What's your biggest drumming frustration as a beginner?

stoneymusicman

Junior Member
Hey guys,
I was wondering what people find frustrating about learning the drums. I am a drum teacher and kind of consider myself a problem solver for my students not just a tutor. For example my students will come to me about buying advice such as "what's the best double bass drum pedal to buy" or they will talk to me about their frustration at getting their grip right, which means I am constantly thinking of new ways to solve their drumming frustrations.

Anyway led me to wonder what frustrations other people have or have had when learning the drums?

Would love to hear your thoughts

Cheers everyone
 
I'm going back to the 70s here so forgive any vagueness. The most frustrating time I remember was after I'd been playing 5 years or so. I'd played in a few bands and was in a band that gigged fairly regularly. I decided to get some lessons and see if I could progress.

My teacher was a hardline jazz guy and he was horrified by my grip and stroke. He told me to practice super slow singles with the correct stroke and to not play my old way at all or I'd reinforce bad habits. However, I wasn't about to quit playing in a band I enjoyed just to tap slowly on a pad and only had five lessons with him.

My impression was that he didn't think that me leaving a rock band mattered much because he didn't think rock was valid music. If he'd been more compromising I would have hung in there and improved my teachnique.

I probably should have looked for another teacher but in those days you didn't have the incredible knowledge base to be found here and elsewhere on the WWW - and DVDs hadn't even been dreamt of - so I was flying blind as compared with drummers coming up today. So I just went back to rockin and gigging with my flawed technique.

Hope that's useful, Stoney.
 
maybe not as a rank beginner, but I've always found co-ordination, whether it be sticking patterns or 4-way coordination on the kit, to be the most frustrating thing to work on.

There seems to be some kind of deep primal frustration that occurs when you're working on something and it's going good and then as soon as you think about what you're doing - BAM!!! it all falls apart.
 
I had a big problem with sticking (alternating) I am left handed but was taught to play right handed. I became very right hand dominant. I would go to the extent of double to quadruple my right hand to compansate very weird bad habbit. My drum teacher cured that by making me play with my left hand only for a month and then start every exercise or rudiment with my left. It worked but still I find myself doubling my right hand. I use Stick control and go very slow and subconshly(miss spelled ) I end up on the right when it should be the left. I have almost cured my problem by starting every exercise with my left.
 
i had a drum teacher like polly's. my second drum teacher would go on about hand technique to the point of absurdity. i desperately needed help with the drum kit because my first teacher was primarily a snare drum guy, but the new teacher wanted me to focus entirely on stroke technique using nothing but a practice pad. i hung in there with him for a whole year playing slow exercises on the pad. i'm sure he helped me, but i remember at the time thinking it was all very boring.

the worst thing was that even though he was a very good drum kit player, he wouldn't even talk about playing the kit. like you, i was in a band and needed help with the kit, but he wanted to get back to basics to the exclusion of all that. so even though i had two drum teachers as a kid i ended being entirely self taught on the kit. that was frustrating.
 
When the teacher and I did not have, patience. Patience is a contributing and important factor, in how to learn drums...
 
Probably being asked by someone as a kid when I first was learning to play the drums in junior high beginning band, if I "could play Wipeout".

New to junior high, 6th grade beginning band, new school, etc. Mix and mingle and trying to make new friends and such. Whenever someone found out I was in band and play drums, the next question was ALWAYS if I could play Wipeout. Ahhhh!!! I even had adults ask me that question.

The next most frustrating thing was my single stroke roll. I nailed the double stroke fairly easily and still it's my favorite, but the single stroke roll is by far my weakness...and fast paradiddles....

And finding a decent drum teacher. I went through several unqulified louts before we finally found 2 very fine and very qualified teachers. Seems as though every dude who could hold a drum stick was calling himself a drum teacher.
 
As a beginner, my frustration is learning a new coordination of my limbs that is unfamiliar. Whether it be the coordination of playing my bass drum foot playing on an odd beat (one that I normally wouldn't play) against my hands, or a sticking that doesn't seem natural (but I am told "will become natural over time").

The worst part is having to play something that is similar enough to something that I know how to play already, but is just different enough to throw me off. While learning the new part, I'll have a harder time NOT playing what I already know than I would if I were to pick up the new part "freshly", so to speak.

Even though I've been playing for about 12 years and play music as my full-time gig, I like to still consider myself a beginner. The moment I label myself a "pro", I'll lose that beginner-like sense of wonder and awe and eagerness to get better. In my mind, I'll always be a beginner, because I always have MUCH more to learn...
 
