Drummers

[Toma_BullyWee]

I got a wee electric drum kit as a present and although it's definitely not made for a big guy like me it's definitely good fun. 

Seems the kit is targeted at beginners/kids, and we didn't spot the kid part. I'm 6'4 so it's a struggle to sit comfortably with the snare being so far down but I'm looking at it the same way I did when I got my first £100 guitar. It's hardly amazing, but more or less bang on for what I'm needing at the moment & if I can build a wee home made riser I'll be able to work around the snare issue. 

Anyway, I know there's a couple of drummers on here so I'm looking for some tips. I'm left handed and opted to set it up "normally" so the kids can mess around meaning I'm playing open handed. 

Had a wee footer about for a few hours yesterday and my thigh is burning today. Any decent people on youtube I should look at to get to grips with it? 

[The Moonster]

41 minutes ago, Toma_BullyWee said:

I got a wee electric drum kit as a present and although it's definitely not made for a big guy like me it's definitely good fun. 

Seems the kit is targeted at beginners/kids, and we didn't spot the kid part. I'm 6'4 so it's a struggle to sit comfortably with the snare being so far down but I'm looking at it the same way I did when I got my first £100 guitar. It's hardly amazing, but more or less bang on for what I'm needing at the moment & if I can build a wee home made riser I'll be able to work around the snare issue. 

Anyway, I know there's a couple of drummers on here so I'm looking for some tips. I'm left handed and opted to set it up "normally" so the kids can mess around meaning I'm playing open handed. 

Had a wee footer about for a few hours yesterday and my thigh is burning today. Any decent people on youtube I should look at to get to grips with it? 

Welcome to the grind! 

The open handed thing won't matter too much for you if you learn that way. It might mean you need to "stick" things a bit differently but you'll figure out a way. Drums is just like the any other instrument really though, you'll find your own way that is comfortable for you. Seat height is one thing I'd get sorted though or you could be facing some serious back pain (and should resolve your thigh pain).

As much as they are boring, practising rudiments is the best way to improve quickly. Tommy Igoe has some good wee "warm up" videos on some different rudiments to try and keep it a bit more interesting.

I find Drumeo is quite good for my learning. You can pay for their full content if you want but they have lots of free videos up on their social media pages that range from beginner lessons to pro tips. They get a load of different styles of drummers on to talk about the way they drum and they break down certain things which is cool. Guys like Jonathan Moffet (Michael Jackson) and Charlie Watts (Stevie Wonder) have done sessions, as well as the king Bernard Purdie. Purdie is great because the theory of his drumming is very simple, but he executes it with so much confidence and style it's just great to watch. The Purdie Shuffle is also a really great beat to learn, the ghost notes come in handy for any style of music. There are loads of different online teachings though, most of them I found just by clicking on "recommended" youtube videos.

My favourite guy to watch right now is Nate Smith though, I dunno how he does the shit he does. Enjoy!

Edit: reading this back I see I've used the word "though" about 3 million times and would like to apologise for it.

Edited August 13, 2020 by The Moonster

[Toma_BullyWee]

9 minutes ago, The Moonster said:

Welcome to the grind! 

The open handed thing won't matter too much for you if you learn that way. It might mean you need to "stick" things a bit differently but you'll figure out a way. 

Well when I was in my first band we used to muck about and swap instruments and I always went open handed so figured it was the best way to go. I was never anything other than awful during those sessions but I could hold a beat to an extent. 

When I learned guitar I was complete self taught, just doodling about for months unaware of any actual way of learning. First song I learned fully was Toxicity by System and that still makes me laugh because it's hardly ideal for beginners. With that in mind I wanted to go the same way with drums because I know it works for me, but I would like to know some technical stuff. When it comes to guitar I'm at a decent enough level & if someone is playing something I'll be able to copy by ear, but if you told me to start on the G then move to A etc I wouldn't have a clue, which is why I'm thinking learning properly this time is probably a good idea.

First 2 things I messed about with was For Whom The Bell Tolls and Outlaw Torn by Metallica. Simple enough and I've heard those songs enough to know what my arms and legs should be doing. It was bad, but maybe not bad enough for someone to think it was my first time properly sitting behind a kit, so hopefully that's a good omen. 

I'll be sure to check out the guys you mentioned. Cheers mate.

[The Moonster]

8 minutes ago, Toma_BullyWee said:

Well when I was in my first band we used to muck about and swap instruments and I always went open handed so figured it was the best way to go. I was never anything other than awful during those sessions but I could hold a beat to an extent. 

