Drums – Learning

thgirwnhoj · 2023-02-02T14:44:28.506Z

I was so excited to find this and the Drums thread and wanted to chime in with my thoughts on learning. Music software and synthesis are still relatively new discoveries for me, but I have been playing the drums for most of my life, so I feel like I have something to contribute here. I am largely self-taught, only having taken a few snare drum lessons as a kid. In addition to the great tips above, I want to point to another resource I continue to find helpful: reading interviews with drummers. I remember growing up and buying issues of DRUM! and Modern Drummer and I always found the written descriptions of different techniques really helped me. I thought to share this because I recently received an email from Modern Drummer saying it is under new ownership and going back to print. I have been reading the digital version for free through my local library, but I am excited to reminisce over a print copy soon.

samuel_wade · 2023-02-23T01:11:15.748Z

I’ve been having fun working through Tommy Igoe’s “Great Hands for a Lifetime” programme (available as a DVD set or as part of Drumeo’s subscription), and am currently getting about 2/3 through the Intermediate Lifetime Warmup before falling apart. I know pad practice isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but if you do enjoy it and are looking for a neat little capsule of structured rudiment-based activity, this routine is worth a look.

In particular, I find the number of rapid transitions really useful—in the past, I’ve tended to do x bars or minutes of repeated patterns, but rapid switching seems more musically practical and interesting, as well as less fatiguing.

It also appeals to me from a habit formation and maintenance point of view, which is important to me after years of failing to make time to practice. You can cover a lot of useful ground in less than ten minutes, which is easy to commit to doing consistently. I’m optimistic that if I do at least a Lifetime Warmup every morning until I die, that’ll be enough to maintain a solid foundation.

Here’s the trailer, which feels a bit like a very niche SNL skit:

snkhydrox · 2023-02-23T09:07:38.377Z

This routine changed my technique forever. I practiced it rigorously for a few months and I ramped up my technique so fast with it. I’m still benefitting off of that period, I need to go back and practicing it to improve even more!

samuel_wade · 2023-02-23T17:00:00.358Z

Did you get through the Advanced? That thing’s a monster. I’m paying for neglecting my flams and faking my drags. (They were more like smears.)

If wonder if the students from the group sessions get recognised in public. They feel like old friends now.

reallyok · 2023-02-23T19:17:54.424Z

to yes-and this - there’s some great playalongs, with sheet music, of alan dawson’s rudimental ritual at various tempos:

and one of my students hipped me to this hybrid rudiment centric exercise, also with sheet music and a few playback speeds:

for extra credit, try these with brushes!

samuel_wade · 2023-02-23T20:35:53.650Z

Thanks for those! I was about to complain about rudiment names like Inverted Cheese and Broken Centrifuge and Flying Quackadoodle, but I suppose I’d struggle to make a case that they’re objectively sillier than paradiddle, flamacue, or pataflafla.

(And in fairness and honesty, I did make two of those up. I think.)

snkhydrox · 2023-02-24T08:51:08.784Z

Yeah the Advanced is really challenging, I also had problems keeping up with flams and drags, at that tempo they’re really challenging. Now I want to get back to it and master it!

reallyok · 2023-02-24T18:38:59.086Z

vic firth has great materials for most of the standard rudiments - not sure why they put them in a different order but whatever. each rudiment has a lesson video, playalongs, and many have a short exercise.

https://vicfirth.zildjian.com/education/40-essential-rudiments.html

samuel_wade · 2023-03-10T18:20:27.997Z

Interesting breakdown. Sharpens my GAS for a little accent stack by the hats.

(“You’ve posted a lot in this topic! Consider giving others an opportunity to reply here and discuss things with each other as well.” )

Kurpitsa · 2023-06-07T09:34:10.923Z

Larnell Might not be my personal favourite drummer, but I think he might be the “Objective” best modern drummer alive right now…

we can have some debate on the “objectivity” and is he the best, but can’t think of anyone else that has so deep understanding of rythm with good sense of aesthetics, absolute technique and ability to play anything. Deep love for the art of drumming, big up Larnell Lewis

Agraham1987 · 2023-06-09T11:28:45.988Z

Hmmm Larnell is certainly one of the best alive right now for sure. But to say “objectively THE best”…it just can’t be right.
You could say the same about someone like Matt Gartska - master of the instrument in so many different styles and a great educator with his mastering time series but again you can’t say he’s the best because there are just so many other great players.
It’s what makes art the greatest - there is no definitive “best”.

Kurpitsa · 2023-06-14T20:00:23.647Z

as I argued against myself, it is hard and impossible (and maybe a dumb idea) to even think of something in the term of “objective” in the field of music and plying, but in my books atleast…

Gartska is certainly up there, there are so many different approaches to learning, so maybe i understand the playing of Lewis better than Gartska, and that already makes it subjective, so as u said, nothing is objective!

El90 · 2023-06-30T18:27:22.783Z

I’ve been learning on a Roland electronic kit which uses the TD50 sound module. I’m using the handy feature allowing for me to record each individual drum as a separate track into my DAW over USB. I then process the tracks using external effects (in particular my Elektron Analog Heat via Overbridge). My difficulty is this: currently I have to record all my tracks ‘dry’ first and then experiment with external processing afterwards, because the latency of sending everything to my PC, through external effects and back is significant enough to create an audible flam and mess with timing. I’d be very interested to know if anyone else is using a similar setup and if so how you’ve addressed latency issues?

Lemmy · 2023-07-01T08:42:20.811Z

I have a basic Alesis kit, and when playing it I usually use trigger drum sounds on my computer instead of using the built in sounds. I am able to set my sound interface to 32 samples buffer size and that only very occasionally results in sound streaming glitches. At that small buffer size latency isn’t an issue for me. I can’t use such low buffer sizes with my laptop’s built in audio. So it’s probably about having good audio drivers. Haven’t used external effects processing here…

samuel_wade · 2023-07-06T22:54:38.607Z

I’m behind because of travel, but am now onto Week 4 of Drumeo’s 30-Day Chops course (sample and trailer here), and having a lot of fun with it. I really like the format: daily ten-minute “workouts” gradually elaborating on rudiment-based grooves. It starts fairly gently each week, but there have been several things I’ve had to go back over and work on. It’s much more groove-based than the trailer suggests, which was a pleasant surprise.

SPIKE · 2023-07-07T06:04:24.239Z

Kurpitsa:

Larnell Might not be my personal favourite drummer, but I think he might be the “Objective” best modern drummer alive right now…

best drummer walking the planet is Vinnie Colaiuta.
i’m not particularly a big fan of his or anything but his technical skill and absolute mastery of the drum set is far above and beyond most humans.

Claude · 2023-07-14T03:38:03.136Z

I am into my second year playing drums, not going for “well-rounded” or “versatile”, just trying to do what feels right. Here’s a clip from last weekend:

Happyanimal1 · 2023-07-14T05:10:42.015Z

Been playing for 20 years, solely focused on jazz for the last 10. Not sure what style OP was looking to approach but if you don’t already learn to read. There are so many books out there you can eat through to become great-

Foundational for anyone learning the drums:
Syncopation
Master studies

samuel_wade · 2023-07-18T21:01:25.587Z

I sat down to learn Spaven’s Hoodie Beats, and the bit where your hands uncross is ridiculously satisfying.

Agraham1987 · 2023-07-19T07:54:39.560Z

The absolute king so glad he’s tapping into the educational side of things