What Does a Beginner Drummer REALLY Need?
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- Опубліковано 15 тра 2024
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Whether you’re a beginning drummer, you know a beginning drummer, or you or someone you know is getting back into the drums…this video is for YOU! Today we ask the question “what does a new drummer REALLY need to buy?” With all the drum set options out there, buying and collecting all the necessary gear can be an overwhelming pain and expense. In my opinion, however, a beginner drummer DOES NOT need a drum set immediately. My “more frugal” process involves starting small with sticks and a practice pad, then growing a setup from there. It’s important to really get started and get going with the drums before forking out all the cash and making the long-term investment. I advise students to wait a bit before purchasing a kit. When they are ready, there are lots of used kit options out for much less money…We then conclude today with my rant on “SKILLS BEFORE GEAR”. :)
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I've been playing air drums for years :)
Most of us did ! ;) At the time I didn't even have a pair of sticks and was air drumming using Diabolo sticks :D. Great teenage days
Air drumming is cool (when you're not seen obv) and is a great way to learn drums. Of course not the strikes
If you've never played on an actual drumkit yet, let me say you'll be surprise that you can play better than expected, and from there..
Clap clap clap clap paradiddlediddlepara
We all start from somewhere....its time to buy practice pad yes with drum sticks😀
Same bro
I have ALWAYS wanted to play drums! Your video was sooo helpful! I’m going to get my sticks and pad tomorrow!
BTW... I’m 51!
#nevertoooldtostartrockin’
Good on ya I actually googled if I'm too old to start at 28 but I think we're gonna be fine haha
HellBent ForDrums I got a practice pad just to understand if I could do it, learn it have fun with it. Start there. I just turned 56 so in a similar boat. After abt 2 - 3 months I got a cheaply used Tama kit.
Stephen has gotten all the bases covered but here's some 2 cents that I've learned through the years:
You want ear protection, and you want it from the start, not when your ears are already ringing for days!: drums can get very loud, and many times you won't even notice it in the moment. It's best to start wearing ear buds made to lower the db level from the start to get used to them. Do some research and see what is best for you. In my experience, unless you're playing really quietly (brushes) or have a drum set treated specially so that it's quiet, you need ear buds or pads.
sticks: you want the best pair of sticks you can get for pad work, and by "the best" I mean TONE MATCHED; there's nothing worse than sticks that aren't tone matched when you're hitting pads, the sound of the sticks is very audible and is gonna throw you off, especially when you get into patterns where you're leading with both your left and right hands alternatively.
I would suggest buying a pair of vic firth sticks; out of the hundreds of pairs I've used, vic firth brand or otherwise, vic sticks have always been tone matched. I mean it - every time. What I also do, if I'm buying more pairs, is pick the one that is matched the most precisely and use those for pad work exclusively.
Along with Stephen's 5a's I'd also suggest vic firth's sd1, they're larger diameter wise but not much more heavy; you may also want a pair of sticks that's heavy, say - Thomas Lang Vic Firth sticks. These ones are really heavy though, so think about them as your muscle building sticks; don't let this be your only pair, unless you're built like a tank!
If you're buying sticks online, Vic Firth, from my experience, is the only company that really tone matches EVERY pair, so go with their sticks, or else, if you have a shop near you, be very particular about the sticks you pick: tap them on a hard surface with the same hand in the same spot or hit them with a nail (flick them, basically). Yes' this is excessive, but it's gonna make your practice less frustrating. I'd rather practice with sticks that are slightly warped but tone matched.
Pad: get whatever you want or improvise;
Third item and the most important, if you choose to buy one: the throne. Stephen is right - there's no piece of gear that's more important than a very good throne so DON"T BUY A CHEAP THRONE - better use a regular chair instead. I used to have this abomination of a throne that would rattle, sway, lose it's height and also in about 20 minutes of sitting on it, it would cut the circulation in my legs.
The throne is the only piece of gear you don't wanna be frugal with. But it also doen't have to cost a crazy amount either. To keep this expense manageable don't look for very expensive thrones with all sort of extras, but look for sturdy, spindle height adjustment type thrones with a good round seat that don't wobble. Stephen's got a pro Gibraltar throne - Gibraltar 9608E, I think, which is a good throne ( I have the same one, or a very similar one) and it doesn't cost a fortune either, in Europe you can get if for 100€. Tama's got their First Chair line and I've sat on a few and they feel just as sturdy.If you can check more thrones in a shop near you that's the best way to go.
Drums: Definitely go for second hand drums - I regretted buying almost all of the new drum sets I bought, especially the budget kits, the semi-pros. And beginner sets, you basically want to have nothing to do with these, they're no more than props. And cheap kids drumsets?! Unless you buy them to blow them up, throw them off cliffs or whatever, don't think that they have anything to do with musical instruments.
