I’ve been thinking about trying to learn drumming. I don’t want a full drum kit in my house, both because of the space it takes and because of the volume of the sound it produces (I have some hearing loss and try to protect myself from loud sounds). So I’m thinking about an electronic drum set. I see a lot of these things basically seem to be toys, marketed to children. Is this a viable way to learn to drum? What should I be looking for in buying an electronic drum set for serious use?
I guess another option would be something like bongos, although I know that’s an entirely different kind of drumming, altogether. (Pause.) It seems to me (knowing basically nothing about drumming) that kit-type drumming is more versatile since you can produce more different sounds.
Most electronic sets I see for sale are not toys for kids. Go to a local music store to see what drum sets they have and the cost. If you want to be quiet and save space electronic is the way to go. It’s always best to get lessons at first in person from a local person. If you can’t do that there are DVDs and books and websites . Even Youtube has lessons.
Yeah, I have this kit at home. I’ve upgraded certain aspects of it (mesh snare trigger, kick drum trigger than takes a normal drum pedal, a different hi-hat trigger), but it’s a perfectly fine to learn on. Now, I’m not really a drummer – I’m a keyboardist who’s screwed around with drums for several decades and has an acoustic kit and all, but I do think they are great. Are they different? Sure – plenty of differences between an acoustic kit and an e-kit. But you can learn the basics of rhythm and drumming and limb independence and those sorts of stuff on either. Rhythm is rhythm. Coordination is coordination. And the electronic kits have lots of useful tools for learners on them, like built-in metronome, practice modes that show you how closely you hew to the beat (i.e. show you whether you’re rushing or dragging a rhythm), built-in songs you can drum out to, etc.
Another vote for the electronic set being perfectly fine to learn on, and they’re not toys. Like pulykamell, I’m not really a drummer, but I’ve got both an acoustic and an electronic set. Yeah, they do react differently from a real drum set - a real acoustic drum set allows more levels of volume, etc. There seems to be about 3 different levels of strike sensitivity in my Simmons kit, the acoustic set doesn’t have that limitation. For most purposes, the electronic kit is fine. You could easily play a gig with one. Depending on the style, it might be more appropriate than the acoustic set.
Also, I’ve played the electronic kit tons more than I ever played the acoustic kit. The convenience of not having to wait until the house is empty to practice means I don’t have to plan it out. If I have a few minutes and want to, I can. Plus, if you’re trying to protect your hearing, you probably want to be nowhere near a snare drum. They don’t take up that much less space than an acoustic set, though. However, you can fold them up and move them out of the way more easily.
Ah, I had been looking at all-in-one units like this or even roll-up units like this. Are these junk?
I hadn’t even considered strike sensitivity. Multiple levels seems important. Are there other features that differ between products that I should be looking for?
I’m a little conflicted. I learned this way when I was 12 or so - playing on a pad and playing snare drum in school. I learned the ‘rudiments’ and went from there. There is a lot of limb independence required for drumming - each limb playing a different thing so step 1 is getting your hands coordinated, developing technique, stroke, speed, etc. A lot of top drummers started this way.
On the other hand, if you just want to play a simple beat and thrash around you can probably get a simple kit, electronic or acoustic, watch some YouTube videos and have at it. That’s kind of expensive though if it turns out you don’t really like it.
That seems really low to me. My cheapie Roland set seems to put out a range of 7-bit MIDI velocity values (I mean, looking through my MIDI stream of recorded drum sounds, I see velocities differing by one or two, with a low of around 20-ish for ghosted notes and a high of 127 of course for fully accented notes – but I also see values like 125, 104, 105, 81, 90, 92, 93, etc.)
Or do you mean the drum module only triggers samples at three velocity points, and just scales the volume in between? In that case, you can always route the sounds into a DAW and get a better set of drum sounds with more sampling points. That’s what I do with my TD-!K, as I’m not particularly fond of the factory sounds. I mean, they’re not bad, but even a free plug-in like MT Power Drum Kit 2, they sound much better and more realistic to me. For the not-free ones, Toontrack’s EZ Drummer or Superior Drummer are fantastic.
Oh, interesting. Yeah, those I don’t know much about. You can still certainly learn coordination with those, and musicians certainly do use pads like that (though maybe something a bit nicer) from time to time in either a live or studio context.
