Best piece(s) of advice you've gotten from this forum?

Honestly, not much.

It says I joined back in 2005 (I was one of the first forum members, back when I was 18) but aside from a couple posts, I didn't really post until 2015, and even then sporadically. I've only posted as much as I have in the past few months because I'm working from home because of the pandemic.

But I did get TONS of info and advice from another forum, the old MXTabs drum forums, aka musicianforums, later known as the sputnik music forums. I joined there in 2004, but after 2010 the community started dwindling and the drum community was gone circa 2014 or so, so I jumped ship over here. But I learned A LOT from over there. Very valuable info that I still have to this day.

By the time I was posting here again, I was nearly 30 and already been drumming for over 15 years, so not a whole lot more for me to learn. Just little bits here and there.


15 years of drumming almost 30 not a whole lot more for you to learn. Wow.
 
15 years of drumming almost 30 not a whole lot more for you to learn. Wow.

Yeah figured that would attract a comment, but let's be realistic.

So yes, we should "always be learning." That's obvious. Always be open to new ideas. That really goes without saying.

But what I learned in my first, say, 3 years of drumming, is far far far far more than what I learned the other 18 years of drumming. Am I learning stuff now? Sure. But I pick up new things few and far between.

Sitting on a drum forum for one year, when I had only been drumming for about 4-5 years, not even out of high school yet, was eye opening. Because now I was no longer talking to my band teacher, or other drummers at my school. I was talking with the world. That one year of online interaction I learned scores and scores of stuff.

But in the past 5 years of active Drummerworld participation, which follows a good 10 years of online interaction with other forums....yes, there might be one nugget of advice here, one nugget of advice there, but I've already read most of it, done most of it. That's just the reality of life. I really haven't read something on these fourms that I haven't already read, or heard, or tried out myself hundreds of times.

I'm of the belief that someone could learn an instrument for 5 years, and then stop learning anything new, and actually be accomplished with the skills that they know. Can they be better? Sure. But you can be an accomplished musician regardless. Years and years and years of random nuggets of good advice is not going to drastically alter our playing.

You get to a point where sitting on a forum is no longer *that* useful for learning more things. There's better avenues than that (like, for example...actually playing with other musicians). I'm here for the community and interaction with other drummers primarily. If I learn something unique, I see that as a bonus. But that's not why I'm here.
 
I'm of the belief that someone could learn an instrument for 5 years, and then stop learning anything new, and actually be accomplished with the skills that they know. Can they be better? Sure. But you can be an accomplished musician regardless. Years and years and years of random nuggets of good advice is not going to drastically alter our playing.

I can relate to your perspective, Seafroggys. I've been drumming thirty-six years, studied the instrument formally (through private lessons) for my first five years, and have played with a plethora of bands, both as a full-time member and as a session drummer. Currently, though I drum on most days of the week and will return to the live/recording scene when conditions finally permit, I'm making no conscious effort to improve my playing. It's not that I'm arrogant, complacent, or indifferent. It's that I'm satisfied. I can do everything I need to do behind a drum set, and I don't foresee a time when I'll need to do more. I'm all about maintenance at this point, riding the tide of the skills I've developed over decades of drumming. Yes, years ago, I practiced two hours a day with great determination, but those days have passed. Now I keep my playing in shape. Making considerable leaps isn't one of my ambitions.
 
I’ll give some advice .

Don’t ask what heads should I get unless you are new to drums .
What works for others may not work for you .
Ive seen it so many times that 10 guys will answer with different suggestions there you are right where you started .
Instead go out talk to other guys in town , go to a shop , study what your favorites use .

Carry on , just a pet peeve of mine , forum wise .
 
Here, I've learned to appreciate the gear I have and to play it as often as possible, deliberately.

To appreciate new gear, but understand that it's never a guarantee that I will progress.

To play as well as I am able, despite my gear. The gear is but a means to an end.

That my drums are technically outdated, but, they sound good so it doesn't matter. It's up to me to decide how to play them, and the music will dictate a lot of that. Or, not. ;)

And, also, that I'm not as bad as I sometimes think I am, but I always have room to improve.


Also, and, also, I don't have enough drum sticks.
Yes, 2 drum sticks is a minimum really. Unless you have a very fast right hand indeed.
 
It's been a culmination of things for me and not anything in particular. I used to think I was a way better drummer before logging onto DW. That image was quickly shattered. I used to be in the bigger/more camp (5 toms, two snares, 4 crashes, two chinas, splashes, effects, etc, etc,) but learned how to do way more, with way less. This was a tough and lengthy transition, not because I was shamed into doing it, but more of a challenge of things to explore. Far more comfortable and effective now.