Probably being asked by someone as a kid when I first was learning to play the drums in junior high beginning band, if I "could play Wipeout".

New to junior high, 6th grade beginning band, new school, etc. Mix and mingle and trying to make new friends and such. Whenever someone found out I was in band and play drums, the next question was ALWAYS if I could play Wipeout. Ahhhh!!! I even had adults ask me that question.

haha! i used to get that all the time when i was a kid! not so much anymore, but you're right, in those days (the 70's) *everyone* would ask me that. i could play it though, at warp speed, and i learned to play it with my feet too, and between my hands and feet. i became an expert at playing wipeout!
 
When the teacher and I did not have, patience. Patience is a contributing and important factor, in how to learn drums...

I agree. I'd go as far as saying it's not an important factor, but the factor. Everything comes down to patience. Understanding that learning is not linear and then accepting the reality of that. If it takes a month of practicing something to have it after a month and a day, then that's what it takes. Few things come with, "I'm getting it", or "It's starting to come." Most abilities come in all or nothing chunks. Without being able to see "gradual" improvement frustration comes easily. With this I'm referring mostly to kit playing. Gradual improvement can be noticed with reading. I even recently read Neil Peart saying this about his studies with Erskin. Things he never thought he could do, but he kept plugging away until he could.

The other big thing with beginners is understanding what relaxing is. This is something that is coached more then taught. Constantly paying attention to a student and being aware of what nuance is happening to cause tension in a student and coaching habits that prevent tension. But again, this is a patience issue.

The biggest issue facing a teacher is gaining the trust of the student. From what I've seen, too many beginning students try to begin with emulating what they know. If they know a punk drummer wailing away at the drums, that's where they start. Getting a student to trust that the process is to learn how to play and then wail away and not the other way around-- learn how to wail and then learn how to play--has got to be hard. This was just an example of many that could be used to earn the trust of a student and written from my experience as a student. I don't teach.
 
Probably being asked by someone as a kid when I first was learning to play the drums in junior high beginning band, if I "could play Wipeout".

New to junior high, 6th grade beginning band, new school, etc. Mix and mingle and trying to make new friends and such. Whenever someone found out I was in band and play drums, the next question was ALWAYS if I could play Wipeout. Ahhhh!!! I even had adults ask me that question.


That's funny. I still have a group of friends who will come to my gigs and yell 'wipeout' all night just to get under my skin. It's like the drummers 'Freebird'.

My biggest frustration was not realizing jazz/fusion music even existed until I went to college. When I brought home my first Chic Corea CD errrr cassette with Weckl playing on it, it was quite a shock. Just about the time I thought I had mastered Hair Metal and Rush covers this comes along. D*mn gotta learn indepence.
 
Lack of connection with my teacher. I loved to play drums, i just hated practicing sightreading and doing stooopid rudiments (as an 8 year old). I was much more interested in playing drumset to the radio: Phil Collins/ Genesis, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Rush. My Drum teachers were elementary and middle school band directors with no real idea of how to connect. I had to get out into the world to understand how stick control and rudiments tied into trap set drumming. Thirty years later and I'm full circle back to George Lawrence Stone and Stick Control for the Snare Drummer. This time, I TOTALLY get it. Teachers should fast forward to the END lesson and work back from there if they want to engage a young student's mind.
 
This time, I TOTALLY get it. Teachers should fast forward to the END lesson and work back from there if they want to engage a young student's mind.

Agreed. Was discussing Mike Johnston in a thread not long ago and I highlighted there what impressed me about his teaching style was his willingness to always show his students the 'end game'. Whilst it's imperative to have kids sitting with a metronome playing RR LL, it's also important to show them how doubles, diddles et al can be applied to the kit.

Students who are able to visualise what it is they are working towards will be more likely to put the time in early on IMO.
 
For me it was counting and keeping time. That was the hardest part: locking into a tempo. I'd always want to speed up once I heard the groove come out right. I would get too excited.

I also remember in the early months playing, each new idea presented monstrous coordination issues. Simple things like adding an extra kick in a groove I already knew or opening the hi-hat somewhere.

