age to start drumming

sacromonte_

Junior Member
Hey...

Just curious about the age thing.

Before I formulate a silly question, could someone maybe post some notable drummers that started drumming at a later than usual age?

It's kinda de-motivating reading bios and the guy started religiously at the age of 4.
 
I think that you can start at any age you want to.
I know one guy who started at age 6 and a guy that started at age 15.
I don't think it's a matter of time but a matter of effort.
If you put alot of effort into it and you started at 15then u could be as good as a person who started at 6 and took it just kinda effortless.
 
i don't think that age matters..well it matters if you start at 60 years old you won't have the stamina of a child 17 years old but i think that it's never too late to start drumming...
 
If you are drumming for you, then it doesn't matter. If you are drumming to be more skilled than everybody else, then obviously you have to be a child prodigy.
 
It's not what age you start at, or how long you've been "playing". I know a guy who has been playing for over 40 years, and probably 95% of the other drummers I know could play circles around him.

It's about what you practice and how often. Get serious about it (while having fun, of course), roll up your sleeves and get deep in into it. Get a teacher to show you the basics and some paths you could take, and GO!!! Practice the right stuff a lot, and you'll get better quicker. Now, if only my students would take that advice to heart....
 
If you are drumming for you, then it doesn't matter. If you are drumming to be more skilled than everybody else, then obviously you have to be a child prodigy.
i completly agree. i play for me and what i like to play. when i watch other people that play other styles of music i watch and learn and take something off of there style and mix it into my playing. if you play to be better than everyone then it completly defeats the purpose of playing music.
 
I bought my first sticks at about 12. No drums, just sticks. Picked up a Gene Krupa drum book and started teaching myself everything I could. Practiced rudiments almost every day on whatever I could find - pillows, couch arms, etc. Put together my first kit after graduating high school and had a job. Bought drums piecemeal from pawnshops. Kept practicing and over the next 5 or so years gigged with small jazz groups. Nothing pro, just young guys jamming. Went to college, got married and quit drumming. That was about 50 years ago. Last year, at 70, I decided to go back to the drums. I haven't taken lessons but been working on the things I remember. I will never be a pro drummer but I'm looking for some jazz cats to jam with. Just want to play & have a good time. I still have some chops. It's probably best to start early but depends on what you want to accomplish. Go for it. Good luck.
 
Hey...

Just curious about the age thing.

Before I formulate a silly question, could someone maybe post some notable drummers that started drumming at a later than usual age?

It's kinda de-motivating reading bios and the guy started religiously at the age of 4.

The best age to start drumming is the age at which you start drumming.

I know Joe Morello didn't start until he was 16. He had played violin and even played with the Boston Symphony at age 9. Art Blakey didn't start the Jazz Messengers until he was 37. I don't know when he started drumming. Allen Holdsworth didn't start guitar until he was 19.

I remember when I was twenty, age was a big thing and it seemed like so many drummers were already established and had tons of experience at that age. It's just wrong to think that way, and it is wrong to tell people that they are starting too late to think about drumming seriously, which people do. It is hard to break into a musical career, and often musicians have parents who were musicians. But if is something you really want to do, and do well. Just keep working and let it all sort itself out in the long run.
 
thanks for the replies.

Yeah don't get me wrong, of course it's about playing for yourself rather than competing against others, but learning about other musicians is always inspiring (like pat martino for guitarists).

anyway i'm gonna keep reading this forum for more stuff :)
 
Hey man...

I started drumming when I was 3 years old...and learned horrible left hand technique (traditional grip). In 6th grade, when I learned the correct grip, I had to completely restart with my left hand...so I both had an advantage (could read, knew rudiments, etc) and a disadvantage (unlearning something is harder than learning something) compared to the other kids. Stuff like that just goes to show that you really can't base talent off of age, or years of experience.
 
I find it odd that there aren't more drummers who started when they were 12-14. That's usually when schools offer Band as a class and extracurricular activity. That's when I started when I was in 6th grade at 12. But that was percussion and I didn't get on a drumset till 14. I don't know why but I just figured school would be the musical starting point for thousands of people, but maybe really good drummers started earlier, (deep end) - maybe really good drummers didn't take band in school. Or maybe I'm just wrong. but it seems to be a ligitimate hypothesis to me.
 
