Self-taught drummers, what was your method of learning?

[Pyrite Medal of Ignorance]

Think beginner, possibly with a slight learning disability (ovaries).

Long innocent story short, I met and spent like 3 days nonstop hanging out with a completely innocuous and sweet kid that made me realize just how jaded I have become, and how ridiculous my inactivity/excuses for as much are completely bogus and detrimental to my well-being...anyway...

I have several hours each day where my roommates are not home, with full access to ryan's drums. I don't know what the fuck I'm doing. I don't know what half of the shit is called. i can make somewhat LOGICAL noises, but i have no idea what i'm doing.

any tips or suggestions or links to websites would be much appreciated.

SPOILERSPOILER_SHOW

fuck off, goatus.

[caldwell.the.great]

Self-taught drummers, what was your method of learning?

practice. i used my ears and then i practiced.

[caldwell.the.great]

and way to use your ovaries as a crutch. goddamnit, amelia.

[necrothrash]

So you're gonna play the drums?

[Pyrite Medal of Ignorance]

yeah caldwell dude, i've been trying/have tried that. i'm interested in words and perhaps other lines of abstract thought to put together some sort of formula that works for me, though. if my blind wailing and cocky ears had met my standards in the past i wouldn't have made this thread. information gleaning, g. informations.

[Dann O)))]

I had natural ability and a friend that played who no longer wanted to play. He switched back to guitar and showed a few things and I took it from there. I have not played in years now, but I can if a drum set magically appeared in front of me. Keep it simple, don't try to do things that you cannot. It keeps the frustration down in the early stages.

[Pyrite Medal of Ignorance]

and way to use your ovaries as a crutch. goddamnit, amelia.

i thought about leaving that line out, but i wouldn't be posting like amelia if i didn't say something self-deprecating about my birth gender.

i don't really plan on ever being a 'good' drummer or even playing drums in a band, but i would like to be able to play guitar/bass/drums well enough to record my own songs, since i seem to be completely incapable of playing around other people without getting nervous about my lack of skills or my inability to communicate ideas as i intend them to be...

[Pyrite Medal of Ignorance]

I had natural ability and a friend that played who no longer wanted to. He switched back to guitar and showed a few things and I took it from there. I have not played in years now, but I can if a drum set magically appeared in front of me. Keep it simple, don't try to do things that you cannot. It keeps the frustration down in the early stages.

haha, nice. yeah, i've always had that problem with impatience where i become extremely discouraged if i am not able to kick monster ass right off the bat when i try something new. part of it is the attention span issue, but i do often find myself being able to almost meditate on a beat or bass line or whatever for a bit, and it feels so completely natural that i wonder if i'm supposed to be somebody else altogether...nervousness and the memory of a hummingbird, haha..by the time i've conquered my demons, my body will have conquered me and left me in a paralytic pile of 'WHY DID I WAIT SO LONG?'

i'm trying not to get too excited though, every time i become this motivated or excited about something i only start or halfway finish it...forever in limbo, yikes.

[Pyrite Medal of Ignorance]

in all seriousness (not that I was completely joking about the tits, because they're going to get in the way), work REALLY slowly and play along to either a metronome or music. look up some rudiments to practice. it may seem tedious or aggravating, but it pays off...if you work to stay in time at a really slow tempo, and if you really pay attention to timbre and all of that, you're going to improve dramatically. the way you build speed/coordination with any instrument isn't just trying to hit hard and play fast...not at first, anyway; you'll get into really bad habits that way, your strokes will sound crumby, and you might get discouraged when things don't work. work on tone and timing, coordination will work itself out (to an extent). and FIGURE OUT SONGS. listen to a band you like with some really simple drumming, and figure out exactly what the drummer is doing- this helps more than anything I've found.

it's probably worth noting that I'm a guitarist, not a drummer...but these things seem to be fairly universal

thanks dude, this is all really logical and yeah -- universal with most instruments. i tend to overlook the obvious and this is definitely along the lines of the things i'm looking to hear.

