Learning to play the drums at home. Buy yourself everything you need

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 wonderful people there (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 you can move to a faster tempo and 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 a musical instrument store 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 at the initial stage will lead you to develop a “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 the real one. drum set. 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. My left hand sometimes 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 a 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.

Playing the drum kit connects everything musical composition together. She fills the work with rhythm, drive and dynamics. Therefore, no musical team can do without a skilled drummer.

If you feel like a real drummer in yourself, then you need to take advantage of the fact that the Krasny Khimik School of Rock Music invites you to drum lessons. We have several teachers working in this area, and each one adheres to their own teaching methodology. Lessons on percussion instruments are conducted personally with each student, taking into account his abilities, previous knowledge and skills. At the School you will get acquainted with various musical styles: jazz, jazz-rock, rock, hard rock, metal, speed metal, thrash metal, death metal, reggae, ska, hip-hop, hardcore, etc. If you want to learn how to play drums from scratch, then you will definitely need to take an additional course in elementary music theory.

How to master the art of drumming?

The key to any successful learning is constant practice. But, unfortunately, it is almost impossible to practice playing percussion instruments at home. The loud sound brings discomfort to household members, and the installation itself costs a lot of money. The school of rock music "Krasny Khimik" is ready to provide all the conditions for the development of your musical talent, as well as individual approach to every student. This is what the teachers of the legendary rock school will teach you:

• Correctly hold sticks and sit at percussion instruments;
• Playing the snare drum, and then all subsequent elements of the kit;
• Basic drumming techniques and sense of rhythm;
• Use your feet correctly when operating the pedals;
• Build accompaniment to songs in different styles;
• Improvise and be able to play in an ensemble.

In your free time from classes, it is advisable to regularly exercise on your own. You need to start small, gradually increasing the speed of hand movement. It’s better to do it slowly, but do it correctly. The main thing in percussion lessons is to instill in the student the ability to cope with any tasks on his own, without the help of a teacher. This principle is followed by the specialists of our school.

Methods of the Krasny Khimik drama school for beginners

The method of teaching how to play the drum kit was developed based on many years of experience in teaching and concert activities. Let’s take, for example, Mikhail Tyuflin’s School of Drumming “Real Rock on a Drum Set” (this manual is recommended for study in music schools and conservatories. In our training, we also use schools and manuals of the world's leading drummers: D.Agostini, R.Pratt, G.Chaffee, G.L.Stone “Stick Control for the Snare Drummer”.

When learning to play the drums, coordination develops in different styles based on manuals by such authors as A. Makurov, G. Chester, M. Martinez, J. Riley, G. Chaffee, P. Kapazolli, G. Chapin, L. Bellson. Our drum school and its teachers will teach beginning musicians to play fragments and solos of such famous performers as S.Gadd, Tito Puente, Omar Hakim, John Bonham, S. Philips, T.Williams, D. Chambers, L. Bellson, J.Morello, I. Paice, V.Kolayuta, Changito, S. Smith, Chad Smit, D. Castronovo, etc. When teaching percussion instruments, lessons also use videos of schools of outstanding drummers, notes and recordings.

The cost of learning to play the drum kit is 6,500 rubles. per month for 4 lessons for those who have basic musical education. If you don’t have one, the cost of training will be 9,000 rubles. per month (you will simultaneously take an intensive four-month course “Elementary Music Theory” in the scope of the Children's Music School and more).

Price for first lesson?

The first lesson is free.

Do I need to take a tool with me?

You can bring your own instrument to class or play ours.

What time do classes start?

Lessons start at 11 and end at 23 o'clock. We will select convenient days and times for your classes.

Is a flexible training schedule possible?

Yes, it is possible: the schedule adapts to your capabilities. Visiting times are discussed at the first meeting.

How long does 1 lesson last?

Specialty classes (guitar, vocals, keyboards, drums) last 45 minutes. Theory and solfeggio lessons – 1 hour.

How many people are in the group during practical classes?

Practical lessons INDIVIDUAL! Theoretical – group (10 -12 people).

What age are the students?

The school is designed for young people aged 10-12 years and older. There is no upper age limit. We train everyone.

What if I get sick?

