How long could it take to be a good drummer.

If you want to be a good drummer you have to play with melody and rhythm.
When you can blend both effectively you will be a good drummer.
Ie. the melody will tell you when their is a break or a fill coming up, if you listen and respond you will be effective. However, if your just listening to the rhythm/bass you will always play randomly.
 
i have been playing drums for 9years and am 16....but i have only taken it up seriously for the last year, and it's amazing the progress i have made.....i think the reason for this is that even though i didnt really play the drums i was still surrounded by it!.....i still went to drum lessons once a week, but didnt play in between lessons!
i think that if i hadnt been taking those lessons i wouldnt be aspiring to be a professional now...
so the big thing is to surround yourself with it, watch videos, talk to other musicans...and remember, its a life long journey....recently i forgot that and having been pushing too hard to make up all the lost years, but just practicing daily (a scheduled beneficial practice routine) will be a huge help!

cheers
 
The better you get the more there is to learn, as you develop skills, those skills open new doors and as you progress further more open up. It is a life long learning process. No matter how good you get there is always so much more to learn. But that is the beauty of it. Music is something you can grow with your whole life and as long as you strive for more you will never run out of new challenges and exciting new directions.

Don't wait, as soon as you can keep a beat go find some players at the same level and have fun. Join the school bands and soak up everything you can.

Have fun!
 
I actually have developed a method for teaching you to become a pro in six months or less, guaranteed. PM and I'll tell you where to send the money.

Diosdude. I wouldn't trade my skills because being a musician is the reward. It so infuriates me when those guys talk about the skilled musician with disdain, as though it were more noble to take fifteen years to figure out I-IV-V or boom chuck boom boom chuck on your own. :)
 
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It infuriates me when people claim they can make you "pro" in a short period of time, such as 6 months. The term "pro" means professional which obviously means that's your profession - you pay the bills by drumming. I suppose after 6 months you could market yourself as a pro and sell a gimmick.

I actually have developed a method for teaching you to become a pro in six months or less, guaranteed. PM and I'll tell you where to send the money.

Diosdude. I wouldn't trade my skills because being a musician is the reward. It so infuriates me when those guys talk about the skilled musician with disdain, as though it were more noble to take fifteen years to figure out I-IV-V or boom chuck boom boom chuck on your own. :)
 
The better you get the more there is to learn, as you develop skills, those skills open new doors and as you progress further more open up. It is a life long learning process. No matter how good you get there is always so much more to learn. But that is the beauty of it. Music is something you can grow with your whole life and as long as you strive for more you will never run out of new challenges and exciting new directions.

Don't wait, as soon as you can keep a beat go find some players at the same level and have fun. Join the school bands and soak up everything you can.

Have fun!

I agree here totally. My dad always told me "son, when you think you know it all that's when you stop learning". I know many of you have heard this said and it is so true.

"Good" has so many different meanings to different ppl. I think you need to ask yourself what is your goal as a drummer? To jam with a garage band, be able to play what you listen to or be good enough to be a session artist. The goal that you set may only take a year or two or possibly a lifetime.
 
I suppose after 6 months you could market yourself as a pro and sell a gimmick.

Well, you wouldn't be the first one.

Don't worry. I was not serious. If you read the second part of my post. The success of being a musician is in the joy of being a musician. Whether you are playing for six months or 60 years, if you are enjoying your playing, then you are successful. IArt a journey not a destination.
 
No matter who you are, It takes an extraordinary amount of time and effort to train yourself to play any style of drumming, because collectively they use the same sense of time, rhythm, and groove, and progression that ALL drummers use to "move the audience." Learning that ability takes hours everyday spent drumming in some form. To further your understanding, playing outside your comfort zone, i.e. learning other people's songs, is key to progressing.

The most important aspect of drumming is listening...every sense of the word "good" in respect to music is related to mastering the unspoken conversation between musicians and the audience. Manipulating that energy is what art means to me.

to sum it all up, POWER IS BEING ABLE TO LEARN FROM YOUR MISTAKES!
 
Time is on your side, hell I'm 40 & haven't played for 15 years & I'm starting again. Stay with it mate, it is a lot easier the first time.
 
Definitions of professional on the Web:

engaged in a profession or engaging in as a profession or means of livelihood; "the professional man or woman possesses distinctive qualifications ...
a person engaged in one of the learned professions
an athlete who plays for pay
master: an authority qualified to teach apprentices


I really believe you dont have to have your whole livelihood from drumming to be a pro. It just says a means of livelihood. Some people have a day job but work gigs or teach or both. If your paid and you are considered a teacher I think you can call yourself pro. BUT not everyone who calls themselves a teacher really is. There are levels of a professional also. Some play everywhere with almost everyone. If you dont have a day job and you play a couple of times a week and pay your rent with that and eat, that doesnt qualify you as a pro. You will know when your a pro, nobody will have to tell you.
 
i think you if you listen a lot to music you love and want to play and really understand it and how it all fits together. how what a drummer plays effects the music, what kind of fills to use when, or no fills at all. core grooves of styles how those choices shape the music. the more you understand the more you hear when you listen to music. and then when you play what you hear, it's more than likely going to be the right part for the song.

and if you play from your heart and what your feeling people will pick up on that.

in terms of how long i have no idea, it would be different for everyone. i just focus on taking that next step forward and then once you get there, you take the next one. and it just goes on.
 
You will never be a "good" drummer. Hell, even the masters practice hours a day to become "good".
Drums aren't like learning how to tie your shoelaces, you don't "learn how to play the drums" then never practice again.
Join your school's band, take lessons, watch all the videos on here, practice, and realize that you are in for a LONG ride (don't worry, it's fun though :p).

Couldn' have said it better!
 
Drumming is a lifelong pursuit. For example there are 100's of brush techniques and patterns which means it is nearly impossible to learn them all (unless you hole yourself up in your drum room 24/7/365). I don't think there is such a thing as an "expert" drummer too. No one can be an expert, but people can be experienced. With that said, join your school band (and if you are someone of faith join the band at your place of worship) and listen to all styles of music even classical because without classical music we wouldn't have the music we have today.
 
A Good drummer, as in having natural timing, a natural groove, your own style, and speed, along with tasteful playing. That can take a couple yrs. Being able to make beats naturally without thought, and play fills id say about 3-6 months. Depending on your determination, and practice set up...
 
By virtue of the fact that the longer you practise something, the better you should get at it.
 
Hey bjmy,

Depends....

You can be a "good" drummer in a few months, if your goals are "just to be average good".

You can be one helluva great drummer if you are never satisfied with how much you learn, play, and live drumming.

Me, I'll never be satisfied with my drumming- ever. I'm so much better than I was years ago, but I'm still lesser that some others I compare myself to.

I figure that when I stop comparing myself to those that are more advanced than I am (in all important aspects of my life) then I will have become stagnant, and that is the beginning of decline.

Just my 2 cents.

Cheers,
C. P.
 
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