Reading about how you need mics to hear yourself and play back for evaluations, not only helped me clean up my playing, but I also realized the mics weren't differentiating between all those cymbals as much as I thought. Bigger gaps sounded better and and toms could be manipulated to sound differently, based on technique. Never knew any of this playing with straight earplugs as I had and isolating myself from the volume. I had learned to play somewhat dynamically, based on a previous original band I was in, so the concept wasn't totally new. I just didn't realize just how much until I could balance things out through mics and mixer. I've also discovered how incredibly tough it is to make a decent video. That alone makes the EAD10 and Yamaha's Rec n Share app worth every penny....even though I returned mine!

The concept of overplaying was foreign to me. For the most part, I wasn't guilty of this, but was adding some "fillers" to compensate for areas where I could use additional focus and work.

Probably the biggest change has been from the influence DW has had in my taking lessons. There were just some gross inequities that required attention...still are.
What was your point about earplugs?
 
I have more than two drum sticks, actually, I just need more as they decline... And, my right hand speed has already been noted in several successful moneymaking online user groups... Not drums related, though.

Yes, 2 drum sticks is a minimum really. Unless you have a very fast right hand indeed.
 
Yesterday, I wanted to find the transcription for the jazz classic, "Sidewinder". The DW forum was the first place I looked, and I found 5 different forum threads that discuss it. Another of the many reasons I love this forum.

This riff has been a beast to master. Give it a shot!

 
I appreciate you all and this forum. Sometimes it's better to tune out and turn the internet off your phone off and just see what you can learn from doing that. You might be surprised that you actually came up with something NEW!!
 
Gavin talking into a banana like it was a phone...implying to keep your ego controlled and dont be ashamed to be silly when the mood strikes no matter what success you are told you have. (a close second was his comment about the need for your band to trust your time)
 
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Cool thread.

got my first kit back in 2003 (6th Grade) and me and my old man found DW while scouring the internet for drumming videos. I don't know when I discovered the forum section but it had to have been shortly thereafter. I've been a semi-active member since around then (have a couple of old accounts in the nether) and I'd attribute a vast majority of what I know to the forum.

Some of you encouraged me to learn other styles of music aside from just metal early on, in case my tastes changed or I wanted to be able to pull of any gig. That was huge because my tastes did change, and now I'm happy that I dabbled in all styles and genres of music. Bonzoleum influenced my purchasing of quality drums and cymbals and was responsible for me owning the drums that I use to this day.

I also learned how to not act like an absolute walnut on the internet. Spending my time on this forum rather than somewhere like 4Chan had to have done wonders on my internet etiquette. I always appreciated the certain level of class here, even when things devolved into arguments.

Biggest of all was my introduction to the groove drummers, especially Ringo, whom I may have passed over if not for the forum-wide stamp of approval.
 
Yesterday, I wanted to find the transcription for the jazz classic, "Sidewinder". The DW forum was the first place I looked, and I found 5 different forum threads that discuss it. Another of the many reasons I love this forum.

This riff has been a beast to master. Give it a shot!

Wow. How jaded a jazz man would you have to be to get sick of Sidewinder. I still love every second of Take 5 too, esp since I saw the Belgium film in the vid section here ?
 
Resurrecting this thread because I've become a drummer in a band again. It's been so long, I had to re-learn a LOT! and unlearn some old bad habits. Also, there are things that I had never given much consideration which I now know are rather important.

Best advice I've gotten from this forum (as in: had the most significant impact on my drumming once I followed it):
- Tune toms up and apart.
- Make sure head tension is equal at each lug.
- Don't overhit cymbals.
- Practice.

No-brainers for most everybody else, I know. :) Yet I had to learn to appreciate even these simple and self-evident things, and you guys here helped me a lot!
 
The best advice I ever got wasn't from here. My older brother told me this while teaching me how to do electrical work.

He said "If you're working too hard, you're doing something wrong. There's a better way."

Applies to almost everything.

Working hard is OK. Working too hard is the issue. Sit down and re-think.
"It wasnt born on there." That's another good one.

Basically, if you are working on something and cant remove a part, stop. Look around. Think about it. Someone or something put it together in a specific order. Reverse that order using common sense. Eventually you will get the part off, well, because it wasnt born on there.
 
Thanks for bringing this thread back around!

It looks like I'm a full band member again at this point. With that said, much of what I complained about has been handled due to a solid manager. She's the best!
 
⬆️ TIL that band managers can help drummers.
 
⬆️ TIL that band managers can help drummers.

Our manager handles all bookings, payments, and has held our band together when it's hit the fan a time or two. I've never seen anyone go to bat for us the way she has and continues to do each show. All I have to worry about is hauling my gear and keeping time.
 
Thankful for this forum and all the advice and all the different opinions. I came on here a few years ago as a beginner and was able to ask questions and research and eventually get quality used gear. Still very much a student but really beginning to play some cool stuff and exercises.
 
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