Missed classes are not lost. You will receive them on other days and times. It is advisable to notify the teacher about missing class in advance.

What to take with you

Notebook and pen. If you haven't taken it, we'll give it to you. All other props are available in the classrooms.

What are paradiddles

It is generally accepted that paradiddles are fractions. And Dave Weckl clearly demonstrated the truth of this statement in his first video. Ideally, it should really be a fraction, but in order for it to become such, you will have to work hard. And, for the most part, over the automaticity of their rapid execution. Paradiddles- this is a purely cramming thing, they are practiced at the minimum bpm on the metronome, as low as you can wait for the next click.

Paradiddles are something like Doctor Aibolit for sick hippopotamuses and sluggish, one-sided and dynamic rhythms. After paradiddles, the drummer usually begins to think in a completely different way and changes so dramatically that, sometimes, the members of his band begin to miss the past - the “monotonous” single champion who permeates their compositions with a great dull concentration exclusively.

Start disassembling paradiddles “dry”, that is, without being tied to a metronome - just poking them into the rubber. Right, left, right, right (here you scratch your knee and yawn) - Left, right, left, left. Those. The task is simply to make out this bunch of notes. First, sing them out loud in the spirit: “Ta-tu-ta-ta-Tu-ta-tu-tu.” It is very important to feel the melody of each paradiddle, since it is individual for everyone. It will also be useful to try playing paradiddles by moving your hands to different instruments. Further, when a slight understanding visits your body and instills hope in it, you turn on the slow one, between the clicks of which you can, for example, check your mail, and start click-by-click trying to connect it all.

How to tune the drums - quite frequent and problematic issue: after all, you want to understand what exactly changes, for example, if you tighten the resonator head too much and relax the drum head, or vice versa. In this unique video lesson, we will hear with our own ears what exactly changes with different settings of the toms, snare drum, and bass drum. The fact is that from this small study I myself heard and understood a lot, because everything here is clear and understandable. I didn’t take the liberty of drawing any conclusions, because tuning the drums is an exclusively personal matter, so the freedom of choice is yours!

I’m also preparing a new subject on methods of recording, processing and mastering drums, but I’ll write it down as I’m freed from my main work responsibilities (I’m finishing up another client site).

Today I invited myself to visit an old friend, whose very powerful playing I must say (just like many fans of Soviet metal) I have listened to since school. Pavel Droban is the drummer of the popular doom metal band Melissa in Soviet times. His biography is remarkable, for example, in that he began his career as a drum technician for Gorky Park, and, having abandoned drums, this man worked for some time as a financier in a bank; Now he can really repair any laptop, camera, phone, monitor or anything for you, and he has an absolutely hellish punch (that’s where it is in practice), but the most surprising thing for me personally was watching him (together with the staunch metalheads from the band “Melissa” ") - with instrumental backup by M. Shufutinsky.

And, despite the fact that I have known this person for quite a long time, for some reason only now did I pay attention to some kind of veiled intelligence, often characteristic of people Soviet times, on the sobriety and naturalness of his views, which are impossible not to share. And, while some continue to grow fat while playing LineAge, today you will personally learn:

1. Opening speech in the manner of N. Drozdov and Melissa as a backup dancer for M. Shufutinsky
2. What should real metal be like?
3. Details of the drum recording of the first Melissa album
4. How should one behave in order to avoid the counter question “me or the drums”?
5. Favorite drummers of Pavel Droban.
6. How do you mean “play forward” and “play backward”? Drummers with hyper-thrust.
7. Problems with modern drum recording, why has everything become the same?
8. Drum stool - why?
9. . Why take a stick with a traditional lock?
10. Chips from Pavel Droban, how to play SKA correctly
11. Budget track with Pavel Droban.

I admit honestly, when I practiced this subject in my distant student youth, I relied on it big hopes. The fact is that it was with this simple feature that I could safely “tear” and show off in front of my drum peers, who believed that such “things” were played exclusively through two barrels (some still think that I used a cardan). It is the ability to perform high-speed breaks - with only one leg, in conditions traditional installation, from the appearance of which a lonely calm emanates and from which, certainly, no one expects such a quantity of sprinkles - allows you to produce, although cheap, a very lasting effect on those around you. “Well, what the heck,” you can hear in the hall, and you smile impudently at your own cunning. The other drummers with whom you share the stage modestly lower their gaze and frantically hide their signature Ahead drum gloves away from your gaze. But essentially there is no trick here. All you need is to learn how to fill - quickly (and most importantly - evenly). Everything else is a clearly worked out sequence.

