New to Drumming: NewB Questions.

Grampz

Member
Been wanting to learn drumming for a Long time. My wife surprised me on my 50th birthday a few days ago with a Roland TD17 KVX I have 2 sets of Sticks 2B and 5A.
Going to attempt to teach myself, so I have some questions.
1) Even though I have a nice kit should I get a practice pad as some videos suggest for beginners?
2) Plan on starting with diddles and then moving into paradiddles. What is the best grip to use first learning and at what point should Switch to learning a new Grip?
3) Currently have a single PDP Kick pedal would it be advantageous to break down and get a double kick and learn diddles and paradiddle with the feet as well?
4) Currently have a Set of Vic Firth 2B and 5A sticks. Should I be using a specific stick as a beginner?

Any video / Book suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
 
1. Yes

2. Dont fret too much over your grip. You want to maintain good posture and keep your hands even. German is good for the pad. As you move around the kit your hands will naturally shift grips eventually.

3. Unless you want to learn double kick, you dont need a double pedal. You can do rudiments on the kick and hi hat pedal. You can also do them on the floor when using the pad, or sitting in a chair, couch, etc.

4. Try as many different sized sticks as possible until you find the perfect pair. We all have different hands.

These are your friends now:

 
Thanks bruh! Looks like I have my work cut out for me! How long should I spend on each Exercise before moving on to the next?
 
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Hey I'm in the same boat as you. I got a Roland TD-25. I'm close to you in age too (47) so we're in similar situations. Also trying to teach myself and practice as much as possible in between a full time job, exercising and family. Good luck to you. Here's a good video series someone pointing out to me which I found helpful.
 
Thanks bruh! Looks like I have my work cut out for me! How long should I spend on each Exercise before moving on to the next?
That's up to you. Realistically you wont use them all. Singles and doubles are for life. The rest, get comfortable with them. Continue on with the ones you like. This helps develop independence between your limbs, it's not like you write drum parts going "I'll do a paradiddle here, seven stroke roll there". Its to get your hands to do what you hear in your head.
 
I am a band director/percussion instructor of 30+ years. Have worked with students starting in 5th grade all the way up to starting in their 70's...

can you already read music? Do you have a metronome app for your phone?

If you need to learn how to read music, you might want to start with the Mark Wessels Fresh Approach to Snare Drum book. It is really good for self teaching, and for instructed teaching as well. He set up those books to be used both ways....


I would watch this video series from Vic Firth to get some very basic grip and other drumming information...there are a lot of crap videos on the web...these are not in that category, Vic Firth has definitely bee a leader in percussion education for 60+ years!!!


Videos 5,6,and 7 pertain directly to grip basics, but the rest are also pretty good.

I would also look at getting the Stone Stick Control book, and start with page 1...do each of the numbered exercises at least 20 times through with a metronome set at 80bpm...page one is more than enough to get starting coordination, and basic stroke type application going. The rest of the book is icing on the cake....

but you will NOT have any success at getting good on set without good hand technique and moderate reading skills. You will hit many walls that are easy to cross with these skills, but are hard to cross without.
 
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@Xstr8edgtnrdrmrX I do not read music. I do want to learn to read music. Yes I use an android phone metronome. Greatly appreciate all the help and advice! I am looking forward to learning a lot here!
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@Xstr8edgtnrdrmrX I do not read music. I do want to learn to read music. Yes I use an android phone metronome. Greatly appreciate all the help and advice! I am looking forward to learning a lot here!
View attachment 99181

cool...definitely get the Wessels book if you can!! Most of the books that will be suggested here will require reading skills to truly understand.

and you need to have well developed control of the hand muscles to manipulate the sticks correctly at faster speed later on. Bad habits formed in that area in the beginning stages will be very hard to overcome down the road...I start all of my students with American Grip, as it is the most versatile in my experience...
 
@Grampz ...Like yourself and some others here, I am 55 1/2 and just got my first ever kit in June.
Also bought a keyboard and a couple bass guitars and a couple new six strings.
Advise and encouragement you will find here on this forum are AWESOME!
I am slowly plugging away myself...just need to work my time better, so I can find the time/motivation to make it happen.
Just doing it for the fun and the love of music myself.
Bang on!
 
@Grampz ...Like yourself and some others here, I am 55 1/2 and just got my first ever kit in June.
Also bought a keyboard and a couple bass guitars and a couple new six strings.
Advise and encouragement you will find here on this forum are AWESOME!
I am slowly plugging away myself...just need to work my time better, so I can find the time/motivation to make it happen.
Just doing it for the fun and the love of music myself.
Bang on!
**Salute Sir**
Community-If we fail to look after others when they need help, who will look after us? 1608640581541.png
 
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Practice singles & doubles. Learn the rudiments and move them around the kit. Practice with a metronome. Learning to read music is helpful.

Going to attempt to teach myself, so I have some questions.
1) Even though I have a nice kit should I get a practice pad as some videos suggest for beginners?
YES.

2) Plan on starting with diddles and then moving into paradiddles. What is the best grip to use first learning and at what point should Switch to learning a new Grip?
Would suggest starting with matched grip, as you will move around the kit easier. You may want to experiment with traditional grip.

3) Currently have a single PDP Kick pedal would it be advantageous to break down and get a double kick and learn diddles and paradiddle with the feet as well?
I would suggest learning single pedal and drumming basics. If you want to learn double bass, do it when you get the basics together. I would also suggest on concentrating beyond the paradiddle.

