeo, que va del nivel 1 al 13 en minuto y medio. Los tres primeros niveles los sacas hoy.
Pen tapping, niveles 1 a 13
Los cuatro sonidos
Una batería tiene tres piezas que no pueden faltar: el bombo (grave, en el uno y el tres), la caja (seca, en el dos y el cuatro) y el charles (agudo y continuo, el que rellena). Un bolígrafo y una mesa dan esos tres, y uno más.
- Bombo: el cuerpo del bolígrafo cae plano sobre la mesa, con la mano relajada. Suena grave y corto.
- Caja: el tapón o la punta golpean de canto, en el borde de la mesa. Suena seco.
- Charles: el bolígrafo rasca la mesa de un lado a otro sin levantarse. Suena continuo.
- El cuarto sonido es el que tú descubras: el clic del tapón, el golpe contra la pata de la silla, la mesa hueca. Cada mesa suena distinto, y eso es parte del juego.
Este tutorial en castellano enseña los sonidos y dos ritmos para empezar.
Tutorial en castellano: ritmos con dos bolígrafos
Y este, corto y en inglés, explica los cuatro sonidos básicos uno a uno: bombo, caja, charles y rascado.
Los cuatro sonidos básicos, en dos minutos
El primer ritmo: el backbeat
Cuenta en voz alta: uno, dos, tres, cuatro. Bombo en el uno y en el tres. Caja en el dos y en el cuatro. Nada más. Ese golpe seco en el dos y el cuatro se llama backbeat, y es el mismo que estudiamos en ¿Por qué todo el mundo da la palmada en el mismo sitio?. Con un boli en cada mano, uno hace de bombo y el otro de caja, y ya tienes la base de casi cualquier canción de rock, pop o reguetón.
Cuando el backbeat aguante sin acelerar, añade el charles: un rascado corto entre golpe y golpe. Ahora sí estás tocando la batería.
El propio Lennie grabó este tutorial de iniciación para las escuelas de su ciudad. Es el mejor punto de partida que hay.
Cómo hacer pen tapping, con Lennie Simo
Otro tutorial para principiantes, de un profesor de música.
Pen tapping para principiantes
Con una canción
Un ritmo de boli sirve para acompañar. Estas tres canciones ya están en nuestros libros, y aquí las tienes con percusión sobre la mesa.
- I Ain't Worried: percusión sobre la mesa, sin más material que las manos y un boli. Sigue el vídeo, que marca cada golpe.
I Ain't Worried, percusión sobre la mesa
- Sweet Home Alabama: el vídeo está pensado para cubos, pero funciona igual con el pupitre.
Sweet Home Alabama, percusión sobre cubo o mesa
- «I Want to Break Free», de Queen, con bolígrafo y lectura rítmica: el vídeo enseña las figuras mientras suena la canción. Es el paso de tocar de oído a tocar leyendo.
I Want to Break Free con bolígrafo y lectura rítmica
Para hacer en clase
- Reglas del pupitre. El tapón puesto, para no marcar la mesa ni al de al lado. Bolígrafo en la mano, nunca lanzado. Y el pupitre es un tambor solo cuando el profesor lo dice: fuera de eso, silencio.
- Eco. El profesor toca dos compases; la clase los repite. Primero solo bombo y caja; después con charles.
- Ruedas. En grupos de cuatro, cada uno toca un compás y pasa al siguiente sin parar el pulso. El que rompe el pulso se lo regala al de al lado.
- Una canción entera. Elegid una de las tres de arriba y montad el backbeat de principio a fin. Los cambios de sección (estrofa, estribillo) se marcan con un rascado largo.
- Dos bolígrafos, dos manos. Cuando el backbeat sale solo, probad el vídeo de los niveles de Lennie hasta donde lleguéis. Nadie pasa del nivel 5 el primer día, y no pasa nada.
Para ver
Si te ha picado la curiosidad, en esta entrevista de media hora Lennie explica cómo consigue cada sonido y de dónde saca los ritmos. Está en inglés.
Entrevista con Lennie Simo, en el canal de Rob Scallon
Y aquí, su actuación en Italia's Got Talent.
