Best way to learn a song?

[oEndwaRo]

So i just got a drum set about a month back. I am at the point where i want to start learning songs. So whats the best way to do it? I haven't learned tabs yet because i view them as pointless. But what i have been doing is downloading Guitar Pro Tabs and using the notation on there. So whats your guy's opinion?

Thanks.

[theindian]

are tabs almost the same thing as guitar pro notation?

[Ian Williams]

By listening, memorizing and then put it into drums, continuous practising. It works for me.

Cheers,

[joshisaces]

By listening, memorizing and then put it into drums, continuous practising. It works for me.

Cheers,

I don't agree with one thing there. The word memorizing. Drumming shouldn't necessarily be about memorization. He should feel the song when he plays it and should be able to contribute to the song rather than play exactly what the initial drummer plays. That's just my opinion.

I've had a lot of experience with playing to songs. The first thing you can do is become familiar with the song. Know all of the pauses, breaks, and critical points. Listen to the song everyday and work at the song at the kit everyday. Start from the beginning and if you make a mistake, start over.

You'll nail the song in no time.

[bobdadruma]

I learn songs by listening and playing air drums. I like to write down notations that remind me of the progression of the song. I sometimes take lyric sheets and make my little notes under the lyrics and in the margins. I can read music a bit, (I can't sight read) I very seldom work with a music sheet. I mostly just use my memory.

[zambizzi]

Start simple and *listen*.

Pick a few songs that you really like but have very simple drum parts. The Beatles, AC/DC, etc. During the day when you're not practicing, listen to the songs a few times - they'll be in your memory when you sit down to play them. After a few days of this you're able to marry what you've been listening to with what you're doing, physically.

Get a teacher and learn the basics; counting, simple transcribing, some basic rudiments, and so on. Recognizing time signatures and being able to work out the sticking helps a bunch. You'll also be able to transcribe the parts you get stuck on and work them out through practice.

[Ian Williams]

I don't agree with one thing there. The word memorizing. Drumming shouldn't necessarily be about memorization. He should feel the song when he plays it and should be able to contribute to the song rather than play exactly what the initial drummer plays. That's just my opinion.

I've had a lot of experience with playing to songs. The first thing you can do is become familiar with the song. Know all of the pauses, breaks, and critical points. Listen to the song everyday and work at the song at the kit everyday. Start from the beginning and if you make a mistake, start over.

You'll nail the song in no time.

Fine with me, colleague. I respect your opinion, You must respect mine, don't you?
When you say, listen to the song everyday, what that means? memorizing maybe?

Thanks,

[razorx]

Fine with me, colleague. I respect your opinion, You must respect mine, don't you?
When you say, listen to the song everyday, what that means? memorizing maybe?

Thanks,

Yep that's what it means. That's how interpret it anyways. You listen and you remember the parts(which also means memorizing) and then you apply what you memorized and you will eventually have a perfect drum cover.

[razorx]

So i just got a drum set about a month back. I am at the point where i want to start learning songs. So whats the best way to do it? I haven't learned tabs yet because i view them as pointless. But what i have been doing is downloading Guitar Pro Tabs and using the notation on there. So whats your guy's opinion?

Thanks.

What's pointless about looking at a tab. You can find out where the snare drum is hit (usually on the 2 and 4 in rock) and you can also find out when the bass drum is hit. After you have that down you can work out the fills on your own.

[jwildman]

Amen brother sheet music for drums is crap. What I do to learn a song is I don't listen to the song, I absorb the song. My brain has like been wired to listen intently to the drums on any song I hear, and if the song doesn't have any I make my own beats in my head. Just play it by ear, drumming shouldn't be about sheet music, its all about playing what you feel.

[Bigwheel]

Amen brother sheet music for drums is crap. What I do to learn a song is I don't listen to the song, I absorb the song. My brain has like been wired to listen intently to the drums on any song I hear, and if the song doesn't have any I make my own beats in my head. Just play it by ear, drumming shouldn't be about sheet music, its all about playing what you feel.

