Author Topic: Just Beginning  (Read 1810 times)

Just Beginning
« on: December 01, 2016, 10:53:38 AM »
Hi all.

I have always wanted to play the drums but never made the effort to start. At 47 I am going to finally do it. I purchased a DM10 X Mesh as a Christmas gift to myself (the best kind of gift) and I justified the cost as a "family" gift. My 14 year old son wants to learn as well.

I have exactly 60 minutes a day during the week and 4 hours on Saturday and Sunday to practice. I realize the commitment I need to make but that is all the time I can free up. I am not looking to join band, I just want to come home from work and play some stress a away.

I do have a question about method of learning. I have a drum instructor not too far from me and I am going to take weekly lessons from him. But I am a little worried about the guy because he is really, really against e-drums. He tells me it will take me twice as long to learn compared to analog drums. Due to sound considerations I really have to go the digital route. I really hope he is wrong but I guess I will only know by the progress I make.

I was wondering about supplementing my in person lessons with some on-line courses from somewhere but I do not know if if combing two modes of instruction will just confuse things. Also I have no idea where/what on-line lessons are good. I see Drumeo ads all over the place.. to the point they are like the AOL of drum instruction. You might have to be my age to understand the reference.. sorry :) If someone has any thoughts on this please let me know.

Anyways, I am very excited for this and I plan to come back to this boards to gain as much knowledge I can concerning not only my equipment bust also drumming in general.

Sean


Offline Failed Muso

Re: Just Beginning
« Reply #1 on: December 01, 2016, 11:24:10 AM »
Hi all.

I have always wanted to play the drums but never made the effort to start. At 47 I am going to finally do it. I purchased a DM10 X Mesh as a Christmas gift to myself (the best kind of gift) and I justified the cost as a "family" gift. My 14 year old son wants to learn as well.

I have exactly 60 minutes a day during the week and 4 hours on Saturday and Sunday to practice. I realize the commitment I need to make but that is all the time I can free up. I am not looking to join band, I just want to come home from work and play some stress a away.

I do have a question about method of learning. I have a drum instructor not too far from me and I am going to take weekly lessons from him. But I am a little worried about the guy because he is really, really against e-drums. He tells me it will take me twice as long to learn compared to analog drums. Due to sound considerations I really have to go the digital route. I really hope he is wrong but I guess I will only know by the progress I make.

I was wondering about supplementing my in person lessons with some on-line courses from somewhere but I do not know if if combing two modes of instruction will just confuse things. Also I have no idea where/what on-line lessons are good. I see Drumeo ads all over the place.. to the point they are like the AOL of drum instruction. You might have to be my age to understand the reference.. sorry :) If someone has any thoughts on this please let me know.

Anyways, I am very excited for this and I plan to come back to this boards to gain as much knowledge I can concerning not only my equipment bust also drumming in general.

Sean

Hi Sean,

First up, welcome! I'm sure you will find all you need here, with regards to your kit and how to use it :) I like your thinking regarding the price justification too ;) Hopefully, your son will get the bug too!

So, with regards to learning to play and your prospective tutor. Firstly, e-Drums do have a stigma attached to them, mainly because of years of rubber pads and limited functionality. But today's mesh head kits are vastly superior to those old systems and provide an almost exact replica of a real drum head. That said, there is still a difference and depending on whether you're a purist or not, it could be viewed as an important one.

Even the latest mesh heads won't fully emulate a real drum head, nor will an e-Drum sound module. There are far too many variables involved when playing acoustic drums. However, you can get very close indeed with the right equipment. I'm surprised that he is so against them and I would disagree with his assertion that it will take twice as long to learn on e-Drums compared to acoustic. I guess it's a bit like learning to drive a car with an automatic gearbox before driving one with a manual (stick) box. Learning in a manual will teach you the finest nuances of driving using a combination of accelerator, brake, clutch, gear shift and steering wheel, using gears for braking and understanding what gear to be in depending on the road conditions. The auto car does the same in getting you from point A to point B, but with a little less emphasis on the detail.

Much of your early tutoring will be based around the snare and mastering your stick techniques, so why not take your Alesis snare and DM10 module with you to a lesson and see if you can adjust the sensitivity settings to closely match the acoustic snare you're learning on. That way, practicing will be closer to the drum you're learning on. Hell, you might even convince this guy that e-Drums aren't all that bad ;)

As for online tuition, there is plenty to choose from. Try the demos out, see what fits. Maybe your tutor can recommend something?

I'm about the same age as you and am self-taught. I spent hours watching and listening to people like Ringo Starr, Phil Collins and many others but I cut my teeth on a Premier Royale 5-piece. I played acoustics for years, but switched up to e-Drums around 1999, mainly for the same reasons as yourself (sound, space, flexibility, MIDI integration). But I think you will be just fine with your DM10 X Mesh. e-Drums do require some adaptation from acoustics, but far less now than when I started playing, simply due to the advances in head and module technologies.

Anyway, hope that helped and the very best of luck in your drumming journey! :D
Alesis Crimson Mesh Kit, Alesis DM10 Module, Alesis PercPad, Yamaha DTXpress Kit, Mattel Synsonics, Toontrack Superior Drummer 2

Offline Mr.J.