So how do you pick a good second hand drum set?: whatever brand you're looking to buy - research it - most brands will have pro kits, semi pro kits and beginner kits. You want the pro kits or the semi pro ones. You want the shells to be uncracked and round, not warped, and the metal parts to be in good shape - unbent, unbroken. Esthetic imperfections don't matter. An ugly but otherwise good pro kit is worth 10 great looking semi pro kits and about a hundred billion beginner kits! Also you don't want a kit with a lot of toms. You want 1 bass, 1 or 2 small toms and a floor tom. And the snare drum.
Getting good drum heads will make a good drum kit sound reaally great so buy a good set of heads - a set of remo emperor heads for your toms (and snare drum too, though you might want to look for an even thicker head for a snare.) will give you wings and last you for years even, if you don't pound them like crazy. Also, for your snare drum you also want a good (new) resonant head and good snare wires. Even very budget oriented snare drums sound good with a good (new) beater and resonant.
Cymbals; second hand is the way to go again - instead of a pack of entry level cymbals buy one good pro hi-hat. And instead of the second less entry level but not quite there cymbal pack, buy a good ride cymbal. What is good? ONLY the professional lines of cymbals from any and most manufacturers.
Basically, if you have a good bass drum, a good snare and a good pro hi hat you have 90 percent of a great kit. Everything else, no matter how good it is, it's only gonna matter 10 percent of the time. Also, every other cymbal you're gonna buy, if you have your good hi hats and good ride is gonna make a lot less of a difference than those two.
Also, not gear, but very important for beginners: basic hand (and feet) technique; technique so that you don't hurt yourself: if you can see a drum instructor even if for a few sessions, just so that they teach you how to hold sticks and how to play pedals you're gonna avoid a ton of potential pain and misery later on. Improper hand technique can lead to serious injury, and I'm not talking a sore thumb or whatever, I'm talking conditions that can take years to heal, if they ever do entirely. Even online instructors can help with this - as long as they can see how you hold your sticks and how you play your pedals, but actual in-the-room lessons is the best way to go. See who offers drum lessons in your area and see if they're reputable, if they're recommended, even one or two sessions can mean a lot later on.
pedals; buy a cheap bass drum pedal at first, these days it seems that almost all new pedals are really well built. Don't buy cheap pedals second hand though, unless you really really have to. By the time you get into fast doubles or more intricate, good pedal dependent techniques, buy better pedals.
More hardware, cases, percussion and stuff: only buy them when you need them, and buy the cheap stuff, more expensive stuff rarely is oh so much better. The exception would probably be the hi-hat stand where you might want something quiet, as Stephen mentioned; I for one am not a fan of super engineered hi-hat stands either. I guess, if your stand is a pain in the ass to use it's definitely worth changing, but go for a budget version.
'
Also, you don't really need all those fad items, the gel dampeners, cymbal magnets, "fat" snare pseudo heads, special bd heads, "special" bd pillows, rings, etc etc - you can easily use normal cheap scotch tape for muffling some old rags and paper napkins and experiment. You can get all the sounds you want out of the drums just with your tuning and with cheap household items as mufflers. As with percussion instruments, tambourines, cowbells, etc, try and get them with their mounts and second hand. It's not unlikely to spend more on mounts than on these instruments themselves, so get them together if you can.
So, in short, most of your starting gear can actually be pro or semi pro level without having to spend a crazy amount of money on it. Buy used drums but in good condition and change the heads; buy 2 good (pro) cymbals- hi-hats and ride, used if you can find them, or new; better to have just some hi-hats that are great rather than a full cymbal pack that's all a disappointment. buy a decent throne or don't buy one at all and invest a few lessons in your basic technique so that you won't injure yourself in time. And, again, those sticks you play your pad with? Tone match them! And to Stephen? Make more videos!
Thanks for the detailed comment! I appreciate the input 👍 I've never gotten super into tone-matching sticks, but I do see your point there. When practicing on a pad, you hear a lot of that "stick ringing" sound. Vic firth is pretty good about that, so that's probably why it hasn't really crossed my mind :) Good mention there about the hand technique as well. That would be the topic of another version of this video - if I made one about how to get started playing...step #2 I guess. I think I've been inspired to make some sequel videos to this, since there's so much advice I could give to a beginner drummer. I'll have to get to work on those. Thanks for commenting!
Tnx man! Beginner drummers almost always develop nasty habits or get sold on myths about gear, technique and so on. So keep on making the videos, I only wish I had access to something like this years ago when I was starting out.
Thanks for the encouragement! I'll keep the videos coming 👍
K
you took up my entire screen with that comment.
But is no one gonna talk about how amazing and defined his neck is!?
I'm glad you just give information without trying to sell us stuff
I don't think you should start out on a practice pad, it will really kill the fun for beginners.