When I learned guitar I was complete self taught, just doodling about for months unaware of any actual way of learning. First song I learned fully was Toxicity by System and that still makes me laugh because it's hardly ideal for beginners. With that in mind I wanted to go the same way with drums because I know it works for me, but I would like to know some technical stuff. When it comes to guitar I'm at a decent enough level & if someone is playing something I'll be able to copy by ear, but if you told me to start on the G then move to A etc I wouldn't have a clue, which is why I'm thinking learning properly this time is probably a good idea.

First 2 things I messed about with was For Whom The Bell Tolls and Outlaw Torn by Metallica. Simple enough and I've heard those songs enough to know what my arms and legs should be doing. It was bad, but maybe not bad enough for someone to think it was my first time properly sitting behind a kit, so hopefully that's a good omen. 

I'll be sure to check out the guys you mentioned. Cheers mate.

Love that approach, I'm sure you'll succeed.

If metal is more your thing I'd recommend Thomas Lang too. He's not human.

[Academically Deficient]

53 minutes ago, Toma_BullyWee said:

 I'm left handed and opted to set it up "normally" so the kids can mess around meaning I'm playing open handed. 

I seem to remember Ringo Starr was left handed but played a right handed set up, hence his distinctive style. Things didn't turn out too bad for him.

Keep rockin' - that's the main thing

[Toma_BullyWee]

26 minutes ago, The Moonster said:

Love that approach, I'm sure you'll succeed.

If metal is more your thing I'd recommend Thomas Lang too. He's not human.

I do like my metal but I prefer doing that on guitar. No chance I'll be able to hold it together doing drums for that kind of thing for a while. I've been trying to think of bands from my youth who kept it reasonably simple. Hundred Reasons could be a shout along with the likes of Blink 182 so long as I don't bother attempting any of the mad stuff Travis Barker likes to do.

25 minutes ago, Academically Deficient said:

I seem to remember Ringo Starr was left handed but played a right handed set up, hence his distinctive style. Things didn't turn out too bad for him.

Keep rockin' - that's the main thing

The dream is being a one man band. I do a load of recording so it would be nice to do some tunes and know that I'm doing everything on the songs. 

Like a right egotistical bugger.

[Academically Deficient]

10 minutes ago, Toma_BullyWee said:

 

The dream is being a one man band. I do a load of recording so it would be nice to do some tunes and know that I'm doing everything on the songs. 

Like a right egotistical bugger.

I bought the Boss br 800 which is a home recording unit with inbuilt drum kits and patterns that can be easily edited, which even I can manage to work. Inbuilt guitar sounds, Amps, effects etc. Its really good and costs about £350. It even has a bass and acoustic guitar simulator, so in theory you only need 1 guitar, a lead and a plectrum to make a record.

[Toma_BullyWee]

49 minutes ago, Academically Deficient said:

I bought the Boss br 800 which is a home recording unit with inbuilt drum kits and patterns that can be easily edited, which even I can manage to work. Inbuilt guitar sounds, Amps, effects etc. Its really good and costs about £350. It even has a bass and acoustic guitar simulator, so in theory you only need 1 guitar, a lead and a plectrum to make a record.

I'm using Cakewalk which is a free software which I already know the guts of from recording band stuff with a mate at his house. Already got the guitars and amps and this electric kit is just a plug and play deal with the laptop. Not sure about individually tracking hi hats, individual toms and that but I'm not great when it comes to production anyway so the less mixing the better 

[tamthebam]

Rick Allen? Voted 7th best drummer in the world and has one arm. That's not bad! 

[The Moonster]

 

Anyone looking to inspire their 5 year old should show them this young chap. 

[Toma_BullyWee]

1 hour ago, The Moonster said:

 

Anyone looking to inspire their 5 year old should show them this young chap. 

That young lassie that was on that advert is brilliant as well. She popped up on my twitter a year or so ago and she's fantastic. 

Anyway, turns out Some Kind of Monster is great fun to play.  My legs don't want to get involved at the fast bits but still, I've been playing for a day and even then I've maybe had 3 hours all in on the thing

[Fullerene]

23 hours ago, Toma_BullyWee said:

Anyway, I know there's a couple of drummers on here so I'm looking for some tips. I'm left handed and opted to set it up "normally" so the kids can mess around meaning I'm playing open handed.

The drummer is a glorified metronome!  A drummer with bad timing is a bad drummer.

You might be playing open handed when using the high hat for your timer but if you can still do that well then it doesn't matter.  You will be cross handed when using the ride as a timer.  Presumably you are left footed too.  Using your foot on the high hat for a timer will be different to someone who is right footed.

