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Advice from drummers


The 615

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The best thing you can do IMO is sign him up for some lessons with a real instructor. SURELY there are one or two drummers around where you live.;)

 

But yes, there are some sites available. One of our members here actually teaches via skype. I'm sure he'll be around in a bit and contribute some wisdom.

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School band is a great start, hope he stays with it. Learning dynamics and the fact that you're not the only one playing, all drummers should but unfortunately do not have that discipline. YouTube has an insane amount vids for learning, and yeah instructors, books, and whatever will help, but nothing helps as much as his own hands on practice and drive.

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Thanks Todd for the plug...your 5.00 will be in the mail. Yes I teach via skype...got a new student coming on board as we speak... That being said, there is NOTHING and I Mean NOTHING like having a qualified instructor...not just a schmuck who plays drums. And sometimes the best players are not so great at teaching, so find yourself a good one. Video have no personal interaction. Videos are a great supplement and not a basis for learning. You'll need someone who can recognize problems, who can offer suggestions to diverse situations. Find a good teacher and they'll be worth their weight in gold...(no cracks here gentlemen)

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My 14 yr old is a drummer. He hasnt had any formal lessons as of yet. He does the band thing at school so he knows the theory and how to read music. Are there any good drummer lesson websites he can benefits from?

 

 

Drummerworld maybe. It's a collection of name drummers many quite noteworthy. Bios, some lessons, many video examples albeit/them mostly solos. They have a forum but I've never checked it out.

 

Your kid have any specific ambitions? Many websites could be a waste of time in this regard. Go with real teachers. The relevant sites will present themselves as his awareness grows.

 

My standard recommendation is take legit piano lessons. Many drummer/percussionistas have this in their bag. The neural development alone is invaluable and well worth the bother.

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I agree...a good drum teacher is the way to go. You want to make sure he learns good solid technique. He would be better off dealing with that now as opposed to later on when bad habits have set in. It's a real bitch after playing 4 or 5 years to go to
"this is how you hold a drumstick"
Ask me how I know.

 

 

Truth, start out right, even if it's four or five lessons. I also agree with the others, get lessons. One other thing, he will need to practice to get better. I only say this because when I took guitar lessons as a kid, once I got home, I would practice right then and then I didn't practice until next week's lesson. Just as you learned to drive by driving and driving some more, drums is a lot like that. Sticks and a practice pad WILL WORK JUST FINE, better is a snare drum and a drum set will help IF he's playing drum set music. If he's going more for Drumline "(marching band) then snare will be more helpful.

 

But first you have to hold the sticks right, know the beat and keep time, where and how to hit the drum, so this is where a live in your face teacher helps. In a few minutes can "watch" your son play and correct issues right on the spot before bad habits sit in. Hope this helps and the other guys are steering you right.

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Yep. But I would also add that if you want a fantastic video/book for learning grooves get him Groove Essentials Vol. 1 by Tommy Igoe. DVD and book with play along songs. Easy to use and a ton of challenging stuff that will progress with him. Starts off with "easy" rock beats and gets as hard as you want it. Best drum instructional product I've ever seen...by anyone.

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I agree...a good drum teacher is the way to go. You want to make sure he learns good solid technique. He would be better off dealing with that now as opposed to later on when bad habits have set in. It's a real bitch after playing 4 or 5 years to go to
"this is how you hold a drumstick"
Ask me how I know.

OK, how do you know? (I'm a literalist) :)

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OK, how do you know? (I'm a literalist)
:)

 

I know because that's how it was for me. I didn't have lessons when I started out as a kid. I played in bands and was doing pretty good until I hit a wall. There were things I wanted to execute in my playing but couldn't. I knew that the problem was with my hands so I got myself some lessons and had to start from square one. I also had to undo 5 years of bad habits. I had a great teacher who got me thru it and I'll be forever gratefull to him for not letting me slide on anything.

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I know because that's how it was for me. I didn't have lessons when I started out as a kid. I played in bands and was doing pretty good until I hit a wall. There were things I wanted to execute in my playing but couldn't. I knew that the problem was with my hands so I got myself some lessons and had to start from square one. I also had to undo 5 years of bad habits. I had a great teacher who got me thru it and I'll be forever gratefull to him for not letting me slide on anything.

 

 

Funny thing is I had the exact same experience while studying for the first time in college. My buddy, a percussion major, went to the guy he'd studied for years with and asked what to do. Options were to continue on where I was and know I'd be semi-limited, or go all the way back to day 1.

 

We opted to continue, as I wasn't going to be studying with my friend for too long (school nearing end for both of us). The ONE thing he stressed on in my lessons from that point on was a way to (eventually) get my grip in better shape little by little over time so that at some point way down the road, I could fix my bad habits. Assuming of course I stuck with it all that time.

 

Glad to say it worked

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I agree with the advice on drum lessons. No doubt you will be paying for them and will want to know if your son is really interested in sticking (sorry) it out. Taking lessons can sort out the wheat from the chaff. But it sounds like he's into it if he's playing in the band. Yea, high school band!

 

I played drums in the band and orchestra and one time I guess my playing was off and the conductor pointed to me and screamed, You're a beat off! and everyone laughed and said, he's a beatoff, he's a beatoff!

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I can't speak for today- because as we know- my have times changed- but for me- I started drumming in the 4th grade in elementary school band. (this was taught by the high school band director in the early half of the day), and I was lucky to have him as my band director from the 4th grade- through graduation from high school. Second to my parents, he was the most influential human in my growing up years.

Now a days, IF (and a big IF) you have a good program at the school level- that lends itself to this type of good teaching- I would encourage this. Granted, there are some folks that "just want to play drum-set" and that is great, ... but for some- a well rounded music education is a great thing!

Dendy

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I wanted to play drums at age 10 and got told, "Maybe when you're 12." By the time I was 12, I wasn't interested anymore. I turned 23 and decided that I'd buy myself a kit and give it a go. Best thing I ever did (other than marrying my lovely wife... obviously.).

 

I started in lessons for a year and that's why I'm not terrible. Props to good teachers.

 

Oh, and I have never done marching band or anything like that, but I play drum set in a celtic rock band. Frequently I'm called upon to do snare work, and I'm not going to lie, I wish I'd done some marching snare haha. Sometimes it's rough going, and I have to keep it relatively simple. Being well-rounded is always good... which is pretty much what at least two other people have already said.

 

 

+1 to everything.

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