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Thread: Are some people just unable to drum?

  1. #1

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    Default Are some people just unable to drum?

    So i just got back from another lesson today and im frustrated as hell. I've been playing drums for a little over a year now and it still feels like day one.. I've been taking lessons from a preety decent teacher for around six months and it's definatley helped but now that i've been exposed to the drumming world for a while seeing 7 year olds on youtube shred things that i sadly cannot at the elder age of 18...

    My teacher makes a video of everything we go over in our lessons and i practice it for the next week. Well this was the first week in a long time i havent been able to get down what has been assigned and its even more frustrating hearing my teacher tell me it's not that hard. And the truth is its really not! I just feel like i can't do it smooth enough or just right to make it sound how it should. I hit mental walls that are seemingly impossible to break through. I can't think of any fills for the beats im taught or really my own beats! If i do think of one its either too generic or so sloppy i just think why the hell did i just spaz out hitting random things when i see people shredding fills smoothly and without a hitch! Yeah i know they have been playing forever and have probably played those fills in their sleep but i practice everyday...I do what im taught and yet im extremely dissatisfied. When will it be my time to be even a decent drummer!? How do u expand your creativity and explore new fills that actually tie into what your playing? How long does this all take to develop usually?

    I know just about all of you will say practice makes perfect and i've been doing it! Everyday! When will a learning curve kick in?

  2. #2

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    I see your kinda critical of yourself but everyone has different learning curves. Some pick things up faster than others. Have you had this talk with your teacher on this? But in reality if this teacher is half decent they should be able to tell. But I don't know your teacher sooo...

    I'm not going to tell you to give up. You've only been at it a year. An everyone gets miffed now and again.

    Just whatever yor practicing, slow it down. Don't try to play it full speed. When your comfortable with paying it, then start to speed it up. But be aware, sometimes playing slower on some things can be more difficult than at a faster tempo.

    Thing is, if you have decent rythm, you can play drums. So just keep at it and have a heart to heart with your teacher.

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  3. #3

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    He's been in several bands and he is in my eyes a good drummer.

  4. #4

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    Yeh but have you discussed your struggles with him? I mean thats part of the reason he's there.

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  5. #5

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    Yeah i havent gone as in depth as i have here but thats because i feel like he knows half of the stuff ive expressed here. He just keeps saying take it slow, dont get frustrated, be patient, think ahead. All great advice but it would be nice to see some results to boost my morale

  6. #6

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    Default Re: Are some people just unable to drum?

    TK187, getting frustrated as you're learning is normal. And no, I don't think anyone is "unable" to drum. You can learn, don't get discouraged. And don't compare yourself to the drumming progidies (progidys?) on YouTube, that's a totally different thing and a lot of times those are kids that have been practicing for 3 hours a day since they were 2 years old.

    The way you practice be part of it. One major thing that can help is to practice very slowly. It seems weird at first, but the slower you work something out the better command you have over it. As far as fills, ways to develop and write fill ideas are varied and depend on the drummer but a good way to start is to pick a subdivision or rudiment and play that over the last beat or two beats of a bar. That way you can hear it and change the orchestration (what drums you are playing it on) until you're happy with it. (I've been meaning to make a youtube lesson about this but I haven't had a chance yet.)

    Also, there's nothing wrong with having more than one private instructor. There were a few years in my life when I was studying privately with 4 different teachers at the same time.

    Don't get discouraged!
    Last edited by dt344; 04-18-2012 at 06:46 PM. Reason: Hit done before i was finished typing
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  7. #7
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    Default Re: Are some people just unable to drum?

    The vast majority of people can't drum! All most all guitar players can't drum either!
    Most drummers love to drum, its an involved instrument because both arms and legs are invested and the mental stability and physical dexterity is way above a "normal" persoms grasp. If you don't love drums you should quit!
    Maybe your a guitar player and you don't know it! Doc.

  8. #8

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    I'm not saying that he's a bad instructor, but just because somebody's a good drummer, it doesn't make them a good teacher. Making assumptions can be dangerous.

    That said, everyone has a different learning curve. Nobody is instantly good at anything, but some are inclined to learn certain things faster. I've played several instruments over the years and one thing has pretty much always been true: if it's too hard, slow it down to a comfortable speed, master it at that speed, then build from there.
    Mmm... Saturns.

  9. #9

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    If it will be any consolation, I didn't pick up sticks until I was nearly 16. Even though people liked having me in bands when I was in high school and after, personally, I don't think I was really good until I hit my early 20's. It is a big learning curve when you start - the rudiments, timing, co-ordination and all other important things, but you have to give it time.