Every Sunday Morning on PBS in NYC I watch this show called From the Top at Carnegie Hall, which features kids all over the US, and mostly those in the Julliard Arts Program. These kids are really good. I was talking with one of my student's parents about one of her friends kids who is 14 and in the program and just about sick of it and playing piano two hours a day alone.


http://www.fromthetop.org/

or

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/fromthetop/pages/
 
I find it odd that there aren't more drummers who started when they were 12-14. That's usually when schools offer Band as a class and extracurricular activity. That's when I started when I was in 6th grade at 12. But that was percussion and I didn't get on a drumset till 14. I don't know why but I just figured school would be the musical starting point for thousands of people, but maybe really good drummers started earlier, (deep end) - maybe really good drummers didn't take band in school. Or maybe I'm just wrong. but it seems to be a ligitimate hypothesis to me.

I agree.

How can you get serious about drumming at a very young age? Try convincing a 5 year old to play rudiments all day. He'll get bored and will quit. At 15 you can learn much faster than at 5. I started playing piano at 5 and 8 years later I was so bored of having to practice every day (even though it was my own choice to start playing) that I quit. I started drums much later, at 16, and after 8 years on drums I mastered the instrument better than 8 years of piano. Once you're at uni, start working or grow a familiy, you might not have time to spend on drums. So I think 12-16 is a good age to start.
 
I believe Jim Chapin didn't start playing drums until 18 years old. Most people would say thats too late to become a "great" but as we all know, he's generally considered PRETTY GOOD lol....

I started playing bass at 18 (im about to be 25) and only picked up the drums 6 months ago. Being a bit older can have a lot of advantages because you a) have CHOSEN to do this, you weren't forced, and b) you can more easily critically evaluate your technique without ego and hence correct things faster.

I know I have had a really great time playing and I think I have improved very quickly over the time ive been playing simply because I can look at what I am doing with a critical eye as opposed to just banging around on things like a 9 year old might lol...

So, no matter how old you are, if you want to play just go for it!
 
I started at the age of twenty, but I've always worked diligently towards professionalism and I've always taken drumming fairly seriously -- without forgetting the fun aspect and the it-ain't-brain-surgery-so-don't-fret-attitude. Now, at the age of twenty-five, I'm a fresh graduate from a vocational music school, a part-time gigging musician and a part-time drum teacher, generating a small-but-noticeable trickle of income doing the stuff I love doing: playing the drums and passing my knowledge to my students.

So yes, you can start at an "old" age and get far; you can also start at a young age and get nowhere. Getting good at anything isn't about your age or the amount of years you've worked on it. In the end it comes down to the amount and the quality of time spent on the instrument. If you're enthusiastic about it, don't let anything put you down... and if you're not enthusiastic about it, don't force yourself to like playing the drums. Take it one day at a time, or rather, one drumming session at a time, and see where the road takes you...
 
Steve Smith said the best part of you life to start practicing alot is when your at school. When you go to uni, study, or working to live, the days go quick and you're left with a smaller ammount of time to that of those school days.

I did too start piano when I was about 8 though. Did it for 3 - 4 years and just got bored. It wasn't too long that I got into drums at the age of 13.

If you love your instrument, practice as much as you can. There will always be these drummer prodigy's, and there's always someone out there who will be better than you, but don't let the age thing drag you down.
 
Chris Adler Started at 20 or 21 years old

So like everybody say, I belive is a matter of effort and how serious you take your drumming


Victor
 
i don't think that age matters..well it matters if you start at 60 years old you won't have the stamina of a child 17 years old but i think that it's never too late to start drumming...

Well, I am 62 and began to play drums again--just for fun, but hope to join a church choir soon--something I've not done since the late 80s or early 90s (can't remember which now).

But you're right; a man my age just doesn't have the dynamic physical stamina of a 17 year old. However, watch some one like Steve Gadd play and see what kind of powerful dynamics he can still deliver!
Same goes for Louis Bellson and Buddy Rich whom at a rather advanced age does and done what many a drummer wish could do (am one of them!)...

-elcid
 
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