And while many of us rushed to Wikipedia to look for the meaning of this mysterious word, those who scored and stayed will find out below that in this video lesson:
1. The second direction in the development of doubles on pedals and what was the first?
2. The role of the evenness of the execution of the two-legged pair in filling the carry-on luggage with it.
3. Should you replay your legs? How to get up from classes correctly, is it worth being fully satisfied with classes?
4. Quarters through a barrel. Exercises.
5. Drumming trick - practicing 4/4 exercises in triplet counting.
6. Sixtol breaks through one barrel. Exercises on sixtoles.
7. Penotol fillings and breaks flowing from it.
8. and the resulting shuffles and rocker rhythms. John Bonham's feature in Good Times, Bad Times

New exercises to develop the technique of playing twos are coming to the rescue! This time we will work on the control (controllability) of performance in triplet time (where - oh, how often they will need to be used), and we will do this through a very powerful triplet exercise, which in itself sounds very killer and is easy to apply in rhythms and breaks. Personally, I use it all the time during the game, so I recommend that you focus your attention on it and analyze this matter properly. We are talking about a fraction with a two in one hand and in the other. This drawing is beautiful because, in addition to the ease of screwing this control into 4/4 (due to the fact that the right hand is always leading), there is space for accents, especially in the second, where it is offset. Playing such a thing quickly after a little practice will not be any problem, and by connecting them together into a single roll you will get a very effective solo fill.

And while search bots are trying to somehow decipher the above, below you will find out that:
1. What will happen to the “scaffold” if we throw out the “hole” from there and turn it into a triplet?
2. “Tribans” from the right and left hands. What are they developing?
3. Why right hand Should I stick to the downbeat?
4. Triplet deuce - why is it so difficult? Opening the palm.
5. What would happen if these “troubans” were played single?
6. Practical use, tricks and shifts in emphasis.
7. How to increase the speed of training and the rules for carrying a ZIL brand refrigerator.
8. We combine the first and second exercises - a hell of a solo break!
9. Announcement of the next exercises.
10. Encouraging PS

Hello friends! Finally, I put together this lesson dedicated to one of the most problematic areas of our drum technique - twos in the legs, the recipe for which is probably passed down from grandmothers to grandchildren, and getting its intelligible form is often very problematic. This is quite strange, because the importance of twos in legs greatly exceeds the importance of . Without mastering a double kick in the leg, it is almost impossible to perform rhythms (most of them), and what opportunities this opens up for all kinds of breaks and polivalov! This is one of the most frequently asked questions on the Internet, and rightfully so. And while some people, with their mouths open in surprise, shave their beards with the TV remote control, and some chew the cord from their headphones, this will not prevent them from finding out that..

Playing drums is more than just a hobby, it is a way of life - the one who puts in a lot of effort and diligence will always win in any business. However, the training costs are quite huge. If you want to be a drummer, it could be one of the longest journeys of your life.

How do you get to this high level of musicality? There's definitely a difference between a drummer who plays an instrument as a hobby and a drummer who makes drums his life. This big difference lies in the approach and practice habits. The only way to improve your drumming is if you learn self-control and stick to regular practice.

There are a few secrets that I have developed over the years of playing drums that will greatly help any drummer. Tips that will speed up your learning process and make drumming an enjoyable experience rather than a chore. They will be described below and are designed to help you in your drumming.

Shock work

If suddenly in a club where a rock band is performing, the electricity on stage goes out, then most of the musicians will be out of work. Will come finest hour drummer! He must give such a solo so that the audience does not get bored until the electricians fix the problem. Then the concert will be saved!

