new to drumming

[cravenbiker]

Hi, Im 28 and have thought about learning to play the drums for a while, i have decided justto go for it and wondered if anyone can give me any tips as where to start?
I have already contacted a few instructors.
I think it would be great to play with a band some day and wondered if anyone thinks this is realistic considering my age.
I have decided not to invest in a Kit until i get well into it(i may have no sense of rythm although thinking that i would be good at it).

Anything that you think i should do would be appreciated.

Cheers

[ceckha]

i think its very realistic. theres people who are already playing in bands after only having played for two or three years. and i think finding teachers is probably the best way to start.

[mrchattr]

Hi, Im 28 and have thought about learning to play the drums for a while, i have decided justto go for it and wondered if anyone can give me any tips as where to start?
I have already contacted a few instructors.
I think it would be great to play with a band some day and wondered if anyone thinks this is realistic considering my age.
I have decided not to invest in a Kit until i get well into it(i may have no sense of rythm although thinking that i would be good at it).

Anything that you think i should do would be appreciated.

Cheers

Hey bro! Welcome to the forum, and to the wonderful, awesome world of drumming!

I'm glad you have gotten in touch with instructors. That's an important thing...it's good to learn to play correctly, right from the start. Feel free to post some stuff on here that your instructors say, to see if you're dealing with a guy who knows his stuff or not (not all teachers should be teaching, sadly).

It's absolutely realistic to play in a band some day. Odds are that you'll never be a famous, world-touring drummer if you start at 28...but guess what? Odds are that won't happen even if you start in the womb. So no worries there! Plenty of older drummers get gigs.

The one thing I would recommend is getting a kit, even if it's a cheap one, to practice on. There is nothing in the world like drumming, and you have to do it to get good at it. You can't go to lessons once a week, then not practice, and hope to get better...and while getting some drum pads, playing on your legs, etc, can help you, there's no substitute for the real thing, especially when you are first starting out. If you are worried about money, you can get some fairly cheap beginner kits. The local drum shop in my area, Dales, has starter kits for as low as $149.99 (US). That includes everything you need to play, though certainly nothing you would want to gig with, etc.

The most important thing to remember is that drumming isn't easy, it takes work and coordination...but it's also a ton of fun, and totally worth it.

[cravenbiker]

thats 2 cool responses!!!

I will have a problem with the drum kit on home as i am on a last warning from the council for my loud noise playing, is there places that i can go play inbetween lessons (do those kind of places actually exist)
Thanks guys...

[cravenbiker]

another thing ......out of curiousity, has anyone ever heard of someone my age beginnning this and picking it up quick enough to get a gig before the age of 30??

What you reckon?

Thanks

[stasz]

Welcome to the forum, and to drumming!

Dealing with people who don't like loud drums is often an issue for even the most seasoned drummers. It's tough but there are ways to get around it, although not completely solve it. Practice pads are small pads usually made of gum rubber that imitate the feel of a drum for quiet practice. They're not terribly expensive and are great for working on the basics that don't require a full drum set. When you do get a set, there are ways to make those quiet, too. You can buy pads to cover the drumheads which dampen the sound or heads that are made out of mesh screen which are significantly quieter than normal drum heads. The last option is more expensive, and that is buying an electronic drumset that you can use headphones on.

Personally I don't find some of these solutions to perfectly (or even very closely) imitate the feel of a real drum, but sometimes it's what you have to do. As far as a place you could go to practice between lessons, I'm not sure what to tell you. If you could find someone you could make an agreement with to play their drums at scheduled times so you could practice that might be a solution.

Oh, and as far as getting a gig before 30... it is by no means impossible. What that would take is just dedication to the instrument on your part-- learning the basics of drumming, and then learning about the essentials to playing with a band. It's a very wide subject so I'm not going to begin to get into it, but getting a good teacher and working on the right material (and putting the practice in) will no doubt put you on the path to playing with a band.

One more thing: after reading mrchattr's post I realize something I need to stress. Like he said above, there is really no substitute for the real thing, and playing on a real kit is very important. Although the options I listed above are great if playing quietly is mandatory, a real drum set-- even a cheap one-- will help you tremendously if you want to pick up drumming quickly.

[cravenbiker]

thanks mate, thats very inspiring and the problem with the noise is gonn take a bit of thinking about as the money situation at the moment is pretty dia. maybe ill have to just get evicted and keep testing the areas neighbours til i find a good match or maybe move in to a residential home for the deaf!

anyway, ill have a look at the pads and maybe put an advertt up for "drumkit needed for practicing on" ....or something like that.

Thanks

[mrchattr]

thats 2 cool responses!!!

I will have a problem with the drum kit on home as i am on a last warning from the council for my loud noise playing, is there places that i can go play inbetween lessons (do those kind of places actually exist)
Thanks guys...

Like was said byYEM, you can get a kit, then get SoundOff pads, or something similar to dampen the sound a lot. Another option, though I don't know if I would recommend it as a first kit/main thing to play on...is to get a practice kit. The Pearl Rhythm Traveler (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Pearl-Rhythm-Traveler-5-Piece-Drum-Set?sku=490905) comes with mesh heads, though it is a bit pricey. You can also get something like the the DW Go Anywhere Practice Kit (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/DW-Go-Anywhere-Practice-Set?sku=490186), which will help you get the motions down, etc.

another thing ......out of curiousity, has anyone ever heard of someone my age beginnning this and picking it up quick enough to get a gig before the age of 30??

What you reckon?

Thanks

I started playing at a very young age...but when I actually got serious about it was in 4th grade. My first paid gig was that same year. So absolutely you can. And I was just a kid with little coordination and little desire!

[PreppieNerd]

I've heard of some people using self-storage units as practice spaces, too.

[cravenbiker]

nice idea, thanks!!!!
who is gonna complain in the middle of n industrial estate, i guess?

Thanks

[mrchattr]

nice idea, thanks!!!!
who is gonna complain in the middle of n industrial estate, i guess?

Thanks

I do know a lot of people who do this, but it is not good for the drums, unless you get a temperature and humidity controlled space (or break down the drums, take them home, and take them back and set up every time you want to practice).

For a beginner's kit, it won't matter, but as you invest more, want to start gigging, etc, this becomes less of an option.

[cravenbiker]

thanks for all your help guys, i contacted a guy today that is nice and local to me and seeems to have a good history with teaching so will try andd meet up with him at the weekend for n hour.

tanx

[Overg]

Well I started (age 32) before few weeks.
I used to play the guitar for many years, and I thought to add this instrument, also it was something I wanted to do long time ago..

anyway, about your questions, I am facing the same probelms as well and I Can tell you how I solved some of them and how I intend to solve the others..

first get an instructor....

second buy a rubber pad, a metronome and a pair of sticks.

you don[t need anything more then that in the first weeks.
after that the teacher will probably give you basic rhythm to start practicing.
most of the rhythms are preformed using the :
Base, snare and hi hat, this will keep you busy for a really long time..
so this is how I solved the last prob:

http://overg-overg.blogspot.com/

you can put the pad on the snare and a shirt on the hihat, the base drum is a carton box I picked up
this way you will have a quite kit to practice.

this is enough to train the basic mechanics.

now what I intend to do in the near future.. is to buy the pearl traveler kit.
it kills all the birds in one stone :
you have:
1) acoustic kit
2) practice kit
3) and you can turn it to E kit with small invesment.

it is SUPER great for small spaces.
and it sounds really nice.

let me know if I helped in any way :)

[Ian Williams]

Hello, cravenbiker.

Welcome to the brotherhood, mate!
Check Carmine Appice profile on Drummerworld, he has good lessons to begin with.

All the Best,