Drummers Needed, Please!!

[lilerm8302]

Hey guys & gals, I am trying to get as many drummers as I can to take my online survey...please help me out by taking the survey.

Thanks in advance.

Survey

[Anthony Amodeo]

be glad to

wont open for some reason

[lilerm8302]

http://kwiksurveys.com?u=onlinedrumlessonssurvey

Sorry, this should work. :)

[Anthony Amodeo]

some of the multiple choice had no answer that pertained to my situation at all so I just picked random answers

not sure that helps at all though

[bermuda]

You might add a text answer section for questions 8 & 9, the provided choices didn't apply to me.

Bermuda

[MaryO]

I took it but I wish some of the questions would allow multiple answers as more than one would have been appropriate for me

[lilerm8302]

MaryO-Thanks for the suggestion. I will see if I can change that particular one.

Bermuda-If you don't mind me striking up a conversation about the questions...you could put your thoughts here.
What is your goal for playing the drums?
What is the greatest challenge you face when it comes to playing drums?

I'm curious to know... :)

Thank you for your feedback.

[Anthony Amodeo]

Originally Posted by lilerm8302

MaryO-Thanks for the suggestion. I will see if I can change that particular one.

Bermuda-If you don't mind me striking up a conversation about the questions...you could put your thoughts here.
What is your goal for playing the drums?
What is the greatest challenge you face when it comes to playing drums?

I'm curious to know... :)

Thank you for your feedback.

it's kinda funny ...someone asking Bermuda what his goals as a drummer are

innocently though Im sure she doesn't know who he is just by the screen name and pencil drawing

still got a little giggle out of it though

[DrumEatDrum]

I thought 1 and 9 didn't really have answers that apply to me, but I gave the closest answer.

[lilerm8302]

Gvdadrummasum-I know now!

[keep it simple]

Done :) --------------------------

[bermuda]

Originally Posted by lilerm8302

Bermuda-If you don't mind me striking up a conversation about the questions...you could put your thoughts here.
What is your goal for playing the drums?
What is the greatest challenge you face when it comes to playing drums?

Simple enough on both...

My goal is to keep playing as long as I want to. Obviously there's not really an appropriate option for that answer, and I wasn't allowed to skip the question.

And for challenges, I don't have any that get in the way of my playing for a living (yet...) but there's not an option for that, and again, I couldn't simply skip the question.

But those are the answers I would have written in. :)

Bermuda

[lilerm8302]

Bermuda-

Thanks for coming back and answering my questions.

One of the things I worry about as I begin the journey of playing the drums, myself, is my physical limitations. I'm a runner, and I am already developing "Runner's Knee", and I've had random symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (my father had surgery on both hands in his early 40's), already. I just read an article by Thomas Lang about his situation.

Anybody else been experiencing this sort of stuff?

[Arky]

I do run - between a few and up to 30 km a week (ATM distances are up to 10 km). I know that's not that much but I'm also practicing foot technique a lot (usually several hours a day) so there is an accumulating effect and I'm trying to _balance_ this all.

"Balance" is the key word here. Not all "runners" have knee problems, it depends on your mileage. Determine what works for you, this might mean you'd have to reduce your running - either by shortening the distance, lowering the running speed, doing runs less frequently or a combination of this. I'm also doing exercise every now and then - when doing so I have to factor this into my drum practice, too. So everybody has to find a way which works individually.

If you're seriously getting into drumming there will be a (slight) overall cardio effect (and you have to push it to get a cardio effect out of drumming). But if you're a runner already the drumming won't be contributing much or even noticeable at all.

So far I haven't had any problems due to drumming. But that's because I know when to rest or call it a day. On some days I might notice that the hands feel tired so I would either give the hands some rest and continue on the following day or maybe practice in the evening, and doing a shorter session. Sometimes it's the legs which need some rest so prepare to be flexible in your drumming practice.

I did have one issue caused by running - with more mileage (it's not a problem ATM as my mileage is quite low) my right knee tends to hurt a bit. This is no problem when drumming whatsoever though. I might add that (depending on the intensity/duration) both running and drumming creates some strain for the body/tendons (esp. when practicing fast double bass) etc so this is something I'm paying attention to. Sometimes it's not the muscles feeling tired but the tendons signalling me that they're not fully recovered - I would keep this in mind and structure my practice accordingly. It's just listening to your body and applying some common sense.

Being a runner I assume you're familiar with stretching/warm-up. This is a great idea for drums, too!

Sorry for constantly building on this post, but you've mentioned an important and complex aspect so there is so much stuff coming to my mind...
As for that Thomas Lang/grip thing... Basically it's you to determine the probability for issues to occur, depending on the quality of your technique/grip/posture. The more relaxed your grip (=your strokes will still be powerful, but more effective as you can direct the impact onto the sticks and thus, onto the drums) the less physical problems you'll run into. And vice versa. Good posture and technique (with an ergonomic drumkit setup - distances, angles, throne quality/height) is paramount. Make sure you're getting this right because this is the foundation of... your entire drumming.

[Mad About Drums]

Done ...

[lilerm8302]

Arky- Balance is a good word to use for everything, really.

Familiar with stretching? Yes. Very. When I first started running about 13 years ago...I did not put as much importance on stretching-if any. WHAT A MISTAKE. I truly believe that has been some of the underlying reasons that I've gotten the knee issues at such a young age.

When I coached cc or track/field, we would spend time before and after stretching, and the kids put up such a fight. As the season progressed (and injuries did ensue) not so much complaining took place.

Now, that I am starting out with the drums, I feel like a young kid again, and I just wanna play. So, I've got to pace myself and force myself to stretch.

How long have you been playing?

[Arky]

Originally Posted by lilerm8302

(...) How long have you been playing?

I've been into drumming for still under 2 years now. I have no set goals, I'm enjoying learning the motions. One day I might do some actual music with it, for now it's... pretending to be a drummer, haha. (Coming from the guitar, with a 21 years of playing background.)

It's cool to learn you're just having fun with drums - that's the way it's supposed to be!

I'm doing not enough stretching myself. I've been doing track & field in my youth (specialising in medium distance running, 800m) and I can benefit from a lot I've learned at that time (awareness of motions/technique/angles, stretching, how muscles work). I'm very thankful for this - to whoever is responsible for things to have run that way.

Sorry, haven't done the survey yet but will do so now.

[lilerm8302]

Hey guys, the survey is back online if you are interested in taking it still! :)