Drumming and you

[Abelmisi]

I was always interested in drumming and rythm, so I finally decided to take lessons. For now I'm going once a week to learn the basics. I've been two times so far and it's been cool. :)

 

 

 

Already got my sticks (Big Stick 5A's), metronome (DB-30)

 

 

 

I don't unfortunately know anyone with a set nor have the means to be able to play on one at home so my tutor recommended me these for practicing. http://www.pearleurope.com/mediafiles/i ... sd-50h.jpg (Pearl SD-50) Any word on this? Do any of you have one of these? They're about 60 bucks btw.

 

 

 

Anyways, the point of this thread is to share you advice/experience, etc. Any of you drumming? How long have you been at it? What gear do you own? Do you have any tips for a beginner? Thanks!

[Kalphite]

I've been drumming for 4.5 years, though I've only had my set for the last year. I got my set used, so I don't really know the specifics about it other than it being a Ludwig. It's pretty much a standard single bass drum set with a second crash cymbal and a double bass pedal.

 

 

 

Definitely stick with the lessons. If you practice and your teacher is good, you should be able to become decent in a much shorter time, and you won't be developing as many bad habits such as a faulty grip.

 

 

 

I don't know anything about that particular practice pad, but if you can't / don't want to invest in a full set or even a snare drum, they are worth it. You probably could find a pad for cheaper, though it wouldn't necessarily have the stand.

[Evil_Sabre]

I don't know much about drums but I've been around enough instruments to know that big brands like Pearl aren't always the best way to go (especially just a practice pad). Look around a bit to find a cheaper, lesser-known brand.

[Abelmisi]

I think the stand will come in handy, so I won't have to fiddle around with tables trying to find a suitable position for the pad.

 

 

 

My teacher said that there are pads for less but this one is the closest he's seen to regular drums regarding rebound and feel.

[stevepole]

Haha I don't have anything to say about the topic but I love your signature!

 

 

 

I take that back I do have some drumming, back in middle school my brother did the drums and he didn't get a set until i think his second year as a drummer but started out with a snare drum.

[dragoonson]

Just saying,if you alter a double bass so your right foot controls both,you'd be copying me.

 

 

 

Oh and NEVER get Sabian cymbals.

[Range_This11]

Alright, well, I'll try to make this quite simple. I've been drumming pretty much my entire life. Both drum set and marching snare drum. I play in my own band and I'm on a World Class Independent-A drum line from Minnesota called TCAI (Twin Cities Area Independent).

 

 

 

The first thing you're going to want to do is develop basic ground work for your hands. Get a practice pad, any will do for beginning. Do some 8 and 8s. Eight eighth notes on your right hand, then eight on your left hand. ALWAYS USE A METRONOME.

 

 

 

http://www.vicfirth.com/education/rudiments.html

 

 

 

Here will be your bible for developing your hands in the beginning. Don't expect to be able to play all of them. I literally have hundreds of exercises and over 10 books that I can email you if you want, just PM me.

 

 

 

 

 

As for getting a drum set, I personally have a 1989 9-Piece Pearl Export Series. It's a beauty and I love it. I would probably recommend something affordable, but definitely not cheap quality. A 5 piece will do. Cymbals I would honestly go used if you can. If there's a Music-Go-Round near you, check that out because they don't sell crappy cymbals there and you can get them for good discount. By the way, Sabian cymbals are NOT bad. They are basically Zildjian's little brother. I personally have played pretty much every brand and type of cymbal out there. Sabians are just fine.

 

 

 

Any specific questions, PM me. I'll be able to answer pretty much any question.

 

 

 

Oh, and whatever you do, do NOT practice double kick until you have mastered a single bass drum. And tell your tutor to teach you traditional grip ;) It looks beautiful on a kit.

 

 

 

Edit: Here's what I'd recommend for a practice pad. The second one (double sided):

 

 

 

http://www.vicfirth.com/products/pads.html

[dragoonson]

On traditional grip.If you ever post a video of you doing jazz grip I will personally shoot you from the other side of the world.

