General advice for a new drummer?

Ashes01

Junior Member
Alright, I am going to start off with a quick introduction. I'm 14 (please leave your snarky comments at the door), Have been drumming for several months. I currently practice about 2 hours a day on weekdays and 5+ on weekends. I have a Gretsch Catalina Maple kit that I got...yesterday, and some beat up old ZBT cymbals. My influences are varied, but if I had to pick two... Pink Floyd and System of a Down. I play music with my father pretty often. We're learning "Hypnotize" by SOAD and "When I Come Around" by Green Day. I'm a huge fan of the Arctic Monkeys. I like punchy, heavy sounds out of my drums and cymbals with a quick attack and fast decay. My skill level is at the point where I can read tabs fairly well, but am lost by time signatures other than 4/4 and not sure what things like "Flam" mean.

I can do some fairly standard fills, like descending tom beats and sixteenth-note rolls on the snare, but I'm having trouble integrating open hi-hat into the whole thing. I like playing beats heavy on the crash, but can't really coax anything other than an explosive sound out of it. My stick control is pretty good, but anything I see that looks fairly hard has the drummer rocking his stick back and forth and... I'm not really sure what its called, but I'd like to learn more about it.

So if anyone could provide some basic advice, maybe suggest some tabs or songs to learn, anything like that, I would be quite happy. Here's my setup, as close as I can remember without actually going to look at it:

14" snare, 10" & 12" rack toms, 14" and 16" floor toms, 20" bass.
14" ZBT hats, 16" ZBT crash, 20" ZBT ride.
small and large cowbell, wood block.
I use Vater 7A wood tip sticks, If it helps.
 
Welcome ... A good teacher would be indispensable since you are just beginning. I recomend the books Syncopation by Ted Reed, Stick Control by GL Stone and a rudiment chart. Everything you play on the drumset can be broken down to it's rudimental element.
Good Luck and again ... Welcome
 
Don't try to play along with songs chop for chop. Worry about fills later - they are not as complicated or as important as alot of beginning drummers think them to be. Most anything by AC/DC is good to learn to. A little later down the line, after you learn basic beats and the fancy right handed work on the ride and hats, try to learn syncopated beats. This is where you start to learn to uncoordinate your limbs, but once you do it, it opens up a whole new world to drumming. Ask your dad to dig out "When the Levee Breaks" by Led Zeppelin when you are ready for that jump. It is a great song to learn bass drum syncopations. In the meantine pratice your rudiments like triplets and paradiddles. Later you will learn to spread those rudiments around the kit and not just on the snare.
 
Get some beginner snare drum books and learn how to READ. Learn how to read music.
I would stay away from drum tab if its what I think it is. There are A lot of drum set books
out there from AC/DC songs to Rush songs. They are all wrote out in music. and have play along cds minus the drums. Hope this helps.
 
don't get frustrated and give up.
 
don't get frustrated and give up.
This happens way too much. Young drummers want results within a day of playing.
Just stay with it, be patient and results will show after persistence
 
Eh...several points. I'm not THAT bad. I know my rudiments, I already have syncopation/stick control/funky primer, and I have an arsenal of about four songs. I can do pretty much all of the basic rock beats, know how to add in fills, etc. It's kind of hard to show you my exact skill level without a video, but know that I can play slightly simplified versions of Mardy Bum by the Arctic Monkeys, Longview by Green Day, and have a decent grasp on everything but the end in Hypnotize by SOAD.

I do, in fact, have 4 zeppelin albums. I have an extensive music collection of close to 2500 songs, including AC/DC, who I hate with a passion. It is the least interesting, most annoying, eardrum-shattering junk I have ever heard. I enjoy SOAD because of their perfect change-ups and skilled drumming, and Hypnotize because it is at least somewhat playable by me.

I'd like advice on more advanced sticking, more complicated rolls, and the like. I'd like to know how to play cross-stick on the snare, as my most recent attempts have resulted in extremely muted sound. I'll try to get a video up ASAP, but we are suffering from a slight camera-shortage at my house and I don't want to shoot with a phone camera.
 
"I know my rudiments" and "what does flam mean"??????? A flam IS a rudiment. get a teacher.
 
you probably think you know more than you do (i used to think that way too).
i agree with the others, get a good teacher, it will do you the world of good!
 