Lennie Simo en Italia's Got Talent
Vocabulario fundamental
- Pen tapping: percusión con bolígrafos sobre una superficie, normalmente una mesa.
- Backbeat: el golpe seco en los tiempos 2 y 4 del compás.
- Bombo, caja, charles: las tres piezas básicas de una batería; aquí, tres formas de golpear con el bolígrafo.
- Groove: un patrón rítmico que se repite y que hace que el cuerpo se mueva solo.
- Eco: el profesor toca y la clase repite exactamente lo mismo.
Why this
You have probably seen him on Instagram: a guy with two pens who gets a whole drum kit out of a table, with kick, snare, hi-hat and even vinyl scratches. His name is Lennie Simo, he posts as @lenstrumental, and he has millions of followers on TikTok and Instagram. He has been on Got Talent España and Italia's Got Talent.
What matters is not that he is famous. It is that he started exactly where you are now: at a desk, bored, with a pen in his hand. Watch this video, which goes from level 1 to level 13 in a minute and a half. You can get the first three levels today.
Pen tapping levels 1 to 13
The four sounds
A drum kit has three parts you cannot do without: the kick (low, on beats 1 and 3), the snare (dry, on beats 2 and 4) and the hi-hat (high and continuous, filling the gaps). A pen and a table give you those three, plus one more.
- Kick: the body of the pen lands flat on the table with a relaxed hand. Low and short.
- Snare: the cap or the tip hits the edge of the table sideways. Dry.
- Hi-hat: the pen scratches across the table without lifting. Continuous.
- The fourth sound is the one you discover: the click of the cap, a hit on the chair leg, a hollow desk. Every table sounds different, and that is part of the game.
This short tutorial explains the four basic sounds one by one: kick, snare, hi-hat and scratch.
The four basic sounds in two minutes
The first beat: the backbeat
Count out loud: one, two, three, four. Kick on one and three. Snare on two and four. Nothing else. That dry hit on two and four is the backbeat, the same one we study in Why does everyone clap in the same place?. With a pen in each hand, one plays kick and the other snare, and you already have the base of almost any rock, pop or reggaeton song.
When the backbeat holds without speeding up, add the hi-hat: a short scratch between hits. Now you are playing the drums.
Lennie recorded this beginner tutorial for the schools in his home town. It is the best place to start.
How to pen tap with Lennie Simo
Another beginner tutorial, from a music teacher.
Pen tapping tutorial for beginners
With a song
A pen beat is made for accompanying. These three songs are already in our books, and here they are with table percussion.
- I Ain't Worried: table drumming with nothing but your hands and a pen. Follow the video, which marks every hit.
I Ain't Worried table drumming
- Sweet Home Alabama: the video is meant for buckets, but a desk works just as well.
Sweet Home Alabama bucket or desk play-along
- "I Want to Break Free" by Queen, with pen and rhythm reading: the video shows the note values while the song plays. It is the step from playing by ear to playing from notation.
I Want to Break Free with pen and rhythm reading
Classroom activities
- Desk rules. Cap on, so you do not mark the table or the person next to you. Pen in hand, never thrown. And the desk is a drum only when the teacher says so.
- Echo. The teacher plays two bars; the class repeats them. Kick and snare only at first; then with hi-hat.
- Rounds. In groups of four, each person plays one bar and passes it on without stopping the pulse.
- A whole song. Pick one of the three above and keep the backbeat from start to finish. Mark section changes (verse, chorus) with a long scratch.
- Two pens, two hands. Once the backbeat comes easily, try Lennie's levels video as far as you can get. Nobody gets past level 5 on day one.
To watch
In this half-hour interview Lennie explains how he gets each sound and where the beats come from.
Interview with Lennie Simo on Rob Scallon's channel
And here, his performance on Italia's Got Talent.
Lennie Simo on Italia's Got Talent
Key vocabulary
- Pen tapping: percussion with pens on a surface, usually a table.
- Backbeat: the dry hit on beats 2 and 4 of the bar.
- Kick, snare, hi-hat: the three basic parts of a drum kit; here, three ways of hitting with a pen.
- Groove: a repeating rhythmic pattern that makes the body move on its own.
- Echo: the teacher plays and the class repeats exactly the same thing.