[Abelmisi]

I bought that Pearl pad I posted in the first message. I actually looked around for some Vic Firth pads but the store didn't seem to have any (we're talking Eastern-Europe here). As for going cheaper, I saw ones for around half the price but they looked bad quality and too bouncy. (My tutor especially pointed out that most rubber pads bounce the stick back too much and will mess you up when you try to play on real drums) I'll be using these for a long anyway, I'm 16 so dropping upwards from half a grand on a set is not an option.

 

 

 

Right now I'm just doing 4's to 16's with both hands in a row at 60BPM starting with 4, then 8 and 16. Also triplets. Starting with both hands and going like RRL,LRR,LLR,RLL etc. My left hand needs some control as well.

 

 

 

Thanks for the links and stuff, will look into that.

[Range_This11]

On traditional grip.If you ever post a video of you doing jazz grip I will personally shoot you from the other side of the world.

 

Why on Earth would you say that? There's nothing wrong with traditional grip. In fact, in most cases, it makes your left hand FASTER because there is a natural fulcrum where the stick lies opposed to having to use all wrist and fingers on your right hand. Most, if not all, of the best drummers in the world know traditional grip and use it. Buddy Rich, much?

 

 

 

To Abelmisi:

 

 

 

That Pearl pad will do just fine. If you want to crack your left hand into shape, put on the metronome to a comfortable speed, and do eighth notes for 10 minutes straight. Watch TV while you're doing it. Practicing on a pillow is also a great way to get your chops in shape because it makes your wrists do all of the work since there is no rebound. Muscle memory is the key. All drumming is is muscle memory. Play something excruciatingly slow until you get it, then gradually speed it up. Repetition makes perfect because once your muscles know what to do, you won't have to consciously think about playing it.

[Abelmisi]

Sorry guys for the lack of updates, I've been too caught up in real life to even get to turn the computer on.

 

 

 

I had to take the Pearl pad back because the glue came up under the rubbery part. So much for the fancy branding... Thankfully they've replaced it so it's been awesome. I've got lecture tomorrow so I'm psyched. ;)

[dragoonson]

On traditional grip.If you ever post a video of you doing jazz grip I will personally shoot you from the other side of the world.

 

Why on Earth would you say that? There's nothing wrong with traditional grip. In fact, in most cases, it makes your left hand FASTER because there is a natural fulcrum where the stick lies opposed to having to use all wrist and fingers on your right hand. Most, if not all, of the best drummers in the world know traditional grip and use it. Buddy Rich, much?

 

 

 

I said video.I'm perfectly fine with it being used for recordings,but it looks ridiculous when you see it.But thats me.Who spams with his right hand so his left hand can keep up.

[Range_This11]

 

I said video.I'm perfectly fine with it being used for recordings,but it looks ridiculous when you see it.But thats me.Who spams with his right hand so his left hand can keep up.

 

Traditional doesn't look ridiculous. You must not know much about drumming if you think that it does. Every single one of the great drummers in this world knows traditional grip. You're trying to tell me this looks ridiculous?:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Or this?:

 

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5iEu4IMtxQ&feature=related

 

 

 

Obviously you have not been immersed into the Drum Corps world. I march on a World Class Winter Line out of the Twin Cities and I can tell you that not one snare player out there would say match grip looks better or plays better than traditional.

[guss]

Drum on a pillow... cheap, and you have one (plus you learn stick control).

[dragoonson]

I must affirm that air drumming does not help.Your wrist is doing all the bounce,so you're expanding more energy.Also,random flailing on a real drums makes you miss all your notes.

[monkeyboo2]

I must affirm that air drumming does not help.Your wrist is doing all the bounce,so you're expanding more energy.Also,random flailing on a real drums makes you miss all your notes.

 

 

 

Actually, the less bounce you rely on, the better wrist control you get. OK, whilst playing a proper kit, you have to account for bounce but if you have good wrist control, you can even play with very low bounce (Heavy sticks and low pitched/large drums).

[Xezalb]

In the way of traditional vs. matched grip, I'd personally rather play matched on the set. However, if you can get strong with that grip, then it does look pretty nice. I would much rather see traditional grip in drum corps/marching though.