If you can't get a teacher for whatever reason (money, time, availability), then get books and DVDs. IMO, the questions you're asking are too broad to all be answered on a forum.

EDIT: and when I say "get books" I mean instructional books that actually explain things, not just method books that have a bunch of exercises and no explanation (they're great too, but only after the HOW is explained).
 
another thing i'd recommend is to make a habit of recording yourself and listening carefully to the playback. even a cell phone is good enough to use as a recording device. i used to think i was pretty good at playing various things until i started making and listening to my own recordings. it was really an eye opener, but a very good instruction tool as well.
 
Back with a link to my current skill. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmSmLV5I6Oo
Lo-fi vid shot quickly, and not my entire arsenal. I just made some stuff up on the spot, really. Yes, I can read tabs. I worked with a teacher for a couple months, but recently quit because I felt that I could start working more with my dad (guitarist) and less with a teacher. I was stagnating under the teacher.

@Fuo
"Get books", great idea, but can you actually give me some titles? It sounds like you have some knowledge in that area, and I would rather not spend hours looking for something I could find in two seconds.

@TFITTING942
I probably (no, definitely) should have been more specific in that case. I was looking at some drum tabs on the web, and it said on a certain note to play a flam. Now, I think I confused that with a ghost note, but it was the only thing I forgot from my lessons. I'm not going to pay $80 a month to pick up one tidbit of knowledge, which is why I asked in the first place.
 
A few years ago I was in your exact situation, 14 years old and only playing drums for a few months... being mostly self taught. I made it pretty far being self-taught and thought I was pretty good and didn't need help.

The difference? I didn't come to a drum forum asking for help and then turn down the very, very GOOD advice everyone's been giving you because you think it won't help.

I had a teacher for a while and realized how far behind I was when I was having a hard time keeping up with a bunch of what he did for quite a while. He tried moving quickly, but he was doing things even I thought I should've had down, if not perfected by then. Now I wish I had started with a teacher that would've helped me avoid a lot of bad habits I developed that hinder my improvement with my limited practice time I get... I'm still mostly self-taught but have regrets about the way I went about things.

Long story short: don't come here and ignore everyone's advice. You asked for it to begin with. I may only be 17, but I've been around long enough, and played with various groups long enough to tell you that you DO NOT, repeat, DO NOT know as much as you think you do. Take the advice being given, it will only do you good.
 
Eh...several points. I'm not THAT bad. I know my rudiments, I already have syncopation/stick control/funky primer, and I have an arsenal of about four songs. I can do pretty much all of the basic rock beats, know how to add in fills, etc. It's kind of hard to show you my exact skill level without a video, but know that I can play slightly simplified versions of Mardy Bum by the Arctic Monkeys, Longview by Green Day, and have a decent grasp on everything but the end in Hypnotize by SOAD.

I do, in fact, have 4 zeppelin albums. I have an extensive music collection of close to 2500 songs, including AC/DC, who I hate with a passion. It is the least interesting, most annoying, eardrum-shattering junk I have ever heard. I enjoy SOAD because of their perfect change-ups and skilled drumming, and Hypnotize because it is at least somewhat playable by me.

I'd like advice on more advanced sticking, more complicated rolls, and the like. I'd like to know how to play cross-stick on the snare, as my most recent attempts have resulted in extremely muted sound. I'll try to get a video up ASAP, but we are suffering from a slight camera-shortage at my house and I don't want to shoot with a phone camera.

Just watched your vid. What you need to worry about for the next couple of years is basics, basics, basics. No offense, but four songs is not an arsenal. You are at beginner stage, and will be for a couple of years (although by then you won't be an absolute beginner anymore) - assuming you practise well, improve consistently, and get a really great grasp of the basics. Otherwise intermediate level of drumming will have to wait... You are not an advanced player who needs his exact skill level in 436 areas assessed; you are a raw beginner (and doing well for 2 months), and any advice you receive will apply to you for the next year, most for a while after that, and alot for the rest of your drumming life. Your "exact" skill level is practically irrelevant at this stage. Any advice given here will still apply two, three or six months down the line.

In terms of more advanced sticking: In the next couple of years, you have all the advanced sticking you need with the 40 PAS rudiments (and page 1 of stick control...). It takes a long time to really master the basic rudiments like doubles, flams, and especially buzz rolls on a pad, let alone their more complex variations and applying them on a drumkit. And that is most of your sticking vocabulary you will ever use on a kit right there.