Re: Just Beginning
« Reply #2 on: December 01, 2016, 11:28:28 AM »
OMG Erieg you sound just like me.

I’m 53 years old and started drums in May of 2016. My instructor is also not a huge fan of e-kits.

I take lessons every second week and I am also following Drumeo and I find they complement each other very well.

Right now I work on my triplets as per my instructor but I am also following the drum fills lessons on Drumeo. My practice time is evenly split between the 2. Make sure you get the play along music from Drumeo and, well, play along. It’s a blast.

I have a hybrid kit. I get about 2 hours during the week when the wife isn’t home so I play with acoustic cymbals and a keyboard amp. During the weekend when the wife is home I go 100% e-kit. No one can complain about nose.

I plan on posting picks soon once I am 100% finish my set up.

Enjoy and welcome aboard.

Offline Dobly

Re: Just Beginning
« Reply #3 on: December 01, 2016, 04:16:09 PM »
Hi all.

I do have a question about method of learning. I have a drum instructor not too far from me and I am going to take weekly lessons from him. But I am a little worried about the guy because he is really, really against e-drums. He tells me it will take me twice as long to learn compared to analog drums. Due to sound considerations I really have to go the digital route. I really hope he is wrong but I guess I will only know by the progress I make.

Sean

Yes, he's wrong..

You are just starting out for goodness sake. You'll get your chops just fine on an electric kit. Damn, you could get your hands developed playing on pillows. You might never own or play an acoustic kit. Does that mean you can't learn drums? Nonsense.

Have a look at this video the amazing Michael Schack. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqReO5NPN_g&t=2201s

Around the 27:23 mark he is asked about playing electric vs playing acoustic. I think you answer is in there.

Just play.. Practice. Have fun. 



Offline JimmyB

Re: Just Beginning
« Reply #4 on: December 01, 2016, 05:42:06 PM »
He's wrong...
JimmyB

Re: Just Beginning
« Reply #5 on: December 01, 2016, 08:49:32 PM »
Thanks for the input! The set came today but I have to hide it until Christmas. This is not going to be fun.

I am going to ignore the instructors input about the drums. We all have biases.. hell.. I hate grapes but like raisons. Go figure.

Is there any recommendations on exercises I can do beforehand? Get some sticks and practice counting? or something like that?

Offline Dobly

Re: Just Beginning
« Reply #6 on: December 02, 2016, 04:44:19 AM »
Take this as example to apply to everything you learn..

Simple doubles..

R R L L

Play them with a metronome and count 1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a

Now, shift the double along.. Start with a single R

1 e & a . . .
R L L R

When mastered shift again

1 e & a
L L R R


Then

1 e & a
L R R L

Next, apply the same shifting technique to paradiddles and you get this.. Look for the pattern below.


R L R R L R L L
L R R L R L L R
R R L R L L R L
R L R L L R L R
L R L L R L R R
R L L R L R R L
L L R L R R L R
L R L R R L R L

Note with paradiddles.. Each paradiddle has 2 single notes and 1 double. For example R L R R

Play accents on any or all of the single stroke. Below I'll write the accents in upper case. Below is the same paradiddle, with the accents moved about.

R l r r L r l l
R l r r l R l l
r L r r L r l l
r L r r l R l l

You get the idea. Now, combine this 'accent on the singles' idea and apply it to the shifting paradiddles above. :)














Re: Just Beginning
« Reply #7 on: December 02, 2016, 10:31:32 AM »
Thanks for the info. I just ordered a little practice pad from amazon which will be here tomorrow. I will start practicing that when it shows up.

Offline Th3R00st3r

Re: Just Beginning
« Reply #8 on: December 12, 2016, 11:45:11 AM »
Thanks Dobly. Sometimes it's good to go back to the beginning and practice these.
th3r00st3r-Alesis DM10 Studio w/mesh head conversion (billy blast 2ply) and snare stand.

Re: Just Beginning
« Reply #9 on: December 12, 2016, 01:14:17 PM »
Ok, I opened the box and grabbed the paperwork so I am ready on Christmas day to set it up. I wanted to be prepared. I did notice something though. It didn't mention the following.

Needed -
1- Sense of rhythm
2- Coordination
3- Ability to count

This product review is going to be brutal

Offline Th3R00st3r

Re: Just Beginning
« Reply #10 on: December 12, 2016, 01:57:53 PM »
Yes, Those are not included. Those are add on's you have to purchase with blood, sweat, and tears.
th3r00st3r-Alesis DM10 Studio w/mesh head conversion (billy blast 2ply) and snare stand.

Offline Dobly

Re: Just Beginning
« Reply #11 on: December 12, 2016, 10:53:10 PM »
Erieg

Practice with a metronome. Do everything slow to start. Make sure it is perfect before upping the tempo..

Here is something for all drummers to think about.

Anyone can 'hit' a drum. A 2 year old can 'hit' a drum.

'Playing' a drum is not about that 'hit'.

Playing is mostly what your hand is doing when it is not hitting the drum. What path is your hand making? Is it fluid, consistent, efficient, repeatable? Is your right hand doing the same as your left hand? (assuming matched grip) Sit in front of a mirror every so often with your practice pad (or pad off your kit) and play singles, doubles, triples and any other rudiment you know. Is the stick traveling straight or doing a circle between hits? Is the left stick coming up higher than the right?