To some degree this is true but let me add my 2 cents. I've been a professional drummer for better than 20 years. Initially I find great help in reading a piece of music once I've heard it for the first time. I use the sheet music to find phrasings and often times how to play across the bars to become a part of the music. Once I sit down to rehearse I use the music as a reference for knowing what the band is doing, where they are and as a tool to aid creativity. Once we've learned the piece the sheet music goes to the floor. That's when the "wisdom" to know how to use the knowledge from the music comes in and WOW...what a difference. A drummer should use every tool available to master their instrument including knowing how to read. There's no replacement for a good ear but don't discount reading music all together. It makes you a better drummer.

[oEndwaRo]

Thanks for the responses. And what i meant by tabs is something like this.

Main
C |x---------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
H |--x-x-x-x-x-x-x-|x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-|x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-|x-x--x--x--x----|
S |----o-------o---|----o-------o---|----o-------o---|----o--o--o--oo-|
B |o-------o-------|o-------o-------|o-------o-------|o----o--o--o----|

But Guitar Pro i refer to more as reading sheet music such as:
http://www.freedrumlessons.com/media/drum-lessons/drum-rudiments/single-stroke-roll-1.gif

So They are similar but i think sheet music will help me out more in the end.

[larryace]

Learning techniques vary from person to person. Some people may learn better visually (tabs) while others may learn better by listening. Others might like to combine the 2. Find what works best for you, we're all different. I'd be lost learning strictly from tabs. You don't get the emotional aspect of it from tabs. It's not the notes you play as much as how they are played. (soft, loud, medium, rushed, laid back, precise, imperfect, etc.)

[ace76543]

want to learn a song? practice it

[oEndwaRo]

Well, what are a few bands(besides ac/dc) or songs i should start on. I generally listen to metal so i can't start with bands i listen to lol.

[joshisaces]

Fine with me, colleague. I respect your opinion, You must respect mine, don't you?
When you say, listen to the song everyday, what that means? memorizing maybe?

Thanks,

Yeah, I respect your opinion completely.
I said to listen to the song every day, so you can connect with it. Look at the lyrics, what they mean to you, and the drumming will be the perfect piece to the puzzle.


I get influenced by what the song means to me.

And yes, I take back what I said about memorization. There is (and always will be) some memorization that goes on when trying to learn music.

[dpf]

In addition to AC/DC I would recommend Aerosmith and Red Hot Chili Peppers as having good and fun songs to learn.

[Fiery]

Writing out the whole song as close to note-for-note as possible is what works best for me. I guess I'm the visual type, seeing everything on paper (or screen) helps me really understand and internalize all that's happening, even if I don't end up playing it note-for-note.

[jwildman]

To some degree this is true but let me add my 2 cents. I've been a professional drummer for better than 20 years. Initially I find great help in reading a piece of music once I've heard it for the first time. I use the sheet music to find phrasings and often times how to play across the bars to become a part of the music. Once I sit down to rehearse I use the music as a reference for knowing what the band is doing, where they are and as a tool to aid creativity. Once we've learned the piece the sheet music goes to the floor. That's when the "wisdom" to know how to use the knowledge from the music comes in and WOW...what a difference. A drummer should use every tool available to master their instrument including knowing how to read. There's no replacement for a good ear but don't discount reading music all together. It makes you a better drummer.

O ya definatly. Usually if I can't understand the drum part completely I will look at other drummers to see how its done or look at some drum tabs, course I haven't looked at drum music for a good while. But in school band it's always good to have sheet music in front of you while we listen to the song. But usually I only look at tabs to see where to put the bass drum, snare hit etc. I don't really concern myself with bars or phrasing outside of band though, I honestly don't see much of a need for it.

[Hogson]

I can usually just listen to a song and play. ost rock songs are mostly quater and eighth notes anyway. but when it comes to double bass pedal stuf, i rite it out first.

[gusty]

Amen brother sheet music for drums is crap. What I do to learn a song is I don't listen to the song, I absorb the song. My brain has like been wired to listen intently to the drums on any song I hear, and if the song doesn't have any I make my own beats in my head. Just play it by ear, drumming shouldn't be about sheet music, its all about playing what you feel.