In an army orchestra, one musician beats a large (“Turkish”) drum with a mallet, while another uses sticks to beat out a roll on a small (“Pioneer”) drum. The third has cymbals in his hands, and in the pathetic moments of waltzes and marches he hits one against the other... In rock bands and jazz ensembles percussion instruments, as a rule, are subordinate to one person.

The drummer always sits in the background. Maybe that's why people of this musical profession most often they lack excessive ambitions and do not pretend to be stars. Even the drummers of great bands, who are de facto stars. Who was the most humble of the Beatles? That's right, Ringo Starr. And from the Rolling Stones? Perhaps the drummer is also Charlie Watts. Meanwhile, the role of a drummer in a small rock band is always decisive, especially at live concerts. The success of a studio recording depends on many factors - on the skill of all musicians, on originality musical material, the content of the lyrics, the vocalist’s performance style, the “hit” nature of the songs... The success of a rock concert is determined primarily by how well the rhythm section: the drummer and bass guitarist “pumps up the drive.” Moreover, if the person behind the drums plays unevenly or clumsily, neither virtuoso guitar cuts nor soulful vocals will save the group. The job of that unassuming guy (and sometimes gal) behind the pile of brightly colored drums and enticingly shiny cymbals is not just to beat out a rhythm that everyone else follows. He is also a musician, he does not knock, but plays. His many-sided and multi-component instrument is called a drum set.

Why and how to play with a metronome?

There are two reasons why a drummer should be able to play with a metronome, and both of these reasons are essential to learning to play the drums well.

1. Development of a sense of time. This allows the drummer to maintain a smooth playing pattern without slowing down or speeding up.
2. Possibility to record in the studio with a metronome or click track. This ensures that any editing of your recorded tracks can be done quickly and easily.

Reason number 1 is the most important because not every musician records music in a studio, but every drummer should be able to play on time. The ability to play smoothly cannot be developed without using a metronome.

You'd be surprised how many drummers can't play to a metronome. They believe that it is easy and that if necessary, problems will not arise. However, when you come to the studio, you discover a complete inability to play with a metronome, and it’s too late to do anything about it.

Igor Chili: "Pace and sense of time"

Eh, a sore subject for many drummers. Nowadays you don’t often meet a drummer who asks questions of tempo on first-name terms. Often everyone just switches to working with a drum machine or metronome. Anything can happen on stage, so drummers often protect themselves this way. It's not bad. But still, don’t forget to play without clicking. Still, the group must be alive. Always remember the pace. After all, every song has its own, and you shouldn’t forget about it. Let the song breathe freely as you do. Don't make her choke.

Drummer's sense of time – essential component drumming. The feeling and mood of a song depends primarily on the drummer. On how well he creates a sense of time in the song. The drummer's stable and confident sense of timing creates a support and foundation for other musicians. Much also depends on the style of music. If it’s “Sad But True” by Metallica, then it should be played with passion, and if it’s “Birdland” by Winul, then on the contrary, add aspiration and movement.

Mark Shulman's video tutorial “A Day At The Recording Studio” shows three examples of timing: playing slightly ahead of the metronome, slightly behind and exactly one meter away, like a drum machine. John "Bonzo" Bonham played mostly with a pull, Stewart Copeland, on the contrary, was slightly ahead, and Jeff Porcaro was exactly a meter away. Not always, of course, because... it also depends on the nature of the song, and not just on the drummer, but this is how the mentioned drummers acted predominantly.

Warm-up and stretching before playing the drums

Warm up. How necessary it is during physical labor and especially before practicing on a drum set. Every professional athlete knows about the benefits of stretching muscles; to some extent, drums are also a sport, because the whole body works here: from the muscles of the foot, legs, pelvis, back, spine, neck, to the arms, forearms, hands and fingers. Our limbs, which are most used when playing the drums, are especially susceptible to injury, which means we need to devote time to warming up these parts of the body. Special attention. Although the topic of health care and warming up is not new to anyone, we hope that this article will help you understand the importance of warming up your muscles before practicing drums. Here we will talk about pain and injury prevention and clearly find out what activities there are for warming up.

"It's no secret that drumming requires the most physical effort than playing any other instrument. Because of this, drummers are prone to various types of injuries. Some drummers can play for decades without injury. Unfortunately, this does not apply to everyone. Whether you are a beginner or a professional, anyone can get injured while playing.".

