Playin the drums?

BangBeater

I'm thinkin of gettin started.
How long would it take to get solid at them, i.e. in a band situation?
Also, can sum1 teach themselves to play without going for lessons??

Giblet

Alot of it depends on your natural ability to pick up rhythms. You can learn yourself, but a teacher would help progress alot.

Doctor J

It depends on your talent, skill and dedication. If you work at it and have natural rhythm, it shouldn't take too long. As Giblet said though, get lessons.

Oeneus

To get good enough to be in a band, providing you practice real solidly, could maybe take up to 2 years.

And yes, you can definately teach yourself to play. Most people do. And with the resource of the internet, you can almost find endless amounts of websites with all sorts of media to help you learn.

One website I'm quite fond of is http://www.webthumper.com

Good luck!

Mr. CooL ICE

Well, if youve never played drums and are just picking them without knowing anything about them, you would really have to either get lessons from a teacher or become friends with an experienced drummer who can show you the basics. But I'm a bassist and live with a drummer (who uses a v-kit) and I mess around on it the odd time, and I'm solid with a lot of fhythms, but not good enough to play in a band.

Eoin Madsen

[rant]
I learned basic drums quite fast, but when I finally went to lessons I found a load of tiny little things that I was doing slightly wrong that were contributing to my failure to progress from mediocre to decent. It took me a lot of effort to get out of those bad habits so I could progress to the next level. If I had gone to lessons in the first place I'd have reached the point I'm at now two years ago (and I'd probably be ****hot by now).

Not to be mean, but when a band comes into the studio I can usually pick out a self-taught drummer within a minute of starting to play. The same goes for guitarists, bassists and singers. Decades of refinement and technique development vs trying to mimic what you think you're hearing and seeing. Hmm... it's a toughy. Don't let anyone try and convince you with the whole "lessons cramp your originality and unique style" line either. There's nothing original about sucking ass, 4 out of 5 Irish drummers do that already.

Internet guides won't be there to tell you what you're doing wrong, and self-assessment is something you learn as you get better, it doesn't come naturally. Start with lessons!
[/rant]