How to learn to play electronic drums. Choosing a drum kit

Every second teenager who has attended a rock concert at least once wants to learn to play the drums. But playing drums has its significant disadvantages:

• Installations are not cheap.
• The study will take several years.
• You can only demonstrate your skills at a concert, because a drum set is not a guitar.
• Rehearsals will turn all your neighbors against you.
• Only training with professionals will bring results.

If all these hardships of life as a beginner drummer don’t scare you, let’s get down to the story: how you can learn to play.

How to learn to play without a drum kit

1. If you can't afford a drum kit, you can get by with a practice pad. It doesn’t make loud sounds, but it’s quite suitable for processing whiplash and a sense of rhythm.
2. If you are not satisfied with the pad for some reason, you can do drum set from improvised means, everything can be useful for this - from pieces of plastic to old car tires. Many stars started out this way.
3. The most ideal option would be to study at school club or DK.
4. If you really want to buy a drum set, start buying it in parts.

How to start playing if you have a drum kit

1. It is still important to enroll in a school or study with a teacher at home, because a drum is not a guitar, learning chords will not be limited to, as well as purchasing an expensive kit. The teacher will teach you how to handle it correctly and sit behind it, and not just how to play.
2. Purchasing a drum set is a serious step, and you need to thoroughly prepare for it. Read specialized books and forums, ask experts for advice.
3. The cost of installation can cost almost a thousand dollars. We must be prepared for such waste, because good tool will serve faithfully for many years.

But all of the above is just background. How do you still play the drums, you ask? Teachers should explain this to you during training, because without their supervision, playing the drums can cost you your health. But there are also forums that will be useful for a beginning drummer.

Freedrumlessons– a source of video lessons and a place where you can read recommendations for a particular drumming school.
Drumbum– also a source of video lessons with theory.
Tunadrum– thanks to this site you will be able to properly tune your reels.

Video lessons

The question of how to learn to play the drums is difficult to answer unequivocally. Almost every drummer has passed the hard way from simple rudiments to incredible solos. But there is a secret to success: play thoughtfully and regularly. And the results will not keep you waiting.

To become cool drummer, we need to work in three directions, that is, develop:

• sense of rhythm;
• technology;
• the ability to improvise.

Only by developing these 3 skills will you blow the audience away at your performances. Some beginning drummers only work on technique. WITH good sound even simple rhythms sound great, but without improvisation and the ability to compose parts you won’t get far. Ringo Starr from The Beatles or Megan White from White stripes they played simply, but their music went down in history.

To quickly develop all three skills, you will have to work hard. To help you, exercises and tips from famous drummers that will help beginners and those who want to move on.

Improvisation and development of musicality

When a person already knows how to play the drums, he needs to figure out what to play. Everyone advises listening to other musicians and filming their parts. This is necessary, but some aspiring drummers simply copy rhythms from their favorite songs without even considering whether they are suitable for the group or not.

Gary Chester, famous session musician and one of the best teachers, created a system to develop not only technique, but also musical imagination. Book New Breed requires a lot of effort, but after practicing with it you will learn in practice how to write drum parts.

Bobby Sanabria, a renowned drummer and percussionist, recommends listening to different genres of music to develop musicality. Start learning percussion or other musical instruments, such as or. Then it will be easier for you to choose a suitable party.

In addition to the three pillars of the art of drumming, there are others. Every beginner needs to learn:

• correct landing;
• good grip of sticks;
• basics of musical notation.

To sit straight and hold the chopsticks correctly, just watch this for the first month of classes. If you play incorrectly, you will quickly reach speed limits and your grooves will seem boring to the audience. Overcoming poor grip and positioning is difficult because your body is already used to it.

If you try to gain speed by playing incorrectly, it can lead to carpal tunnel syndrome. Travis Barker, Thomas Lang, Chris Dave and other celebrities encountered this disease, then they began to devote more time to gripping sticks and playing easily.

How to start practicing?

Many beginners never start playing well. They want to get down to work on the installation as soon as possible. tap out simple exercises It’s boring to play on a pad for several hours in a row, but otherwise your hands won’t learn all the movements. To stay motivated, watch more videos with the masters, it’s incredibly inspiring. Practice exercises to your favorite music - practicing will become more interesting, and your musicality will gradually increase.