Let's get acquainted with ghost or ghostly notes (ghost stroke/notes) and grace notes (flams)

Today we will look at such concepts as “ghost stroke/ghost notes” and grace notes (flam). Ghost notes are very useful in changing the dynamics of a groove; they are played very quietly, but at the same time they radically change the feel of the game. For example, you can play a hat with a regular beat, but when you play with an updown, the pulsation of the rhythm changes. Similar sensations arise in the use of ghost notes. On the staff it is indicated as a note in parentheses (if the note is played quite quietly compared to the accented one) or in square brackets (if the note is played an order of magnitude quieter than the accented one).

A grace note is a game element based on shifting one of the notes for a split second, resulting in a “tram” sound. On the staff, it is indicated by a small note on the same note line near the accented note (sometimes connected by an arc).

Bart Elliot: Warm Up Before Drumming

The drummer puts in more physical effort when playing than any other musician. . Therefore, you should pay special attention to your muscles, exercise in a rocking chair, or simply pay attention to sports and keep your body in shape. Physical warm-up before a game is a way to gain the desired shape before classes. Muscles need time to gradually stretch and work to their maximum, and therefore you need to prepare and train them before each game and in free minutes. He knows how to warm up his muscles before playing in the part “How to become a better drummer”, where we learned about improving your sound, namely about tuning, scoring and recording drums, as well as dealing with noise, improving the rehearsal process and tips independent studies. If you missed any part, it's best to go back and read it all over again. Now the time has come to the third part and here you will get acquainted with information regarding the group and performances. Read in this part: three ways to find a band, seven ways to prepare for an audition and four ways to prepare for a concert, seven tips for performing in front of an audience and five tips for soundcheck, seven CDs, three DVDs and three books every drummer should have , plus three things you need to know about music theory. If you managed to read the previous sentence and I haven’t tired you yet, then feel free to proceed to reading the article. Here is only helpful information from the best specialists in the world!

There are moments in life when one obsession sticks firmly in your head and doesn’t let go for a minute. Sometimes this is a consequence of a conscious and systematic movement towards a goal, sometimes it is an impulsive desire to fulfill a childhood dream.

Our material today is for those whose goal (or dream) is to learn to play the drums. We at Audiomania have collected interesting and useful tips aspiring drummers and learned from Dmitry Poltinin, Audiomania’s international logistics manager and drummer and backing vocalist of the band †B†C†B†, about his experience playing drums.

Defining the goal

On one of them, jazz drummer Buddy Rich performs his stunning solo...

And on the other is rock drummer Terry Bozzio:

Choosing a lesson format

The benefits of working with a mentor: under strict control, you will, of course, feel more confident, in addition, a pro will begin to correct your mistakes from the very first days. The teacher will be able to clearly demonstrate those things that can be difficult to understand in self-study conditions. Another significant advantage of working with a mentor is the opportunity to practice on a training instrument and, at least for the first time, not spend money on your own setup.

At first I studied with a teacher at Krasny Khimik, then on my own, then for a short time at the Moscow College of Improvisational Music. I believe that for the first year or two you definitely need to study with a teacher, because it is during this time that the foundation, the basics, are laid.

Incorrect hand positioning leads to a slower pace of learning and simply to injury. Later, when you have some skills and an understanding of which direction to move, you can start studying on your own, visiting the teacher less often.
– Dmitry Poltinin, musician, drums, group †B†C†B†

The fact is that not all tutorials will be useful for you - some are designed for high level skills or “tailored” to specific style, and therefore may not meet your needs. To get started, you can study the following materials: this and this, perhaps you will find something suitable for yourself.

Among the resources for self-study, I can first of all recommend Stick Control, among online resources - the VKontakte group [, ,] and Drumeo [this company has channel on YouTube and its own training program – although it’s paid].

Printed literature is very useful, as it allows you to thoughtfully analyze various fragments and hone the skill of reading notes from a sheet. The ability to read and play music will open up the opportunity to independently study in various educational materials, as well as a chance to subsequently play in various groups and become a professional.

