Looking to learn how to play drums

[kitty]

Hey all I've always wanted to learn more instruments but I've finally decided to learn how to play the drums (first.)

First of all, I want to get my own drum set but I have no idea where to start! I need something affordable but I won't set a price limit just yet. I wanna hear your guys' input on what a good/decent, cost efficient set is for a complete beginner. Also, I'd like to hear any suggestions/resources on how to teach myself how to play.

If this should be somewhere else, please move it. =)

[prophetik music]

it might be worth it to look into renting a set before you actually go and buy one, and then discover you hate it. it'll also help you pick brands that you're comfortable with - aka, if you really like the sound of, say, DW kits, you'd be able to buy one when you actually put down the cash.

if and when you decide to buy a set, don't go with the 150$ bargain basement models. there are decent kits out there for 400$ or so that are actually worth the time - go with one of those.

i'd also suggest either drums for dummies (the pic is the wrong one, it's the right book) or the idiot's guide to drums, etc. both of these books are actually really helpful and will make things pretty clear.

once you get the hang of the basic idea, just play along with your favorite band. that's the best way to get good, honestly =) practice is required with a coordination-based instrument like this.

[Wiesty]

Yeh, look for used kits, you can get pretty nice models models from manufacturers like pearl and sonar and etc, for like 400 bux, sometimes even with cymbals included (which is the most expensive part). For teaching yourself, I'd recommend just learning alot of really basic beats from various genre's. For starters, its handy to have a swing beat, a shuffel beat, a blues beat, a rock beat, a funk beat, a latin beat (bossa/samba), and maybe a fun punk/metal beat (variant of rock beat). Once you learn basics of each style, youll start to form your own ideas and intertwine stuff to make your own style.

Another path I reccomend, is starting by studying jazz beats (swing/shuffel/blues/bossa/samba), and getting good with comping with your left hand and what not. These can be some of the most advance styles to play and by learning them, you really are learning a universal language which is transferable around different genres. Another good thing to do is practising rudiments (your technical stuff, roll, double stroke roll, buzz role, flam, paradiddle, etc. etc. etc.). They build hand strength and show up in music alot in the form of fills and just general manuverability.

[Caster13]

The Dummies book are surprisingly helpful!

[The Pezman]

Well, I can guarantee you have a great bass pedal.

[kitty]

Haha yeah I love the feel of it even though I'm not using it against a bass drum!

So I'm probably going to pick up both the Dummies and Idiot's Guide books. I read the reviews on Amazon and they both seem pretty good by themselves but it can't hurt to have both.

I'll be heading out to a drum store tomorrow to check out the rental sets. Anyone have any good testimonials for certain brands?

[Zephyr]

I've got 2 drummers in my family and we have a Yamaha set, I know it's a good brand. I know pearl is well known, but I haven't tested them.

[Overflow]

Lol, this is something I've been looking into to. I've been more into the multifunctional approach, though. I practiced drumming on Wii Music, mostly just training my hands and feet to act independently, and now I plan on buying GH:WT and using the drum kit as a midi set for recording.

[kitty]

Lol, this is something I've been looking into to. I've been more into the multifunctional approach, though. I practiced drumming on Wii Music, mostly just training my hands and feet to act independently, and now I plan on buying GH:WT and using the drum kit as a midi set for recording.

I play expert drums on RB2 and GH:WT. You can actually download drivers for the RB1 drum kit and use it in FLStudio if you wanted to as well.

[maniacodepressif]

I'm happy my electronic drum set since it's a lot less noisy and I can change the sound after I record

Has for learning to play...hm...don't forget to have a good coordination, don't be lazy on this.

Start with some beats you feel comfortable with, if you can't play those correctly, why would you go try to learn beats you probably won't ever do more then 2 times and then laugh about it ^^

Play with emotion and nuances...don't always strike hard.

Learn to use your wrists more drum skin to rebound since it will probably make you tighter, especially if you change drum sets sometimes.

If you are already a musician, I'm sure you will have noooo problems anyway

[maniacodepressif]

Ah yes, if you hit on the snare...don't ever leave your drum stick on the skin. Lift up right after the strike! A lot of beginners that I have seen don't know that

[Vivi22]

Get lessons.

Even if it's only for a year or two a teacher will help you advance faster than you can on your own, particularly when it comes to technique. Sloppy technique will not only hold you back in terms of what you can play, but it can lead to injury (tendinitis and more).

