Drumming

[Eric***]

Who here plays the drums? I'm trying to learn them and while I know it's mostly a matter of practice, I am curious what your experiences have been. How long does it take before you're confident enough to play with other people? It felt like it took me ages on the guitar. I am mostly picking up the drums out of necessity, so I don't think the bar is set too high, but I'm just curious. So far it's reasonably fun, but it seems like the type of instrument where the fun increases twenty-fold when you're playing with other people.

[deeaa*]

I just started this summer. I've played rock band drums maybe 10 hours and probably twice that tabletop finger drumming along with music, plus a small number of times tried playing at training facility, sometimes with the band as well briefly.

The challenge is playing accurately with the click...and double hits on kick without hitting same with hand...and starting fills sometimes with left hand...smooth 16th note beats. .well actually a lot of things :-)

But yeah...now I have maybe 10 hours on it and I can play accurately enough for easy quantization and basic beats/basic rock songs. I could easily play in a ramones type band I think.

[Eric***]

The challenge is playing accurately with the click...and double hits on kick without hitting same with hand...and starting fills sometimes with left hand...smooth 16th note beats. .well actually a lot of things :-)

I completely agree on the double hits on the kick drum. If I'm not playing straight 8th on the hi hat, it's embarrassing how incapable I am of doing two 8th on the kick drum. I'm trying to get that sorted out now, but I keep getting pulled away on guitar or bass. Soon though. Drums are surprisingly fun to play. It's just more of a practical thing instead of trying to be all fancy. I realize I could probably make drumming fancy, but I have no desire to do so. Sometimes I think playing on an instrument other than the one you started on is a good thing, in that it allows you to just play without overthinking or trying to prove something.

[Duffy]

I used to play a nice set of Conga drums at a church I attended. I played with other people and it was really fun. I thought I'd be more shy about it but I got into the groove.

I have been playing drums for a long time and have a lot of beats down and can pick up a lot of different beats easily. I started as a kid about 14 years old. I have a full set of drums, nice ones, and a pro set of three Conga drums in basket stands. The Congas are really fun and not really that hard to play and are a super good way to develop timing and beats.

Playing a regular drum kit is a matter of a lot of coordination, obviously. After a while you can do things without thinking about them - things just flow. It takes a while to develop coordination, but if you have that sound in your head that you are after it makes it easier to play it out.

I'd say the best thing to do is "practice correctly to begin with", learn to refine good drumming habits instead of trying to play free form style, making up your own methods. People play drums a certain way for a reason. But it is all about fun and if you can make it sound good doing it your own way then I'd say you can't beat that.

We are finishing my new drum room and it has a solid wood floor where the drums will sit on a pad and the rest of the room has new carpeting. I am so looking forward to getting in there.

I use a clean sounding guitar amp, 15 watt solid state with a 12 inch Celestion Seventy/80 clean sounding speaker I put in it, to jam along to cd's. Even though the Celestion Seventy/80 speaker is only 30 something dollars, it is a very good speaker and "way" better than the stock one that was in the amp. That extra clarity really brought the music alive and made jamming even more fun. The amp has a cd input, so that is cool. A lot of people set their drums up near their home sound system and rock out there, but a lot of people have their sound system in their living room - a place that most people wouldn't want their drums. I like the guitar amp because it sounds powerful and is super portable.

Practice is the key, obviously. What type of drums are you learning to play? Good luck by the way and I'm positive you will have a lot of fun.

On a special note, John Bonham used the double kick on the rebound method and didn't use two bass drums. Developing a strong foot is also a good idea in order to bring that bass drum right up into the middle of that sound. Cymbal finesse seems to be the mark of a master drummer.

[Eric***]

Since it's so dead here, I may as well bring this back. Been traveling for work recently and bass is pretty boring without an amp and I am not willing to chance singing in a hotel room, so I've been doing more drum practice to get the motions down and develop a feel for it.

I also bought a used Pearl Export set this weekend. Came with a decent hi hat and ride, but the others were a 10" splash and a china cymbal...not as useful as a crash would be. Still trying to figure out if I should look into a crash or crash ride.

I hope to find something to use it for soon, as I think playing with people is how you really solidify and develop the skills, but I feel much more comfortable with it than I was even a week ago, so that's pretty fun.

Back to your regularly scheduled programming...

[deeaa*]

Just play...I try to play a few minutes at least every week. Always to a click. Every time I come up with something new to try and practice a little, like double kick hits, and then I just play them for 15 or so. The next time I play it'll be much easier.

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk

[Duffy]

Since it's so dead here, I may as well bring this back. Been traveling for work recently and bass is pretty boring without an amp and I am not willing to chance singing in a hotel room, so I've been doing more drum practice to get the motions down and develop a feel for it.

I also bought a used Pearl Export set this weekend. Came with a decent hi hat and ride, but the others were a 10" splash and a china cymbal...not as useful as a crash would be. Still trying to figure out if I should look into a crash or crash ride.

I hope to find something to use it for soon, as I think playing with people is how you really solidify and develop the skills, but I feel much more comfortable with it than I was even a week ago, so that's pretty fun.

Back to your regularly scheduled programming...