You've got a good point. I think it honestly depends on the student, but it also has a lot to do with the ultimate motivation behind learning drums. (Maybe I should make a "part 2" vid about this.) From my personal experience...I spent years as a kid (age 7-13), literally just playing on a pad, along with my favorite songs. I spent a lot of time listening to music and watching other drummers. The music itself was my motivation, and when I finally saved up and bought a kit I found myself just sitting down and figuring out the things I'd been hearing. I know that this is different for everyone, but it's also been true for some of my most motivated young students. Often they don't own their own drumset yet, but they're so excited about their favorite song or favorite band that they play along on their pad then come into their lesson and figure it out on the kit. Playing on a pad can get boring...you're right... but pairing that with the purely musical side of things can help balance it out.
I started out with only a pad and some sticks. I'm very happy I did, because when I had grid my teeth for almost a year and just endured the "boring" rhythm/technique sheets and bought my first set, it was so amazing to take what I'd learned and just throw it out on the kit. It made my progress on the actual set just skyrocket when we started practicing with actual drums!
That's awesome! Yeah my set teacher in high school was very much of the philosophy "I'll give you the tools of drumming, then YOU go take these things and do something with them." We focused a lot on technique, coordination and becoming proficient in basic styles. I'm very thankful for it because I was able to slide into a lot of playing situations in college and feel comfortable behind the kit.
I started drumming BY THE BOOK on a conservatory and I did NOT hit a snare until I could do VERY complicated pattern on a practice pad. About a year. If your "fun is spoiled then you were NOT meant to drum. A "from the soul drummer" will enjoy banging on plastic buckets and cans, a phone book and use steel sticks. So you either want to be a musician or just entertain yourself making noise it is entirely up to you.
Though I think it isn't a bad idea to start on a practice pad, I do believe that it shouldn't be the only way to learn the instrument. There should be nothing wrong with starting straight on the kit. People who wanna learn drums wanna play.. wel.. drums and I get that people could get demotivated by people telling them "No, first complicated shit on a pad, then drums!". You can also take into account that people who play drums don't always aspire to be Really good at the instrument. I really admire the effort you put in practicing technique before playing the drums, but that shows that it worked really well for you. Maybe not for someone else.
Happy to have finally found exactly what I was looking for! Had no idea where to start.
Thank you for the advice!
you got my like, the instant you placed the cup on the drum stool. Loved it! And thx for the Awesome advice
dude. Love the humble, honest, true stuff here. Thank you.
In Brazil, the cost of these upgrades is the same as getting a whole new kit. So I'm gonna save money for months and months until I get my odrey kit with paiste cymbals. Wish me luck!
How'd it go?
THANK YOU! This video was so well done! Covered more than the beginner bases for me! Just discovered your videos. Just beginning drumming. Baby steps for this Nonnie!
You're really great at explaining things and you've answered so many of my questions. Thanks!
Hey thanks so much for making this video.
I have decided to get back into drumming and understanding where I should start with gear has put the whole learning journey into perspective.
single most helpfull video for beginner drummer. I have been shopping for so long before I realize this is the best way to build my skillz and my gear. Thank you so much!
When you start getting gigs buy a good rug...
Learn this the hard way on a gig with wooden slippery floor
Yep that is very important. I learned that the hard way on the first "gig" I played in high school. My kick slid about 2 feet every 10 seconds, and I had to keep reaching down and pulling it back in. It's amazing thinking back...how did I not think to bring a rug?? So yes, great addition to the drum collection. 👍
Man, that is a GREAT tip! Most guys won't think of that. I learned the hard way too.
I learned to become very clever with rope, but yes. Buy a rug.
I saw my friend's band on new year's a couple years back and they were set up out back of a club, in the rain, on a downward slope. With every hit the entire kit would shake and vibrate it's way down the hill. It was as hilarious as it was sad.
just face the backwall. turn your back on the band xd. + ppl can see what u doing lol.
I've just started practicing my drumming skills after many many years of wanting. Your video will help me a lot. Definitely, I knew that sth as a practice pad had to exist to start because buying the whole set without knowing about basics didn't figured for me.
Super-helpful!! I'm broke and trying to improve my right foot, so I can fill in for my friend's basement band, while their drummer travels. The kick pedal, clamped to a board under a cajon case is a great idea!
I think a beginner drummer or someone who is just thinking about taking up the drum should buy the top of the line Ludwig or Sonor or Ayotte kit and take off the kick pedal and go with a top of the line DW double kick. get another one for a spare. Then you really must have many many cymbals and stands and top of the line Sabian will probably do in a pinch when you just need a variety of 9 or 10 cymbals to throw on a practice kit. That is what i think is enough to get by for a couple practice sessions.
Can't ever be too prepared. Haha 😜
I suggest buying the full line of Byzance cymbals, as you never wanna cheap out on cymbals.
