Being Self-Taught on Drums

[speckled]

I've been playing drums for a few months now, have been taking lessons at my local music school. I'm grounded in the basics and seriously considering going off to teach myself the more intermediate stuff, as my current [fabulous] teacher is leaving and being replaced by someone who isn't so great. I come from a small town and there aren't other drum teachers for a while out. Just wondering if there are any other predominantly self-taught drummers out there and how difficult it is to teach yourself? Because I've already learnt the basic drumming skills it may make things slightly easier than teaching myself from scratch? What are the best ways to approach the self-taught method? I'm having a little trouble where to begin. Sorry for rambling on a bit, thanks in advance

[Nechre]

Self teaching is all about self-discipline. That's about all I can say. If you're motivated to learn, you'll learn. I'd still check out the other teacher though, just in case.

[rickthedrummer]

I did it completely on my own. Never had a drum lesson in my life.

Now that may come off as bragging, but, my bottom line to it is, I had no great skills to start with, I just wanted to play drums.

If I did it, anybody can. You just have to want it bad enough.

[GunnerUK]

I've been playing drums for a few months now, have been taking lessons at my local music school. I'm grounded in the basics and seriously considering going off to teach myself the more intermediate stuff, as my current [fabulous] teacher is leaving and being replaced by someone who isn't so great. I come from a small town and there aren't other drum teachers for a while out. Just wondering if there are any other predominantly self-taught drummers out there and how difficult it is to teach yourself? Because I've already learnt the basic drumming skills it may make things slightly easier than teaching myself from scratch? What are the best ways to approach the self-taught method? I'm having a little trouble where to begin. Sorry for rambling on a bit, thanks in advance

Welcome to the forum Speckled.

I'm self taught and been playing 5 years. I'm seriously considering getting a few lessons now to rectify the bad habbits that are now inhibiting me from progressing.

If you're happy with your basics and have your grip and technique down, then I'd say go for it. Otherwise, hang on in there untill you have the necessary foundations to go it alone. 5 years of bad habbits is hard to get out of.

[Northern Redneck]

I did it completely on my own. Never had a drum lesson in my life.

Now that may come off as bragging, but, my bottom line to it is, I had no great skills to start with, I just wanted to play drums.

If I did it, anybody can. You just have to want it bad enough.

Sounds like my story.

[funkyruss]

No lessons here either, may have come in handy, but i never had a guitar player say "hey your para-diddles aren't up to par"....

[Pearl MCX Man]

I am self taught too. I tried to take lessons from a book and ended up throwing it out the window. LOL You have the basics so just practice and add your own style to it and before long you will be just as good as me. Don't mean to brag either.LOL

[markthechuck]

have you got anyone in the next town that you can see every month or so just to make sure your not getting any bad habbits.

[bassist learning drums]

Welcome To DRUM CHAT!!!


I am also "self taught". My problem was two things, I could not find a teacher that would accommodate my schedule, and my work schedule. I think you will benefit from getting some instructional DVD's. There are a lot out there. You can check out You Tube videos, too. Check out that menu bar item called "Drum Links". There is a lot of helpful sites for ya! Good Luck!

[trickg]

I think that one of the things a lot of aspiring players don't take into account are the "lessons" that can be learned from sources other than having the traditional student/teacher structured lesson format. But before I get into that, I find it refreshing to hear on this forum how many people are self-taught and make no bones about it. Go to a trumpet player's forum and there seems to be this overriding idea that without formal lessons with a teacher that it's nearly impossible to succeed. (Never mind that a bad teacher can do more harm than good.)

"Lessons" are all around - everything you listen to can be regarded as a lesson if you want to pick apart what's happening in the drum part and try to apply it to your own playing. Grooves, accent patterns, feel, fill ideas, drum part structure - those are just some of the things analyzing recordings can give you. I mean really, why reinvent the wheel? These are the pros so why not take some of what they do and incorporate it into your own playing?

Another place to find good lessons is in watching other drummers at live performances. What are they doing that you like and think sounds good? What are they doing you don't like and think doesn't sound so good? (Figuring out what not to do can be as valuable as figuring out what to do.) How are they holding their sticks? How are their drums and cymbals positioned?

Yet another great place to get a lesson or two is to talk shop with other drummers. Everyone has their own ideas and I've found great little tidbits from people who have far less experience than me - just because someone doesn't have a lot of time with an instrument doesn't mean they can't see something insightful that I haven't thought about yet.

