Drum Week - Getting Started

If your child would like you to buy them a drumset, DO NOT DO IT!!!

That's the most important piece of advice I have when you start drumming. Starting with the drumset is sort of like moving to another country without bothering to learn the language. Sure, you can figure it out once you get there, but it's going to be a painful process. I see so many kids starting on drumset without learning the proper techniques of playing percussion instruments. This causes a lot of problems, not only right off the bat, but down the road as well.
I've been asked occasionally if I'll teach drum lessons to kids. I, in almost every case, will not do it. There are three reasons for that. First of all, I don't like doing it and I don't have the time either. Second, there are people who make a living doing solely that. These people are good at it and I don't feel like taking their business. But mainly, I firmly believe that students should begin in the schools.
*It teaches students properly and from the ground up.
*They learn with others so the pressure of performing for a private teacher is removed.
*They have the opportunity to learn the entire range of percussion instruments which is very important.
*The get public performance experience
*Most schools have thousands of dollars worth of percussion toys to play with. I'm sure most people don't have a reason to own a good set of claves. Schools do.
*Lastly, being a part of the school music program has been proven to be beneficial to children both in the band room and in the class room.

There are these delightful little things that we drummers call Rudiments. Rudiments are like scales for percussionists. In my opinion, it is CRITICAL that any aspiring drumset player learn these. I'm sure a lot of people don't see a point in knowing these, at least as it applies to drumset. But these people are stupid...can't say it any other way. Once you learn these delightful little things, they become the language of your hands; something you don't have to think about. It makes getting around the drumset that much easier. Playing fills become more natural, your hands move more freely, and some of the coolest grooves are based on simple rudiments. One of the greatest drummers of all time is a man named Steve Gadd. If you listen to any of his great grooves, you hear rudiments all over the place. Just watch this video which is completely based on one simple rudiment called a paradiddle.Rudiments are crucial to the development of a player. Vic Firth has provided a great way to learn them online. Check it out! If you listen to the audio files you'll notice that they start out really slow, get really fast, and then get slow again. This is called "Opening and closing" a rudiment. It's a helpful way to practice.

In Indian culture, there are several different kinds of percussion instruments. Students who wish to become performers must apprentice with the masters. Before even touching drums, the student spends YEARS with the master just watching and observing. It develops discipline and it's also a time in which the student can decide if that's truly what they are dedicated to.When I was a kid, I always wanted to be a drummer, not a percussionist, a drummer. My dad was a was music teacher, and on top of that, he was a drummer. He, to his credit, never caved to my whining crying hissy fits that I threw in attempts to get a drumset. Trust me, I tried a lot. He wouldn't even let me set up his drumset that he had in the basement. When I started in band in fifth grade, he told me that if I stuck with it until I was a freshman, he would buy me a drumset. So I did exactly that. And when I was finally a freshman, he was true to his word and bought me a drumset. Luckily, by that point, I had developed a love for percussion, not just the drumset. It's not in the picture, but the marimba was set up just around the corner. I'll be honest, it didn't see nearly the amount of practice time as the drumset, but it still was something I always enjoyed and felt challenged by.

I will close with this comment that my dad left after reading this article. He said:

"AMEN! AMEN! AMEN! Especially the part about starting in school. In my 30 years of teaching I had a number of students who came into band whose parents bought them a drum set. They had already developed bad habits that they couldn't break. In almost every case, those kids quit after a year or two. LEARN THE BASICS FIRST!!! You really should learn to ride a bike before your buy a motorcycle."
-Chas "Dad" Myers