What should I have learnt

trickshot0621

Junior Member
Hi guys I'm a drum noob who only started to play drums about 7 months ago. I right now have a private tutor with me since the beginning but I'm starting to think that I'm behind what i should've learnt by now.
So what sort of stuff should i be able to to on my e-kit right now? ( roland td11kv)
 
I'm afraid you might not get very many helpful responses because a) everyone learns at a different rate, and b) what you can play is perhaps less important than how well your technique is developing. Only your teacher will really know, and should be giving you feedback.

And really, what does it matter? If you are "behind," are you going to work extra hard? Are you going to give up? If "ahead," are you going to slack off or relax? You should just try your best and keep plugging away if you love the instrument, IMO. Drumming is a lifelong journey for those who really love it.

Good luck, and welcome to the world of drumming!
 
Adding to the above - what are your goals? What concept is your teacher following? Did you give him any clues on what is most interesting for you (e.g. genres)? Or did you simply want to "learn drumming" and become a "good drummer"?

Sure, in the beginning there's a lot of things that tend to be taught typically. But the longer you're into it the more specific your practice might get. We have a good number of instructors on this forum so there might be some agreement as to what beginners might/should have learnt at your stage but that info would only be a rough guideline.

Also, any teacher can only teach you certain things but it's up to you to sit down and work on all that and practice the motions/concepts. So are you prepared when you have lessons? A good teacher should also show you how to practice efficiently. Perfect/quality practice makes perfect, not 'only' practice.
 
Maybe.......English?

And, I agree on the pace thing. You learn and progress at your own pace.

At 7 months, you should be able to at least play along with basic music. Some people never progress beyond that point while other do seemingly impossible stuff.
 
Agreed with many here... it's not a race and there's no finish line... You'll ask the very same question in 30 years time... you should get use to it from the beginning :)
 
Maybe.......English?

???

As others have said, it's hard to quantize the level of success one should attain in a given amount of time. I would hope that, if anything, you're learning the importance and reward of always playing relaxed and with as little tension as possible. I actually really envy you. If I could totally wipe the slate clean and start over I would. One of my biggest regrets was not learning how to do things in a way that would make me a more efficient drummer.

I don't like to use the terms "right" and "wrong" since one drummer's problem is another drummer's solution and vice-versa.
 
I feel where you are coming from but it really is an impossible question to answer. Everyone does learn at a different pace. I am 2.5 years into this and often feel that I am very much behind others with the same experience (especially when I see some young whipper-snapper who has been playing 6 months and can pull off some kind of ridiculous drum solo or Bonham lick...lol).

However, there are so many factors to consider...age, natural ability, how much do you practice and actually put into learning the craft, quality of instruction...etc. Start with your teacher and get their honest opinion. Then, look in the mirror and ask yourself...am I where I want to be? If not, ask yourself and your teacher what you can do to get there and if your goals are even realistic (this is often my problem...I try to bite off more than I can chew and set goals way to high).

You are the only one you really have to please. If you know you are trying your best and are having fun, then that's all that really matters. And remember, try not to compare yourself to others...it's the quickest way to get off course. Not to mention...7 months in is very new. Look back a year from now and I bet you'll be amazed at how far you've come :)

Good Luck and Happy Drumming!
 
What makes you think you are "behind"?

What do you do in your lessons?

Do you seem to have the same lesson over and over and over again?

If you think you're "behind" because you can't play That Song That You Really Want To Play yet, it's because you've only been learning for 7 months.

If you do a lot of rudiments in your lessons, there are many people (me included) who think that this is a good foundation.

If you seem to have the same lesson over and over and over again, the chances are that you need to practice more in the meantime. You can't move on until you've nailed what you're doing now. Your teacher also hates having to do the same lesson over and over and over again and certainly wouldn't do this out of choice!

If you really hate practising rudiments, find a way of doing it that is bearable: play them to your favourite songs. If the songs go too fast, play the rudiments at half speed. A whole song's worth of a single rudiment is quite a lot.
 
Agree with Magneta's advice.

I didn't take many lessons in the start instead I was learning the easiest songs and progressed to easy songs etc... it was a very sloooow progress and mainly practiced the money beat a million times and some advanced bass drum technique(which probably wasn't the best idea to start with after 2 months)

What kept me going and never stop practicing was that I could see small progress and it was great fun to play along to tracks and actually drum a whole song to the end just after a few months of drumming.

The problem is that it was extremely slow progress and if I would have spent the time practicing rudiments instead I could have learned the songs in a few days instead of months...

Off course you should have some fun as well and try to learn some easy basic rock songs and notice that your rudiment practice actually paid off...

It's a bit like in Karate Kid when the master tells him to wax his cars and paint his house using special movements... the kid doesn't know he learned a lot of karate during the time of this work :)
That's how I see the rudiments...

