I think I dived in much too quick

AModestRat

Member
Hello everyone, a couple of months ago, I got into drumming as another hobby. I bought a Pearl Roadshow kit and started playing the simple stuff. In June, I upgraded to a Ludwig Element Birch with new cymbals (Impression 22" ride and I've got some 15" Dream hats on the way) and slapped new Pinstripe heads on it right away. However, I think I dived in much too quick, as I feel like I'm stuck.

I can only play simple stuff and I've been trying to learn new things but it's abnormally difficult for me (even with an hour or two of practice a day), almost as if I have a mental block in the way. Combine that with my extreme difficulty with tuning (I seriously think I'm tone-deaf to drum tuning) and an extreme negative reception to me starting playing (friends, family, fellow musicians, this matters the least but still a factor), I think I'm starting to fall out of my love for it.

Does anyone have any advice? If things keep staying this way I may sell off my drums for pack them up to try again at a much later time. I hate giving up, but now may not be the best time to start playing.
 
Nr.1. Realistic time frame. A fem months is nothing.

Enjoy playing what you can and make MUSIC.

Take lessons and get a good foundation. Technique, reading...........

When you practice investigate, find one thing to work on and stick with it until you get it. Move on.

Have goals, but focus on enjoying the process.
 
You are expecting WAY too much from yourself in such a short time. It can take many months to hold a steady beat or develop any kind of limb independence. It was a few *years* before I was any good at drum tuning (or at least understood what I was doing).

Rome was not built in a day.

ps. and forget about the non-support from friends and family. Shame on them.
 
If you are stuck then stop playing for a week or so. When you play again you will notice that you have improved.
We continue to learn when we are not playing. That is how our brains work. The brain catches up and creates the connections for what we have practiced.
The simple beats that you are playing now will evolve into more complicated ones in the near future. It will happen in its own time. You can't will yourself into skill.
Play rudiments on a pad to develop your muscles. Speed and accuracy comes with working out on a pad where you can hear how even you are.
 
Sounds like you need a drum teacher for a couple of reasons:

1. To establish your technique and give you things to work on. He/She will probably show you how to practice songs in sections.

2. To help you tune your drums! Everyone has his/her own techniques for tuning drums. A lot of people start out muffling too much. I know I did this for several years.

Don't be so hard on yourself. Remember that this is supposed to be fun! It's all a process, and the joy comes in the learning. Let me/us know if you have any specific questions. We can help you! :)
 
Drums are not easy. Take your time. Enjoy the ride. Be patient, you're expecting microwave results and that's just not the way it happens. Besides slow cooking is always better, if you will pardon my analogy. Can you find some other peeps to jam with perhaps? That will make the journey more enjoyable. Even taking lessons will give you some camaraderie with a fellow musician.
 
You're not going to be the next coming of Buddy Rich in a few months. Nothing wrong with playing to basic tunes. In time, you'll improve, hopefully. In fact, sometimes I enjoy just playing to simpler music like some Beatles or Eagles stuff. Its sort of relaxing. Keep a little cooler of brews next to my kit and just roll with it.

Edit: I broke my own rule and referred to drums as a kit as opposed to a set! I better grab a few beers to fix that.
 
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Drums are noisy. They have confusing frequencies. That's what makes them have complex tones. They will always sound a little different every time you tap around the edges, even if it's essentially within pitch to itself. Anyone can confuse themselves with drum tuning until they lose their minds. Keep tuning time short and let yourself play them "close enough."
Take your drums outside and tune them on the grass. Tuning drums indoors always has reflections where different frequencies are louder just by moving your head a few inches. Pre-muffled heads help with tuning and are also a preference of some professionals for their sound.

Extreme negative reaction from family, friends and other musicians are because you are doing something to cause that reaction. Maybe realise when you might be pestering them.

Learning drums, like other instruments, takes time and love. You're taxing your brain and coordination. It's like weightlifting. You can't go into a gym and expect to squat like the big dudes without the time under tension.
That's where the fun is. You get to keep going forward with your learning and coordination while your friends and family scoff and eat wedding food.

I'm happy nobody can hear me practice because I use offensive language to myself all the time in the drum room while I'm learning something new.
 
First, get new friends. You don't need negativity. If you like the things that you are playing, play them until they sound near perfect, then move on to harder pieces. A teacher may be the key to your success. Take a few lessons and see. Also check out some lessons on Youtube that may help.
 
Do you have a passion to do this or not?

If you have a passion to do this, tell everyone to shut up, be patient with yourself, get a teacher, and enjoy the journey.

If you don't have a passion, sell away.

I'd be interested in having an offline dialog with you on why you sold the Pearl Roadshow kit so quickly.
I've been playing my whole life, and I am currently using a Roadshow kit as my primary kit.
 
Seek out some beginner lessons. Whether that be a beginner drum book, that you can master. Such as, Easiest Drum Book by James Morton. Or take a few lessons in person, from any local instructor, to get some in person feedback. Alternatively, check out mikelessons.com, as his sites offers excellent beginner courses, that cost less than ten bucks.

Or do what I did, when I first felt like I needed direction.

First, I took four in person lessons. Then, I lost interest in my instructors lessons, for a few reasons, including his lack of always being there, when we had lessons scheduled. So, I quit that. And continued to practice the stuff, which I had been given.

Then, I discovered the, Easiest Drum Set Book, and for about a months time, I made sure, I could play all the exercises. And, up to today, I still practice some of the fills from that book on a daily basis.

