New drummer. Need lots of advice!!

alejandro

Junior Member
Ok, so I want to start playing drums but I don't know where to start. I really just want to start playing straight up metal and see if I can eventually get to playing Metalcore and hardcore music. I've been a guitarist for 8 years and I've got some idea on drum playing, but never really sat down and played, except for Rock Band (what a wannabe right?) So I wanted to know which drum instructionals are really good (I'm in another country, drum teachers are non-existent here). Plus, I don't even have a drumset yet, but I've been looking and I have the cash and I don't know which sets are the best. Please any advice would be good, sorry I came here and bothered, but facebook really didnt offer any pages where I could ask. I'm kind of embarrassed to ask some of these questions, but I really didnt know where else to look for advice. Please add anything that could help me out as a starter. THANKS!!
 
There is no better place to start, than at the start. Learn your basics from holding the sticks to tuning the drums.

Dennis
 
I think the Tommy Igoe "Great Hands for a Lifetime" is a very solid instructional video. Lots of grip talk, some grip talk, "most popular" rudiments, and a drum circle to play along with.

"Stick Control" book is very good for working your hands as well.

As far as a set goes, I'd go cheap to start. You don't know if you are going to like it and well its going to take alot of hard "boring" work to get to Metalcore level.

Most low end kits from the big manufacturers are really decent today.
 
Basic Rock beat is what everybody usually learns first :)

Learn your quarter notes, 8th notes, 16th notes

Once you figure out a few things basically its 8th notes on the hihat, snare on 2 and 4 and kick on 1 and 3, Rock on!

Have fun! If teachers are an issue and online is an option, I highly recommend mikeslessons.com I'm one of his online students and I've been with him since last March.
best decision I made for me!

If you have any specific questions feel free to PM me.
 
...

1. get a drumset

2. start playing

3. See if you like it.

4. play some more

5. see if you like it even better

6. learn to play rudiments

7. learn to play rudiments well

8 play along with your favorite music.

9. Buy some basic books on drumset playing.

...
 
Besides rudiments, I always tell a new drummer that a great place to start is with AC/DC's Back in Black album. Those are the basics right there. From there, you'll have to learn that double-bass right away so you might as well get a double-bass pedal for your bass drum right off the bat. After learning Back in Black, you can then step it up to Motley Crue's Shout at the Devil album where Tommy Lee does some simpler, but no less effective, double-bass playing in songs like Red Hot. Foo Fighters' My Hero has a cool drum beat that you can practice on double bass drumming. He might actually play that on a single bass pedal. I know I can, but it takes a lot of effort. Enjoy!
 
Basic Rock beat is what everybody usually learns first :)

Learn your quarter notes, 8th notes, 16th notes

Once you figure out a few things basically its 8th notes on the hihat, snare on 2 and 4 and kick on 1 and 3, Rock on!

Have fun! If teachers are an issue and online is an option, I highly recommend mikeslessons.com I'm one of his online students and I've been with him since last March.
best decision I made for me!

If you have any specific questions feel free to PM me.
Hey Tyger,

Can you elaborate on what you feel that mikeslessons.com has given you that you couldn't get from just watching some videos?
 
Hey Tyger,

Can you elaborate on what you feel that mikeslessons.com has given you that you couldn't get from just watching some videos?

Sure, but again to each his own, it works for me and I'm quite pleased with my decision.
I would still buy DVD's and plan too but even the best DVD's have their limits.

  • Live lessons:
  • Price, for $20 a month you get 12 lessons a month, 3 beginner, 3 intermediate, 3 advance, but you can learn from all levels. ,pdf provided along with mp3's to keep. Q&A after each lesson about anything from gear, past lessons, etc. Also he's always open as to what we want to learn, anything suggested that has many requests will be put into the schedule. Mike's cool that way because he see's our needs. All lessons are "archived" for about 4 weeks and there is also the option of purchasing the live lesson if needed (however this is being upgraded at the moment so no live lessons are available for purchase right now but will be soon). Also lessons are twice a day 2pm EST and 9pm EST so he could cater to those in a different time zone. Lessons are Sun, Mon and Wed. Even though it's online it is live and gives that personal touch.

    Also additional lessons can be bought that are pre-recroded either for 1.99 or anywhere from $5-$15 for a packaged lesson, it's optional of course.