Get Groove Essentials. I'd almost call this non-optional. If you can afford the Book with playalong CD and the DVD, do it. If you can only afford 1, just get the book. 6 hours of backing trackings, 47 basic grooves "every drummer should know", with four variations per groove, chart music for each track, and huge scope for improvisation etc. You will be able to come back to this book to work on things for years, if not for your drumming life.

http://www.amazon.com/Groove-Essentials-Play-Along-Complete-Encyclopedia/dp/1423406788

I also just got Great Hands For A Lifetime by Tommy Igoe (DVD). There are some great technique DVDs (Jojo Mayer's Secret Weapons for example) but this is very focused on routines and he breaks down the rudiments and their technique brilliantly.

And if your last teacher "stagnated" you... try and find a good one. It will be invaluable. Just out of curiosity... how did he stagnate you?
 
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I just saw your vid too.
If you are serious about improving, get a good metronome and a better teacher. Both are invaluable tools. A good teacher will recommend books based on your goals and interests. I would assume something like Realistic Rock. Working through Syncopation with it's hundreds (literally) of interpretations will help your coordination too.
Do a search for Syncopation in here and will get more information that you will know what to do with.
 
Yes, if you just want to play around on the drums here and there it's fine to keep doing what your're doing. But if you want to improve and develop into a musician that will be in demand, you should do a search for a teacher immediately. If your first teacher didn't work out, keep looking. Shortly after I got my driver's license, I would go to study in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and later New York. And guess what - years later, I am still studying. If you want to get better, you need to go and seek out a teacher. Since you are not old enough to drive, talk to your father about taking you to lessons. If you are serious about it, you'll do it.

Also, let us know what area you are in and maybe someone here can recommend a good teacher.

Jeff
 
Shortly after I got my driver's license, I would go to study in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and later New York. And guess what - years later, I am still studying.


I heard Danny Seraphine was recently taking lessons from Joe Porcaro. Danny could play rings around most drummers on the early Chicago albums - it just goes to show we all need to constantly work on our craft.

I remember a saying I heard one time from a college professor that went something like "once we graduate from being students to become experts, we actually become neither". Sometimes it takes years to digest that one, though, lol.
 
From your video - Don't over-exaggerate the motion of your left arm on the snare, it may feel good but i'v done it and it looks really awkward when you look back at it, and if it doesn't look like how the pro's play, its probably wrong...

And be careful you don't tense up or move your shoulders awkwardly when moving around the kit... If you can't hit all the drums with your shoulders and elbows down then your kit needs adjusting. Maybe move your snare away from you a little.

Other than that, don't focus on 'learning songs', or you'll never learn to improvise or apply what you learn to other situations. Much better is to jam along to stuff, or play along to a metronome, tweaking your beats and then playing what you work out until it sticks. But don't be tempted to just solo all the time, focus on the groove, cause this is what you need to be a half useful drummer in a band etc.

The other guys' advice is also invaluable. I'v never had the benefit of a decent teacher due to living in the middle of nowhere, but now i can drive i may seek one out. However i think i'v kept a few bad habits out by reading and learning a lot from here, online lessons and drum magazines, but more importantly, taking every opportunity to chat and play with other drummers...

And if you stop finding it fun, you're working too hard, get back to why you loved drums in the first place, thats what matters.
 
And one more thing, don't play songs that are out of your skill level... better to play well stuff like the Chili's or my favourite when starting out - Muse. Kings of Leon have very creative but simple drum parts as well. You're better off learning these songs as beats and grooves than trying to learn something complex beat by beat and never really understanding the rhythm of it... so many drummers learn fills and learn riffs but can't even put them together in time. If so, then back to basics...
 
I think you're doing good for only several months behind the drums.
Drums take time and patience and repetitive practice to sound good.
Also understand that what you think you know about drumming is probably a trillionth of a billionth of 1% of what there is to know.
You just have no idea yet, no fault of yours at all. So be humble and repectful, and put the time in, just like your heros do.

Just because you know how to play a beat doesn't automatically mean you can play that beat and make it feel really good. Therein lies the difference between an average musician and a great musician.
 
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