Best Way to Learn Drums?

VonLuck

So the story is that I have been playing drums for over a year now (not very often though) and finding that I am not progressing as fast as I had hoped. I am just wondering, what is the best way to learn to play the drums?

What I have done so far is bought a drumming DVD (and doing almost everything in it), but now I feel like I'm at a standstill.

I want to learn songs, but I don't know how! Up until they were taken down, I was using drum tabs, but even with them I didn't feel like I was learning songs the way I should be... by ear.

I believe learning songs by ear is the best method, but I find it very difficult. You have to listen to sections of songs over and over again until the song annoys you so much you don't want to play it!

Any tips, any at all, would be appreciated. Thanks.

AnotherYou

Hey man,

Well here's how I learned. I stayed away from listening to music while playing for a good while, Mostly just because I didn't have a radio loud enough to play along with.

But what it did was let me develop my own way of playing a groove and practicing fills and things. After a while you just begin to turn it into a song every time you play, You just keep playing the same tempo and ad interesting stuff.

Then, when you feel like your up to it. Turn on the radio, not a cd or your ipod or whatever. Turn on the radio, and play along to whatever old bollocks comes on. It'll teach you to roll with the punches and just have fun.

Then you can just do as many interesting fills and beats and grooves as you can, Concentrate on the beat, Count the timing.

most of the time its 4/4

meaning you count 1-2-3-4 and then start again with your beat.

Just play around dude its hard to actually explain. Just listen to as much music as you can.

VonLuck

Thanks for the reply.

Thats a good tip about just playing fills and stuff. I might do that and not concentrate so much on learning songs.

Here's another question: How much should you practice. At the moment I am in college so the only chances I get are at the weekends, and even then it's only an hour a day. Should I be investing a lot more time?

AnotherYou

There's a rule that applies to most things that take a long time to learn:

20 minutes everyday is better than 4 hours on the weekend.


Just sit down, see how you get on, I'm sure over time you'll hear things on the radio or see stuff on mtv you want to have a go at, play around with the ideas that you get from day to day.

By the weekend you tend to just be turning it into a chore if you haven't been playing until you feel like your finnished.

What I'm saying really is this, Play as often as you can, and only until your fed up, That gives you a chance to go away and think about the abilities your trying to develop and what you find hard about them.


90% of music is in your heart and your mind. Your arms are just there to make the music you've thought of.

NEVER let it become a job, express your passions and your inspirations in music.


Best of luck man, it gets easier.

VonLuck

Thanks for the advice. I think I might have to invest in an electronic kit now seeing as my proper kit is at home and I am up here in college. Can't practice if there's nothing to practice with!

AnotherYou

Expensive bits of kit. But well worth it in the long run. I'll have to get myself one when I move out also

130r

Got a "Volt" v-drum kit in Lidl for €300 just before Christmas. Its not the greatest sounding kit but then none of them are. Nice.

LD 50

If you can pick up a practice pad and just practice your rudiments for 15-20 mins a day, after a couple of weeks you'll start to see a big improvement in your speed and accuracy. It'll keep you going while you don't have a kit to play.
I started playing along to songs by just putting my headphones from my MP3 player, picking songs, and playing along with the track. I think its how most drummers have done it over the years.
What drumming DVD did you pick up?

lurrrvs2sp00ge

another tip which helped me alot was air drumminf when your no practicing. in school, college, home thats all i did. i didnt even no i was doing it most of the time. just tappin on tables and thing making up wierd beats and the best part is, when you mess up the beat you dont feel the disapointment you would in front of a kit because its just fun not practice. i was in the same possition as you. never had any time ti practice but i found i was much better each time i did sit at a kit.