Yeah Eric, your are barking up the right trees in my opinion. I like that you got some Pearl Exports. I bought a new set of red sparkle Pearl "Vision" drums. I really dig these drums, very similar to the exports.

I like crash cymbals and added to my collection - two new crash cymbals. I figure that it is best to get cymbals that I test out at the store and ick the ones that I like the sound of best. I like medium thin to thin "Dark" crashes. I picked up an 18 and a 19 inch "K" dark thin and medium thin version, one each. These are "big" dark, thin crashes and have that "p . . . sssssshhhhhh" sound that I like. I do not like the "CLANNNNGGGG!" sounding cymbals. I want to get a sixteen or twenty inch crash next. I have a cymbal stand on "stand by". I like to "work" these thin, delicate sounding, mellow cymbals.

I've got Remo pin stripe heads and an Evans double ply with built on muffling ring bass drum head. I like the deep drum sound. I use dead ringer type circular mylar rings on my toms to further eliminate a lot of ringing, etc.

I would recommend staying away from the "bright" ringing type of heads that are super loud and intrusive. I like to be able to lay back into the bass guitar and rhythm section without sounding like I'm doing a "battle march" type cutting beat. I can get plenty of cut and loud raps off of my snares anyway if I want that accentuation. I have a fourteen inch snare with a mellow head and a thirteen inch piccolo snare with an Emperor, very popping, sound. Playing one against the other or both at the same time results in some great snare drum improvisation.

I personally would recommend staying away from those Evans Hydraulic heads because they are like smacking on hardcover books; but Evans has some relatively new heads out called 360 degree SST or something, double ply heads that are suppose to be super easy to tune and sound very mellow. I'm going to try them next.

I like my current rig a lot. Pictures? I don't have my new cymbals showing in these pictures. I also bought top of the line B3000 counterweighted boom stands and a nice high end straight cymbal stand. I have an extra one waiting for another crash. I like the large diameter crash cymbals.


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Red sparkle lacquer, "not wrap" Pearl "Visions"; maple shells. This is the best drum set I have owned and they are really great sounding and fun to play. I have the hydralyic throne with the back rest, Roc-n-Soc. It is a nice rig. I use 7A sticks for agility.

I hope you dig this Eric and good luck building up your set. I would say just get a big crash, not a crash ride. I played a very nice Zildjian "A" series thin crash, I think it was sixteen inches but it had that beautiful "ssssshhhhhhhh" sound when hit.

[Duffy]

Just play...I try to play a few minutes at least every week. Always to a click. Every time I come up with something new to try and practice a little, like double kick hits, and then I just play them for 15 or so. The next time I play it'll be much easier.

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk

Good point Dee. Any time playing drums is time well spent. It can definitely help you get better at guitar too.

[Eric***]

Just play...I try to play a few minutes at least every week. Always to a click. Every time I come up with something new to try and practice a little, like double kick hits, and then I just play them for 15 or so. The next time I play it'll be much easier.

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk

That's essentially what I'm relegated to anyway, playing on the bed in a hotel room. I end up playing most nights, though I guess I should work more with a metronome and less with recordings. Whatever works. I hope to get to be able to actually play the kit eventually. I think a cheap crash cymbal should help.

[Eric***]

Yeah Eric, your are barking up the right trees in my opinion. I like that you got some Pearl Exports. I bought a new set of red sparkle Pearl "Vision" drums. I really dig these drums, very similar to the exports.

Those are some nice looking drums. I'm just looking for something decent to use as a crash right now, and that crash ride seems to be available. I imagine upgrading might come later. Probably should just buy nice stuff initially, but I kind of need to learn the ropes first.

[Robert****]

Good call, Eric! Every guitar player would benefit from playing drums! The best players have a great timing, and one way to improve that is to actually play drums.

[Duffy]

Go to a place that local drummers go to and get a stick and start tapping on crashes until you find a sound that you like. See how much it costs and tap on some more until you find one in your price range that sounds very similar. Go by ear with it, even try used ones, and go to other stores. Places always have sales. GC even has sales. There isn't much that can go wrong with a cymbal that's brand new.

I like eighteen or nineteen inch crashes, but you could start with a sixteen and later add on. A big crash could almost make a decent starter ride, certain ones anyway.

Cymbals are expensive, so trying to find the type of sound that you want with your drum set is important. You might get a ride that is very loud and "clangy" instead of having that nice "shhhhhh" type sound. When you get the type of cymbal sound that you like you may have to replace any cymbals that you bought that are "way out of that sound". Some cymbals are made for heavy slammers and others are made for a more light touch. Since I'm mostly a stay at home drummer, I like to buy cymbals that do not sound "clangy" and have a soft, dark, "shhhhhhh" type sustain. It is hard to explain.

You have to get what fits in with the way you want to play. I'd move slow and get what I thought was the closest fit to begin with, avoiding super bargains, brand names, pre-conceived ideas, etc., until I found the "one" that I know is what I am looking for. Then move forward from there and hope not to waste too much money on stuff that you will find out that you don't like. You have to use your own ear and you will know.

You are still living in a motel? I didn't know that.

[Eric***]

You are still living in a motel? I didn't know that.

Not normally. Just been traveling for work a lot and my weeknights these days are spent in a hotel.