 

 

 

I have a Tama 5 piece set, Sabian cymbals. It's pretty cheap, not to mention it only has an 18" bass drum :wall: I'm thinking about upgrading it VERY soon.

[dragoonson]

^Sabians have that habit of breaking mid song for me.

 

 

 

I must affirm that air drumming does not help.Your wrist is doing all the bounce,so you're expanding more energy.Also,random flailing on a real drums makes you miss all your notes.

 

 

 

Actually, the less bounce you rely on, the better wrist control you get. OK, whilst playing a proper kit, you have to account for bounce but if you have good wrist control, you can even play with very low bounce (Heavy sticks and low pitched/large drums).

 

 

 

Yeah,but the flail you get when you air drum is horrible on a set.Or perhaps my set is too modified.I move stuff around to get it in a comfortable position.

[Range_This11]

^Sabians have that habit of breaking mid song for me.

 

 

 

Yeah,but the flail you get when you air drum is horrible on a set.Or perhaps my set is too modified.I move stuff around to get it in a comfortable position.

 

I'm sorry, but from what you've been saying, you really don't know much about drumming. Any cymbal can break on you if it's not played correctly and depending on what genre you play. If you're going to play a lot of hard rock and metal, get ready to go through cymbals faster than you would if you played jazz or classic rock. If you take care of your equipment and don't bang on it or abuse it, it can last you years. My set is 20 years old, but it plays like new because I take care of it and keep it in good condition.

 

 

 

And Monkeyboo2 has a good point. The less rebound you play on, the more work your wrist is going to do and the more strength and quickness you will develop. Try practicing double-stroke rolls on a pillow and your chops will shape up mighty quick. Air-drumming is stupid, and no real drummer does it, so I don't know what your point is.

[dragoonson]

I'm sorry, but from what you've been saying, you really don't know much about drumming. Any cymbal can break on you if it's not played correctly and depending on what genre you play. If you're going to play a lot of hard rock and metal, get ready to go through cymbals faster than you would if you played jazz or classic rock. If you take care of your equipment and don't bang on it or abuse it, it can last you years. My set is 20 years old, but it plays like new because I take care of it and keep it in good condition.

 

 

 

And Monkeyboo2 has a good point. The less rebound you play on, the more work your wrist is going to do and the more strength and quickness you will develop. Try practicing double-stroke rolls on a pillow and your chops will shape up mighty quick. Air-drumming is stupid, and no real drummer does it, so I don't know what your point is.

 

 

 

True,true,I'm mainly self thought and I haven't been to a meet for a year or so.My Sabians tend to break more often on my Zlidjians and I think I play in a similar fashion on either cymbal,so maybe material they use for those they send here is subpar.Also,my friends are idiots and have broken my sticks on many occassions,so I'm guessing they're being violet.

 

 

 

My point is,air drumming don't help me.

[guss]

I'm sorry, but from what you've been saying, you really don't know much about drumming. Any cymbal can break on you if it's not played correctly and depending on what genre you play. If you're going to play a lot of hard rock and metal, get ready to go through cymbals faster than you would if you played jazz or classic rock. If you take care of your equipment and don't bang on it or abuse it, it can last you years. My set is 20 years old, but it plays like new because I take care of it and keep it in good condition.

 

 

 

And Monkeyboo2 has a good point. The less rebound you play on, the more work your wrist is going to do and the more strength and quickness you will develop. Try practicing double-stroke rolls on a pillow and your chops will shape up mighty quick. Air-drumming is stupid, and no real drummer does it, so I don't know what your point is.

 

 

 

True,true,I'm mainly self thought and I haven't been to a meet for a year or so.My Sabians tend to break more often on my Zlidjians and I think I play in a similar fashion on either cymbal,so maybe material they use for those they send here is subpar.Also,my friends are idiots and have broken my sticks on many occassions,so I'm guessing they're being violet.

 

 

 

My point is,air drumming don't help me.

 

 

 

 

 

Try Paistes or Meinls, The lighter and more wave the less likely to break... Jello Vrs Ice, Check out This!:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Did that help?