As for kits to buy, in the under $500 category you have options like these:

http://drums-percussion.musiciansfriend.com/product/Pearl-Forum-FZ725F-5Piece-Shell-Pack?sku=483276

http://drums-percussion.musiciansfriend.com/product/Sonor-507-Force-Combo-5Piece-Drum-Set?sku=446784

http://drums-percussion.musiciansfriend.com/product/Mapex-QR-Voyager-5Piece-Drum-Set?sku=508172

They're decent beginner kits and would hold up well for the first few years. I wouldn't necessarily recommend getting anything more expensive since you won't have an idea of what you like in a kit yet. That comes with a lot more experience. If you do want something a little higher quality but still under $1,000, then these are some options:

http://drums-percussion.musiciansfriend.com/product/Yamaha-Stage-Custom-Birch-Drum-Set-with-22-Bass-Drum?sku=491533

http://drums-percussion.musiciansfriend.com/product/Pearl-Export-Custom-ECX925C-5Piece-Shell-Pack?sku=490453

http://drums-percussion.musiciansfriend.com/product/Tama-Superstar-SL-Fusion-5piece-Shell-Pack?sku=482379

http://drums-percussion.musiciansfriend.com/product/Sonor-Force-2007-Stage-1-Shell-Pack?sku=490519

There isn't a lot of difference between the major companies quality wise in these price ranges, so the only real differentiating factor is sound. Also, be careful of pricing up anything listed as a shell pack. Shell packs give you just the drums. Stands, pedals and cymbals will be extra. If you go the shell pack route, then these cymbal options would be good to start out:

http://drums-percussion.musiciansfriend.com/product/Zildjian-ZBT-4Piece-Starter-Set?sku=444544

http://drums-percussion.musiciansfriend.com/product/Sabian-B8-Pro-Economy-Pack?sku=448991

Just stick to major brands (Pearl, Yamaha, Tama, Sonor, Mapex, Zildjian, Sabian, Paiste, etc.) and you'll get a good product. I realize these are a lot of suggestions, but I tried to keep it as simple as possible. If you have any more questions on choosing a kit, or want opinions on some feel free to ask me.

[DrumUltimA]

I'll teach you! Come to Baltimore!

[Brushfire]

Believe it or not but I learned the basics of drumming at a DrumMania arcade cabinet. To learn your basic rhythms and such play a song on Advanced that is a 20-30 difficulty.

If you don't happen to have one near you however, I spose you can play by ear (the method I use now).

As far as drumsets go, I am using a standard electric kit from Roland with a TD-3 Module. All my pads are the PD-80R model. Been meaning to upgrade my pedal to a double soon though.

[sephfire]

Lessons can be very handy but certainly not required, especially if you have a book like Drumming for Dummies to show you the fundamentals. The fact that you play expert RB2 drums is actually going to make learning real drums waaaaay easier for you. Two of the biggest challenges for beginners are: 1. keeping a steady rhythm and 2. teaching their hands and feet to play independently of each other. You can probably do both of these pretty well by now.

Once you've got your kit, read some of your book and practiced a few basic beats to get a feel for things, I suggest you put that Rock Band practice to good use. One of the easiest ways to steadily learn and get better (while enjoying yourself) is to learn to play along with songs you like on headphones. Pick one of the easy songs (Eye of the Tiger or something), put it on headphones and start feeling it out. If you can't seem to figure out what the drummer is doing, drum tabs (extra simple sheet music) are extremely helpful and freely available all over the internet for almost any song you can think of. The more songs you learn to play, the more beats and fills you'll learn and add to you repertoire.

And once you've gotten pretty decent, I highly recommend finding a couple guys to jam with every now and then. Good luck!

[kitty]

I'll teach you! Come to Baltimore!

Come to Irvine! =(

Believe it or not but I learned the basics of drumming at a DrumMania arcade cabinet. To learn your basic rhythms and such play a song on Advanced that is a 20-30 difficulty.

If you don't happen to have one near you however, I spose you can play by ear (the method I use now).

As far as drumsets go, I am using a standard electric kit from Roland with a TD-3 Module. All my pads are the PD-80R model. Been meaning to upgrade my pedal to a double soon though.

How is DrumMania different from say RB drums or GH:WT drums? And how are those electronic kits? They've always appealed to me because of the noise reduction and being able to use headphones.

Thanks for all the help, everyone. Hopefully I'll have a rental set by the end of the week and I'll be practicing on it for several hours over the Thanksgiving break.

[Brushfire]

How is DrumMania different from say RB drums or GH:WT drums? And how are those electronic kits? They've always appealed to me because of the noise reduction and being able to use headphones.

Thanks for all the help, everyone. Hopefully I'll have a rental set by the end of the week and I'll be practicing on it for several hours over the Thanksgiving break.

DrumMania is setup like a traditional drum set (High Hat, Snare, Tom, Tom, Ride, and with a bass on the floor) as opposed to Rock Band which has the Snare in the wrong place, I'm not sure how this is in GH:WT, but I assume it's wrong.

I love my electric set. My wife would kill me if I still had my acoustics, and so would my neighbors. They are a great choice if you want to hook them up to a computer.