Developing a sense of rhythm

Generally speaking, you can start learning to play the drums...without drums. All you need is a chair to sit on and beat out the rhythm with your palms on your knees. It is worth noting that at this stage it is important to practice with a metronome - this will teach you accuracy. Muscle memory plays an important role here.

You can also purchase and study literature on rhythms. An example is the book Ultimate Realistic Rock by American drummer Carmine Appice.

To practice, you need three things: drumsticks, a practice pad and a metronome. If you don’t have a pad, you can hit anything: a pillow, a sofa, an armchair, or even your own legs.

I think the best things that can be recommended are rudiments, paradiddles and practicing with a metronome. Listening to different music helps you think more musically, create interesting drawings. The most important thing is to listen to the musicians and play with them, and not soullessly knock out as many notes as possible.

The big advantage of pads is not only their compactness, but also their reduced (compared to real drums - many times) noise level. In addition, there are now completely “minimalistic” pads on sale, which are a plastic gel mass. To start playing on such a pad, just take it out of the jar and roll it into a “pancake”: with a soft, long press, the pad becomes pliable, and with a sharp blow with a stick it gives a realistic rebound.

Improving self-control

To develop self-control, start learning the basic rudiments by practicing on one drum (or any other surface). Rudiments are special techniques that form the basis of playing any drum and are used by drummers to develop coordination.

Here is one of the main rudiments, which is called Single Stroke Roll, or shot with single strikes:

When you start learning something new, it's always a good idea to start at a slow, steady pace. The story is the same here - there is no need to rush to play a rudiment quickly, at the very beginning you should always focus on quality. This is done so that the arms and legs “remember” the movements. After some time, you can begin to gradually increase the speed, while maintaining clarity of movements.

To check the correctness of your playing, as well as just to diversify your activities, you can use the Vic Firth website. Vic Firth has a section where famous drummers tell and show how to play rudiments correctly.

As for my experience in using exercises to develop coordination, everything is standard, these are rudiments. You can “lay them out” on the setup and play with your hands and feet at the same time. For example, play sixteenth notes with your hands and triplets with your feet and vice versa, or play paradiddles with your hands and sixteenth notes with your feet.

Choosing a drum kit

But let's get back to the drums. For the beginner or hobbyist who just wants to play with friends in a group, a four-piece drum kit (snare, bass, floor tom, alto tom) will provide all the basic sounds. This configuration was made famous by Ringo Starr, drummer The Beatles, – such a setup does not take up much space, it is easy to move, and its sound is well suited for such musical styles like jazz, blues and rock.

Later, as you gain experience, you can expand your kit according to your desires, for example, adding more alto toms, another floor tom, a second bass drum, and so on - there are a lot of variations.

Once you have decided on the configuration of your kit, you need to choose the material from which the drums will be made. For the production of drums they use different kinds tree. They all sound different and have different characteristics. Here are a few of them:

• Maple is the most popular material because of its versatility. Has a soft and balanced sound.
• Mahogany (mahogany) – has more pronounced low and mid frequencies and lowered highs. It is slightly softer sounding than maple and is primarily used for vintage drums.
• Birch – has a bright and clear sound due to its density and rigidity. Ideal for studio recordings. It transmits high and low frequencies well.
• Poplar is a cheap alternative to birch and maple.
• Oak is very similar to maple, but the sound is brighter.

I don’t think that the material will be very important for a beginner; anyway, most likely, it will be either maple or birch. You need to choose a student instrument, but it is enough good level, which will allow you to enjoy learning and playing, and which can be sold in case of an upgrade, or if you abandon this business altogether.

But I don't really recommend rushing into buying a drum set unless you have a dedicated space to play. Drums are very loud instrument, and you simply won’t be able to play in an apartment. At the very beginning, I advise you to buy a training drum set and learn on it.

Dishes

According to the manufacturing method, plates are divided into two types: cast and stamped. The castings are made by hand, and each such record has an individual sound. Pressed ones sound the same (depending on the type of cymbal), and their prices are much lower.