Yeah, it’s the latter, I believe. I’m really pretty happy with the triggers themselves, but the samples in the brain leave a little to be desired. I can hear it transition from one strike sample to the next at certain volume levels (really only on certain kits, but they happen to be the ones I like), and it’s a little distracting as a player. I’m pretty sure someone listening would have no idea it was happening. It does allow you to record the performance and output it as MIDI, though. So putting it through a DAW is certainly possible if I ever end up with a performance better than an example to show my drummer what I was thinking of.
I’ve never used one of those pads, but the concept is the same as an electronic drum kit, just without the frame to mount it on. If I were going to get one, I’d make sure it was from a place with an easy return policy.
Get a practice pad and good sticks and start learning grip, stroke, rebound control, etc. Learn the basic Rudiments rudiments and learn to read notes. Learn some rudimental snare drum pieces until you’re pretty proficient. You might be surprised how enjoyable that can be.
Then get a kit. You’ll be much better prepared than if you just get one and start thrashing around.
Sicks Ate, a pretty fine rudimental percussionist (back in the day, at least.)
Vic Firth and ProMark are always safe bets. Look at size 5A or 2B, at this point its probably a matter of preference but I like thicker heavier sticks so I’d go with 2B.
Yeah, it’s going to be a matter of preference, but if I were to throw one out there for someone starting out, I would say get a pair of Vic Firth 5As with wooden tips. (With a drum pad, the type of tip shouldn’t really make any difference, I don’t think, but I picked wooded tips because those are probably the most common ones.)
Thanks everyone for the advice. I’ve considered the advice to start on a practice pad, but having a little more money than patience at the moment, I’ve ordered the Alesis Surge Mesh drum kit. It has all mesh heads, which seems to be a good thing. I do plan to work on the rudiments though. I was impressed by reading Mickey Hart’s books about his rudimental background and how it influenced his later musical work. Thanks again, I’m excited about starting this.
Cool, and very nice! Check back on with some feedback on it after a while; I’ve been thinking hard for a while about getting a kit for me and the kids to jam around on.
And if you want some rudimental exercises to work on, let me know. I have a stack a few inches high and can scan you some stuff.
I have been playing drums for about 3 months now, after NEVER having played drums other than messing around on the drum kit of the drummer in the band that I played in in 2007 every once in a while for a few minutes at a time. I hadn’t even played drum sets at Guitar Center just for the hell of it. For all intents and purposes I was starting from zero.
However I have played bass since I was 13 (I’m now 33) and played pretty seriously and consistently for the past 5 years. I guess since I’ve spent countless hours standing next to drummers, I picked up the drums really fast - enough so that I’ve been able to sit in on the kit during jam sessions and hold my own (haven’t yet performed on drums though.)
I already had the sense of rhythmic timing from the decades of playing bass. I already had the intuitive sense of what a proper rock drum part is supposed to sound like, from decades of listening, very intently, to music. But what was hard for me at the beginning was the physicality of it. Using all four of my limbs independently to play different parts was utterly foreign to me.
What I found worked really well, in teaching myself to feel comfortable with the physicality of it, was to SLOW down whatever beat I was playing until I was able to consistently play everything properly. Once I slowed it down enough, I found that I could consistently get the hi-hat rhythm on my left hand, the sustain of the hi-hat with my left foot, the kick rhythm with my right foot, and the snare or tom hits with my right hand, all where they needed to be. And then I’d just keep repeating it until I could do it without thinking about it. Only then would I attempt to play it at speed, along with whatever song I was playing with.
So my advice would be: SLOW, SLOW, SLOOOOOOW down on the drums if you feel confused by the beat. Slow it down and REPEAT playing whatever it is that you’re trying to learn, until you can do it consistently; then gradually try it faster and faster.
Oh yeah - the other piece of advice I would offer, is to think of the hi-hat as the core of the drum set. The hi-hat (or in some cases the ride) is usually playing the most consistent part of the beat. So spend plenty of time just focusing on those, when you practice.
This is sage advice. Don’t learn it fast and sloppy. Learn it slow and correctly and speed up the tempo like 4 bpm or so at a time to get up to speed. Learn the correct muscle memory.
