Did you teach yourself how to play drums?

V

VirtualSamana

New member
Does anyone know of a good website that has drum lessons? I am trying to teach myself how to play.

I can pound out a steady rock beat ( a simple one) but I don't know how to do rolls, rudiments, etc.

Has anyone else taught themselves to play? If so do you have any tips. (I took drum lessons for about a month so I have some basics down, later I moved too far from my teacher to continue and now I am too broke to continue lessons)
 
play, play, and play some more....:D

get a book or rudiments and a practice pad/snare drum....practice, practice, build up some speed.

play your kit along to records, play music with your friends....

and check out the following website:

http://drumbum.com/lessons/


an amazing collection of links to drum lessons....


I'm just about 100% self-taught (I have a few friends that are very good drummers that have taught me a thing or two)...lessons definitely are not a bad thing, though (I just never had the money!)....though I'm actually looking into taking some lessons now!:cool:
 
the only way to do it is paly... especially with other musicians, even other drummers, doing call and return type stuff... make it fun, dont beat yourself up over anything, its not a job.. yeah, just have fun

if you are ever going to take lessons, make sure you like the drummers style etc. because 9/10 he will be imparting how "he" plays the drums, so it becomes difficult to learn your own style, and you could quite possibly pick up some of your instructors bad habits...
 
Great advice guys. Thanks. Have you found any specific books/videotapes helpful. I am having trouble figuring out where to go from here. I would like to play in the vain of the Beatles, Badfinger, Jelly Fish, etc. A book or videotape with specifics i.e. how to do a drum fill across the toms (which hand to lead with, when to hit the bass drum, should I hit the bass drum everytime I hit the crash etc.) would be a tremendous help.

The websites are both great. Thank you. The quicktime videos really help.
 
AWESOME Video Lessons site!! Dave is an excellent teacher and he explains everything really well... Each show is about an hour long, so you have over 50 hours of FREE video lessons.
http://www.digevent.com/events/consumer/music/drumbeat/archives.asp

I am 99.9% self taught, but I've had a couple beginner videos and a few friends show me some stuff when I was first starting out. I've learned mostly from listening ot CDs and trying to copy "exactly" what they do. Then expanding on it to creat my own stuff. I also played in a band for few years and that is a great way to develope your skills further.

-tkr
 
I'm pretty much self taught besides some friends giving me pointers on how to do things (rolls, etc.) Just remember that as you develop those "madd skillz" timing is the most important factor, then maybe control, then timing, then dynamics, then timing, then improv, then timing... etc...
 
self taught is the best way......definately check out videos so you can see the drummers doing it, it makes a lot more sense when you see what they're doing instead of guessing.....

you MUST learn rudiments, you're hands will thank you.....i can't stress how much rudiments help your hands and playing....also don't forget about working on your feet by themselves too, they always get left out.

if you have any friends that are drummers ask them how they do things, or study how they play(if they're good)

rip things off from other people.......haha everyone does it

ss
 
one more thing....

pick a drummer, your favorite drummer or your favorite band or something.....

BECOME THIS DRUMMER learn everything he does in every situation...learn his music better than he knows it......
then do it better, add something that YOU like and slowly you'll learn everything they know plus twist it into your own....

then do it on another drummer....you can make a list if you want to. listen to the drummers music more than anything else till you got it down and can mimic what he does. i started with carter beaford......then moved on to chambers, and now that i'm learning more jazz, paul wertico(i don't know how to spell it) and max roach, tony williams, buddy rich...ect... learn every fill they do and every beat.......(that way you can also "cover" their songs if you have to)

hope this helps
ss
 
Ok guys.... here is a good question....

I've been playing for a while, but never really asked about this....



I notice some drummers when they are playing a standard rock beat with a ride cymbal (think "Come as you are").. they have the HiHat going up and down at the same time....

Thats cool, I do that some times....

But then I also see those same drummers foot (on the hihat) going up and down when they are playing closed 8th notes on the hi hat... (even though it sounds closed)

Do they do this to help keep time, or what...?

How can they move there foot on the pedal without the hihat sounding like it's opening and closing.... I always wondered that...

I just keep my foot DOWN on the pedal when playing closed 8th notes on the hihats... I don't move my foot....

Am I doing something wrong?.. Im curious to know the "proper" way.. (whatever that means)..

Joe
 
well, i don't quite understand, are you saying that the hi hats actually come apart or they're just moving their foot? because if they're moving the hi hats up and down while playing and keeping a closed sound....well then shit i'm stumped....

actually, if you move the hi hat up and down in time with your hand, then you could pull if off......if just realized i do that sometimes when i'm playing jazz stuff and keeping time with my left foot....



ss
 
Maybe it's just their foot that is sort of bouncing on the pedal...... But the hats aren't opening..

Sorry to be so confusing... I just see alot of drummers moving there hihat foot up and down, even when there isn't much going on with the hi hat.... Other than a closed 8th note steady pattern...