There is no clear answer to the question of how to learn to play the drums; every great drummer has a special sound. The tips given in this article will help you really make your voice heard. Daily practice can sometimes be exhausting if you play inattentively, thinking about other things. Practice thoughtfully, then the exercises will become interesting, and your skill will grow every day.

Learn to fight laziness and don’t quit if something doesn’t work out.

Any teenager can develop a desire to learn to play the drums after attending a concert or watching a film about the life of musicians. This desire is laudable. Music lessons are a good thing. But on the other hand, there are several negative aspects, and it would be wrong not to dwell on them at the very beginning of the article.

Don't fall on the floor and fight in hysterics, buy the installation and that's it. It doesn't happen that way. First, think about whether you have talent, whether you can write songs... In addition, consider:

A good drum kit isn't cheap.
To achieve results you need to study for several years. Otherwise, you will just be knocking and making sounds, and not playing the drums.
You can show your skills to your relatives, friends or girlfriend only at a concert. You can't take the drums with you. This is not a button accordion or a guitar.
Rehearsing at home is not a quiet activity. Conflicts are possible not only with your own family, but also with neighbors, up to the arrival of law enforcement officials.
Self-teaching lessons will not be enough to understand how to learn to play the drums. Classes with non-professionals can lead not only to a lack of results, but also to injuries. Don't grin, it happens. You should register at music school or hire a qualified tutor.

If you were not scared by the beginning of the article, and read to this point, it means that you have a strong intention to play the drums. Now we are collecting money for the installation and looking for the nearest music school or tutor. Be good drummer very cool and tempting. Many musical groups need such performers. It is enough to communicate on specialized forums, and you will see the prospects for your future activities.

But this is in the foreseeable future. In the meantime, let's start learning. Below are two points on what to do if it is not possible to immediately buy a drum set, and if there is such an opportunity.

How to learn to play the drums if you can’t purchase a full-fledged kit.

If for some reason it is not possible to play on a full-fledged setup, then you can pay attention to the practice pad. You can see the appearance of this device in the photo. This is a kind of simulator. It doesn’t make loud sounds, but you can easily practice skills such as a sense of rhythm or whiplash. To understand how to learn to play the drums, this is the most suitable option for beginners. The cost of such a pad is relatively small. Depending on the manufacturer, configuration, availability of stands and sticks, it ranges from $30...40.
If there is no opportunity or desire to purchase a pad, then you can assemble an impromptu installation from improvised means. Anything that can make sounds when struck is suitable for this. Pieces of plastic, plywood, old car tires. In a word, the need for invention is cunning. You can try to do the installation yourself using anything similar to this tool. Many famous musicians This is exactly how they started learning to play the drums.
A good option can serve as learning to play drums in a school club or recreation center. For beginners this is the most ideal option. In such teams, there is usually a leader who can teach the basics.
If it is not possible to purchase a complete drum set, you can buy it in parts. In sequence. But this must be done with an eye to the ability to collect everything into a single whole. Every drum must become integral part installations.Drum kit photo

How to learn to play the drums, if you have the opportunity to purchase a full-fledged kit.

In any case, it is worth enrolling in a music school or studying with a tutor. Without the appropriate knowledge to achieve positive result you won't achieve it. Even having a good and expensive installation, knowing specific words, having own group, without the appropriate knowledge, as much as possible you can become a mediocre self-taught person. Under the guidance of a competent teacher, learn not only to play the drums, but also to sit and move correctly at the drum set. Otherwise, there is a chance that in a few years you will become disabled. This can be facilitated by a non-optimal position of the arms and legs, incorrect fine motor skills, a long stay in a not entirely natural position and limited movements - these are the paths to a wheelchair.
Take purchasing a drum kit seriously. You can chat on forums, read musical literature. It is necessary to obtain a certain theoretical basis. The forums will always tell you where you can buy a drum set cheaper, which companies you should choose, and what points you should pay special attention to.
The cost of a drum kit can vary quite widely. But a good instrument cannot cost less than 600...700 bucks. You need to be prepared for such waste. In order to learn to play the drums, you need to have a decent instrument. It is not purchased for one day. A good drum set will serve faithfully for several years. But it should be clarified when careful attitude to the instrument.

