Self-Taught negatives

[thefarkus]

So i want to learn the technical aspects of drumming and become a percusionist instead of just a drummer, but im not sure how hard it will be to "reteach" myself drumming. Ive been playing for 2 years and i can only play like 5 basic beats. Im afraid ill be too set it my ways e.i Way i kick the bass drum, and how i hit heads. Thoughts?

[slinglander]

I don't think 2 yrs. of beginner drumming can ruin your prospects. If anything you gained experience with basic drums, heads, equipment, sticks, etc.so keep going!

[rickthedrummer]

i don't think 2 yrs. Of beginner drumming can ruin your prospects. If anything you gained experience with basic drums, heads, equipment, sticks, etc.so keep going!

+1

[Aviator42009]

I suggest getting a few weeks of lessons to get yourself on track then go on from there learning songs and looking things up on the internet and getting books. When you feel you can play decent then jam with some musicians, it will make you much better in a short time.

[thefarkus]

I don't think 2 yrs. of beginner drumming can ruin your prospects. If anything you gained experience with basic drums, heads, equipment, sticks, etc.so keep going!

Thanks!

[drummer]

Keep pushing forward and don't look back.

[itchie]

Force your self to play something new each time you get on the kit .. Nothing worst than playing the same things for endless amounts of time

[Drumbledore]

Force your self to play something new each time you get on the kit .. Nothing worst than playing the same things for endless amounts of time

Definitely.

By the way, what sort of percussion are you looking at? Hand drums like djembes and congas, miscellaneous stuff like shakers, triangles, tambourines etc, or more 'exotica'.... Eastern percussion like darbuka or Indian tabla or even keyboard/tuned percussion like marimba, vibraphone etc? Some of these are relatively easy to pick up once you're shown some basics (or you can just get the 'feel' of it just like that), others do require specialised instruction, which may or may not be so easy to come by if there's a lack of percussion instructors in your area. Sure, there may be Youtube videos on a lot of these instruments, but with some of them you do physically need the aid of an experienced player.

Here's one bit of advice I do offer. If you play with way too much 'downstroke' on the drumhead, as if you're flogging it a bit, if you're doing that with your hands, stop! You will only start hurting yourself (same thing if you're playing with a drumstick). Hand drumming taught me at least one most valuable thing, to play off the head instead of into it. As a result, you'll eliminate a lot of the stress and strain on your hands. I kind of equate it to almost 'high-fiving' someone's hand....as soon as your hand makes contact with the head, you're immediately leaving it off the vibrating surface, producing a fuller sound plus not letting vibration (the real killer) travel into your hands, wrists and forearms. Hey look, I didn't start picking up percussion until probably 6 or 7 years after I started playing drums, at first it was just something simple, stuff like djembes and so on, but over time what was just a 'side thing' is pretty much now part and parcel of what I do....I split my time evenly between drumkit and all manner of percussion. And like Aviator said, once you have a bit of confidence playing some percussion, do some jamming. Other musicians love it when someone can step out from behind the kit and do something different. I'd say one reason why I get pulled into bands a lot is that I've always got something different to offer due to various percussion instruments that I play.

You'll find there are a number of us on here at DrumChat that have also branched out into percussion, and others like Bongobro pretty much spend most of their time doing percussion. Some like ShaneRoney and Vibes are also exceptional specialised percussion players as well as great drumset players. No matter what, we're all able to learn something new off each other.

[ZildjianKid234]

Force your self to play something new each time you get on the kit .. Nothing worst than playing the same things for endless amounts of time

I think this is the best advice in the thread. Around two years ago, my daily drumming routine was to sit down, play one of the 50 or so rock songs that I know how to play, then call it a day and go get something to eat or something. I didn't try to learn anything new or improve. I just played. I couldn't imagine that now. Always be pushing yourself to the next level. Once you can play a song perfectly, don't keep playing it over and over because you can. Move to something more difficult!

Good luck and keep rocking!

Coming from someone who is 16 and has been self taught since I was 10.

[Jackie]

Get you hands into shape.


Get a good snare book and a good drum set book. What ever you learn from these books, incorporate it some way into your drumming.