Any advice for a new drummer?

Great truth here. And also, learn to listen. Listening is hardly ever mentioned, but it is so important. A drummer drives the tempo, the groove, but if attention is paid to what the other musicians are doing, subtle changes can be lost and wonderful opportunities squandered.

 

That interplay is important in jazz. Drummers new to jazz sometimes don't interplay with the other musicians, and the music can get a little monotonous. There's lots of call and answer that can be done between, say, a drummer and sax player doing a solo. Jazz is an excellent music to learn how to do those things.

Even with the drummer interacting with the other musicians, he still has to maintain tempo and groove. I listened to a rock band over the weekend try to play a Beatles rock tune. The drummer let the guitar soloist go off on a faster tempo instead of keeping him on track. Their tempo was all over the place during that song. It sounds really amateurish to the audience when that happens.

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I know it's cliche but don't give up!

 

Develop an understanding sense of humour and be prepared to be the butt of many a drummer joke

 

I think it's even worse if you're a trombone player. They're the butt of all jokes.

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lol

 

thats silly

obviously youved never listened to Hella. he can play like a double bass master, with a single pedal.

 

Personally I think the electronic drum pads you have are a good idea for a couple of reasons. 1. You wont ruin your hearing as much as playing on a drum kit. 2. You wont drive everyone around you crazy when you play because you can adjust the volume. 3. You can take it anyplace you go pretty easily I would imagine.

I had a drum kit for a while, but I stopped playing and sold it because I was getting tinitus in my ears, which can lead to hearing loss. Plus I drove my parents nuts with the sound. I always thought it sounded good though. Now I just play congas and a djembe; way less of a hassle and lots of good sounds coming out when I play. It's all about what makes you feel good when playing.

 

Yeah, but classic rock is easy (and very, very slow) compared to black and death metal drumming...

You should practise on your rudimentals (something I've been neglecting big time, but catching on...), try this link:

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

It's not as easy as it looks... good luck!

 

So can Derek Roddy from Hate Eternal and Tim Yeung from Vital Remains... at 250 bpm. Fucking inhuman. Where I can pull off a 180 bpm blast for like 20 seconds they just blast through whole albums at one-and-a-half times my speed - with just one foot!

Ditto. Especially when supporting an epic black metal riff, just makes me cream my pants.

Double bass is hard but there'll be a moment that you'll just get it right (like *ping!* or so it was with me), and from then on it's just a matter of increasing speed while maintaining precision.

 

The drummer is the metronome of the band - the spine of the whole thing. Learn to keep it together for everyone else, then once that's in place, you can express yourself more and more.
Playing to a click track is an excellent discipline - you can't be sure you're tight until you can master that - especially at slow tempos.

But in general terms - don't run before you can walk, but HAVE FUN! That's the only reason anyone keeps playing (other than money!)

And practice things you're NOT comfortable with - this is the only way to grow as a musician.

Good luck!

 

So speaks the uninformed

 

Ok I have a question...Instead of making a new topic, I'll just post it in here.

Basically what I want to know is, is there anywhere on the internet or elsewhere where you can get music (any kind is good, really) with the drum tracks removed?

 

yes i do... Never ever fuck up!!! just kidding

 

You can download CDs called "play alongs". Those are pretty much songs with basic drums... right now im playing one of Dave Weckl. Its pretty cool.

 

might i suggest first that you save up for a real kit...... and second i suggest that you get a metronome and see if you can keep a tempo solid. I would also try to learn some jazz drumming as many other types of music take things from jazz and make them their own.

 

Yeah the only problem with that is that I live in an apartment, so a real kit (at least an acoustic) is kinda out of the question. On the plus side though, I have a friend who has an acoustic drum kit at his place that I can use from time to time and it seems most of the skills I'm picking up on what I have are transitioning over nicely (which is my goal). Also yes, the metronome idea is a good one...the digital has a built in metronome and I use that sometimes.

 

that's cool, use your friend's set as often as you can, it feels so much better to use a real set.....also, if you read music, i would suggest getting a few drumset books.....it might sounds a little rudimentary but if you get Alfred's beggining drumset method with the CD, it works wonders with beggining development

 

Hello buddy

My advice is to go to a teacher ASAP. The worst thing that can happen is let yourself develop bad habits while learning on your own.

 

What are some common bad habits that I should be sure to avoid?