    I can understand where you're coming from because I have an older student in his 40's who's been with me now for a few years.....at first it was very frustrating for him, because he felt then exactly how you're feeling now. It took me quite a while for me to work on his hand technique, co-ordination etc.....at first he was just slogging the drums with no finesse whatsoever....choppy as all hell....and that was affecting his timing to no end. Nowadays, he's a lot more confident, he'll still have a few moments of frustration now and then, but we're able to get his head around some simple funky patterns and a few songs that have that type of drumming in it. And he's having a lot more fun because he's feeling more and more like a drummer.

    Really, it boils down to the fact that we have a good student/teacher relationship, and myself being able to capitalise and encourage his strong points as well as helping to coach and eventually wean out his weak points. And having bag loads of patience, because as a teacher I always think about how hard it was for me being a student in the first place. In fact, I still think of myself as a student, you never stop learning in this game.
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  10. #10

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    Default Re: Are some people just unable to drum?

    What do you guys recommend as far as practicing goes? Like how long should i be practicing and how much time should i spend on what key techniques?

  11. #11

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    Rudiments: They are the stickings you will use for the rest of your life in 1 form or the other.

    Practice time: Play as long as you can to the point where you really get discouraged at what you are working on, then walk away. There is no sense practicing for 3 hours if you are frustrated after 1 1/2 hours.

    I've always said that I broke more sticks throwing them against walls than I broke actually playing.

    Maybe it's time to re-evaluate your teacher. He may be a good drummer, but that doesn't make him automatically a good teacher. I'm fairly decent on the set, but I know that I would suck as a teacher.

    Last is patience. Some just get better faster than others. Having a hard time now doesn't mean that you won't be good 5 years down the road.

    Patience grasshopper, patience.

  12. #12

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    Quote Originally Posted by TK187 View Post
    What do you guys recommend as far as practicing goes? Like how long should i be practicing and how much time should i spend on what key techniques?
    First I want to address the initial question. I believe that some people are simply more gifted than others and it just comes naturally to them, and this is anything involved with music and not just the coordination to drum.

    I posted something to this effect a week or so ago in regard to the neighbor kid. While it's true that I didn't start drumming in earnest until I was 33, I work at it to be as good as I can be. This kid started drumming a couple of years ago when he dug a drum kit out of a dumpster and fixed it up enough to make it playable. I hear him playing when I'm outside in the yard and he can do so much that I can, and it's frustrating that it seems to come so naturally to me. I've been drumming almost 9 years and can't even begin to approach some of the stuff he's playing now.

    Back to the question about practicing I'll say this. As a trumpet player (my first instrumet and the one where I served as an Army Bandsman was trumpet) I made my biggest surge in ability the year I was a Freshman in HS. The reason was simple - I LOVED playing my horn, so I was on it at every available opportunity.

    1.) Before school I'd hit the band room about 7:45 and and warm up and play until band class started at 8:15
    2.) 8:15 until the end of band, I was playing
    3.) After lunch I'd run up to the band room and get my horn out and play some more.
    4.) 6th period after lunch was alternating jazz band/show choir - I was in both, so during jazz band I was playing again.
    5.) After school I'd run back up to the band room and play my horn an additional hour or so.
    6.) During winter sports, we'd have at least one game a week where we'd march for halftime football game shows, pep bands, etc.
    7.) I practiced some at home

    In retrospect I wasn't really "practicing" per se, but the bulk time I spent with the instrument, several hours a day, contributed to refine my technique anyway. I was mostly playing the music that was assigned in the various school ensembles I was in for band, Jazz band and pep band. I've never believed that I was tremendously talented - I think that I just put in a lot more time than other people and had good self-awareness about what I was doing right and what I was doing wrong.

    Bringing this back to you, I think that right now you should work to improve on the things you are assigned, but also spend a healthy amount of time just getting familiar with the instrument. Just play basic grooves and fills, over and over and over until you no longer really have to think about the mechanics.

    I think that for the most part everyone has the potential to at least learn an instrumet, even if they may never become amazing. Having said that, I also think that with enough time and hard work, those neural pathways that seem to be preprogrammed in people with inate ability can be burned into your own brain, but it's going to take a lot more work to build that foundation.

    Just keep after it and remember why you wanted to learn to play drums in the first place - it's not about the mechanics, it's about the music.
    Last edited by trickg; 04-19-2012 at 08:39 AM.
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  13. #13

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    I think all of us, no matter how natural drums came to us, have hit a "wall" at some time in our playing lives.

