8yr old drummer

I'm a guitar player, not a drummer, so please excuse me for my ignorance. But my 8yr son has announced his desire to play the drums. I think this is more than a passing whim. So I ask you - how do I get him started? Can you recommend some drums for me? I think he deserves a decent start. I can see springing for a full kit, medium grade for Christmas. Can you offer recommendations re: manufacturers, tips, things to consider as I try to raise up the next generation of drumming talent? I know next to nothing about drums. I've never considered them until now and I need help. How did you guys get started with the drums? What was helpful? What do you think would have been a benefit to you? Thanks in advance for the responses...

Good for you for being supportive, especially of an 8 year old whos tastes and whims can and will change like the the wind.

I may get slammed for this, butI personally would get a small used kit. Not crap, but not anything thats gonna kill you if it ends up collecting dust in the basement, which is very possible.

A used 4 piece kit, in a cool color that he likes, will foster the interest in him.

Oh, and the most important thing is lessons. Insist on them, if your son is the type of personality to see things through and not get bored. If hes not that type, make sure hes got good music to play along to. Not YOUR music:D But music HE likes. Not too many 8 year olds like jazz or classical if thats what your into.

Ear plugs are essential in that situation. Sound blocking head phones are the way to go, and someone else on this site can direct you better in that dept. You have to protect the kids ears. I cant hear a thing anymore, which is an occupational hazard. Now if I play with Earplugs, I cant hear myself or the band. Dont let it get to that point.

As for cymbals, same as the kit. A beginers set of Sabian B8's or Zildjian ZBT's will get the job done, and not break the bank or your heart.

Youll probably hear a lot of guys telling you to get good stuff, and not waste your money on second hand sets or cheap cymbals. With all due respect to my colleagues on this site, its far better to spend $3-400 on an 8 year old than to spend $1000 on an 8 year old.

Last thing. Spend time on this site. Ive said this to newbies before. Its invaluable. It gets a little rough sometimes, and the language can be colorful (to say the least) but for info, opinions and the such, theres no better place, or better group of authorities than are on this forum.

Enjoy!! Best of luck to you son!

I also must second the praise for your supporting his desire!

I also got my first kit at the age of 8. (Though I was banging on pots, pans and toys long before that). 18 years later I'm still going strong. First - Let me say I 100% agree with everything mraia said. I would also recommend steering him to a school music program if available.

I'd like to expand (a little more detail) on your specific questions as I seem to be a go to guy for this question. I don't work in a music store (anymore) but I seem to be the area "expert" for a starting drummer.

While I do agree with not getting something very expensive, I do recommend getting something decent to save you from buying a new set in 2-3 years if he keeps up with it. I recommend a Pacific FS or a Tama Swingstar. These seem to be the best in the 300-400 dollar range. You may want to try to avoid CB700 or Pacific EZ as those often get pushed on 1st time buyers. They are cheap price wise ($100-200 for a set), but you get what you pay for. You would almost assuredly be upgrading in 2-3 years if he sticks with it.

Mraia was spot on with the cymbal suggestions. I used Sabian B8*** series ( of varying degrees) for years. For the money, I would suggest those over the ZBTs. (That is a personal preference though).

Well.... yeah... pretty much exactly like those guys said!

Also, keep in mind that his drums are going to be loud. And in your house. So make sure everyone is ready for that.

I got some of these for my dad in high school

Most importantly, thank you for supporting your child in such a positive way!!!

... writes furiously...

*$300-400 range

*Pacific FS or a Tama Swingstar

*Sabian B8's or Zildjian ZBT's (or higher)

*formal instruction

*ear protection

*inspirational music

*determination to endure incessant banging and clanging:freak:

...looks up....

mraia, drumsdb, FitchFY, I thank you for your input!

+1 to ear plugs (for him, AND you) and a good private teacher. Don't mess around with the teacher, either. Find somebody with a reputation. Probably somebody at the local shops. Shop around for somebody who seems right. As for equipment, there are a lot of different opinions. I'm of the opinion that it doesn't really matter TOO much at this stage of the game. Something that'll hold up to a bad drummer beating on it for a few years is all you really need, in my opinion. That said, something new and nice can inspire the kid to want to play more, too. It's really up to you. Get out into the local shops, and talk to the proprietors. My recommendation would be to stay away from Guitar Center. Big-box, mega-chain, and I don't trust 'em.

/w

edit: Also, I believe it's peanut-butter-jelly time.

Your call on whether you want to show him this, too:

I VOTE NO!!!!!

Damn near ruined my life...

Originally posted by mraia I VOTE NO!!!!! Damn near ruined my life...

Yeah, but imagine if you saw it when you were 8? You'd think, "Man, if I really practiced for the next 4 years, I could sound like that!"