I found "Art of the Drummer" to be a good book for the rudiments.  The Rock School books with CD were also good.  Six songs per book.

[Navallion]

On 13/08/2020 at 09:43, Toma_BullyWee said:

I got a wee electric drum kit as a present and although it's definitely not made for a big guy like me it's definitely good fun. 

Seems the kit is targeted at beginners/kids, and we didn't spot the kid part. I'm 6'4 so it's a struggle to sit comfortably with the snare being so far down but I'm looking at it the same way I did when I got my first £100 guitar. It's hardly amazing, but more or less bang on for what I'm needing at the moment & if I can build a wee home made riser I'll be able to work around the snare issue. 

Anyway, I know there's a couple of drummers on here so I'm looking for some tips. I'm left handed and opted to set it up "normally" so the kids can mess around meaning I'm playing open handed. 

Had a wee footer about for a few hours yesterday and my thigh is burning today. Any decent people on youtube I should look at to get to grips with it? 

I doubt height should really be an issue, I am no drummer but I can imagine the best motivation to get started is to play songs from your favourite bands as that way you can properly 'feel the music'

There'll be an endless source of YouTube vids to get started on. Drums is easy to play but the most difficult to master my uncle once said.

[ICTJohnboy]

2 hours ago, Fullerene said:

The drummer is a glorified metronome!  A drummer with bad timing is a bad drummer.

You might be playing open handed when using the high hat for your timer but if you can still do that well then it doesn't matter.  You will be cross handed when using the ride as a timer.  Presumably you are left footed too.  Using your foot on the high hat for a timer will be different to someone who is right footed.

I found "Art of the Drummer" to be a good book for the rudiments.  The Rock School books with CD were also good.  Six songs per book.

 

Nothing worse than a drummer who turns up late for a gig.

[Toma_BullyWee]

2 hours ago, Fullerene said:

The drummer is a glorified metronome!  A drummer with bad timing is a bad drummer.

You might be playing open handed when using the high hat for your timer but if you can still do that well then it doesn't matter.  You will be cross handed when using the ride as a timer.  Presumably you are left footed too.  Using your foot on the high hat for a timer will be different to someone who is right footed.

Well I'm a bit weird. Left handed at everything except golf, where I'm right handed but I'm comfortable enough using my right foot for the kick.

50 minutes ago, Navallion said:

I doubt height should really be an issue

It definitely will be soon. I have a gammy back and need the stool up high for my ridiculously long legs to comfortably use the pedals, but the snare is locked in place and is practically under my bollocks when playing. 

Again, not a huge thing because it's just for learning and I can build something to give it a few inches so I'm not massively bothered, but with my back if I don't sort that out in the next few months it will end up causing more bother than it's worth. 

Also nobody told me about the numb arse. 

Edited August 14, 2020 by Toma_BullyWee
Cannae spell

[The Moonster]

1 hour ago, Navallion said:

Drums is easy to play but the most difficult to master my uncle once said.

Without wanting to be a drum snob, I'm not sure that's true. Easy in relation to what? 

They're probably as difficult to master as most other instruments, but there are much easier instruments to pick up and start playing than drums.

[Hillonearth]

On 14/08/2020 at 12:07, ICTJohnboy said:

 

Nothing worse than a drummer who turns up late for a gig.

Except one who's in charge of packing the van and manages to forget to pack his own traps case!

Happened in a band I was in...we only found out once we'd travelled about 80 miles to the gig. Luckily enough there was a local support band arranged from who he was able to borrow most of the stuff he needed. Reminded me of the old drummer joke:

"How can you tell if the kit's set up level? The drummer slabbers out of both sides of his mouth..."

[Toma_BullyWee]

On 15/08/2020 at 13:53, Hillonearth said:

Except one who's in charge of packing the van and manages to forget to pack his own traps case!

Happened in a band I was in...we only found out once we'd travelled about 80 miles to the gig.

When we were 18/19 we had grand plans of taking over the world. We'd been gigging locally for a year or 2 with the same pals showing up and I wanted to do something different so decided to arrange a wee week long tour across the UK. 

Was a b*****d but I managed to find folk in 5 different cities in as many days with the last show being in Glasgow. A few days before it I got a call asking if we could fill a space the night before we left. Brilliant, I thought. 6 gigs in 6 days.

I arranged everything in regards to the tour except transport to the first show in Preston. The drummer was tasked with that. 

Everything at my end went brilliantly, everything sorted, train tickets all booked and that. Got to the gig the night before we left and the drummer told me after we got off stage we didn't have transport to Preston. I lost the nut. Screaming at him that he had to do one fucking thing and he leaves it until the last minute to tell me he hadn't sorted it. 