Snare drum

Plastics

Electronic drums

When choosing tools, even at the learning stage, I would not advise seriously saving on anything at all. Although, to begin with, it may be worth buying equipment - for example, a pedal and stands - that is simpler, but from trusted manufacturers. You can also buy student series of plates (these are produced by world leaders - Zildjian, Sabian, Paiste and Meinl), because if they break - and this will most likely happen until the blow is delivered - at least you won’t have to deal with them too much regret.

Instead of student series from popular brands, you can buy perfectly sounding cymbals from Turkish or Chinese origin: Istanbul, TRX, Bosphorus, Turkish, Alchemy, Soultone, Stagg, Wuhan. However, I do not recommend saving on plastics, since poor quality plastics will sound bad and quickly fail. Here you can take a closer look at the brands Evans, Remo and Aquarian.

It's best to learn to play on an acoustic or practice kit - on an electronic one the rebound is completely different, and everything is much easier to play. Therefore, it is simply impossible to learn good sound production on it.

Choosing sticks

When you go to a music store, you will see that sticks are usually designated by two symbols: one letter and one number, for example, 3S, 2B, 5B, 5A and 7A. These designations have been preserved since the early days of drumstick production, when the number indicated the size of the stick, and the letter indicated its purpose, depending on the playing style.

Today everything remains the same - the number indicates the diameter of the stick. The smaller the number, the larger the diameter will be. For example, 7A will be much thinner than 5A. As for the letters, they indicate the recommended use:

• S – long sticks designed for performances by marching drummers
• A – orchestral sticks. Thinner than Class B sticks. Very popular among jazz and rock drummers
• B – for symphony orchestras. Heavier than class A sticks

It is worth noting that in Lately Steel training sticks are gaining popularity. They weigh several times more than playing sticks and cannot be used to hit drums, but they are good for practicing and practicing technique. Famous drummer Jojo Mayer recommends practicing with such sticks in his video school.

Play along to your favorite songs

One of the residents of the Quora site, Geoffrey Martin, advises starting with the band AC/DC, since drummer Phil Rudd plays fairly simple and understandable grooves, so it won’t be too difficult for a beginning musician to repeat them. Our expert, Dmitry Poltinin, also advises choosing simple, popular and (no less important) slow songs - they are ideal for a beginning drummer.

Another piece of advice that may be useful was given by musician Sim Messa: “If you can’t tell how a drummer plays by ear, then watch recordings of concerts, maybe the visuals will tell you what to do.”

Finally

Over time, every dedicated drummer begins to understand all the intricacies of the game. He learns to recognize his strengths and weak sides, understand what needs to be worked on.

Finally, I would like to add that you should not neglect ear protection: earplugs or headphones. Drums led armies into battle, because their loud sound can cut through the noise of gunfire. And here it is located a few centimeters from your hearing organ.

Oh yeah, and don’t forget to warm up before you start playing! Drumming requires a lot of physical effort. It is necessary to pay attention to the hands, knees, and fingers. By spending 10-15 minutes warming up, you will play much smoother and avoid sprains.

You can watch this video with exercises for stretching and warming up muscles:

Let's give a short summary of all of the above. If you decide to learn to play the drums, then:

1. First, determine the purpose for which you want to start practicing, whether it is the desire to simply learn a couple of songs or start playing in a group. Also decide on the genre, as the techniques used by drummers vary greatly.

2. Choose the type of training: with a mentor or independently. The positive aspect of working with a teacher is that from the very first days he will begin to correct your mistakes, and you will immediately feel more confident. However, self-study is also an option; you save money and can study at any time convenient for you. Fortunately, there are a huge number of guides on the Internet.

3. Start developing your sense of rhythm. To do this, you don’t need to have a drum set - beat it with your palms on any surface. Rhythm is the basis of drumming.

4. Learn to control your arms and legs. To do this, study the rudiments and do coordination exercises.

5. Choose a drum kit based on your desires. To get started, it might be worth purchasing a starter kit.

6. The choice of size, shape and tip of the sticks depends on the personal preferences of the musician. So hold the sticks in your hands and try to play. To get started, you can use 5A chopsticks - they are best for beginners.

7. Play along to your favorite songs to develop your hearing.

8. Use earplugs to protect your hearing.

9. Always warm up before starting a game to avoid sprains and injuries. Drumming is a serious physical activity. Add tags