Beginner Drummer trying to learn new songs.

[greyghost86]

I wanted to start learning songs, but I mainly listen to Progressive Music and pretty much all the drum parts are way to advanced for me. So i deiced to start at the beginning and where better but Elvis. So I start to play some of his songs and I can barely hear the drums! So I went on line looking for some drum tabs for Elvis and i can't find any. Any Idea on what I should or does anyone know of how i can get my hands on some drum tabs.

[Aaaidn]

Best bet i reckon is look for a drum only version or another drum cover that seems accurate. If not learn something where you can hear the drums

[greyghost86]

OK I forgot to check you tube, found a good cover. I'm on a roll now.

[tselanne]

I wanted to start learning songs, but I mainly listen to Progressive Music and pretty much all the drum parts are way to advanced for me.

My suggestion is if you really like the music and want to 'play along', keep the headphones on but don't try to play exactly what the drummer is playing. Instead, play rudiments or basic rock beats at half or even quarter speed. The music will be like your 'metronome', and you can still practice all sorts of stuff. It's a great way to hone in your 'internal clock' as songs are at different tempos.

[quakeguy]

I wanted to start learning songs, but I mainly listen to Progressive Music and pretty much all the drum parts are way to advanced for me. So i deiced to start at the beginning and where better but Elvis. So I start to play some of his songs and I can barely hear the drums! So I went on line looking for some drum tabs for Elvis and i can't find any. Any Idea on what I should or does anyone know of how i can get my hands on some drum tabs.

I am a progressive drummer myself. When I first started playing things like Rush I did it by ear, not knowing what the meter was at all. Later I learned to count out all the different meters being used. When I can't get a drum I just sit and listen to the song and count out time as the song goes along. Maybe even write it down if I have to. I realize that once you know the math behind the music, playing it is much easier. A song I am learning right now has this pattern during the verse (Bleed Me Dry; Redemption):

11/16, 6/4, 11/16, 5/4

Once I figured that out by counting I was able to at least start to play along. Odd time takes practice. find a song that uses a little of it and soon you will get more comfortable.

Try counting out Rush's Freewill and you will start to see where Neal does his accents and fills.

[nio]

gg, may I suggest The Beatles. Ringo lays down some sweet beats...

[quakeguy]

I should have clarified that I meant doing those things after you are more comfortable with the drums in general. By all means start with easier stuff first before jumping into the progressive end of the drum pool. 50-60 music is what I cut my teeth on as well (my dad played that stuff). I then moved onto music I enjoy and went from there.

[atomcorr2]

i'd start with the Beatles..

[dropdtune]

Agreed, I started playing in a 50's cover band and drums are terribly recorded in older 50's stuff to listen/learn from. I can recommend Beatles, or Stones, or CCR but what will really get you in the basic solid groove, and features a solid beat, is lots of Motown (esp. Aretha Franklin numbers...Respect, Chain of Fools, ).

[wolvie56]

I would start out with some easier stuff like AC-DC, or the Beatles as was mentioned, or the Stones. Most of the Elvis stuff has been re-mastered, re-mixed and reproduced so many times that the tracks seem to be muddled up to me. There is also some pretty awesome drumming web sites on the net, including this site, that are very useful in learning all the rudiments and offer drum lessons, especially if you can't afford lessons right now. Welcome to the forum and keep us posted on your progress. Cheers.

[Titus]

hey GreyGhost- I just wanna say I played drums for nearly 13 years before I started taking rudiments and note for note song / music reading seriously and I only wish I had started that way. I would get a book or two on beginner drums and then maybe go get a drum tabulation book with accurate musical notation and play to those songs. They are a great way to challenge yourself, learn complete songs,and learn reading. I'm working on some Led Zeppelin stuff now myself. It's a great challenge and reminds me of junior high band class lol

[moturson]

id start with altern then punk then metal

[itchie]

red hot chilli peppers

[Titus]

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/in...3181014AAl3rwi

[Drumbledore]

Sure, be a fan of progressive or whatever music you like....BUT you got to start with the easy stuff first. As someone said, try some AC/DC, or maybe The Beatles or Stones. Take it from me....apart from the fact that I got a good start with the rudiments and cadences on snare drum in high school first, when I was first playing bands in high school and afterwards, quite a bit of it was that kind of stuff, knowing where to put the backbeat, etc. Mind you, what got me into different music at first was The Police and discovering how Stewart Copeland emphasized the 3 in reggae (rimclicks and all that stuff) then from there I got into Neil Peart, Bill Bruford and all the other prog greats as part of my musical education. And if you really want to learn the ins and outs of their drumming.....get a good teacher who can give you the basics of reading and theory, such as learning to read and transcribing, not just "playing along" only. Playing to CD's is great practice, I know, I do it too......but without the other things I mentioned, you'll be struggling to recall parts or get your head around concepts that also crop up, such as odd groupings, polymeters, hemiolas, clavés, beat displacements and so forth. You might feel that any teacher can bore you with the theory side of things, but an effective teacher should be able to open your eyes to the "why", not just the "how" of good music theory and foundation.

Think of this. Music, and drumming in our case, is a language. It takes time and patience to learn it and starting simple in order to progress to the harder stuff is what we all do, in order to become better and more fluent in the way we want to express ourselves. So start with the easy stuff, take your time and ask loads of questions. Good music theory can only help quicken the pace of learning, but also watch a lot of different drummers, not just the guys you like. It will only help to make you a better player.

[Landmine]

I started with AC/DC. Then I spent several months learning to read music while listening to it. Now it's just listening to a song over and over to learn the notes. This is how I learned Metallica's "Bleeding me" note for note.

Having learned to read music helped a lot. Now I learn just by listeneing.