I think all a teacher really does is to streamline an approach and possibly keep a person from developing bad habits, but even then, one person's bad habit often seems to work just fine for someone else. I once was in a phone conversation with legendary drummer Roy Burns (founder/owner of Aquarian Drumheads) and on the subject of getting a teacher Roy told me, "don't find a teacher who is going to show you what to play, find a teacher who will teach you how to practice."

Ultimately I think that as long as a player can approach their own playing in an open-minded, introspective way and they can be disciplined enough to work on the things they need to work on, whatever those may be, a person can find a great deal of success being self-taught as long as they can figure out how to separate the nuggets of grain from the chaff in all of the lessons around them, and these days there are so many sources of information - the internet, instructional DVDs, live shows, recordings, talking to other drummers - that a person can go a long, long way working on their craft on their own.

For the record, while I've had a few lessons - probably about 10 total where we worked more on concpetual ideas rather than technique - I'm almost entirely self taught.

[Zeta]

There is nothing wrong with being self taught. I think it is a good idea to take a lesson here and there to get constructive criticism on technique and playing though. But there is a difference between "self taught" and just plan "not taking lessons". If you decide to go solo you need to continue to learn stuff and teach yourself and push yourself

I have taken lessons for a long time now. and I'll probably stop after this year because I've finally hit the point where I'm pushing myself harder than my teacher is.


On the subject of being self taught. Cobus is a great example of someone who wanted it so bad that he taught himself to be incredible.
He now plays for DW, and TRX, along with about 5 other sponsors.[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3S81X8JBZQ"]Cobus - Angels & Airwaves - Heaven (Drum Duet Cover with Atom Willard) - YouTube[/ame] here is him playing a duet with Atom Willard of Angels and Airwaves.

[VIbes]

I learned by playing to records. All my practicing before and after I started playing in bands in my pre teens and in my teens were to records from Elvis to Steely Dan and Return to Forever. I would stay in my room for hours on end playing along with my fav bands and artist. Now I play in live bands and to click tracks and sequencers.
Playing to recordings and learning the parts, beats, and feels was my basic training ground, which still benefits me today.

[creepshow]

Welcome, Speckled! I, too, am self-taught. Never had a lesson. Again, not bragging, that's just the way I happened to learn. I taught myself by sitting in my room, listening to records and figuring out what the drummers were doing. Could I have benefitted from a few lessons here and there? Probably, but I did fine without them. You are fortunate to have had lessons for the basics, so you have a good foundation already. The more you play and listen to music, the better you will get. Playing with other musicians is invaluable. Also, you will pick up little licks from other drummers you meet and play shows with as well. The drumming community tends to be quite open and sharing. Also, there are endless online lessons you can check out. You will always be learning from others, you just may not be sitting in a classroom with a formal teacher. Keep at it, you will be just fine!

[rickthedrummer]

No lessons here either, may have come in handy, but i never had a guitar player say "hey your para-diddles aren't up to par"....

That's because guitarists don't know what paradiddles are.

[dropdtune]

welcome. Me self taught too, for 10 years. I always had the discipline to put in the time to play, learning from records, copying styles, but not to sit and learn all the theory and rudiments. I am, however, now going back to some of that stuff and taking what I need from it. There are many resources to learn from, u-tubes etc., and a good instructional DVD helps (I recommend Groove Essentials by Tommy Igoe). Maybe you could continue a lesson or two to get you on your way, and then learn on your own.

[rickthedrummer]

There is nothing wrong with being self taught. I think it is a good idea to take a lesson here and there to get constructive criticism on technique and playing though. But there is a difference between "self taught" and just plan "not taking lessons". If you decide to go solo you need to continue to learn stuff and teach yourself and push yourself

I have taken lessons for a long time now. and I'll probably stop after this year because I've finally hit the point where I'm pushing myself harder than my teacher is.


On the subject of being self taught. Cobus is a great example of someone who wanted it so bad that he taught himself to be incredible.
He now plays for DW, and TRX, along with about 5 other sponsors.Cobus - Angels & Airwaves - Heaven (Drum Duet Cover with Atom Willard) - YouTube here is him playing a duet with Atom Willard of Angels and Airwaves.

