Advice for an Autodidactic Drummer

Cafe Society
1

I am hoping to find a few “Doper Drummers” who will give me some advice. A little background to help out:

I have played bass and guitar for about 10 years. Bass is my main instrument. I have never taken any lessons for either. I have a good sense of timing and rythm, I think. I bought a practice drum set about 6 months ago. I can keep a steady beat and my hands are quick.

What I want to know is this: Can you give me any advice that might aid my progress on this instrument? I have trouble with the following things:

  1. Have a hard time keeping bass beat separate from what I play on the high hat, or vice versa.

  2. All of my fills sound the same.

  3. When I play with other music, I seem to always get off the beat after a couple minutes or so.

Thanks for any help/advice.

Moejuck

2

  1. Sounds snotty, but it isn’t. Sloooooooooow Dooooooooooooown. Someone asked Terry Bozzio how he came up with his bizarre stuff, and he essentially said “the same way I did from day one. Start slow.” You need to teach yourself “independence”, and there are lots of books on this topic, the one I’ve used is by Hal Leonard and it’s kind of a staple. Comes with a tape.

  2. Try learning to switch up your sticking. Most people just do the RLRL. I’m kicking myself for forgetting the name of the book, but it’s basically a collection of every sticking combination possible on a snare drum for one measure of sixteenth notes. It’s pretty much indespensible, any drummer or drum store would know it. You can use this book for the rest of your life. Take any pattern. Say, RLLR LRLL Now, instead of playing both hands on the snare, put one on a tom. Or the right on your ride. Or make one your bass drum beat. Now do your hi hat on 2 and 4. Or 1 and 3. See where this is going? It’s a little push that you could spend HOURS exploring, and it will change up your playing INSTANTLY. Again, go slow.

  3. Easy. Metronome. Or, if you’re like me, a metronome will slowly drive you crazy. So, I have two other things I use, neither is cheap, but they’re great. One, I bought a Korg Electribe that I program beats into, to play along with. It’s like playing with another drummer. Second, I have a Boomerang phrase sampler that I play bass into, which then records it and loops it. It will play a loop up to four minutes long, or something crazy like that. Well, I play along to that. You could also play along to CD’s, which are almost always on time.

Good luck!

3

Oops, just realized that you already play along with CD’s. So skip my last line.

For a real shocker, try recording yourself playing. You’ll be very surprised how (more than likely) your time will vary widely. It sounded okay when you were playing it, but hearing a recording of it just brings it right out.

4

Thank you ver much Ich Bin’s. I think slowing down is a good suggestion for me, and the sticking thing sounds like a great idea. Just the stuff I was looking for.

5

I feel that it is important to learn the rudiments. A good place to find them is at this website, which includes a MIDI demostration of each rudiment. Actually, I think that www.vicfirth.com has a similar set-up and technique videos to boot. Tell me if that doesn’t spice up your playing! Rudiments will also make you aware of different ways of thinking and applying rhythm, something like how we are taught advanced maths courses in school.

Is the book that Ich Bin’s is referring to called Syncopation For The Modern Drummer or Stick Control?

Oh, and when you get a kit, make sure that the bearing edges are true, regardless of the wood. Be sure to invest in a quality bass drum pedal (you could use one now, yes?) and throne (same?). Don’t buy cheap-quality cymbals if at all possible. Practice clean technique. Surround yourself with good players. Roll and tap your sticks before buying them, no matter how much of a glare the salesman may give you.

Oh, and slowing down is good advice as well. Many drummers can’t play slow and keep good time, as a matter of fact.

6

Hey, um, anyone who tosses around a word like “autodidactic” is too smart to be a drummer, ain’t he?

:slight_smile:

7

Self-taught (read: still kind of shitty) drummer here. Been banging around on my own for about two years now, having started with piano, bass, and guitar.

I can honestly say that only very recently have I finally found the ability to keep a constant rhythm. I always tried to pay extra special attention to the following things:

  1. Keeping my hands and feet actually on the same beat when they’re supposed to be. In other words, avoiding the delay effect you get when your hand and your foot are supposed to be striking at the same time but aren’t.

  2. Keeping CONTROL over my bass foot. I figured out after a while that the faster I played, the more I could get away with fudging by bass pedaling, and that started to really bother me. I slowed down and really concentrated on teaching my foot to match the beat. I have only recently been able to successfully speed it up again.

That’s about where I am right now. What I really want to do now is teach my left hand to take over the high hat and my right hand to take over the snare. I figure that little trick ought to come in handy for some parts, and also make both of my hands better coordinated.

Good luck. Playing the drums is by far one of the funnest things in the world.

8

Thank you Joe K! It is, indeed, Stick Control

Essential. If you only buy one book, this should be it.