« GIG: The Ploughmen. Herts, UK. 28th August 2007 | Main | Choosing What Instrument to Learn #4: Mandolin »
Choosing What Instrument to Learn #3: Drums
By Rick | August 30, 2007
There are probably two instruments most kids aspire to play in a band: guitar and drums. For some reason, the glamour seems, in many minds, to be embodied in these two roles. It is relatively rare to hear someone say, “I want to be a keyboard player” or “I want to be a bass player”.
One of the big shocks for the beginner (especially if that person has heard too many drummer jokes) is to discover that learning drums is not the easy, for-dummies option that they expected it to be. Ok, maybe you don’t have to learn scales, modes, arpeggios and harmonic theory, but drumming at a professional level can still involve a chunky subset of musical theory, albeit focused on rhythm. It is possible to be a purely instinctive drummer, but if you’re ever going to try to get musical concepts across to others, or understand their concepts, then you’re going to need the vocabulary of note durations, rests, time signatures, syncopation… and more.
Drumming is a very, very satisfying role within a band. The sense of rhythm is one of the most basic elements in music. It is built into us, and hammering away on a set of skins is an entirely natural and organic feeling. It allows the player to unleash creativity, energy - even aggression - and showmanship in one burst. It is also a vitally important role. A good drummer can cement a performance together and keep everyone focused and driven. A bad drummer can ruin everything and disorientate the whole band.
Drumming requires the development of physical skills and stamina. It can require real strength and endurance - next time the Red Hot Chilli Peppers play a gig on TV, just watch that guy work and ask yourself how long you could keep that up! It also requires coordination, the ability to work four (unless you’re in Def Leppard) limbs independently and accurately.
Drumming has great advantages. It keeps you fit, for one. Good drummers are usually pretty much in demand too, so once you have the chops down you should get gigs. Note that I say “good drummers”; crap ones are ten a penny, like bad guitarists.
Like all instruments there are downsides too. Practicing can be a pain. Using quiet practice pads simply isn’t the same as practicing on a full kit, and practicing on a full kit is frequently very unpopular with family members and neighbours. Where practicing is concerned, the drummer probably has to compromise more than any other band member.
Size and portability must also be something to bear in mind. As well as taking up a lot of room in your practice space, a drum kit is bulky and difficult to carry. Drums require good cases if they are to stand very much transportation and remain intact.
A basic kit might have just four drums: bass or “kick”, snare and a couple of tom toms, but a more usual set up would have three tom toms and five drums in total. It will also probably have three cymbals: hi-hat, crash and ride.
While £250 might get you a reasonable starter kit from a recognised name, it won’t be long before you start to outgrow it, and before you start to feel self conscious about gigging with relatively lightweight kit. Drums, therefore, cannot be seen as an inexpensive instrument to play. That said, however, by the time guitarists and bass players are fully tooled up with amplifiers and effects, even if their instruments are budget ones, they may well be spending sums in the same ball park as a reasonable drum kit.
As always, our advice is to save as long as your patience holds out and then buy the best you can afford. Just bear in mind that you may need to start with a basic option or face the possibility that you’ll just never get started. Even a basic starter kit can be sold later to help fund an upgrade once you are sure that your enthusiasm will last and that the drum kit is the right instrument for you.
And as usual we recommend getting advice from someone with experience, checking and comparing reviews of instruments within your budget, buying from a reputable supplier (online, for best prices) and using a credit card for the consumer protection it offers.
We suggest the online retailers linked below who are established and offer competitive pricing.
| In the USA, click the link below: | In the UK, click the link below: |
 |
Oh, I nearly forgot the jokes. Hmm… where to start? There are just so many drummer jokes! Please bear in mind that drummers ARE proper musicians, and that all the jokes are tongue-in-cheek with no harm meant!
Q: What do you call a guy who hangs around annoying musicians?
A: A drummer
Q: How can you tell there’s a drummer at your door?
A: The knocking keeps speeding up and slowing down
Q: How can you tell when the drum riser is level?
A: The drummer drools out of both sides of his mouth
And finally, my favourite…
Q: What’s the difference between a drummer and a drum machine?
A: You only have to punch instructions into a drum machine once!
Next time: mandolin!
Topics: Getting Started, Instruments, Amplified, Acoustic, Uncategorized |