That's funny, especially the Sonor part. And nothing like a top-of-the-line $1000 machined DW double pedal for beginners! Honestly, though, I wish my mom and dad could've bought one for me back in the day when I was starting out.
Im not sure if youre kidding
Thank you for your clear and experienced instructions!!
Thank you for this video, I'm starting to get back into the drums and the first thing was the practice pad and I said the exact same thimg to myself, I havent played in about 5 years and my skills aremt what they used to be so imma re learn everything and jog my memory again and hopefully be able to put covers on youtube :D
This was a GREAT video! Living in a small apartment with sensitive neighbors, but wanting to get back to music, I will take your advice and get a practice pad and a kick pedal. :) Thanks!
Getting back to working on music and this helps me refresh thankfully still have my cymbals and some equipment from touring.
I started just like this when I played drums at elementary (grade 5) just like this with beginning with the pad to full on drum sets when I'm on stage. It really shows how little and cheap things can go a long way. I'm in high school now, and I perform gigs every year, usually the very important occasions such as Christmas where I play a whole range of genres from swing to samba to even heavy metal if I feel up to the task. I even did solos during these gigs and it all came from simple stuff and most predominantly, PRACTICE.
this is very creative and exactly the video ive been looking for no need for a whole kit when i barely have any rhythm yet
Hendrik J, this is very helpful. thank you for your advice😊 happy drumming! Renee'🌹
Hey, Steven I'd like to say that is so very true! I couldn't have said it better myself. I recently got back in to playing. I have a white vintage gretch/ Ludwig 5peice. I had a old set that I removed the red plastic wrap and stained them blue. I put some aquarian coated heads. The tuning was a bit challenging. But as everything I do and progress is always trial and error. I have practiced just about every single day since Oct 2018.. its been a long journey for me but definitely a decision I don't regret..
Rock on.
I'm looking into learning to play drums but i don't have room in my appt at this moment..I enjoyed this tutorial in what to get quality over quantity..thank you
Great video for beginners. I used to teach and I would be very comfortable having a newbie and parents follow your advice!
Thank you very much for this video!
My six year old daughter startet drumming a few month ago and Dinge I got her a pad and a pedal she practices every day voluntarily. Because of that she will get a third-hand Pearl Target for christmas.
Great beginner vid. I just used this as a guide for a beginner. Keep it up man!
I cracked the sofa, thanks
Great advice. Cheers from Paraguay!
Great advice! I am starting out from the beginning!
My first set was a complete drum set. It was loaned to me because I have plans to be the church drummer actually spend more time on my drumming pad the the drum set.I go back and forth with your video and Steven Taylor.I have one year under my belt. And I am amazed things to learn as a drummer. God Bless
Great accurate experience advice. To the point👍
I started out with just a small 14x18 bass drum and one of those vintage white vista lite Ludwig snares that I got for 200 and a hi hat and it helped me so much with beats and keeping the fluff down just learning to make do I guess helped me
I’m just getting back into it and I went ahead and bought two kits. Home kit and a travel kit. Just in case. And I made sure that the travel kit had the Tom mount on the kick drum with a cymbal stand so I could eliminate a stand. But the main thing is, buy good equipment so if you have to, you can sell it easier.
Hi I've been playing on and off since I was in now 46 I've had a little of ups and downs so it's took a back step but your absolutely bang on about shells I made my own drum kit when I was 7 in my back garden an ole mop bucket for a snare my budgie died so I used the perches for sticks then I used a ole steak and kidney pie tin for a symbol on a stick for my symbol but you've created a MAGNIFICENT video thanks for upload
keep the faith 🥁🥁🥁🥁
A very valuable lesson I learned teaching instruments is that it’s important to keep your students enthusiastic and eager to play. With that in mind, what I would advise to a beginner is to get a kit that they’re gonna be excited to play with whatever budget they have. Luckily for those of us that play drums, it’s really not hard to get something great for not much money in local classifieds with some patience. When it came time to get a kit of my own, that’s exactly what I did, and ended up with old Ludwig kit that just OOZES mojo, 8 pieces in all. Is it overkill for my skill level? Hell yeah it is, but that kit keeps me coming back every day and I sit up with a huge smile on my face when I’m done. With a kit like this, playing that certain Phil Collins song is amazingly fun...
Hi! Thank you very much for the instruction! I wanted to play drums since the days when i started to understand the sense of rhythm, and i've been writing drum parts in our band for years! Now, i am finally starting to learn it for real (just last week!).
Following your recommendation got a practice pad and a pair of sticks: it
works wonders. I guess i just like rhythmical precision even more than i realized.
That is exactly the thing a beginner needs. Well, that and exercises.
