Playing the drums

[malvolio]

Drumming is easy, provided you can hold a beat in your head and can "feel" the bars in a piece of music (for example, do you know when to come in after the silences in "Make Me Smile"?). To be good at it, you need to be able to do different things with both hands an your feet.

To be Ginger Baker, you need to be able to hold a 5/8 rhythm using both feet on two bass drums, a paradiddle with the left hand, a solo pattern with the right and somehow (God knows how) add a cymbal roll, all at the same time - 'cos that's what he's doing three minutes from the end of "Badge"

I never recovered from "Wipeout" myself - 64 bars of paradiddle while the rest of the band had fun...

[BlasterBates]

I was in a band with a drummer who was a bass player normally who just fancied having a go. He didn't do anything fancy, but he kept time well and we actually sounded okay.

Then we got another drummer, who really was a drummer but had never played in a band before, and he'd try and do fancy fills and end up losing time. As a result we sounded tulipe.

yeah that's my opinion.

[NotAllThere]

Drummer - someone who hangs around with musicians.

[VectraMan]

I was in a band with a drummer who was a bass player normally who just fancied having a go. He didn't do anything fancy, but he kept time well and we actually sounded okay.

Then we got another drummer, who really was a drummer but had never played in a band before, and he'd try and do fancy fills and end up losing time. As a result we sounded tulipe.

[Cliphead]

Just practice with kick and snare, forget the hi hat, toms and cymbals. Get a couple of sticks and a practice pad to fine tune. Easy.

[BlasterBates]

Everyone wants to learn drums. Why not go for something unusual like the bagpipes or a harp?

...because its Rock'n'Roll

[BlasterBates]

hmm so can I practice with a couple of sticks hitting the sofa ?

[Churchill]

Everyone wants to learn drums. Why not go for something unusual like the bagpipes or a harp?

Sometimes I play the fool...

Churchill - In "John Winston Lennon" mode!

[Marina]

...hmm I was wondering, we have a guitarist who doubles up as a drummer, does a good job. How difficult would it be to learn a basic rhythm so that I can support him on drums, so that he can play guitar? Is it actually possible to learn something in an hour or two?

Everyone wants to learn drums. Why not go for something unusual like the bagpipes or a harp?

[MrRobin]

Hmm, it's fairly easy to learn some very basics, just as it is to learn some basic chords on a guitar but playing the same beat over and over can get very tiresome (to the ears) and you need bridges and riffs to break it all up which are the harder part.

Once you can do it tho you don't forget... I learnt many many moons ago at school, and haven't sat at a kit since but I still tap out rhythms on my fingers / pens etc etc

[Moscow Mule]

How difficult would it be to learn a basic rhythm so that I can support him on drums,

I found it incredibly difficult when my uncle tried to teach me - hit drum four times, every second beat hit bass, fourth beat, hit other drum.

Need more practice, or I'm just a malco.

[BlasterBates]

...hmm I was wondering, we have a guitarist who doubles up as a drummer, does a good job. How difficult would it be to learn a basic rhythm so that I can support him on drums, so that he can play guitar? Is it actually possible to learn something in an hour or two?