Hi all. Just wanted to ask: what is the acceptable time in which you should be able to learn a song as a beginner? Assuming i play about half an hour each day...
I've "played" for about a year and a half, but never got myself to learn a song or any rudiments. I just palyed along with some mp3's, just hitting whatever i wanted to hit. I quit for about two years, and now i i got myself a drumkit again. This time i would like to learn playing drums the good way... So i would like to know if my progress is good enough, or if i should try harder etc.
So if i would like to learn an easy ac/dc-song, what goal should i set for myself?
Learn AC/DC songs for sure, but you'll only ever be able to play in 4/4, but you'll be able to do it well. Good for starters, but think bigger. Drumming should be an obsession, you should never consider yourself taught, I'm playin 20+ years, and I teach students myself, but I still take lessons.
here's a site that I use as an aid to my students (and myself), its a playalong and you can follow your progress very easily using the "medal" levels. I would then invest in a copy of Steve Smith's video "Drumset Technique & The History of the US Beat", Thomas Lang's "Creative Control". Another good video to get is Dave Weckl's "Back to Basics", much as I love his playing, Steve Smith is the better teacher.
As for songs for you to play, what do you like to listen to?? There's no point in me telling you to go and learn U2 songs if you wanna play stuff like Deicide, but Larry Mullan's timing is impecable, he learned his trade with The Artane Boys (World famous Boys Marching band from Dublin).
When I was getting into playing, older players than me (I was 15/16 at the time) always said that if I wanted to be taken in any way seriously as a Rock drummer, I had to learn "Tom Sawyer" by Rush as virtually all the techniques you will ever need to get by in that genre are in that song, from 16th note hi hat grooves, triplet and 5 stroke rolls, time signature juggling, to accentuating with stabs etc etc. Teaches more about drums as a musical instrument rather than just a timekeeper. So in that case, I would say that you should really look no further than studying Neil "The Professor" Peart. You could do a lot worse. He will expand your mind/playing, plus he has a LOT of great tuition videos as well as a lot of writings on the subject. Just Google him, you'll be there for a while tryin to catch up on all the info you'll find, But it'll be worth it, Believe me.
I would also take a look at anything by Taste!! Rory Gallagher's fab band in which he played with Belfast boy's Gerry McAvoy on Bass, and John Wilson on drums, you'll learn how to shuffle and pop with groove and balls....give it a whirl
But the best thing you can do is get yourself a good teacher, you don't have to go every week, but it helps you sort out technique issues, provides inspiration to progress, and positive feedback on how you are getting on. Oh and, INVEST IN A GOOD DRUMMER'S METRONOME !!!!! One that subdivides and doesn't just tick. TIMING IS ALL IMPORTANT!!!! IT IS YOUR BEST FRIEND!!!!! Oh and invest in a good practice pad. You can get really good pads with metronomes built in. http://www.eno-music.com/xxzl/et-33e.htm This is one that I use, and recommend to my students, the pad is REALLY good and the metronome subdivides and you can set up to 9 beats in the bar, so with some maths, you can work out any groove you can possibly think of and set the metronomic grove to play to. It even has settings for triplet and sextuplet shuffles.
And after having said all that, just have LOTS OF FUN!!! That's what it's all about, If you're not havin fun, you're not learning, and vice versa
Thank you VERY much for your help, and the time and effort you put into your reply! I will definatly be giving all your tips the attention they deserve! I'm lucky to have a Roland TD9, so the metronome is built in, together with a visual aid that shows if your timing is correct. I had the Dave Weckl-dvd, but gave it away when i sold my previous drum He really is an exceptional drummer I'm looking forward to start practicing, with that vic firth-link you sent. It sounds like it really gives you a challenge, and you have something to focus on, what would be great for me! I bet you're a great teacher, you got me totally motivated again. I will be taking lessons soon, because i would really like to get my money's worth out of my set. And it would be great to get some feedback on what i need to improve/learn/etc.
Thx again, i think it's great you took the time to help someone out, without knowing them!
Well, the best advice I was gonna give was the Vic Firth rudiments for practise and AC/DC for jamming and getting your limbs working togetehr - and they've both already been mentioned!
It's worth checking in with a teacher if at all possible, maybe once a month or something; a good one will spot any bad habits you're developing and cut 'em out, as well as give you the motivation to keep it up and show you cool stuff that'll impress people you jam with
Sadly I've never had a high enough ceiling to practise anything really cool...
Thanks for your comments Trip, I just like to help people realise their drumming potential, we are all born with rhythm, we all have a beating heart, some just choose to ignore it. I am no master, I wish I was, but I know what I have been shown and told over the years that has impressed and inspired me, I'm just passing it on. Just keep on hitting them with love
There are obviously 2 schools of thought on this, and it is the age old arguement.
The "traditional" or side stick allows some seriously great control over subtleties and dynamics, plus it looks great (i love watching people play with it), but it takes a LOT of practice and proper guidance. So get a teacher!!
"Matched" grip is easier to get, as it uses less muscles to stroke the stick, but it takes serious work on posture to make sure that you are stickin properly. Easier to teach yourself.
Either way, look into the Moeller method, so called after the fella that defined the phyical movement of the hands, Stanford Moeller. It is the natural movement of the hands/feet, so it'll make life easier for ye.
Personally, I am in the process of looking for a teacher at the mo, in order to try to learn traditional grip, properly! So it really is down to your personal tastes, but both have their pros and cons.
i like to "air drum" on pillows and stuff ..... my living situation keeps me from getting a full kit ...... many, many years ago, i had a practice kit ....
..... a side note: i just went to a local music-gear-fest .....a rep from Zildjian gave me a short demo on the Z3 cymbal line ..... very cool
although I think maybe the intro is slightly wrong compared to the studio track above- or maybe that is me
drummer6248 on youtube has so many good tracks down and I love watching him- he plays my kind of music... but then I was there.... way back when.......
The intro played open handed 1/8th notes on the hats to get the hi tom and low tom part- took me a while to get the coordination for that I can tell you
1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &
Hat X X X X X X X X
HiTom x x x
LoTom x x x
The body of the track is a basic rock beat repeated with only a few flam and triplet fills and crashes which come with playing a few times. I think on the Chorus the drummer goes from the hat to the ride for the 1/8th notes and then back but I am not sure- someone better than me can maybe check that.
Some of the time the hat is played partly open to get the shhhhhh sound
1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &
Hat X X X X X X X X
Sn x x
Bass x x x
Really simple track to play along to and has given me the confidence to try another and for a change the drum part is the front of the music with the hard snare.
Lucky for you- I have no way to record my feeble effort but I am trying
There it is- my first track!
(Edit) The drummer was Kenney Jones ex small faces... just thought you would like to know
He really is an exceptional drummer
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