/w

Your son's situation is probably significantly different than most kids who want to start drumming, considering his father plays the guitar. I don't know about you guys, but I never have an instrument I can play along with on a regular basis. At least that will be his case once he gets the basic drumset drumming down, I assume. That will be some fun father/son time, hopefully - which will eventually fuel his passion for drums (another plus).

Gotta go,

-Sean

I definetely agree with getting a small, cheap kit for your son right now. Unless he will be the next Tony Royster Jr., thats all he'll need right now. I'd also like to make a suggestion on buying a kit too. With the Tama Swingstar kit, its a good kit, but may be a little large and you may not find it as a 300- 400 dollar deal. I suggest getting the Tama Stagestar. It's a little smaller, but you can get it for a better deal, I believe. My parents got me this kit when I started playing actually. I still use it and it still serves me well.

Here's a link with some info on it.

Tama Stagestar

Seriously ; Try the ludwig junior ... Musicians freind has them on sale for $249.00 with free shipping ...It includes all you need for testing a kids interest.... Throne ,sticks , hi-hat and a cymbal...

I bought a set of these for my 4 year old daughter four years ago and these are excellent and perfect size for a kid to exercise and practice on...

Heck , I use 'em alot to ...

These kits have 9 1/2 " cymbals and are not to loud for tiny ears (or mine either)...

As with the stage star and even the Ludwig accent junior (you may want to consider , pretty much same as stagestar except ludwig version) ...You will receive a 16 " crash with the stagestar and accent junior and it will be kinda loud being the old saying , the bigger the cymbal the louder it will be... And they are made mostly of tin metal and sound like crap...

Personally I would go for the ludwig junior ... The 12 " snare is a great little snare ...and the quality of the intire set for the money was way over our exspectation...

You are a guitarist. You know what music goes like. Sample some of the drum solo crap out there. Don't let your kid become a circus act.

Lessons. +10

Equipment, maybe sticks and a pad. (create demand theory)

Play tunes with him. See what he can do with bare hands and tupperware.

You asked: How did we get started? What was helpful? What do you think would have been beneficial to you??

I got got started by playing by ear and air drumming and later playing on a practice pad.

What would you do if he wanted to learn guitar?? I would assume you would say LESSONS, LESSONS and a good decent aucoustic guitar, smaller size but that could handle better strings and stay in tune. That's the kind of sets the others are stating. Are well known drum makers in sets, smaller sizes made for younger drummers.

The most important and heart of any set is the snare. NOT saying that you have spend big bucks on a snare, can come with the set, just letting you known for the info since you said you know next to nothing about drums.

Most drum lessons start on the snare. If you can play a beat on the snare, you can play it on the other drums. It would have been benefical and I wish I would have done it now is take LESSONS, Learn to read drum music! Playing by ear and learning on my own was good for me but I also learned a lot of bad habits where again lessons help prevent that.

Rudiments are very important as well, is like chord charts and progressions on guitar.

SO in the end, LESSONS, a jr set made by a top maker, used is much better. practice, also a big thing is looking up the drummers tuning bible on line. Other than that is just playing and having fun.

But Lessons, rudiments, and knowing how to tune. But DO NOT force it! just let him work on drums liked how you toiled over guitars in the beginning, my two cents......good luck

I started out just on snare, because of my school band program. They switched me to the whole set as soon as i learned the basics like my rolls, paradidals, and so on. I agree with everyone else though. you should get him a whole set and a GOOD instrutor. otherwise if he did wat i did then he'll havta get used to readin different music, like i was confused wen i first saw the hi-hat symbol and i started to freak out. but the main thing he needs (in my opininion) is someone who nos wat there doin.

Hi everybody...

I'd like to post an update. My thanks to all who offered advice, etc. I found a used Pearl Rhythm Traveler in excellent condition for $399Canadian and I went for it. The hardware looks durable, it sounds good to my ears and has some great mesh heads that are almost silent! I find it the perfect learning tool for my little guy. He's very happy with the purchase and has been banging on the skins ever since we got them last Monday!

http://www.pearldrum.com/03_nuupdts/edu/products/rhythmtraveler.html

Originally posted by gagnon Hi everybody... I'd like to post an update. My thanks to all who offered advice, etc. I found a used Pearl Rhythm Traveler in excellent condition for $399Canadian and I went for it. The hardware looks durable, it sounds good to my ears and has some great mesh heads that are almost silent! I find it the perfect learning tool for my little guy. He's very happy with the purchase and has been banging on the skins ever since we got them last Monday! http://www.pearldrum.com/03_nuupdts/edu/products/rhythmtraveler.html

That should be a great kit for the little nipper to learn on. My advice, find a qualified instructor and get your boy enrolled in lessons. A firm grounding in the fundamentals is what's called for now!

/w

Correction: the kit was $299, not $399 as previously stated. Which made it an even better deal.

Yes, we are looking for a good instructor and will start him as soon as possible. Thanks for all the input.