Now after almost 3 years I have to practice the rudiments more than anything else, it's basic foundation that I only have bit's and pieces of. (Which make it hard for me every time I learn a new song)

It's not only individual how good you should be after a few months it's also depends
what skills you have been practicing...
For example:
student1: A beginner drummer only learning tunes and play a long to tracks. He could be able to pull of over 10 songs but they would probably be very sloppy fills and messy rolls...

Comparing with student2 that only practice rudiments/fills with a metronome and learning 1 or 2 songs on the side. Chances are that student2 will be able to execute fills in time and clean rolls in those 2 songs.

However student1 have learned other skills student2 haven't. Student1 have got a lot of ideas for fills, beats and listen to a lot of songs how different instruments interact with each other. student1 will probably be much better at jamming with randoms because even though he is sloppy he can predict better when the verse change to chorus, when it's a good time to put in a fill etc...

The point is: Whatever you have learned so far is good practice, focus on your weaknesses at all time and you will be able to do whatever your goal is in the future!

I would say the drummers that stick with student2 approach for at least 10 years have a chance of becoming a professional session-drummer, hired for tours/ drum teachers etc.

Drummers that stick with student1 approach for 10 years either get lucky and join a band that get famous(metallica/white stripes) or just play for fun as a hobby.
 
If you want to increase your success rate,you'll have to double your failure rate.

What you're asking is, how long is a piece of string?No one knows that answer.

We're all different,and learn at different rates.

Just practice till you get it right....and do it again,and again.

Joe Morello told me,"I don't just play it till I get it right,.......I play it till I can't get it wrong.

If you pay close attention also,you'll learn something different everyday,the pros know that.

Even the late Buddy Rich,and guys like Dave Weckl still study,and take lessons.

Steve B
 
I see a common thread here. Let's face it - we're all facing the same problem. The problem is very talented people. They make us feel bad. They push us to tense our muscles as we try to keep up with them.

They must be ... eliminated ...

:)
 
I like the advice of asking your teacher where you are in terms of progress. Keeping in mind that you may not be working on the right things or the right amount of time. From that perspective he can probably give you an answer where none of us can. The other thing that is important is self evaluation. Are you doing all you can to improve your playing? There has never been a time in my many years of playing that I have gone 7 months and did my best that whole time. You go up and donw on motivation and results. My advice, keep working by doing the work your teacher assigns and anything else you can cull from the myriad of discussions on here and elsewhere. One other thing, if you are not working the hardest on the thing you do the least well, you are not doing all you can to improve your skills.

Sorry about the nit pik but I think you meant, learned.
 
I see a common thread here. Let's face it - we're all facing the same problem. The problem is very talented people. They make us feel bad. They push us to tense our muscles as we try to keep up with them.

They must be ... eliminated ...

:)

Not to mention the little 7 year old drumming prodigies that can barely reach the bass pedal and make us all feel like insufficient, talentless, losers. I'm with you...

they shall all be eliminated (or at least erased from YouTube which in today's world is practically the same thing).
 
Hello! I'm a new drummer too, just started late last year.

Here's what i tell myself when I get overwhelmed - that the most important thing is to just play. Stick with it, make practice time daily, and should come together eventually (especially if you've got a tutor, since s/he probably has a plan for that) so do the best with what you're working on and enjoy playing.

(Also, since you've got an ekit too, you might like trying something silly I do when I want to play better than I can right now. I put something great on my ipod headphones, DON'T turn on the drums, and bash away, pretending that it's me on the song. Kids do stuff like that all the time, so I tried it and it still works as a grown up. You can imagine you are any great drummer, and with the sound off you'll have nothing to tell you that you're not! Then go back to your rudiments an d rock beat or whatever, but with renewed enthusiasm)

:) Leanne
 
I just remembered another little nugget of wisdom I heard years ago. I was friends with a guy that was light years ahead of me when it came to ability. We'd hang out and he'd give me pointers. He said something really interesting one day..."We don't often see ourselves improve because we're more focused on what we're still doing wrong."

I still think he is right. And what I took from that is that sometimes we need to stop and smell the roses--acknowledge the improvement we've made and be proud for a little bit. Doing so seems to reenergize me when I feel like I'm in a rut.
 
The most important lesson I know -

"anything worth having is worth working for" or, anything worth having doesn't come easy. People aren't just born into Buddy Rich's or Vinnie Colauitas shoes, flying around the kit with ease. They put a lot of blood sweat and tears into it to say the least.
 
Is this another thankless thread? I notice the OP still has only one post, and hasn't participated in the discussion at all.

It would be nice to let us know if s/he is even reading.
 
Is this another thankless thread? I notice the OP still has only one post, and hasn't participated in the discussion at all.

It would be nice to let us know if s/he is even reading.

Could be for any number of reasons, but yes it would be nice.

Is the lack of response going to make us less ready to try our best to be helpful in the future? I doubt it. We're better than that.
 
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