It's like the heal of their foot goes up and down but the ball of the foot stays planted...

I think.... I just noticed this in live videos etc...

Is that a good way to help keep time..
 
Yeah.. it keeps time... It's easier to open the hihats for a beat or a hit when you're already bouncing your foot in time with your beats than if you kept it planted and only moved when you had to. That way, your heel's moving already, all you have to do is exaggerate that movement by lifting the ball of your foot too. Also... if you've noticed... a hi-hat hit (say that five times fast! *LOL*) sounds different with less pressure than it does with more pressure... Maybe people do it subconsciously to get that sound after the hit of the hats loosening.... So you still get a solid defined hit, but the rest of the vibrations are loosened on, so they dissipate slower. *shrugs* I dunno.... i'm rambling. again. But i would say that it works for time-keeping and tonal variations... i do it... but i'm weird. you never know.
 
I also see those same drummers foot (on the hihat) going up and down when they are playing closed 8th notes on the hi hat... (even though it sounds closed)
Click to expand...

I do that alot. I used to think it was just a bad habit, but it comes in handy sometimes. I have a studio recording from a few years back where I was bouncing 16th notes on the HH pedal (keeping time, I guess) & sticking 8th notes on the hats. I ended up with a very tight, agressive open-closed line. I've had quite a few people comment that the HH line drove the song. Dunno. Could be just a bad habit, though.
 
VOXVENDOR said:
Maybe it's just their foot that is sort of bouncing on the pedal...... But the hats aren't opening..

Sorry to be so confusing... I just see alot of drummers moving there hihat foot up and down, even when there isn't much going on with the hi hat.... Other than a closed 8th note steady pattern...

It's like the heal of their foot goes up and down but the ball of the foot stays planted...

I think.... I just noticed this in live videos etc...

Is that a good way to help keep time..
Click to expand...

You are right, Vox. The heel moves, and the ball stays in that scenario. There are many ways to use the heel and ball of the foot to create time and motion for dynamic differences, different feels (legato, staccato), and to approach different speeds of play....not only on the high hat, but on the bass drum as well. Jazz players have often relied on the high hat foot to maintain solid time, and so many experienced and/or trained rock drummers do the same. As for bd habits and weirdness.....remember that the *sound* dictates the technique, and not vice-versa. If you ever get a chance to watch Jack DeJohnette play drums, you will understand what I mean. As drummers, it is most often our ears that we neglect to develop, and we often pay for it.

This is my first post here, because I am beginning to compose music for dance pieces, and will be setting up a home computer studio. It's nice to walk into a "drummers" board here.

Regards,
bingbing
 
I do this all the time and thought it was just another one of my bad habits. I guess maybe it does help me keep time somehow. Glad to see I am not the only schmuck that does this.

If you are looking to teach yourself the drums. Decide on what type of music you want to play or maybe even what drummer do you want to play like. Play along with their CD's. Keep doing this over and over and over. When I was in high school, I would play along to Bad Company, Led Zeppelin and Wishbone Ash (mostly eight track tapes mind you). I learned so much from these drummers. Simon Kirke, John Bonham and Steve Upton actually taught me how to play the drums and keep time. Find the people you like and work to emulate them.
 
I love it when drummers keep time with the hi hat foot! It helps me as a guitarist know exactly where the drummere is, for example, in a "break" or a "stop" in a song. It actually irritates me when drummers don't do that, or they try and use their stick in place of the foot durring these pauses. Use the foot, it frees up your hands and makes you more versatile. It also makes it easier to accent "open/close" notes on the hi hats easier when playing the ride.
 
I was self taught when I first started out. Ever hear of the theory of "hills and plateaus"? You get better, improve, then stay the same for a long time before you discover something new, then climb the next hill. Then you stall for a while until that next big discovery. It goes and goes and goes.

If you're self taught you will only get so far before you stagnate and can't progess beyond that point. The most progess you can make is to learn directly from someone who does better than you. Get lessons. LEARN! You can try to emulate, but you'll never learn how to do it unless you learn HOW to do it!!

You don't really have to learn to read music (try throwing a chart in front of today's "professional" drummers and watch them run to a corner and cower!), but you should be aware of what note values are, time signatures, counting and RUDIMENTS! Rudiments will FREE you!!!! You don't even really have to understand them, but they will expand your abilities and creative expression more than you will ever be able to by just figuring it out on your own. Its like someone who grows up as a hillbilly and then has to give a speach in front of congress.

Rudiments are the language we speak and the better your vocabulary, the better you will be able to express your feelings and "emote" yourself in the music!!

Learn, my son! But learn well!!!

We are not just drummers! WE ARE MUSICIANS!!
 
I am self-taught basically...and I am just that...B-A-S-I-C...but I finally took a few lessons , and it did improve my playing. Thanks for all these links. They will help a lot! More in my budget,what with G.A.S,and needing to continue in providing a safe home for it,once all that G.A.S. is loosed...... :D
 
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