Not being a fan of either of these guys, I have to admit that song was pretty good.

[atomcorr2]

self taught here too , i had 1 lesson in 4th grade, the next day the teacher died.never took another lesson . just listened to lots of music .

[GunnerUK]

Playing with other musicians is invaluable

+1

That's probably the best bit of advice yet.

[rickthedrummer]

"Playing with other musicians is invaluable"

Yes, it is, but I think some people jump into it too soon.

I had a "debate" (read that argument) with 2 young guys about it on another forum. One was playing 9 months, the other, a year. Both felt they were ready to be in a band.

I don't care if you practice 20 hours a day, a year is not enough time to get prepared for all the things that music can throw at you.

I totally understand wanting to play in a band. When I was about 13, I wanted to play with Dave Brubeck. I thought, " I can play the pattern to Take 5, I'm ready". Yeah, right. I would have been so completely lost with the other things that Brubeck did, I would have had to crawl home and hide under a rock.

Personally, I think at least 2-3 years before someone might be ready to play out.

[atomcorr2]

i think its never too soon to start playing with other people . its the best way to learn I.M.O.

[GunnerUK]

"Playing with other musicians is invaluable"

Yes, it is, but I think some people jump into it too soon.

I had a "debate" (read that argument) with 2 young guys about it on another forum. One was playing 9 months, the other, a year. Both felt they were ready to be in a band.

I don't care if you practice 20 hours a day, a year is not enough time to get prepared for all the things that music can throw at you.

I totally understand wanting to play in a band. When I was about 13, I wanted to play with Dave Brubeck. I thought, " I can play the pattern to Take 5, I'm ready". Yeah, right. I would have been so completely lost with the other things that Brubeck did, I would have had to crawl home and hide under a rock.

Personally, I think at least 2-3 years before someone might be ready to play out.

I disagree. Playing with other musicians will force you to keep up, will force you to develop time, will force you to raise your game and will push you to become a better player. Not necessarily out gigging, but definately jamming or rehearsing with a band.

Sitting in your bedroom playing to yourself for 3 years will instill boredom, and when you do eventually venture out, you'll feel like a fish out of water.

In my opinion.

[rickthedrummer]

i think its never too soon to start playing with other people . its the best way to learn I.M.O.

So what you are saying is that some kid who just set up his first set of drums is ready to play with other people.

[rickthedrummer]

I disagree. Playing with other musicians will force you to keep up, will force you to develop time, will force you to raise your game and will push you to become a better player. Not necessarily out gigging, but definately jamming or rehearsing with a band.

Sitting in your bedroom playing to yourself for 3 years will instill boredom, and when you do eventually venture out, you'll feel like a fish out of water.

In my opinion.

I played for nearly 4 years before my first band (remember, I started at 10), when that band broke up, I was able to go to a different band that was playing a different style of music and fit in.

I was not a "fish out of water", I had enough time behind a set to do what was needed and be comfortable with it.

I, therefore, disagree with you.

[GunnerUK]

I played for nearly 4 years before my first band (remember, I started at 10), when that band broke up, I was able to go to a different band that was playing a different style of music and fit in.

I was not a "fish out of water", I had enough time behind a set to do what was needed and be comfortable with it.

I, therefore, disagree with you.

Cool. Then we can agree to disagree.

[stuperprohero]

No lessons here either. I think it's a beautiful thing that you want to keep on trucking and teach yourself. Afterall persistence and practice are required to become a great drummer. Like some of the other guys here, I played along to records of songs I wanted to learn and dissected song parts in my head when not playing. Back then we didn't have youtube so I went to see any band play live that I could, just to try and learn something from the drummer. Anything, even if it's how a particular piece of equipment sounds to which hand led off a fill. Now with the vast amount of stuff to learn from on ytube you have a decent library of drum stuff to take in.

I personally don't care how long anyone has been playing, if they are having FUN playing in a band or with other people then that's what counts most. I've seen some young kids with thier bands that sounded horrible, but I have to admit it warmed my heart to see thier desire and passion to do what they enjoyed. I still see older fellas who STILL sound horrible and the same thing goes, it's about having fun and chasing your dreams.
I believe when "you" feel comfortable enough to start jamming with other musicians then go for it. If you get the right combination of guys you can pick each other apart with constructive criticism and have fun doing it.
The bottom line is follow your heart and do what you enjoy.