    If you really love the drums and want to be a drummer.....keep pushing....it will come in time and one day, you'll sit down and you'll be able to effortlessly play the fills you want.

    As Rick said....be patient.

  14. #14

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    yep, I've hit walls that took me time to get over. some of them were physical limitations, like my feet couldn't move fast enough to play a part (and they're still slow, *metalocalypse reference* Stupid fat fingers!.. I mean feet!). These take longest to get over because it requires training.

    Some are a mental thing, where you're just off for a while. I have a stretch of this that I just hit. I've been jamming with this guitar player for over a year now, and i'd always been pretty good with keeping up with his odd time signatures and coming up with something that works. But lately, nothing seems to fit to what he's playing and it bugs that crap out of me, and I know it bugs him too. I ran into this once before, and learning a few cool new beats and modifying them to make them my own helped curb this for a while. But now I play those beats and variations of them and none of those seem to fit. It can be a frustrating proposition playing drums sometimes. Especially when you're playing with other good musicians who are challenging you. But really, as you're encountering frustration, you are ultimately learning most of the time. I feel that if you challenge yourself and endure the frustrating times, you'll come out on the other side better. Eventually whatever is giving you the fits will start to become natural. Second Nature. Unconscious movement that you will start to just get and this stuff will work itself into your playing. How you come out on the other side of your problems and how you deal with the problems (read musical parts) is really what defines a drummer's style.

    Sorry, went off on a tangent there.

    Ultimately your teacher is right, it takes time, sometimes you have to just slog through the stuff and feel like a total idiot to grow. It's happened more than a few times to me.

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  15. #15

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    a word of wisdom, "never measure yourself against others" and, have fun with it!

    pin point a style, or a drummer and emulate it, step by step. set achievable goals, and once again, have fun!

    best wishes
    if you ask a drummer what time it is?!? they're likely to respond with a time signature "oh, it's 4/4"....


  16. #16

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    Quote Originally Posted by kennabis View Post
    a word of wisdom, "never measure yourself against others" and, have fun with it!
    Agree, but it's easier said than done, and in some ways it's healthy to measure yourself against others. It's one of the ways we know to strive for more.
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  17. #17

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    I feel for ya TK187....I didn't start playing drums without being first interested, coupled with the fact I thought I had natural ability. Well, apparantly I don't and it is a struggle. I still like it though. I think there is a truth behind people just being able to play. It's like that with a lot of things. Some people just get it. And I don't mean just " GET IT ". They are naturally good at it. Like I said, that's what I thought, and thought wrong from the beginning. AND the underlying question is just that.....you start second guessing yourself and wonder if you're really cut out for this....using the natural ability equation. No matter how hard I try, I may never be good at something.... But I've been around long enough to know what comes easy and what I have to work at. Once I found out drumming wasn't coming easy ( that part was discouraging ) I am still interested ( not discouraged )
    In a later post I see you then asked about " practice " advice .....so I have to ask....Did you solve your natural ability question or did we here at CHAT just bolst your confidence ? I suppose there is some truth in the teacher's ability....but some people no matter how much teaching/practice will never be able to catch a football.
    Most definitely. As a matter of fact, there will be "NO LIMIT"... just an unending quagmire of musical genius.

  18. #18

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    Sometimes you need to look inside yourself and ask some questions that require you to give honest answers.

    From my own experiences and beliefs, one thing must exist. You must have an ear for tone and an internal clock that is accurately keeping time if you want to tackle a musical instrument.

    One can learn to play any instrument but if you can't feel what you are doing then it's always going to be a struggle and difficult to master. I'm not trying to sound judgmental and I'll try to give you a generic comparison.

    I have a friend who claimed they had many years of piano lessons. I have never heard them play piano but they would go on and on about theory and all the foundation for how to put notes and chords together. I would assume they could play relatively well. Their understanding of scales and all things musical was uncanny. A very intelligent person as well.

    We met on a guitar forum a few years back and got together a couple times to jam on guitar. We were both about the same place with experience. What I found was internally all the technical knowledge they had was way more than I'll ever attempt to learn. But applying it to the guitar just didn't happen. No matter what was attempted, there was no way coordination occurred between hands and guitar. This person had taken guitar lessons and knew more about where the notes were on the fretboard than I did. When it came to playing a simple song, even when making it through the chord changes, there was no steady tempo to accompany the chords. What it comes down to is internal feel and allowing it to flow from inside to outside. It can't be learned. It's either there or it's not.

