Drumming

Haikira

For my eighteenth birthday (now 20) my folks got me a drum kit, and around the same time I started receiving casual private lessons. Since then I’ve slowly drifted into practicing less and to put it bluntly, I’ve been a lot less motivated.

But recently I had to do an English presentation which I decided to do on drumming, just recently I’ve got back a lot of the excitement I used to have.

So I guess with this new found excitement I thought making a thread for discussing drumming would be neat.

So I’m really interested in the way you guys practice, the equipment used and anything else really.

Al_wat

Well. My friend got good at drumming by forming a band and sticking to it. Maybe if you know other people who play instruments you could try jamming with them?

Mullitt The Wise

I play drums because I like to play all the instruments in my songs.
I don't really practice that much (and am not really that good).
I usually just put my songs on loop play and practice to them for about half an hour until I think of something cool, and then I record it. That's about as much practicing as I do.
Oh and I have a Yamaha jazz kit with Paiste cymbals and an extra snare. Everything sounds good except for the kick.

TheDrizzit

it's like any other instrument: practice a lot and you'll get good at it. don't practice and you won't.

CptKemzik

It also depends on how you practice. Yes frequently practicing is a good thing, but if you practice with shitty technique all the time, then it becomes extremely difficult to break the "bad habit(s)" when trying to become more proficient.

I'm not a drummer, but i figure playing with other drummers/percussionists, and other musicians only helps.

Unless of course the peers you play with also suck, but hey at least youre not alone.

Casual Eddy

My brother got a teacher/tutor and that helped him by leaps and bounds. If you have the cash and it's something you like doing then go for it.

NotASenator

Play with a metronome all the time when you practice, otherwise, you'll never know if the new technique you are trying is boning your rhythm.

ben0207

Man I was hoping drumming was some sort of kinky sex thing I hadn't heard about, like pegging or something.

Turns out you mean actual real drumming.

Podly

fm drum sequencers are where it's at

Alchemist449

NotACrook wrote: »

Play with a metronome all the time when you practice, otherwise, you'll never know if the new technique you are trying is boning your rhythm.

I would politely disagree with you. Start out slow, not using a metronome. Get used to playing with and without one and make sure that you can hold a good tempo without having a metronome. The only time you'll ever need to play along with a click is in the studio so 99% its all on you anyways.


And yeah, I agree with whoever said that the best way to get better is to find a bunch of friends and just jam with them. It helps if their better than you because that in turn will help you to become better. I say all of this from personal experience.

I love drumming . I've been doing it for most of my life even though I've only really gotten into it in the past 2 years or so.

If you have any questions about drumming and want to ask pro's you should go to this site:
http://www.drumforum.org
It's filled with people who have been playing their whole lives and is great to just search through if you just want a quick opinion on heads or something.

Good luck with playing!

Vorus

I've found that the best way to improve (and want to improve) is to listen to some talented drummers and try to imitate what they are doing. This gets you way more comfortable with your kit and what your kit is capable of. Obviously this is way easier if you have a band to play with, since that you can play through entire songs instead of just grooves, but it all amounts to you seeing what is possible with the drums.

Listen to some Ginger Baker, some Steve Gadd and really whoever interests you as a drummer and see if you can figure out what they are doing. Too complicated? There is your goal, now see what you can do to get there.

Theory and technique are really important when playing percussion, as with any instrument, but I have found that drums require a lot more motivation that the more melodic instruments, since you don't get to hear the result all at once.

Apothe0sis

My lab partner during college approached me because he thought I looked like a drummer and he needed one for his band.

I am not a drummer, but drums made the whole experience a pleasant one, because group stuff sucks and my partner was a cool guy.

So, thank you drums, you saved my life.

DarkPrimus

I am looking forward to playing the drums in Rock Band.

That counts, right?

Haikira

I think as far as technique goes, I'm not doing anything that wrong. My biggest problem in learning has come from understanding what i should be doing in relation to the bass guitar. I think i may be practicing too much without music, and especially without other Musicians.

