New Drummer Technical Question on Learning

hello.. Im a new drummer. I have been a guitar player in a band for years so i do have music experience.. I decided to learn drums. I can play along with some rock songs just by usisng my ear but my tech is not that great at all. My best part of my drumming is my foot. I have good foot control but my hand control is not that great at all.

I just started taking leasons from a wonderful instructor. Its been about 3 weeks and we only are learning how to read music (drum music) We have not gone over using metrenomes or any excersises.. Jusr reading at the moment. Should i be doing drills and stuff like hand control at this point??

Any input would be appreciated

Also i have used metrenomes in the past for guitar. This is my 3rd week taking leasons and i have heard nothing yet other than reading.
 
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I wouldn't start doing any drills yet. Just do what the instructor says. I'm saying this because if you start doing drills, your technique will most likely be wrong, and your instructor will show you how to get your stroke right. It's easier if you never did any drills and someone teaches you properly than if you already knew them improperly and have to relearn them.
 
ohh thanks allot i appreciate the input.. Like i said i suppose we are just focusing on reading at the moment.. Im not sure how important that is and how one should start out :) He does not have me using a metrenome yet either just practicing reading. Im sure excercises are important and nessesary
 
You admitted that you think of him as a wonderful instructor, so you must trust him. It has only been 3 weeks - so that's only 3 lessons. Ask him what his philosophy is. Even if it is not written down, a drum teacher should have a curriculum. This curriculum may vary depending upon the needs and goals of the student. But he should be able to tell you what you will be working on over the next few months.

Jeff
 
Thanks Jeff much appreciated.. I guess im used to guitar where reading was not crucial.
I will ask for sure. I am practicing some snare and bass and reading basic beats. I suppose its just to get me learning to read. Thanks so much for your replies

i do however find the reading difficult to get used to..
 
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Welcome to the ranks!

Truth is you could start in many differnt places and wind up at the same point a couple years down the line.

The key that I tend to stress is becoming familiar and comfortable with frustration.

You have started down a path that will enrich your life...and that means the rest of it...thats probably easier to measure in tens of years...keep that perspective in mind.

There is no stopping point to learning to drum...be ready to be bored. Be ready to be frustrated.

If you can master these things then you will find your perception of reality itself altered as you see the timing and tempo of things far outside of your drumming.

Learning to read is an EXCELLENT first step!!!

Keep us updated!
 
Thanks allot Otto. It took me 15 plus years to master the guitar. i was playing perfesional for a long time. I have always wanted to learn drums. What i have going for me is that i love to do excercises and im great at structuring practice sessions.

I have heard that drumming is a lifestyle and one friend even told me to basically double the time it took me to learn guitar. I guess im musically inclined enough to play drums with songs (well easy ones) I was able to do that before taking lessons. I do have plenty of time to practice. What i am concerned about is my age... Im 37 years old and i am hoping this is somthing i can learn even at this age. I see lots of teenage kids just killing on the drums and i hope its not somthing that you have to start at like 10yrs old. i mean i see young players playing a beat and keeping time with the hi hat using thier foot and that seems imposible to me.

Yes we have not started with any drills or metrenomes yet. Basically im just reading hihat bass and snare not even toms yet.. My goal is to be able to jam with a band someday..

As for practice i am going to speak with my instructor about that.. Do any of you guys know whats concidered a relative decent practice time? i mean im just reading now but i do spend at least 2 hrs a day going over the material..

Im used to frustration. Is this going to be somthing im going to yank my hair out. My only flaw is im kind of an instant gratification kind of guy. guess i need to change my ways. Any pointers or suggestions would be appreciated. Im so worried about my age as well
 
corney..but the pleasure of the love of what you are doing will go a long way to mitigating the frustration and pain.

In the end, the time is relevant to the song ...not the player of it. Releasing the expectation of achievement and sinking into the moment will release you not only of the difficulties....but the need for relative acomplishment.

If you can get there, you will find the energy expended in managing and overcoming that expectation is then channeled to your expression and ability...creating a far more relevant return on effort to create satisfying art.
 
Now I know why I didn't say anything on this thread, SniffyDuke. Some great drummers already have, but since you said any input is appreciated, I can relate to what you are going through. Pretty good with the foot, but never trained myself in much technique beyond doing rolls and single stroke fills. I've just started doing technique practice this past year or so. I've never really used a practice pad in all these years, but now I am because I reached a point in my playing ability where the only way to progress is to learn technique on the pad. I've got good feel on the drums, etc., but since I've started applying this new stuff I can see improvement in my own playing after being on a plateau for a long time before I discovered this website. So, stick around and read a few threads and I hope you have a gret time learning the drums.
 
Sniffy...I think you are doing okay. I would say that for the first 3-4 months my instructor and I worked soley on the practice pad and working out of books like Syncopation....learning to read, count and such things. I would practice those things everyday (many of them, I still do) and then when I was done with practice, I started playing along to songs on my own. I couldn't do much more at first than try to keep a rock beat going but I enjoyed it. Eventually we moved to working on the kit and trying different things.

As I said in another thread of yours, it's important to learn the rudiments and basics first...you know, the boring stuff :) and the other will come in time. You are only 3 weeks in..give yourself a break and some time. I know how it is though, I'm very impatient and a perfectionist...a lethal combination when it comes to drumming....and I get frustrated very easily. My teacher laughs about it all the time and is constantly telling me to relax and just take my time...I'm trying.

You definitely seem to have the drive and the willingness to play, now just have fun!

Happy Drumming!
MaryO
 
Thanks Jeff much appreciated.. I guess im used to guitar where reading was not crucial.
I will ask for sure. I am practicing some snare and bass and reading basic beats. I suppose its just to get me learning to read. Thanks so much for your replies

As someone who's played guitar for almost 50 years with various short periods of studying along with paying the rent doing it, I applaud your decision to learn the new instrument the right way. I've played drums almost as long as guitar with casuals and subs here and there, but recently came to the decision to concentrate on them. I realized that I could relearn drumming correctly much easier than undoing all the years of being somewhat proficient on guitar but not reading well or having enough command of theory to play the stuff I wanted to and making up for those lost years.

The important part here is that reading WAS crucial to playing the guitar. Only, like a lot of guitarists, I could fake it well enough to get by at a certain level. Every time I banged my head against the ceiling of my playing ability, I would get out the books or start up lessons only to give up in frustration because I was further ahead by faking than going back to square one or two and trying to rebuild the foundation that didn't exist. I picked up things over the years but the further I got, the more I realized how much I'd short circuited myself.

So now it's hours of playing exercises with a metronome pinning down fundamentals. Breaking down things I'd been playing on drums by ear and working out exactly what they are and why they sound and feel the way they do. Going to the things that I like and doing the same thing. And the boring process of playing them slowly to a metronome so that they are clean and in time before trying to do them at tempo.

It's a slower more painful start, but I've seen enough evidence in other musicians I know that the learning curve accelerates much quicker when you have the foundation. I don't have another 50 years to keep winging it.
 
Very interesting... I started out learning the foundation on the guitar. However it took me many years to reach the ability i reached.

Hey you guys. For someone like me who is starting this new instrument. What is a respectable time for practice sessions. Im currentlty doing like 2 hrs a night. I know i used to bang out guitar drils for like 5 hrs a day but i was also 15 yrs old.. Its tough at 37. I hope you can still teach an old dog new tricks. Somtimes i think you have to start young to get good but i hope that is not always true.

Anyhow i hope 2 hrs a night is respectable, PLease comment
 
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