Drum practice: Like a train
Today I was attempting to play something like this guy is teaching. Some songs have a rhythm that sounds a bit like a steam train. He uses Ballroom Blitz by The Sweet as an example. I actually saw them live in about 1985 when they played at my university.
The basic rhythm is simple, but he uses some bass drum hits on off-beats that took me a while to wrap my brain around. I have to take it really slowly and get the coordination sorted out. I need to work more on varying the bass drum rather than just hitting the standard 1 and 3 beats. The drum set has a metronome that I can use when practicing to improve my timing .I have also been trying this metronome app that has lots of options for complex rhythms and varying your practice.
Another issue I had was getting my Yamaha DD-65 drum to make the right beats ring out. The pads have three levels of sensitivity, but it is really easy to over-hit and so they all end up sounding the same. I was playing around with the sensitivity settings to see if I could improve this with limited success. Fun as this box is I may have to upgrade as I try to do more complex and subtle techniques. Of course I would love a real acoustic kit, but that will be noisy and take up more space.
My current plan is to get some lessons next year. That may be a mix of online and in person as I would like the chance to play real drums and get the feel of those. I expect they will be a different experience.
▶️ 3Speak
This is great. You can learn a lot from the online community as I have with chords etc on my keyboards over the years, talking of which I’ve got some new toys this week, more on that later, I’ll write about them.
My brother managed to squeeze in a drum kit in his old bedroom when we lived with mum and dad. He later reinstalled them in his flat. He took lessons for some time with a brilliant teacher before the internet was as ubiquitous as it is now. He really got into it. Even did a documentary on famous drummers for sky!
So go for it! You won’t regret it😀 your family might though 😂
I'm having fun with it even if I'm not sure where I'll go with it. Drumming is a good mental exercise. I've used the internet for guitar stuff for years, but I've found there's loads for drummers too. I find it amusing that this teacher has the same name as me. I've definitely got more respect for drummers now.
!BEER
Yes I saw that! That’s really funny! Above all else, have fun!
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It is good to learn new things always especially these ones that makes the heart rejoice.
Never give up and good luck with your lessons, drum is very cool ... yet so hard (it is an instrument where I fail, I can't get that foot / hand coordination right, an exercise is to draw a circle with one hand and a square with the other...Too hard for me (they turn out both like circles :-D)
It is one of those things where you have to put in the hours and train your body to do something new. I have to find goals I can achieve in the short term on my way to better skills.
!BEER
I love playing drums, but it has been ages since I had a full drum kit. And it is hard :) But your brain just grow whenever you do music so there's always a gain.
I need to have a play on a full kit, but having one at home is not so practical. I find it all a good mental workout.