It wouldn’t hurt to listen to the advice of a sales assistant in a music store. Even if you have an formed opinion about the drum set. Any information will not be superfluous. Specialized stores usually employ people who know their business. Ask to test the tool you are interested in. Both the sound and appearance must correspond to the wishes of the future musician. It should be noted that such checks were carried out more than once. The condition of the leather or head on the drums may not be the best. Ask for them to be replaced. If you purchase, sellers usually do it without problems. During training, you will have to carry out this operation yourself. It is believed that once a month you need to replace the old plastic with a new one.

What we talked about is only a theoretical background. You will understand how to play the drums only during practical exercises. There are many specialized video tutorials and training sites. But only under the supervision of a specialist can you understand how to play the drums. All Internet video resources can only be assistants, not teachers.

We can recommend several such assistants that will help you understand how to learn to play the drums. Look.

Freedrumlessons is a good, educational site. There are video lessons on playing the drums. Many schools and teaching methods are described.

Drumbum is also an interesting and useful resource. There are also video tutorials on different schools drumming.

Tunadrum is an interesting and clear description of how to properly tune the drums. Yes, this musical instrument, like others, can also be tuned.

Learning to play the drums can be very challenging at first. The drum set needs to be played with both hands and feet. In this case, it is necessary that the blow is delivered, there is a correct grip of the sticks, the correct landing, and so on. That is, you need to work in different directions if you want to become a good drummer. It is possible that you already know how to play the drums, but you have stopped at a certain level and are not moving forward. There are some basic things that any drummer should know, so it's a good idea to master them if you don't already know them. If you're already an advanced drummer, then you might be interested in just checking to see if you've missed anything. If you don't know any of these basic things, it will be difficult for you to continually improve your drumming.

Grab the chopsticks

The first skill for any drummer is. Many drummers don't pay enough attention to this. They simply hold the sticks as they see fit. But this is wrong, because it can lead to injuries, rapid hand fatigue, calluses and the like. Drummers have been thinking about the issue of gripping sticks for a long time and have identified the main types of grip. There are traditional grips, German and French. Some also highlight the American grip, which is very similar to the German one and differs only in the angle between the sticks. The American angle is sharper. If you play with the right grip, you will be able to get good bounce, have control of the stick, be able to play for a long time and be less tired. To learn more about how to hold drumsticks, check out the following articles:

Countdown

The next basic skill that every drummer should have is the ability to keep time. This concept includes not just the ability to count to 4, but the ability to count different time signatures. Sometimes drummers think it's very easy and don't pay attention to developing this skill, but when they are asked to play 16 notes in 7/4 time, they don't understand how to do it. If you can't count what you're playing, how can you play it well? Therefore, if you feel that you have stopped developing, but cannot understand the reason, analyze whether you can count well in different time signatures. Below are articles on this topic:

Setting up a drum kit

The next basic skill is tuning a drum kit. Although this is fairly easy to do, many drummers haven't bothered to learn this. If you play on a properly tuned drum kit, you can have a lot more fun. You will also get to know the instrument you want to learn to play better. Knowing your instrument is the first step on the learning path. Below are several articles about how to set up a drum kit and what it consists of.

Sheet music for drums

Believe it or not, the fourth essential skill is knowing how to read drum notes. Oddly enough, not all drummers understand notes. But the ability to read music will give you a huge breakthrough in development, since you will be able to learn any notes for drums that you find. In addition, you can write down on paper what you come up with yourself. Also, if you play in a band, your bandmates will be glad that you can read music, as it will be easier for them to exchange information with you. The ability to play “by ear” is very good. But if you also know musical notation, then you will undoubtedly improve your level as a drummer. Here are some articles on how to read drum notes.