Come again? Even if you don't realize it's helpfulness you can't say it's crap.

[Boomka]

Amen brother sheet music for drums is crap. What I do to learn a song is I don't listen to the song, I absorb the song. My brain has like been wired to listen intently to the drums on any song I hear, and if the song doesn't have any I make my own beats in my head. Just play it by ear, drumming shouldn't be about sheet music, its all about playing what you feel.

So should I give back all the money I've made playing written charts all these years? Am I, and a host of other paid professionals doing musical theatre, cruise ships, Vegas shows, studio work, etc., just not getting it? Should we bin all that and just feel it from now on? Who knew?

I'll try your advice, but only if you explain it to my wife when the paycheques stop coming. I'm getting the heck out of Dodge for that conversation...

[Boomka]

O ya definatly. Usually if I can't understand the drum part completely I will look at other drummers to see how its done or look at some drum tabs, course I haven't looked at drum music for a good while.

So since you don't read well you've decided it's unimportant:

I don't really concern myself with bars or phrasing outside of band though, I honestly don't see much of a need for it.

I don't know who you work with, but the musicians, songwriters, conductors, Musical Directors, engineers, producers, Directors, Dance Captains, and others who I work with like me to be concerned about "bars and phrasing". It helps when - oh I don't know - we all want to start and finish in the same place, play unison or counterpuntal figures, or when I need to think about when/where to place a fill, change the dynamics or up the intensity level. It seems to also come in really handy when I have to learn an entire hour-long concert worth of material in an hour or two and to make sure I don't play a big cymbal crash while the female lead is giving her big soliloquay, even if I'm feeling it. But yeah, other than that, totally unimportant.

[drumguyfromWI]

the best way to learn a song is to listen to it a couple times, then put on headphones and play along to it.

[drummer girl09]

the best way to learn a song is to listen to it a couple times, then put on headphones and play along to it.

That's what I do. And if you have no clue how they do it in the song, ask some one that you know who has played it or look up the drum tab.

But I usually do what drumguy does.

[donv]

I don't know if there is a right or wrong, good or bad about any of this, but after a while you'll pick up on the format of songs and when you learn one, you've learned hundred.

[Jivi]

Personally I like to listen to the song and try and learn the drums note for note.

I air drum along to the music and if I find a part like a fill or something that I can't play, I'll slow it down in windows media player and listen to that one little section and air drum till I can memorize it, then I sit on the kit and try and play it.

I feel that learning to play what other drummers are playing is important as I notice that if I always interpret the song, I end up playing the same stuff over and over again.

Of course I do recommend interpreting songs as well, strike a balance.

[Pollyanna]

I've always been a ear drummer; I can read simple music if I have all night, which I generally don't. That's the luxury of not playing for a living. The songs I play are generally pretty simple anyway (they ain't exactly Larks Tongue in Aspic) so my main memory aids are just short notes like "Colin intro two bars", "guitar solo 16 bars", "Glenn sings I can't stand the rain x 4 then out" etc. Verrry basic :D ... but it helps.

Apart from noting arrangements I try to work on smooth transitions, e.g. moving smoothly into a verse after a fill at the end of the middle 8. Sometimes I can get worked up when playing a "hero fill", play it like a demon, and then take the best part of a bar to settle again. The mug punters will be impressed, but it's those little things that can change a performance from being "just ok" to smokin' :)

I also work on the middle 8s and the support of solos at home with a metronome because they are the "danger spots" when musos get excited and want to speed up. I want to know how the beats and transitions feel when played in clean time. Again, it's not tragic if you speed up a little in the heat of battle in a band with friends, but it's a bummer if the band or producer are going to judge you.

I also like to practice the basic beats of the song and try to work out how it can sound special, even if it's a really simple beat. I've heard anough brilliant drummers to know that even the simplest lines can sound magical if you just get it the right way - with accurate timing, dynamics that give it a real pulse and hitting the drums/hats/cymbal in a sweet spot.

Of course, as a hobbyist, my magical moments tend to be interspersed with moments of clumsiness, but it's something to shoot for :)