Those are what I remember and my teacher will attest to that. Teaching is the profession that creates all others. Thanks for sharing your knowledge, teach. :)
 
When I was first starting out, I didn't take any lessons or anything because I wanted to teach myself. But in doing this, I never really knew what my problems in my playing were. Than I decided to join my school band program which pretty much opened a whole new perspective on music to me. I had learned about dynamics, keeping time, and technique that I probably would have never acquired if I had just kept trying to teach myself and as time went on, I slowly was able to work these tools in with my drumset playing and became alot much of a better musician than I would have ever been if I had just kept trying to be a self-taught drummer.

This might of been a little off topic, but I guess what I am trying to say is that if your students are aware that they are having problems in their playing, then they will only get better with your guidence to point them in the right direction. For most self-taught drummers, it probably takes much longer to reach a professional level than it does for a drummer that has been guided through the basics of proper musical technique. And from that point on, they can do whatever they want with it.

Sorry if this is a bit confusing, but I just kind of wanted to get it off my chest and thought that I could relate to you having to cope with your students frustrations and think that you should think of it as a good thing.
 
Even though I've been playing for about 12 years and play music as my full-time gig, I like to still consider myself a beginner. The moment I label myself a "pro", I'll lose that beginner-like sense of wonder and awe and eagerness to get better. In my mind, I'll always be a beginner, because I always have MUCH more to learn...
Quoted for absolute truth.

I've been thinking about that more and more as I've been improving drastically over the last three years.
 
I'll be 55 on Halloween (Boo!) (Yeah, avatar pic is 10 years old now). Guess I would fall into the category of "old guy club", but I don't care. I wouldn't mention my age except I was thinking about the drums today. I started playing when I was 20 years old and have played for 3 different time frames since then, but all those times only add up to about 11 years in the last 35 years since I started. A lot of those off years were due in part to living in apartments - finally I have my own place to practice and it makes a big difference.

Back to the question at hand, I've always had some natural ability at artistic things like drawing, writing and playing several instruments. Being artistic, it's been important for me to express myself creatively the way I want,and my other non-drum music reflects that - it can stand on its own.

The drums is another matter - it is such a primitive instrument (in a good way, connects with our inner self and the beat connects you with other people), and yet is such a technical obstacle to get over when it comes to learning independence and new styles, etc. I'm still lazy like I've always been in those areas. I've had a few teachers for just a few months at a time since money has always been an issue, but the best one was the one who had me learn songs and showed me the parts on the kit.

I can compare myself to one of my best friends - he's got a totally different temperament. Totally anal and perfectionistic. He doesn't have the most talent but he's one of the hardest workers I know - he works and works at something until he gets it down, and it's always damn near perfect. He started playing lead guitar when he was in his late teens and would learn lead lines from songs over and over until he got it right, and he always nailed it. He played professionally for a number of years - best example is when he played "Cause We've Ended As Lovers" (guitar solo and song by Jeff Beck) in a huge nightclub with about 1500 people and they all gave him a standing ovation. Most probably didn't even know the song.

Similarly, he played pool every day after work when he was young, and eventually became a tournament champion. I know how tough he is to play since we have our own tournament of sorts every other weekend at his place. He is very hard to beat, but I'm always within a few games and a lot of times we're even until he overtakes me at the end. His playing leaves little room for error.

I started practicing at a pool hall the same day we would play for a while, and I think I really surprised him a few times, beating him five games in a row before he got even more serious.

Point I'm trying to make with all this is it all comes down to what you put in.
For me again the hardest thing is working on new stuff - I've gotten a lot better at what I already know by playing more but it's not enough. Geez, maybe I need another teacher again! Can't really afford it, but I think there's enough resources out there today along with books to work on.

For the younger guys and girls out there, I would say get a teacher that you like and stick with it. I'm finding out it's not too late fortunately and I've been having a blast, but I'd be so much further along with being consistent over the years if I had had more discipline.

Fishnmusicn
 
I think with my first teacher, it is making the jump from technique to music. For example, I could sit down and play 40 different grooves from every style but at an open mic night all i could do was regurgitate exercises from different books. I think its good to learn tons of grooves but you should teach them the musical application and show them songs with those grooves.
 
From a mental frustration aspect as a beginner I used to get really depressed seeing guys that were way better than me.

However after more than a 5 year hiatus,I came back and became much more relaxed and appreciative of the journey/learning process.

Seems I'm much more inspired seeing better players.

Whether its at school, a club or Sam Ash/Guitar Center, when I see someone doin nice things on the kit I usually go up and talk to them and we usually wind up vibing and sharings ideas fo a while.

Its a beautiful thing!
 
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