44 Years Old And Just Ordered Drums WTH

I find this thread inspiring, as at age 41 (last year), I started playing again, after taking a 17 year break. Back in the 1990's I was young and had no clue as what the heck I was doing. And I only played two drum grooves.

Now after a year of playing (with just a snare, kick drum, hi-hat and two cymbals) along with a metronome, my goals are to start playing in a band. But, first, starting in two weeks, I'm going to sign up for a month of drum lessons.

I grew up on punk music, Misfits, Circle Jerks, Minor Threat, etc... Then, I enjoyed alternative stuff and modern rock. And now I like everything from Stiff Little Fingers (punk), to Brad Paisley (country) to Niel Young and Tom Petty. So, deciding what directions to go as a drummer, isn't going to be easy for me. Nonetheless, I'm planning to go as far as I can as a drummer. Call it a mid-life- crisis. :)
 
Hello everyone, I am 44 years old, never played a musical instrument in my life except for that annoying Fischer Price xylophone when I was a kid.......... Anyway for some reason I just said you know what, I am going to take up the drums, have no idea why or the reason for it. However I ordered a cheap Mapex Rebel set and it should be here tomorrow. that leads me too my next two questions are this. Where the hell do I go from here, and has anyone else done something this stupid? I do have a third question, how hard is it to learn drums?

Well I was 29 when I finally decided to get my first drum kit having made the decision in 1994 to get a certain kit some day. Meanwhile I carried on being a guitarist and I still am.

So I had the reason and the why, have kit will learn to play. I found my Tama by using one yahoo search and found the complete amount of drums without having to change what I wanted in UK.

Having it shipped to me in Denmark I got it in 3 boxes fresh from 2 years of retirement. It was partly used for rental for more than a decade. One quick thought was: What have I gotten my self into? as I got the drums out of the boxes once they arrived on 3 different days!

My wish was a used kit and it was top of the line back in the late '80s so still hiqh quality. Needless to say I got into getting it all together so it could be setup they way I wanted it. I had some issues to take of getting it ready.

One thing was learn to tune the drums! It makes a lot of difference on whatever you come to love it or not.

The other it is your drums so decide what you want to learn.

Drums take that you play in time every time! A metronome will help you get your skills dialed in due to the repeating motions and it becomes a habit. A drummer that can play on time always sound better and develop faster as you install correct playing skills into your system.

Can you teach yourself? There is a lot of free material out there so if you can then it is properly the only thing you need but sometimes another view on things by someone else is pretty cool.

Learn to listen and trust your ears. If it sounds good it is good.

Rock on!
 
Looks like you've got lots of company. I'm 48 and am three months into drumming. I'd recommend lining up some lessons early on - a good teacher will keep you from developing bad habits and give your practice some direction.

I wish I had taken lessons when I started playing guitar a few years ago...
 
Looks like you've got lots of company. I'm 48 and am three months into drumming. I'd recommend lining up some lessons early on - a good teacher will keep you from developing bad habits and give your practice some direction.

I wish I had taken lessons when I started playing guitar a few years ago...


Don't forget the online lesson sites.. one helped me way more than an in person teacher. and was there 24/7 so if i wanted to use it at 3am.. no issues :)
 
Figure out how to set em' up, tune them up a bit up and play em'. I would not put to much pressure on yourself at first. The most important thing is to have fun!

Playing to recorded music is a good way to improve your time and stay motivated. If the drums aren't gathering dust two months from now then you may need to add something a little more focused.
 
Some basic understanding of musical notation is good, but you don't have to spend hours and hours perfecting your reading
A basic understanding of note values etc. will help your playing.

My advice is to not take it too seriously and have fun! Musicians spend too much time beating themselves up.
 
My two cents worth:

Get some earplugs or sealed headphones, or muffle the drums a lot, especially if you're going to play for extended periods. It will give your ears a break and you'll concentrate better when you're not recoiling from every snare hit or cymbal crash.
 
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