  • Student Reviews: If you are able to record yourself, you can upload to the student channel to get critiques from Mike after the live lessons. It's not every lesson though he would usually do a few at a time every other week or as needed.

  • Great supportive community of drummers. There are so many around the world and some do get together. I would say this is the biggest thing. Everyone is helpful and eager to learn from each other.

  • Mike's way of teaching is something else! He can make something boring and plain creative and interesting. He's very relateable, funny and passionate about what he does. He's an excellent drummer to boot! One thing I really like is how he explains how to apply things to your kit. Even something like 16th note triplets using RLK. He will show you how to use it as a fill, groove and whatever else exists. Same thing with rudiments, he will show and teach practical applications. In my few months with them we've covered many genere's of music from funk to rock and we also learn about the business side of drumming.

Of course as everyone knows, having a live teacher is best, especially if you are younger and have the time. I'm 37, a late bloomer if you will with a full time job, family and other interests. This fits me fine and I could learn all these lessons on my own time.
The Q&A and critiques are valuable for me since those are my opportunities to get answers and feedback on my playing.

I'm most likely going to find a local teacher that I can meet maybe once a month to kind of see where I am and give me pointers to what I might be doing wrong that an "online" instructor wouldn't catch. However Like I said, I've learned so much and drumming to me is fun and exciting, never forced or boring and much of it has to do with the environment Mike creates. It really is like a family and I've made many dear friends because of it all over the world. sure we haven't met persoanlly but it happens. There are a few local guys that I've been meaning to meet up with and shed with and learn from one another. However my expectations are open, I know I'm not going to be a rockstar, but I would like to be able to jam at a bar or lounge occasionally...for me it's just about playing music. So this suits me but may not be for someone looking to make a living out of drumming. Can these lessons enhance the experience? Absolutely! There are quite a few drummers who are teachers that are part of the community and Mike even talked about having a "teachers" camp in 2012 for those interested or currently teaching.

Those I would say are what comes to mind but if you have specific questions I'd be happy to answer you, but maybe send a PM so we don't hijack the thread :)
 
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For £19.95 + P&P - You could get my book of 150 progressional drum lessons, covering Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced - with videos to show each lesson. Used by teachers as teaching material and students as months/years of practice material.

Shipping time to USA is around 4 days.
 
Hey Tyger,

Didn't want to requote all that text. I asked the question here instead of a PM because I felt that the community as a whole could benefit from the response.

Excellent response! Thats pretty much what I was looking for. You and I are in similar situations (Started at 32, now I'm 34, married, 2 kids, FT job). I'm actually local to Mike's facility, but I am not in a place to take live lessons. I noticed that he stopped doing individual lessons (at least on his site) about a year ago...I assume to focus more on the online thing.

I've seen alot of his free youtube stuff, I know he's a fantastic drummer and almost all of his students just rave about him.

You should give him that write up as some user testimony. I've wondered what the "package" entailed besides him showing you something on video. The feedback portion is very critical IMO.
 
Hey Tyger,

Didn't want to requote all that text. I asked the question here instead of a PM because I felt that the community as a whole could benefit from the response.

Excellent response! Thats pretty much what I was looking for. You and I are in similar situations (Started at 32, now I'm 34, married, 2 kids, FT job). I'm actually local to Mike's facility, but I am not in a place to take live lessons. I noticed that he stopped doing individual lessons (at least on his site) about a year ago...I assume to focus more on the online thing.

I've seen alot of his free youtube stuff, I know he's a fantastic drummer and almost all of his students just rave about him.

You should give him that write up as some user testimony. I've wondered what the "package" entailed besides him showing you something on video. The feedback portion is very critical IMO.

No worries, Like I said, I just didn't want to hijack the thread. I've been asked before and I will always say the same thing. when you subscribe to the live lessons I can almost guarantee you will enjoy them. I still even buy some of the separate video lessons just to try something different but to be honest since I started in March, we've covered so many topics from various grooves, linear fills which I love personally, coordination exercises etc. I have enough material to last me a long time and keep me busy!

Anyway, sorry to the OP I won't mention anything again about the lessons. if anyone has any questions just PM me. I don't want people to think I'm here to promote them. I joined this site to learn from all of you and share with those who are also starting off like I am, that's all :)
 
thanks everybody for all the tips and advice!!! I hope i can get on track soon with playing drums, I can't wait!!
 
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