Also thanks for all the advice so far.

nexuscrawler

Maybe go listen to some old jazz performances. That stuff is all about playing off other instruments. Jazz drummers never get enough credit.

SithDrummer

nexuscrawler wrote: »

Jazz drummers can't get too much credit.

Fixed for my opinion.

APZonerunner

Haikira wrote: »

I think as far as technique goes, I'm not doing anything that wrong. My biggest problem in learning has come from understanding what i should be doing in relation to the bass guitar. I think i may be practicing too much without music, and especially without other Musicians.

Also thanks for all the advice so far.

You're in the UK and so am I so I can give one great piece of advice: Attend Drum Clinics.

Here in Birmingham there's some wonderful Drum Clinics on once a year - DrumFest in particular has been going for years, and going to these and watching session drummers perform and being able to ask them questions and understand how they work has improved my technique tenfold.

Being able to see guys like this:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=LWKZFy2l-n4
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=r9bFPsVtXgY
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Zli07q_m6Mc

Is not only inspiring but actually helps with your drumming if you watch careful enough and listen to what they have to say.

Drum clinics are often very intimate events too with only around 100 people or less, so it's easy to chat to the stars one on one if you prefer.

A similarly good idea is to find out the names of some great session drummers and see if they have any DVDs out. Most session drummers do. While the drummer of your favourite band may be great, you'll get far, far more from these guys.

The guy I posted above is Thomas Lang and is incredible, and his instruction DVDs are even better. For a living he actually plays drums for people like the Sugababes and whatnot - but at the sessions he gets to show off. So.. yeah. See if you can find some nearby sessions.

Terry Bozio is another great one, but he does tend to treat his drumkit more like a keyboard, with each drum individually tuned and whatnot so he can actually play tunes. He demonstrated this by playing the whole vocal line to "My Heart Will Go On" on his many toms at one session I went to.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=xiP5s51kNJU

Gorak

Do what my brother did and just keep drumming on everything, continuously until everyone wants to stab you in the fucking eye!

Pisses your family off no end, but it's all good practice.

Lord Of The Pants

nexuscrawler wrote: »

Maybe go listen to some old jazz performances. That stuff is all about playing off other instruments. Jazz drummers never get enough credit.

/slash arrogant asshole mode

You need to be a musician to a) get that and b) be able to do it, might be beyond most drummers.

/slash arrogant asshole mode (aka "Bassplayer mode.")

Gorak

Lord Of The Pants wrote: »

(aka "Bassplayer mode.")

Hearing that.

Drummers are just jealous they don't have tunes to play.

TheDrizzit

CptKemzik wrote: »

It also depends on how you practice. Yes frequently practicing is a good thing, but if you practice with shitty technique all the time, then it becomes extremely difficult to break the "bad habit(s)" when trying to become more proficient.

this is very true, and was subsequently limed.

SecretSquirrel

I always played on a Pearl set with a variety of cymbals: hats from Sabian, Crashes from Zildjian and ride from Paiste. I play mainly rock and jazz, and I'd say jazz is a bigger passion for me. I practice a couple different ways, sometimes with just a pad to go through rudiments and stick control, and then other times I play along to records, listening to how the original drummer shapes his/her part in regards to the song. Another thing I've picked up recently is the bass, in an attempt to learn how bassists put their parts together.

I'd suggest for anyone looking to either start percussion or to get better figure out what their goals are, and what kind of music they want to play. Most practicing breaks down to the same formats (practice good techniques often, play to a metronome, et cetera) but depending on your level of desire will change what you want to do. Find a couple of drumming books that fit your level and need, and play through those and practice the techniques. Figure out what drummers you truly admire, not the ones that just happen to be in bands you like. Watch drummers when you go to shows and think about what they're doing.


On a related subject, I've been living in an apartment the past couple years and haven't been able to play as much as I'd like. I should be moving into a home soon, and am looking to get a new set that's good but affordable. I'm thinking of getting another Pearl, as they fit both categories, but I've noticed that ddrum has started to produce sets in the past couple of years that are dirt cheap. Anyone ever play one, and what did you think?