After listening to your advice on several videos I am going for jerry-rigged silent homemade set built primarily out of practice pads, bass pedal and blanket-wrapped boxes. Noise is a no option for me. I think if you are an apartment drummer who also cannot afford a drum set - neither financially nor noise-wise: then a homemade quiet set with several practice pads is perfect.
Eventually, at some point in the future, getting a decent electronic kit and playing the real thing in the studio twice a week sounds like a solution for as long as i can see.
Thanks again!
I sing but I just started playing drums out of necessity because we cannot find a real drummer. Your videos are very helpful and fun to watch. I am 3 months in and I'm pretty much on my own. Thank you.
I overlooked the throne for 10 years, just invested in the same Gibraltar one you showed, what a difference!
I have the sticks, the pad and the throne. But now I know how to proceed, thanks for the ideas!
Picking the Sticks up after 29 years - Finding your videos invaluable!
Thanks Stephen, love your videos .they perfectly apply to those of us on a budget. Proof that its the talent not the tools. I bought an open box rogue 5 PC. Kit w/ cymbal and hi - hat . include throne and sticks. From musicians friend for $ 219.00 added a used tama 14 " cymbal for $ 30.00 new stand for $25.00 from eBay. With tips from mostly you have a better kit than u would think for little $ with a $ 20.00 cowbell I'm happily tapping away.
I'm returning to playing drums, i'm re learning and training a lot of stuff again(on the practice pad). I just bought an used pdp cx kit for 280euros. I couldn't pass this deal, and i know in the long run it's gonna be worth it. 😊
I'm a guitar player who's lately gotten interested in learning to play drums as well. I think over all, your video had a lot of good advice to it.
That said, I currently just practice the coordination-thing and basic drum beats since that's what's been keeping me from learning to play drums for 20 years (literally, since music ed in school). I can't afford to buy a nice beginner-kit, though, so I just have a stack of note pads and books lying on the table in the living room, that I can arrange to mimic a drum-kit and then bang around on those note pads with sticks (or even pencils, as I did until I got the sticks)... It works fine for me, but it's really a lot more fun to be able to play a real drum-kit, even if it's a beginner-kit.
I agree 100%. I have been playing professionally on and off for almost 20 years and still use the same $500 Ludwig set, though I bought really good cymbals, one at a time and replaced some hardware (and eventually the snare).
Thanks a lot for the advise. I bought a $250 electric drum set because it was the cheapest option, + a pad and the drumsticks. But I'm looking forward to buy an acoustic set. Your tips will help me A LOT!
nice vids, man! keep it up!
Thank you for this video! 🙏
I started with a 600 dollar e-kit. Yamaha 450k. I loved it. I had to modify it a bit to get the drums to be I the same places that they would be in an acoustic setup. I was only able to do that because every weekend I played on an acoustic kit in a practice studio. After 3 years I wanted chokable cymbals and 3 zones (edge,bow and bell) so I upgraded to a Roland td6. Sounds synthetic so now I'm starting to use real drum sounds in a laptop ( addictive drums ) and those sound awesome. Suddenly I have access to 20 different cymbals, 20 different drum sets etc. Whole new world. Doesn't feel quite like an acoustic kit but for me the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Kit cost me 500 second hand. Megadrum trigger module 250 dollars. Superior drummer 300 dollars. Audio interface 100 dollars. Total . 1150 dollars.
Nice! I've never been impressed with the Roland drum sounds either, even on the higher end e kits, but you've got a point there. Just run it all through an interface into a sampling program and customize it to your heart's content. Sounds like you've got a setup working great for you.
im getting back into playing after a long term illness at 45 years old.im not going back to set yet,im just staying with rudimental snare for now. honesty, i have no drums at this time,just a Donner pad set. I'll see how goes it since my start back in March 2021.ive not played set in over 15 years. I played classical guitar and then bass in between at times.when i became I'll, i gave all my instruments to friends. im using this first year back for strength training. im also meeting some amazing people on this journey and they are rooting for me.i started playing drums at 3 and im having fun restarting,so,wish me luck. thank you for this video.
Hey guys! I know that this video doesn’t apply to everyone, but I’d love to hear all of your feedback on what YOU think a beginner drummer should start out with. Maybe you yourself are a beginning drummer, or you know someone else new to the drums. Please share with them!
Stephen Clark what double bass pedal would you recommend? What hihat stand as well? I'm planning to upgrade these two
Good question! Sorry for the late reply here... evidently the UA-cam Studio app doesn't notify me when someone comments on MY comment haha.