Finally I got to the point where I could write down a pitiful semblance of a drum course for beginner drummers - how to learn to play drums at home(something like a drum school). Initially, I planned to do something serious, but after 10 takes and 7 GB of high-slag video, respectively, I realized that something serious could not come out of my pen. After spitting and rubbing, I decided to do probably the stupidest things in the world. Naturally, this only applies to the presentation of the material; all these exercises work (even though they are not mine). The delivery will just be a little rollicking. So, for those who have a lot of time, a complete lack of humor and a desire to learn how to drum (are there anyone here besides me?) - these drum courses will suit your taste.

In this video tutorial:
In this video:
1. What to buy in order to fully learn to play the drums?
2. How to hold sticks, what types of locks there are (this is really tough)
3. The first (and very important) exercise is throwing a stick onto your hand and returning it with your fingers

How I became a drummer

The idea arose to post here a little of the history of my love for drums. Maybe in part to stimulate young people. This is probably necessary.

This (video below) we played a little with Pasha from RadioClub. The idea was combine live drums and electronics. I don’t play anything special here (I don’t allow myself to do that at all in the studio), it’s simple, clear and powerful. This is an improvisation (slightly processed later). I hid it behind a plate for mystery.

I think it will also be interesting video with MondayDrummer, where I played with Zakhar Rondel in particular (the constant guitarist). As always, 100% improvisation in the “whatever comes to mind” style. At this concert my temperature was under 40, please take this into account when giving me a verdict.

There was also a case once on competition for young drummers. All this happened a long time ago; of course, it’s impossible to look at many of these things without smiling. I took an honorable 6th place, received a T-shirt from Zilzhan and met there wonderful people(Manyakin, Udalov, Andrei Shatunovsky and many others). In subsequent years I participated, but my gut was already weak. Very seasoned participants went (just look at Sashka Rosembaum, who won for 5 years in a row). Well, what happened was what happened, without beauty or exaggeration. Of course, the fucker was worried, he forgot everything he wanted to play. But he squeezed something out. The above-mentioned jury members gave me first place. For the force of the blow. I'll tell you how to do it. 🙂

Well, finally... from life... I thought I’d put this in a separate post, but who the hell is interested in it. It was like this: I constantly carried a camera with me and often wrote down all sorts of mutiny that was happening around. Then I decided to somehow put it all together into one video and it turned out like this crap. Here are my friends, work, rehearsals, etc. Well, in short, not many people will be interested :)

Handsome Bashmak (bassist of the band Twitch, who works part-time in Lifeform and Barsoom, as well as in all our terrible endeavors, not only musical ones), so Bashmak managed to SLEEP THE NAPALM DEATH CONCERT. Agree that few people can boast of such a thing. Kirill, you are truly handsome!

Practical lessons for beginner drummers

In fact, I would like to tell you how I studied myself, starting from my very first lessons. I want to show how you can develop this or that ability in drumming. In order to jumpstart your game, you need 3 things. The first is the desire to play. The second is patience. The third is opportunities (having a salary of around 10 thousand and the opportunity to spend this money on some drum purchases).

Everything I say is common knowledge. I will synthesize the information that was shown to me from the video lessons, which I myself came to. I will refer to Dave Weckl from time to time.

Methods of learning to play the drums

I’ll go straight to the technique he told me about. Alexander Arzamastsev, drummer of the Bering Strait band. This technique is unique. The fact is that there is no methodology as such. Everything is known. But the essence of it is that for each exercise we must develop a certain muscle memory at a certain pace. The human body automatically signals to you that muscle memory is emerging. This manifests itself in the fact that you relax. Let's say you're working on some complex fractions. At first it is tight, but after 20 minutes you feel that you have relaxed. This, in fact, is muscle memory. It starts working for you. This suggests that we can move on to more fast pace, increase the metronome by 10.

What should a beginner drummer buy?

Let's talk about the basic equipment that you need to buy to start practicing drums.

Drumsticks

In order to start practicing, you need to buy drum sticks. Which ones exactly? In the shop musical instruments you will see a rack where there will be great amount various sticks from different materials, some will be written, for example, heavy metal. I don’t recommend starting with the super oak rock crushers or the expensive aluminum ones that Joey Jordison uses. In short, come to the store and buy any normal poles.

Rubber pad

Immediately, if you have the opportunity, buy a rubber pad. What it is? Roughly speaking, this is an elastic band that you put on a stool or put on a certain rack and practice hitting on it. The pad is worth it 400 - 800 rub. depending on what is stuffed into it.