His girlfriend at the time (now a pal of mine) came up roaring saying I have no idea how much effort he put into the tour and the way I spoke to him was a disgrace. I laughed and told her I was the one who organised every single aspect of it and he had literally one thing to do, which he didn't manage. 

Anyway it got sorted and we managed to do it. In Leeds the promoter decided the best place for a travelling band with no audience was to headline. We did not know this. 2nd band is on and there's about 150 folk there. Magic, we thought. That's when we got told we were on last. "Cool". 3rd band came on and more people came in. We had an EP to punt and were genuinely worried we wouldn't have enough for the full tour. Oh dear. 

Anyway the place emptied after the 3rd band. By the time we went on we were playing to one guy who then fucked off. Me and the bassist thought it was hilarious playing to the sound guy but the drummer was fizzing.

Long story for a very poor pay off but your post reminded me of it. I think I quit the band 3 times in the space of that week.

We never did conquer the world.

[Hillonearth]

1 hour ago, Toma_BullyWee said:

When we were 18/19 we had grand plans of taking over the world. We'd been gigging locally for a year or 2 with the same pals showing up and I wanted to do something different so decided to arrange a wee week long tour across the UK. 

Was a b*****d but I managed to find folk in 5 different cities in as many days with the last show being in Glasgow. A few days before it I got a call asking if we could fill a space the night before we left. Brilliant, I thought. 6 gigs in 6 days.

I arranged everything in regards to the tour except transport to the first show in Preston. The drummer was tasked with that. 

Everything at my end went brilliantly, everything sorted, train tickets all booked and that. Got to the gig the night before we left and the drummer told me after we got off stage we didn't have transport to Preston. I lost the nut. Screaming at him that he had to do one fucking thing and he leaves it until the last minute to tell me he hadn't sorted it. 

His girlfriend at the time (now a pal of mine) came up roaring saying I have no idea how much effort he put into the tour and the way I spoke to him was a disgrace. I laughed and told her I was the one who organised every single aspect of it and he had literally one thing to do, which he didn't manage. 

Anyway it got sorted and we managed to do it. In Leeds the promoter decided the best place for a travelling band with no audience was to headline. We did not know this. 2nd band is on and there's about 150 folk there. Magic, we thought. That's when we got told we were on last. "Cool". 3rd band came on and more people came in. We had an EP to punt and were genuinely worried we wouldn't have enough for the full tour. Oh dear. 

Anyway the place emptied after the 3rd band. By the time we went on we were playing to one guy who then fucked off. Me and the bassist thought it was hilarious playing to the sound guy but the drummer was fizzing.

Long story for a very poor pay off but your post reminded me of it. I think I quit the band 3 times in the space of that week.

We never did conquer the world.

Us neither! That particular band I was in was the back end of the hair metal thing - think Skid Row - and in common with most others of that ilk was killed more or less overnight by the advent of grunge.

You're right though - a lot of bands seem to form, play and split up without ever playing to a crowd that doesn't consist of their friends. I remember that same drummer I was talking about started going out with a girl, and some of her pals were in her town's local hero band who had never gigged outside that area and who asked us through her if we could give them some support gigs.

We had four or five gigs booked up north and took them up with us...they only lasted one date at the Hayloft in Inverness before disappearing back home. They'd gone down like a pork pie at a barmitzvah and their egos wouldn't allow them to draw the conclusion it was maybe because they weren't very good, but rather that somehow we'd sabotaged them despite us being round the corner in a pub on Academy St while they were on.

Anyway, fast forward a couple of months and we were booked to play whatever godforsaken satellite town they came from. The drummer's burd had heard they were going round telling people to turn up to the club to give us a hard time. It was great fun - we got booed ON, then after the first couple of songs launched into a cheesy Twisted Sisteresque stage rap along the lines of "Any town that lets themselves get told what they're allowed to like is a town full of pussies..." and so on. By the fifth or sixth song the crowd were eating out of our hands and we heard our former support band had left in a huff...unconfirmed reports were that one of them was crying.

[Toma_BullyWee]

3 hours ago, Hillonearth said:

The drummer's burd had heard they were going round telling people to turn up to the club to give us a hard time.

One Glasgow band really didn't like us (well, me) to the point they had "Toma is a fucking c**t" in one of their tunes.

2 of them showed up to one of our gigs a while after it. I was out having a fag and jumped in the lift to find the 2 of them there. Big smile on my face and their arses went.