I really like the DW 9000 series pedal. It's my favorite pedal that I've played. There are a lot of great pedals out there though... I hear great things about the Iron Cobra as well. DW 5000 is also great, and even DW 2000 or 3000 are both solid pedals I like as well. The only pedal I WOULD NOT recommend would be the one I own. I have a Gibraltar Intruder that I bought year ago, and the baseplate broke on me during a show. They replaced it, but I wouldn't buy it again. The replacement has held up fine though, so I haven't bought any other pedal since then. As for hihat stand... I've been using a DW 3000 series two-legged stand for about 4 years now. It's been awesome. I love the feel of it, and how it has a smaller footprint. It takes a little longer to set up (dealing with screws), but I've found it to be worth it. I also play a DW 9000 hihat stand on a house kit, which is honestly very similar to the 3000. Guess I could sum up and say DW hardware has been great :)
This video showed up on my UA-cam just as I was seriously considering getting back into drumming and started to practice again on my drum pad... Absolutely great video and great approach, thanks a lot!! I'm glad to see that I got the 1st step right ;)
thanks
We have got the same bass pedal 🙂
Sound advice, just got a pad and sticks to see if I'm not having a five minute fling, been going for a month now and enjoy your
splendid tutorials. :)
Great ideas and tips.Thanks.
this video is really helpful thank you so much!
I have a whole extra room since my sister moved out of the house and I've always wanted to play drums. I think now is the best time for me to pick up drums :)
Do it , you're neighbors will love you
Thanks Steve,this very good advise
Very good information on equipment.
very informative 🙌🏻 ... thank you
I'm personally without a snare at the moment so I set up a little make shift kit in my room with my base drum pedal hiting my dresser a drum pad as my snare in the dresser and a hit hat and ride on either side :D
always best drum video lessons
Awesome video!! Thank you!!
I got my first kit 3 weeks after my first lesson I first started with an alesis nitro mess kit now I'm getting my first acoustic one
This has helped me out didnt even know what practice pads are and would of went out and bought a cheap non upgradable full drumset then regretted later that it was the wrong move
Also when I started out drumming 8 years ago I didn't know anything about drums until I started studying with my current teacher 6 years ago and he had to teach me. So it's important that someone getting into drums is taught about how to take care of drums and just proper maintenance.
True that! Things like keeping them in tune...not leaving in a hot car...not cranking stand wingnuts insanely tight... yep. Important stuff.
I have to absolutely agree with what you were saying about getting a good quality throne. Maybe buy less expensive cymbals or hardware but absolutely do not cheap out on a good quality throne. Your back will thank you. Plus if your uncomfortable, your playing will probably suffer as well as your back.
I started out with only a snare drum 8 or 9 years ago. I had 20 minutes worth of drum lessons every week, and practiced nearly every day. i used the rim of the snare as a hi-hat and tapped my foot as the kick (did not use hi-hat foot stuff yet). after about a year my father decided to get me an electric kit. it was one of the cheaper roland models. and it worked well. a lot better than just a snare. i loved my electic kit and played every day. but that of course became boring after a few years of use. there were a few years when my motivation for playing was basically non-existant so i didnt play at home, maybe for several months. but about 2 or 3 years ago i found motivation again. and i played all the time. and me and my father decided to get me an acoustic kit. i saved up for a long-ass time, got rid of the electric kit, and late december 2016 i had my first acoustic kit. acoustic kits are very different from electics. and i was suprised how much needed to be done in order to take care of a drum kit. changing heads, adjusting springs and screws, and that thing under the snare constantly fell off. so yeah.. it's a lot of hard work. but it is so totally 100% worth it. that's my journey. and it's still going.
To learn the most, join a band
How does one "join a band" if he doesn't have the necessary technique and understanding of drumming? Is that what you mean or do you mean "join a band" when you have enough skills? I would've thought the later half but I could be mistaken?@@alancharlesworth2153
This dude is a legend!
Gag me: I was in a 5 star drum shop near Microsoft. Evidently, little Thad was getting his first kit. Mumsy and Father bought him a $5,000 DW on the spot. Ugh.
His parents own Microsoft.
At 52 years young I have finally got round to startting the drums. After being an on and off brass and guitar player (badly) I have finally given in to the lifelong itch to play the drums. I got a practice pad kit that comes with a kick and four pads I can rearrange. My best practice pad is a big plastic money box Coke bottle with a doubled up towel over the top. Just getting going so I will just say that if you're a percussionist the world is your instrument so have fun!
Good video! Regarding cymbals i would recommend a set of Zildjian S cymbals, they cost around 500 dollars but sound very good! They would fit drummers like me who have played for like 8 years and does some medium sized gigs sometimes but currently don't have money to buy A or K's(Im just 17 so no job) and could be a very good second or third cymbal upgrade. I know that even some pros like Brooks Wackerman have a Zildjian S ride in he's set up
Just bought a 'hobo drum kit'. Good evans heads on the drums and some vintage tama stands. Drums are possibly peavey or...??? The one thing i would like to mention is that I was hooked up with some repaired higher end cymbals for cheap. I.e. a Paiste fast crash 16 with a repaired chunk out of it. It sounds great and miles beyond a similarly priced new crash. Ive been a guitarist for over 20 yrs and had never played drums, so i talked with a bunch of drummers as to what they valued and bought the kit off one who agreed that tone and quality are more important than looks... function over form. I'm having a blast! My guitars are getting jelous like the dog when you bring home a new kitten...