Metronome

You also need a metronome. It is required. Without a metronome there is no point in practicing the drums. We will talk about muscle memory; it develops well in the wrong direction. Practicing without a metronome initial stage will lead you to develop “crookedness” in yourself. To prevent this from happening, you should definitely have a metronome with you. If you study at home and you have a computer, there is absolutely no need to buy one. There are a huge number of all kinds of programs that have a metronome click. Basically, you need something that counts the rhythm and shows how much.

Pedals and pedal pad

You can practice on pads at home. In any case, you won’t have to play on real drums for the first six months, because you need to play all the beats. And only after that you can move on to a real drum kit. For example, I lost on rubber bands for about 1.5 years. I was strictly forbidden to play the drums until I had been practicing with elastic bands for a year and a half. It makes sense. So don’t worry about where you can find a rehearsal space just yet, just buy rubber pads. They will justify themselves.

You can buy a cardan if you are a terrible metalhead or want to become one in the future. I still recommend buying a cardan, not necessarily super expensive. If you don't have much money, you can buy Maxtone.

Locks

There are several types of locks. The lock is the way you hold the sticks, the grip.
There are three types of locks:

• German (German grip). The sticks lie on 4 fingers, pressed thumb. Palm position when playing - thumb looks inward, the outer side of the palm is on top.
• French (French grip). The sticks lie on 4 fingers, pressed with the thumb. The position of the palms when playing is the thumb on top.
• Traditional grip. In the left hand, the stick, located between the thumb and palm, passes between the middle and ring fingers. A lot of drummers play like that. I don’t recommend working on such a lock right away; you have to come to it yourself over time.

Dave Weckl teaches how to play with your thumbs pointing up. Moreover, he recommends not pressing the thumb tightly against the palm, but leaving a small space.

When you start practicing, your hands will begin to “walk”, i.e. move not vertically, but from side to center. I myself left hand sometimes he squints. To fix this, I don’t change the lock on my right hand, but on my left I slightly turn my palm inward with my thumb. We will talk about this. But for now, practice in a straight position (French castle).

Practical exercises for beginner drummers

Drum Exercise 1 - Stick Throwing

First practical exercise consists in the fact that you throw a stick, located in a French lock, onto your hand (thus, the tip of the stick looks at you when casting). Throw the sticks and return to the starting position.

This exercise has several beneficial aspects. You shape the direction the wand moves in your lock. Many people may drop their stick. This is also very important point. In the future, this exercise will have a good effect on fractions. I recommend spending about 2 weeks on this exercise. And then periodically return to it.

So, just throw the stick on your hand. Moreover, if at first the thumb is on top of the stick, after casting the stick is pinched between the finger and the hand. You return the stick to the lock again (thumb on top).

The return of the stick occurs using the fingers. Here's the trick. What does this develop? This develops your fingers, they will have to work a lot, in particular when fractioning by twos. I recommend focusing on this exercise a little. This exercise is precisely so that you understand where the stick is in your hand and what direction it should be.

If you succeed, try to return the stick forward faster.

This is the first exercise. To “deliver a blow”, you need to work out whole line exercises. The production of my personal blow went through them. And I can now say with complete confidence that it works, and you should spend time on it. What doesn’t work, I will try NOT to tell you about it.

So, many drummers have the problem of hitting hard. As my mentor said: “You are stroking the plastics.” You don't hit, you stroke. Small stick dynamics, played quietly by many drummers. But a completely thoughtless blow that breaks cymbals and drums is also ineffective. Therefore, you need to find this zone, you need to feel this blow. There is a blow called "whip". And now we are starting to disassemble the technology of the whip. But in order to approach it, you need to do the first exercise.

The purpose of this lesson on the topic how to learn to play drums- development of muscle memory. Once you have developed it, you will feel that you are doing this exercise completely relaxed. This means that it is starting to work for you, and you just need to secure it. The fact that I play electronic drums is a completely different area. I can't hit them hard because their triggers check. So, I play the electronic drum kit quietly. I don’t use a whip here, but on a real drum kit I definitely use it.