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

[rape bear]

Awwwwww...

[Pyrite Medal of Ignorance]

Awwwwww...

eeeeee

i feel so bad for my neighbors, i was playing for a while before i realized the basement window was open. i hope my roommates have a good relationship with those people, never met 'em...

[father of lies]

Fuck, this thread makes me excited for when I can scrounge my way into an extra $300 for a craigslist'd drum set.

When I was a wee lad, and my drum teacher begged my parents to make me practice, because I was the best kid he taught, I simply could not be convinced to stop running around outside or stop playing Zombies At My Neighbors! long enough to practice. He killed himself a few years ago. Mmyep.

[Friendly Goatus]

So... did you give up yet?

[mastoman]

i get this terrible pain in my wrist after about 15 minutes or less of playing and i have to stop or it gets worse. this has only happened in maybe the past couple weeks and i've been playing for about 7 months now. what am i doing wrong? do i need to position the drums differently, warm up, or do i just have fucked up wrists?

[Big Blood Grenade]

My post won't really help because you already have access to a drum set, etc. But I was thinking about it, and I actually learned how to play drums on some stupid homemade shit. My grandmother was a mulitalented musician, so she had an old sparkly orange Ludwig snare drum and a hi hat laying around. First I took these two things and started learning to play beats by stomping my foot on the floor for the bass drum and playing the hi hat and snare. I would sit and play along to albums I liked that I could handle playing. Then I borrowed a few other spare parts from musicians I knew, like a crappy bass drum pedal and another snare drum. I got a trash can and turned it into my bass drum. I got a bucket and hooked it to an old music stand with some vice grips for a high tom, and once the head on the sparkly snare drum busted, I fixed it with duct tape and sat it on top of some egg crates for my floor tom. That was my first drum set.

My only real advice is that to me, learning to play drums started as getting all of your limbs to work together in different groups, and once you master that, you start taking it all apart and doing the opposite, trying to make all of your limbs do different shit at the same time within the constraints of time signatures, adding grace notes and accents, etc.

[Pyrite Medal of Ignorance]

So... did you give up yet?

no. im trying to keep my work week down to like 2 shifts (4 this week, ungh) so i can spend all day M-F working to make the shakes to make your balls drop, homenizzle. HOURS OF FUN. im a fucking powerhouse of nervous energy, you have no idea i guess...?

[Pyrite Medal of Ignorance]

p.s. seeing so many rad chicks in the portland scene (and exxxxtreeeme music in general) is really encouraging. it's not even a novelty anymore, really.

[Friendly Goatus]

Please do. My undescended testicle is really bothering me.

[Pyrite Medal of Ignorance]

dude, that's pretty cool. my younger brother was born wih an undescended testicle. apparently they have to do surgery to look for that shit if it doesn't drop within a couple of years, because if it formed AT ALL and just didn't drop it can become cancerous later...? anyway, they did the surgery and didn't find his nut. since i was an evil cunt of a child, i told everyone on the school bus about it when i was in 5th grade. he still has gone on to be an ok guy and bang playboy looking sluts, so i guess i don't feel too guilty?!

hope you don't have cancer, goatus!

[Krieg]

Play either Rock Band or Guitar Hero. The drums part is quite close to real drumming and it will teach you some coordination and rhythm.

[Pyrite Medal of Ignorance]

thanks but i don't know where to get video games and i definitely don't want to waste money when i can roll out of bed 20 feet and play real drums.

[Ghost Dad]

thanks but i don't know where to get video games .

uhhhhhhhhh.......

[Krieg]

thanks but i don't know where to get video games and i definitely don't want to waste money when i can roll out of bed 20 feet and play real drums.

At least you do not want to be a vet, because you know, you could just roll out of bed and operate on your cat.

[canon.docre]

i get this terrible pain in my wrist after about 15 minutes or less of playing and i have to stop or it gets worse. this has only happened in maybe the past couple weeks and i've been playing for about 7 months now. what am i doing wrong? do i need to position the drums differently, warm up, or do i just have fucked up wrists?

try different sticks, lighter, different wood, different length, different density for flex. also watch some videos online about how to hold your sticks properly. also properly stretch and warm up slowly instead of going all out right away. make sure your drums are at a proper height (this is up for interpretation, obv.) quit hanging out on the computer for so long each day. don't eat green peppers, although this last one should only affect a small percentage of the population (but it seriously can).

[Geeheeb]

don't eat green peppers, although this last one should only affect a small percentage of the population (but it seriously can).

Comin' out with the big guns here.

[metal5411]

Play either Rock Band or Guitar Hero. The drums part is quite close to real drumming and it will teach you some coordination and rhythm.

[Ghost Dad]

Play either Rock Band or Guitar Hero. The drums part is quite close to real drumming and it will teach you some coordination and rhythm.

Eh, it's better than nothing.

[father of lies]

I would think it would at least help build some coordination and timing, especially on the harder difficulties. Zillions of hours of Guitar Hero after I got my guitar helped my coordination noticeably.

[Krieg]

I would think it would at least help build some coordination and timing, especially on the harder difficulties. Zillions of hours of Guitar Hero after I got my guitar helped my coordination noticeably.

The guitar part is not close to a real guitar in the way the drums are to real drums.

[The Wages of Ben]

SPOILERSPOILER_SHOW

[father of lies]

I am aware. It totally helped me develop some coordination between hands, and made my left pinky more useful than the whale flipper it was before. It might be in my head, but I think it helped tighten up my timing, too. I imagine drumming on these games is like playing on an electronic kit for little kids that's $80 at Toys R Us or something. I refuse to believe that getting used to the bass pedal wouldn't be any help.

May I say, folks, I'm not one of those people that plays this shit and then thinks they can play a real instrument. It IS a bit of a reminder and kick in the ass to do something I've always wanted, though.

[Ghost Dad]

MUSCLE MEMORY

[Pyrite Medal of Ignorance]

thanks but i don't know where to get video games and i definitely don't want to waste money when i can roll out of bed 20 feet and play real drums.

At least you do not want to be a vet, because you know, you could just roll out of bed and operate on your cat.

hahahha, come on. that's such a stretch. it's more like rolling out of bed and lancing a boil on my cat than actually operating on it...

[alleged triggerman]

Drumsticks, strategically placed pillows, close observations of music videos and a very special & important secret...

SPOILERSPOILER_SHOW

PRACTICE.