Great advice
Good video. Thank you.
Thanks man, I am getting the first stage, practice pad and drumsticks for the first month or two
That's great! Try playing along with songs, even just on your pad. That can make practicing on a pad more fun at least :) Working hard on basic technique early on though will certainly pay off later, and you'll find it easy to sit down at a kit when you get one.
My first kit was a snare and a practice pad. The snare I got for $25 at a garage sale. My 2nd kit, added the "Rock Band drum" (broken, but perfect for me) to my snare. I added a shoe to stand in for the "bass drum". ROFL I used the broken rock band drum kit with its 4 drums as a mid-tom practice pad. Worked great! My 3rd upgrade was sweet! I got a basic kit "Sound Percussion" with snare, mid tom, floor tom and bass drum fro $54 at Goodwill. Sure, it was a cheaper set, but I replaced the heads (tops only) with black heads meant for metal. Remo heads. (I need to buy heads meant for Jazz next as using metal heads for Jazz just sounds goofy to me!) My next upgrade before even owning cymbals, was a good hi-hat stand. I went with Gibraltar $250 even though I didn't own any hi-hats. I finally was able to afford a Meinl $100 cymbal pack with 13"hi-hats, 14" crash, Splash cymbal. Meinl does have a good sound for cheap. Sure, if you really want an awesome sound, you have to save up and pay. That will come next year. I also bought 2 cheap cymbal stands - Giantex Cymbal Boom Stand Tripod Holder Drum Hardware Percussion Double Braced 2 pack. $60. I needed to go cheap here. I'll upgrade with something studier, if needed, next year.
Concerning Technique before Gear. I find it very useful to learn all those rudiments and useful to go through the traditional snare drum books just to learn rhythm. For beginners, I do recommend just getting the pad first, just to see if they are going to stick with it and practice. They prove that, then go out and buy a drum kit that you can afford, but is not too expensive - just to be sure they are going to stick with it. OTOH, if you find a very good drum kit for a very good price, and can afford, buy it! You can always flip it for more money later. I recently bought more drum keys as I am forever losing mine! I even lost the one on a necklace. lol I owned it for all of 2 months. And, I don't even take my kit anywhere! Sure, it is more fun to play the advanced stuff right away, but without learning some technique, you really aren't going to sound the greatest on the drum kit.
I didn't see this until after I assembled my kit. All used stuff from three different sources on Craigslist, except for a new mid-range throne. Only way to go.
Hey, Stephen! Thank u for the tips!
Im a guitar player and a drummer.
Started playing drums before 1 and a half year. For something to start my kit with (because a drum set is too expensive), I started my drum set with two crashes (got them from a music shop sale), they are Meinl Soundcaster Custom medium crashes (15" and 17"). I hope some day I'll have a drum set too. Really a big fan of your videos! I'll make my the same with the mouse pad, this tip I liked the most! Thank you again! Keep on rockin!
Thanks man! Glad this could help you out! Hey everybody has to start somewhere. You could even use your 17" crash as a "crash-ride" and practice ride patterns on it with your right hand. I hope the mousepad works out well for you too. It's cool how cheap those are yet how well they work as a basic practice pad.
Stephen Clark
Omg, man!
Thanks for this tip!
Yeah, man!
Outstanding video! Nowadays there are so many great kits from the big boys (Pearl, Yamaha, Ludwig, etc.) that can be had for about $700 new with really good hardware (e.g. Pearl Export) and even better shells. I'm so jealous. Back when I started in '82, Exports were just coming out and the price point was $1000 for basically plywood shells with a speckled coating on the inside. Even Rogers, which were really crappy by then, commanded $1200 for a 5-piece without hardware. And don't even get me started on how great pedals are today at nearly every price point. Today's youngsters have so many options of such high quality that just about anyone can get started on a great set of new drums for not a lot of cash. And if you really want, used pro-level drums can be had for almost the same price, as you pointed out. Personally, I'd recommend the best set of affordable drums, good but not tour-quality hardware, and the best possible basic cymbal set possible. All-in-all, parents should walk out the door about $1000-$1200 lighter, at most. Just my $.02. Again, great video!
Check out the kit Buddy Rich played, or Mel Taylor when he was in in The Ventures in the early days. Check out an old school rockabilly drummer. The most basic kits.
Good Video! But i think younger Students should start on a cheap kit and not a Pad, because the fun and motivation aspect which is very Important at the start!
