No talent drummer wannabe

[Frank McGrath]

Man...don't stick me with the drummer jokes!!!! all suggestions will be taken. Thanks for the input. Frank

[TheKiltedWonder]

don't stick me

I don't care if it was intended, I making a pun out of that! hahaha

[pipesndrumsnun]

Good luck...and...ROCK ON!!

[thatcelticband]

Man...don't stick me with the drummer jokes!!!! all suggestions will be taken. Thanks for the input. Frank

Hey Frank
Don't take it hard. Drummer are usually the easiest to poke fun at. If you are serious about this, go for it! Get with your local music store and I'm sure they can turn you on to a good teacher. Sometime, the local pipe band may give instruction.int:

[Frank McGrath]

I don't care if it was intended, I making a pun out of that! hahaha

I intended the entry as a pun. Or maybe just 2/3 of a pun, PU. But seriously, Thanks for al;l the input. I really do enjoy reading all the entries. I have heard a lot of drummer jokes before, as my uncle was a drummer for a while. He sole his drum set to buy a motorcycle.

[Alan H]

I got the itch to do this a while ago and then let it go. There just isn't time.

That said, there's a HUGE difference in skill needed to be a good snare drummer, and that needed to be a good tenor drummer. Playing bass drum is a no-brainer in terms of technique, but it does require a very good sense of rhythm and the mental fortitude to set a tempo in your head and define it to others. That means not speeding up when they speed up! You have to be able to be a metronome, which is maybe not the most musically rewarding task, but it IS a particular skill.

Tenor drumming is not that hard and a few hours with the fuzzy sticks and spinning them will get you started. You get all the fun of being in the band and wearing the kit without having to study for years on technique. You just have to have that good sense of rhythm and the ability to memorize rhythmic patterns. Some people simply cannot do this.

Good snare drumming is NOT easy. There's a lot of technique to it and it will take you several months of an hour-a-day to get competent. Fancy stick technique is not like falling off a log. I was just starting to think about beginning to get competent when TimC proposed trying the Heavy Athletics and my practice pad and sticks found a semi-permanent home under my desk.

If you're on a tight budget you can get a used REMO practice pad off of ebay for under $20. DO NOT GET SYMPHONIC OR TRAPSET DRUMSTICKS. Field snare drum sticks are much thicker and heavier than standard sticks.

[vespa]

WOW look at all the drummer jokes! There's almost as many of them as there are lawyer jokes!?! I think other musicians are just jealous that we get all the girls. I've played drums for many years (drumset in a rock band..... yes, yes I can hear more jokes already) If you can keep a beat you can pick up the drums, if you can't keep a beat you can learn to. Like Marcel said earlier a metronome is key!!! And practice, practice, practice!

good luck

Slainte

[Moosedog]

Frank,

I found this thread and am wondering how your drum journey is going? Did you find a band or teacher or drum?

I ended up the bass drummer in my local band, which, as Alan points out, doesn't require much specialized technique, but I'm finding it an enjoyable challenge to learn the tunes, the beatings, and to serve not only as a metronome but as a unifying force for the whole band. It's very kinesthetic...and I get to dance around!

Now, carrying the bass drum is kind of a drag, though I discovered on St. Patrick's Day it's a great way to clear a path through a crowded bar!

Hope your journey is as enjoyable!

Moosedog

[Frank McGrath]

I have not made time to do anything about it yet. I am still trying to get my barstool finished so I can drive it in the Mem day parade in town. But soon! thanks for all the comments.

Frank