    So I ask you this...

    Can you keep time without thinking about it? Could you stand up and dance to an entire song and stay with the beat?

    Can you play a steady 4/4 beat for a long time without having one of your limbs drop out or get out of sync or do you speed up and slow down a lot?

    If you struggle with this regularly you just might not have the right internal clock to let the drumming flow naturally. In that case, you will get frustrated a lot and if drumming doesn't at some point start to come naturally, it may never.

    You then need to evaluate if the fun overshadows the frustration or you will continue to work at it.

    For me, it's been a blast from day one and I've never had formal lessons or any technical knowledge to start with. I know my limitations and they are set by my laziness to not learn more. I can only blame myself for what I don't know. Sooner or later we all have to hold ourselves accountable for our achievements or otherwise.

    Sorry for the long post.

  19. #19

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    TK187:
    1. Taking lessons, check.
    2. One year into learning curve, check.
    3. Watching other drummers gets you down,check.
    4. Frustrated as you have ever been, check.
    5. Having second thoughts about drumming, check.


    So far I'd say your right on schedule with everyone who ever wanted to play drums.

  20. #20

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    Ah, youth! OK, TK187, you're 18 and started on drums a year ago? And you expect to be as good as...who, exactly? I'll bet this person you hope to emulate had more than 1 yr of lessons before he became a pro. I'll bet your instructor had more than 1 yr. of lessons before he got to where he is now!
    Ignore the gifted 8 yr.old-youtube-wonders. You know about them and that's nice but not relevant. The fact that you know of some fills that can be "shredded" means you have something in mind to achieve. That's good! Imagine you didn't have any ideas...
    Keep practicing to get coordinated and keep time, keep practicing rudiments until they become second nature. (If you can do a single stroke roll at a moderate tempo you can be in almost any rock band, so it's not a big hurdle to overcome.)
    We all have to start from zero:
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  21. #21

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    Of all the hours I've spent behind the kit, most of them are pretty ho-hum and some of them (even today) are embarrassingly clumsy. But there have been moments, songs, even entire shows where I could do no wrong. It's those rare moments of awesomeness that keep me going through the drudgery of being mediocre the other 95% of the time. That and the fact that I love playing music.
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  22. #22

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    interlude....if I may. My take on this was not a primary matter of discouragement, but an issue regarding whether or not a person even stood a chance at drumming without having that certain " something " . Discouragement then, would naturally follow. I would think a good teacher could offer insight to a beginning drummer. Then again, noone could predict at what level a person would be capable of achieving.
    Most definitely. As a matter of fact, there will be "NO LIMIT"... just an unending quagmire of musical genius.

  23. #23

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    Quote Originally Posted by longgun View Post
    I think all of us, no matter how natural drums came to us, have hit a "wall" at some time in our playing lives.

    If you really love the drums and want to be a drummer.....keep pushing....it will come in time and one day, you'll sit down and you'll be able to effortlessly play the fills you want.

    As Rick said....be patient.
    I've told this story so often I ask our veteran drumming brothers and sisters to bear with me...

    I started taking drum lessons at age 32 in 1984. It took me years to get the rudiments right (and I confess some of mine can still use some fine tuning!), but I had an extremely patient teacher who shared my love of hand drumming. Turns out I will always prefer hand drums to drum kit, but I still enjoy drumming after all these years.

    No one is "unable" to do anything if they want to do it! Hang in there and remember, your drum teacher will help you if he understands what you want to do. Never be afraid to ask!

    Keep workin' at it and
    keep the beat goin' ... Don't keep it to yourself!

    Charlie

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  24. #24

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    Default Re: Are some people just unable to drum?

    in short, yes, there are people that cant play the drums.
    if desire overpowers the frustration anyone can learn.
    its just going to be a tougher time.
    i had a friend back when i was a teenager who played guitar every day, took lessons for a very long time, etc....
    every song he played sounded the same, he stunk.
    ran into him 20 years later and he told me he gave it all up.
    reason: he found out he was tone deaf.

  25. #25

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    Quote Originally Posted by kyle102565 View Post
    reason: he found out he was tone deaf.
    No one is truly "tone deaf" - if people were, they wouldn't be able to differentiate between a telephone and a car horn. What it amounts to is the inability to make connections between the tones they hear and what they are able to reproduce, either vocally or with an instrument, and supposedly even that can be taught.
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