And just a few days ago, I was feeling lost again. So, I invested $9.99 and purchased the beginners grooves course from Mikelessons, and now, I'm stuck on lesson #3. :(

But, I'm getting it. And slowly but surely, I know I'm learning it, mastering it. And that is the boost. The reward, that keeps me motivated, and interested in playing the drums.
 
It took me more than 10 years to really build my music and drumming skills to a point where I can say that I have some solid ability. It's a long slow road, and there's literally no end to it. Once you master playing that one thing you've been striving for, you'll find that it has opened doors into other stuff you hadn't even started to consider.

You have to do it because you really love it.

Also, if you're looking for something easy... There's always bass!
 
Do you have a passion to do this or not?

If you have a passion to do this, tell everyone to shut up, be patient with yourself, get a teacher, and enjoy the journey.

If you don't have a passion, sell away.

This beats typing it out myself.
 
Unless you are a phenom and have unlimited potential and talent, plus an instructor who is top notch, you won't be a near overnight success. Sorry, it's a very long process of toiling, experimenting, highs and lows, like everything else worth having.

The main thing I keep in mind is that, things I practice now won't affect me until weeks and months later sometimes. It's the lag of muscle memory that creates quite a few quitters.
 
Does anyone have any advice? If things keep staying this way I may sell off my drums for pack them up to try again at a much later time. I hate giving up, but now may not be the best time to start playing.
Yes, take is slow and be patient. Consider the instructor/coach and hang in there, stick with it. I like the suggestion of putting the sticks down for a bit, and just listen to music, tap with your foot, air drum, use a pad.
 
Please don't give up! If you have a passion stick with it!

I teach drum lessons and I've watched this happen time and time again with students. For the first month or two everything is new. Things are challenging but possible with a little practice and everyone enjoys playing early on. Then after about 2 or 3 months students start getting into things that are a little trickier and a lot of them drop out after a few weeks of difficulty. Everyone who sticks out the rough patch goes on to love drumming again with a whole new set of skills and appreciation. I really can't begin to explain how many students stop around the 3 month mark, but everyone who sticks it out past that starts loving it again. Please push through, it gets better.

There also aren't many drummers out there who are 100% happy with how their drums sound. Early on I wouldn't worry about it though. Hit stuff and have some fun!
 
Yes, put the sticks down and see how long you can bear it. My guess is that even if you don't pick them up again pretty damn soon, you'll be foot-tapping and playing your steering wheel constantly!

It's about enjoying the journey. The destination really isn't important, and you'll never get there anyway - wherever "there" is. However, I fully understand that in order to enjoy the journey, you need a few positives along the way - though I very much doubt that you find learning new stuff "abnormally" difficult: you're probably just as quick to learn as the next person. If you find drumming difficult, that's because it IS.

Miles on the clock are enormously important, so just keep playing. Record yourself playing a simple groove to a metronome at a tempo that is very comfortable, and see how accurate you are - is your timing even? is there any flamming? If you're awful, the only way is up! If you're not too bad, there'll still be room for improvement. You can vary this exercise without changing speed by adding accents and/or ghost notes. Be aware that practice is just that: it isn't a performance. You're allowed to sound awful and make mistakes.
 
I've been playing for 48 years.
Several months ago I decided to pick up John Riley's "The Art Of Bop Drumming".
Playing the exercises (or more correctly, trying to play the exercises) makes me feel Like I can't play.
As one drummer advised me, "embrace the suck".
I really need to do that to get thru this book, LOL!
:)

Bottom line:
Playing drums is NOT EASY!
Good luck and best wishes my friend, enjoy the ride!
 
Hello everyone, a couple of months ago, I got into drumming as another hobby. I bought a Pearl Roadshow kit and started playing the simple stuff. In June, I upgraded to a Ludwig Element Birch with new cymbals (Impression 22" ride and I've got some 15" Dream hats on the way) and slapped new Pinstripe heads on it right away. However, I think I dived in much too quick, as I feel like I'm stuck.

I can only play simple stuff and I've been trying to learn new things but it's abnormally difficult for me (even with an hour or two of practice a day), almost as if I have a mental block in the way. Combine that with my extreme difficulty with tuning (I seriously think I'm tone-deaf to drum tuning) and an extreme negative reception to me starting playing (friends, family, fellow musicians, this matters the least but still a factor), I think I'm starting to fall out of my love for it.

Does anyone have any advice? If things keep staying this way I may sell off my drums for pack them up to try again at a much later time. I hate giving up, but now may not be the best time to start playing.

A couple things struck me here. You wrote "another hobby". Drums don't tolerate other hobbies. Get rid of your sports gear, sell the dog, even lose the girl-friend. Drums are jealous. They won't sound good unless you devote your life to them.

"It may not be the best time to start..." It's never the right time. Either parents or the wife or the kids or the grand-kids are in the way. You may just as well say it's always the right time. And if it's always the right time, you might as well start as early as possible.

Find some guys with guitars and a bass. If you suck, you might as well suck together and have fun.

Do all the things the others told you too.

Good luck ;)
 
A couple things struck me here. You wrote "another hobby". Drums don't tolerate other hobbies. Get rid of your sports gear, sell the dog, even lose the girl-friend. Drums are jealous. They won't sound good unless you devote your life to them.

"It may not be the best time to start..." It's never the right time. Either parents or the wife or the kids or the grand-kids are in the way. You may just as well say it's always the right time. And if it's always the right time, you might as well start as early as possible.

Find some guys with guitars and a bass. If you suck, you might as well suck together and have fun.

Do all the things the others told you too.

Good luck ;)

I have other hobbies besides drumming. So let's not generalize, shall we???
 
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