4) Currently have a Set of Vic Firth 2B and 5A sticks. Should I be using a specific stick as a beginner?
Try different sticks. See what feels good in your hand.

Any video / Book suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Going to attempt to teach myself, so I have some questions.
1) Even though I have a nice kit should I get a practice pad as some videos suggest for beginners?
2) Plan on starting with diddles and then moving into paradiddles. What is the best grip to use first learning and at what point should Switch to learning a new Grip?
3) Currently have a single PDP Kick pedal would it be advantageous to break down and get a double kick and learn diddles and paradiddle with the feet as well?
4) Currently have a Set of Vic Firth 2B and 5A sticks. Should I be using a specific stick as a beginner?

Any video / Book suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Going to attempt to teach myself, so I have some questions.
1) Even though I have a nice kit should I get a practice pad as some videos suggest for beginners?
2) Plan on starting with diddles and then moving into paradiddles. What is the best grip to use first learning and at what point should Switch to learning a new Grip?
3) Currently have a single PDP Kick pedal would it be advantageous to break down and get a double kick and learn diddles and paradiddle with the feet as well?
4) Currently have a Set of Vic Firth 2B and 5A sticks. Should I be using a specific stick as a beginner?

Any video / Book suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Highly recommend Syncopation by Ted Reed. A great book you can expand upon and go back to over and over again.
 
cool...definitely get the Wessels book if you can!! Most of the books that will be suggested here will require reading skills to truly understand.
His drumset book is also very good and covers most things you need to know. Try to get a few online or offline lessons with a good teacher if you can - it will make things a lot easier and clearer!
Here's an interesting discussion on hand technique that illustrates why a teacher is very helpful and better than videos that don't give you feedback and tasks: https://www.drummerworld.com/forums...ds-for-teaching-hand-technique-take-2.173383/
 
Anyone care to chime in on any advantages to using a hard rubber pad as opposed to the RMP-3 (or 5) or simply one of his current pads? I'm certainly not a practice pad expert. I never thought the "Real Feel" pad felt anywhere "real" to me anyway so I never felt the need to replace it. I do the vast majority of my practice on my kit. The pad only comes out if I want to watch tv while exercising my hands.

It depends a bit on how you set up your stuff and what stick you use etc.., but I can't really stand rubber pads anymore. There are good mesh heads around, but most of them are even worse than rubber.

I use a Xymox Reserve Snare which seems it would be a long wait and a real pain to get, but there are other laminate pads out there as they're gettting more and more popular. I think even VF sell laminates you can put on top of their rubber pads. That and a Moongel pad are my main options.

If you travel a lot and need to rely on a pad as much as I do it's worth it to get one that really works for you.
 
...should I get a practice pad as some videos suggest for beginners?

Volume = Fatigue. If you're practicing paradiddles for half an hour on a wide open snare, you'll be a lot more tired than if you use a practice pad.
 
I'm not a drum teacher and self-taught (which TBH is a huge waste of time and slow progress if that's important to you) but although I encourage learning rudiments (I practice them daily) I think you should do so with hands and feet. I think you need to do so with all limbs, and start listening to music and how the drummer "fills the song" (not fills per se-I'd wait to even go there-get the independence and groove first-chops later). I think I fell into learning a few grooves and fills and applying the same thing to everything-which doesn't serve the music. Listen and meet the needs of the song-usually it's way simpler than your brain interprets it. At least my experience I would over complicated my drumming for years. Wear hearing protection too. In regard to independence you'll find it's easier to play certain things on kick for instance if you have a hand doing the same thing-it does help but the crutch doesn't address independence-you want to play it on the kick independent of any limb. I play tunes with my kick-usually ole tv songs-lone ranger, bonanza, Adams family, etc. It's easy to do them if I have one hand doing the same thing but then I had to relearn doing it without the crutch-still messes with me at times when I first start warming up on kit. A metronome is great to practice to but it can be a crutch if you don't develop an internal metronome too. I think drummers "see" music in space-time differently than other musicians-if that makes any sense to real musicians?
 
My wife surprised me on my 50th birthday a few days ago with a Roland TD17....
Going to attempt to teach myself...

Once you learn how to play, who will you be playing with? Most likely, it won't be a bunch of virtuosos. So focus on keeping a good steady beat and sounding good. Forget about the OCD rudimental stuff, forget about double-kick, forget about blazing speed, and just get good at playing a groove. If you do that, people will want to jam with you. The other stuff can come later, if ever. It's more for impressing other drummers, and who cares about those guys?

I'd suggest seeing a drum teacher or talking to someone who knows how to play, at least once, just so they can show you how to hit the pads without killing your hands. It's not as obvious as you might think.
 
Play along with your favorite recordings. Really, it's fun and you learn a lot.

You might get a drum throne. Something that you can adjust to the right height for you. Spend some money, get a good throne. Cheap thrones can be uncomfortable.
 
Im 61 started two years ago. I'm pretty musical so have some sense of it all but the biggest thing you can do for yourself is to enjoy it. For me that means playing along to my favourite but difficult tunes, which for me is old skool top forty stuff, not easy....I will never master BD doubles or fast doubles anywhere but I can play along to a lot of stuff. I try the formal stuff but I hate it it makes me crazy...guess we're all different, have fun.
 
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