Thanks! Yeah that's sort of the alternate approach. If the young student can afford a new kit immediately, I'd say go for it. A lot of parents do prefer the start-with-a-practice-pad method though :) I do have young students though who can't get a kit yet, and they still stay very motivated simply by the music - whatever song we work on during lessons...their favorite band...etc. It's definitely different for each student.
Love the video. I've just started gigging with my jazz fusion band so I got some zildjian 13 k dark hi hats and a 21 inch organic ride. I was wondering if you could do a gear run through of all the drums and cymbals you have? I'm a big drum nerd/ gear head. Keep up the awesome videos you deserve a lot more subs.
Thanks, man! I appreciate it. That's a great video idea..I'll have to do that soon. I'm not a big gear guy, so I'd literally be demonstrating what the bare essentials are 😄. I love my K custom dark hats...any dark sounding cymbal is very appealing to me. How do you like that 21" organic ride? Sounds awesome.
Stephen Clark the Organic ride is amazing. It has crisp sticking with warm over tones. It crashes with ease but gets out of the way very quick. I highly recommend you pick one up used or new. It's my main ride. I use it for everything except really intense metal or hard rock. It's great for jazz, fusion, pop, etc. also your solo on the Max Roach tune was awesome
Oh thanks! I had a blast learning that. It was fun AND challenging playing it along with max roach recordings.
I'll see if I can check that ride out at a store. Sounds awesome! Probably the type of sound I could really dig.
100% on point
Drums are wonderful. 😊
I started with a 4 piece kit, it was worth it, i learned my technique better and helped me get a feel for the kit.
There definitely comes a point when you do have to focus on "getting around the kit" as well as hihat technique, fills, etc, and having a kit makes all that much easier. That's great that you were able to start with one!
i mean ass i said, it worked out great for me, i think that a practice padshould be bought early on just to establish rudiments, it's something i definitely wish i knew sooner, becausemy handspeed definitely suffered as a result.
I ended up in a situation after I'd been playing for a few years where I was only able to play on a pad for a few weeks. That actually ended up being really beneficial to my playing since it allowed me to focus on basics and rudiments. So I definitely know what you mean! It's always great anyways to log some time on a pad even when you have access to a kit.
i play a 4 piece normally (plus crash/crash ride)
You remind me of Whil Wheaton (Wesley Crusher) during his Star Trek days, only, talking about drums and not galactic explorations. Great tips as usual.
I Agree
it's been 16 years since I have played the drums, and I got a dw collector's pure oak drum kit 3 weeks ago. but I played drums from 1990 to 2000 and sometimes 6 hours a day during that period.
Cool! A pure oak kit...sounds heavy. That's a pretty dense wood right? I've never played an oak kit. How's it sound? Can't go wrong with a great DW kit 👍
The BEST Into to drumming!
im happy my parents got me a kit for christmas, it wasnt big and it sure didnt sound that good, but i think i would've disliked play drums if i was stuck with just the pad & sticks
Good tips, I will get a cheap pedal as soon as I can :)
Great vid..and very helpful(I think)..If I wanted to start playing..(as someone in their mid to late 50's..)..do you think I could take some lessons and just practice on a pad..and a pedal and still progress?
Bags for the drumset! Upload and download the car can wear it out pretty fast ;-)
I have a cheap $300 electronic drum kit works great. Used to have an acoustic set time for space for it anymore.
Great video! I wish i had seen this video three years ago :) Funny thing is that almost since the begining my snare cost more than my whole kit, it was a gift and back then I didn't even have idea that it was a vintage supraphonic.
Dude that's awesome! I would love to be gifted a vintage supraphonic. I guess you can be glad you didn't go off and sell it for a hundred bucks, not knowing what it was at the time :) I've heard of that happening, which results in some lucky drummer out there landing a great deal on a snare drum. What's cool about that though is you literally could have used that snare for everything since it's so versatile. Do you have any other go-to snares?
Yeah, once I was tempted to sell it because my cymbals are awful, but I tough that it would be really hard to get another snare like this in a future, and I really like it. No :( I would like to have another snare because this one should be treated with much more respect. Anyway I try to take care of it as much as I can. By the way the channel is growing! Congratulations.
Thanks man! Yeah trying to keep the content coming and the channel growing!
Yeah I can see how it would be beneficial to have a second, more basic snare to take anywhere...leave in the car...etc. That's one plus to having fairly cheap gear haha. Less pressure when you have to haul them in bad weather or leave them in the car in the summer.
Speaking of used sets, I recommend getting the 55-gallon EZ strainer drum (4:48).
Seriously though, very helpful vid! Thanks.
Haha! I didn't even notice that showed up there. Hey you could always make a steel drum drumset. Thanks for watching!
Get an 8 piece kit with double bass so you look like Lars Ulrich.
You are one of my favorite youtubers
Thanks so much, man 😀