Musicians: what does it take to become a good drummer?

Quasimodem

You speak for me on the notion of playing for the fun of it – IF I could play well enough to suit myself.

My son-in-law had a little for-fun band when he and my daughter met. He’s primarily a bass player but has started some lessons on blues guitar, wanting to play lead licks and such.

He gave up his band after they got married, mostly from time problems, but the other guys got into other things, too.

We’ve talked about getting a little “family band” going since several of us play at various instruments. But it winds up never happening since none of us (except SIL) have any experience playing with others. That work-group I mentioned before was a long time back and was mostly an excuse to get drunk and watch TV. So I can’t claim that for “experience.”

But I’d love to have it to do all over again, and when my mother wanted me to study piano and violin, this time I’d do it.

Cudda shudda wudda.

Good advice all.

Small kit to start with. Some beginners lessons. Regular practice time. Dibbledabble and playing along to music. A metrononome is a great idea to train yourself to time.

You really don’t need much natural rhythym if you’re really interested. A good friend of mine was the most ‘spastic’ (sorry)kid in class growing up. You could pitch him a ball and it’d hit him right between the eyes but he got a kit for Christmas one year and started beating on it. The idiot didn’t even have a stool, he’d just stand there spazin out on the drums. He took lessons at school on a little rubber practice pad, wound up in marching band in high school and became a pretty damn good drummer playing in several bands for a number of years before marriage caught up with him.

Practice, baby, practice!

Hey guys! It’s never too late! Come on!

I remember as I got older, I noticed I was approaching the age of my favorite bands. Then, I started seeing bands that were younger than me. Now, all my old favorites have broken up, and I’m pretty much officially older than any of the bands I like (for the most part, with lots and lots of glaring exceptions…thank goodness Tom Waits is still at it).

I don’t know if I’ll ever play live, in front of a crowd. But, if the planets ever align, and I meet a group of like-minded folks, I know I’d kick myself around the block if all I could offer was “yeah, I used to play, too bad I sold my kit, hmmmm”. I’m trying to be ready for the opportunity, and I’m banking that one day, it will find me.

Quasimodem, I’ve got an old Supraphonic I’ll send you! I’ll start a support group where young, gear-laden drummers send their extra loot to older, hardened drummers who have sold their kits but now have the desire to get back into it.
I’m hogging this thread too. But I’m currently reading a book about the techniques of practicing, which has helped me a lot. Learning an instrument is a daily struggle, and you tend to be your own worst enemy. Also, everyone wants some degree of spontenaity, the ability to improvise. Again, we all know the guy that can play “Smoke on the Water”, but not much else. The joy wears off pretty quickly. Being spontaneous is something you need to practice, just like paradiddles. But this part could be, and should be, fun. Not to beat a dead horse, but I would go to lessons and just spend a half an hour “trading fours” (We both play a basic beat for four measures, then I solo for four, then he solos for four, back and forth… Go get “Rich vs. Roach” to hear this how it should be done). A good teacher will do wonders.

I’m not sure if this was mentioned, but it’s nice to learn to get a good sound out of your drums by hitting the sweet spot and letting the stick rebound naturally – the practice pad will help with this (may I recommend the RealFeel pad if you wish an accurate feeling pad as well as a quiet one?). So many drummers out there have great time and taste, but they still get a bad sound out of their drums thanks to poor technique. It’s worth mentioning that having good technique will keep you from hurting yourself as well.

I read that Bonzo nearly did the same to a soundman who wished to place his mic’ closer to the bass drum. :smiley: The mic’ helped greatly in that “hammer o’ the gods” sound, as well as bass drum heads tensioned more tightly than one might think – a trick that the Motown drummers used to make their relatively unmic’ed bass drums cut through.

Back to “what sets good drummers apart”…Good drummers know how to play their cymbals correctly. A glancing blow across the edge gives both a good sound and the least stressful stroke to the cymbal. Poorer drummers think that, since cymbals are made of metal, they are indescructable. This is hardly the case.

Volume is an issue as well. Cymbals are very cutting compared to the rest of the kit, and can be distracting if played too loudly. A rule of thumb that I use for general medium-volume playing is to hit the hi-hat and ride cymbals at half the strength that I play my snare. For instance, if my stick is at 9 inches on my snare, I’ll play the hi-hat with a stroke of no more than 5 inches. This is more suited to a “studio” playing style; if you wish to play louder, I would increase the height on the cymbal to about 3/4 of the drum-height, i.e. snare=12", cymbal=9".

Here’s a tip I just remembered for getting a good, hollow-sounding cross-stick sound: Mark the spot on the rim which yields the best sound. Mark that spot with an inch-long piece of medical adhesive tape; the kind that doesn’t resemble cloth too much is best. Tapping the stick on the tape makes the resulting cross-stick sound much more fuller for some reason.

Oh, and if at all possible, put sound above looks when you choose your drums.

By the way, I forgot to mention – “sweet spot” does not mean the center of the drum. It’s best to stroke the drum at a point about one or two inches away from the center, more if you wish a more transparent sound – this helps in two ways:

  1. It helps you to avoid the weakest part of the drumhead – the center;

  2. It’s a fuller sound that isn’t as harsh.

Also, when you play your snare, keep in mind that the best response is directly over the snares themselves. Find a good spot in-between the strainer and the bracket that holds the snares and make that your target. This is best achieved when the snares are horizontal to the drummer’s perspective. Also, don’t be afraid to try different widths and weights of snares.

I’m a working bass player in a blues-rock power trio, and I’ll give you some realistic answers to the questions in your post.

I just saw this blues band at show - they’re called “Indigenous” - Native Americans. The frontman is the guitarist, and the drummer is his petite sister. Sis doesn’t have fancy chops at all. She pounds out steady, simple beats, very forcefully. I was amazed. If this tiny girl can sit down and pound monstrous beats like that, I’m thinking anyone can.

Rudiments? Don’t bother until later. If you want to get incredibly bored so you’ll quit right away, by all means, go out and get yourself a practice pad and some rudiments books.

Instead, you should get yourself a simple drumset and a loud stereo. Play along with music that you like and that you know is simple. Lots and lots of rock songs can be played by nearly anyone with a little practice. You’re kicking the bass drum on one and three, hitting the snare on two and four, and hitting the partially-open hihat on twice on each beat (one-and-two-and-three-…).

That’s it. Pound away on that, and ideas for fills and shit will come later. If you’re finding that you must employ fancier stick work, THEN go and learn the appropriate rudiments.

You’re looking to have fun, in your house, like you said. Follow this advice and you’ll have fun. Start off banging on a pad trying to make sense of endless streams of eighth and sixteenth notes in books isn’t fun, it’s work. Save the work for later, if you want to go down that road.

Drummers to listen to? Man, it would be hard to find a bad drummer on a record of any sort these days. Even if hate the band and their songs, it seems there’s always a great drummer at the core of the band. A band cannot be taken seriously with a bad drummer. A bad practically anything else is commonplace, but not a bad drummer. So just listen, carefully, to drummers in music you like, and watch them.

And I agree with you. Drums are the coolest instrument.

How many drummers does it take to change a light bulb?

None! They have a machine that can do that now!