[Necrometer]

every legendary drummer ever had to quit the internet to master their talent, or so the story goes...

[Pyrite Medal of Ignorance]

ross, i'm an underachiever. i want nothing to do with legendary or maestro or any of that elevated garbage...i just want to rock like that kid in the twisted sister video...sorry.

[Glass Asshole]

Make that poll about you quitting the board so Ross won't have to pine over this for his whole drive to the west coast.


Youtube might be a good place to look for videos. And jamming with a friend or a cd would probably help.

[Pyrite Medal of Ignorance]

do you play drums, gfc?

the jamming with a friend thing doesn't work (at this point), i get too intimidated.

[neckbeard]

all you have to do is count to 4 over and over

1) bass[1]+hi-hat[2],
2) hi-hat,
3) snare[3]+hi-hat,
4) hi-hat
repeat

[1] big round drum that you hit with your right foot on a pedal.
[2] round metal thingy that you can open and close with your left foot. Use your right hand to hit it.
[3] loud round drum in the middle. Use your left hand.

[Glass Asshole]

do you play drums, gfc?

the jamming with a friend thing doesn't work (at this point), i get too intimidated.

I never really got into devoting myself to playing any instrument but for a few years there was a drum set at my mothers house and I used to attempt to play it off and on. Just stick with simple beats etc. Magick Sam's advice sounds about right.

[Toilet Fleet]

Rehashing what others have said, plus other stuff: rudiments, becoming conscious of what other drummers do on albums/live, visualizing your drumming objectives. I think the last point is one of the most salient, and something that Buddy Rich espoused his entire career. Technique doesn't mean anything, it's just a means of getting your body to agree with what your brain wants. Repetition is the key to getting that mind-body connection in order. If you're thinking awkwardly and out of time, you'll play awkwardly and out of time, and that's all there is to it.

As far as more boring answers, get books. Stick Control, Accents and Rebounds, Progressive Steps to Syncopation, Master Studies, and Buddy Rich's Modern Interpretation of Snare Drum Rudiments are good starts. From there, Advanced Techniques for the Modern Drummer and The New Breed are pretty good places to start going beyond control and into more interesting directions.

[zzzzzzzz]

I'm going to teach myself drums as well, nice list of books, I think I got what it takes, I got the brain for it.

[Dann O)))]

p.s.

one foot blast

[Warpsmasher]

i don't really plan on ever being a 'good' drummer or even playing drums in a band, but i would like to be able to play guitar/bass/drums well enough to record my own songs, since i seem to be completely incapable of playing around other people without getting nervous about my lack of skills or my inability to communicate ideas as i intend them to be...

Start experimenting with some music software. Reaper, Ableton, Cakewalk, etc.

[spacehamster]

Stick Control

This turned me into someone who almost sounded like he knew what he was doing in a matter of weeks.

[pooptastik]

listen to Foetopsy and blast yourself to space

[The Nigorache]

Here's a tip: stick to girl instruments.

[hipster holocaust]

play hear nothing see nothing say nothing through a ghetto blaster on full blast.
tape said ghetto blaster to head and leave on for one week straight.
sit behind drum set.
pick up drum sticks.

[Bored, Esq.]

When it comes to the drums...I think lessons are definitely worth it. Just to get you started, get the fundamentals down, etc. It saves time.

[metal5411]

Stick Control

This turned me into someone who almost sounded like he knew what he was doing in a matter of weeks.

Ftw.



This is what it looks like. It is only snare drum stuff, which may seem really boring and it first you will be like "but I just want to play a real kit, wtf am I doing this this book?" but that kind of shit pays dividends. Go out and get that book plus a metronome and just do exactly what the book says. It's also a good idea to play to music, any music, as long as the drums aren't over your head. Not only will it keep you relatively in time but it will give you a better ear for playing. Get an album that you love and know really well with simple (preferably slow) drumming, try to figure out exactly what he's doing and play along with the song. Most of all have fun