Drummers - Help Me Start

Cafe Society
1

I’ve been kicking around the idea of learning to play drums for a while. I don’t have any musical experience (beyond games like Rock Band) and never learned to read music. My tastes run very much to rock and punk - if I can learn to play along with my AC/DC collection I’ll be a happy man.

To keep noise levels down I’d like to get a basic electronic kit, a decent guidebook and instructional DVD for absolute beginners and perhaps take a few actual lessons so I don’t start off with any insanely bad habits. My goal is just to have some fun with it.

Any recommendations on the hardware, instructional guides or lessons? General tips or words of wisdom?

I spent a little time browsing in my local Guitar Center. They have what I gather are the “house brand” kits (Simmons) as well as more expensive stuff. I don’t want to spend a thousand bucks since this is an experiment and just for my enjoyment. Should I be scouring ads for used gear?

They have a lightly-used Simmons SD7K for $250 (half new price), is that a decent set/price for what I’m describing? There are also a variety of kits in the $500-$700 range new - I see a lot of Simmons and Alesis stuff.

Many thanks!

2

Take private lessons for sure. If you start now, find yourself liking it, and have never taken lessons, most likely you will develop bad habits that will make it very difficult for you to progress beyond a certain level. Learn to read music, learn to play properly.

And, chances are, your instructor will not have you playing set for a while…there are basics you need to learn well before trying to play set. Then, ask your instructor for recommendations on kits and such.

Jman (who’s been playing percussion for 20 years now…dear lord, has it been that long?)