Learning to play any musical instrument like the drum can be a challenge. Thus, it typically demands patience, devotion, and lots of hard work. Although experienced drummers make playing the drum appear to be very easy, it often requires years of dedicated practice to play with professional-level quality. This should not discourage you, however. Even expert drummers had to start out with "baby steps" and persistently develop their skills over time. Keeping that fact firmly in mind, below are some excellent hints for learning the drum online.
Learn To Read Drum Notation
Many people learn to play drums without first learning how to read sheet music. However, you should not take this course of action, because it usually limits your ability to experiment with various music styles and beats. By experimenting with different musical genres, you can improve your technical acumen and level of skill. The good news is that reading sheet music is not difficult. To begin, you need to comprehend sheet music terms like tempo. In simple terms, "tempo" denotes the pace at which music or drums are played.
Most music sheets utilize one note and a numeral to indicate the tempo. Also, music notes lie on the staff - five horizontal lines that run the entire length of the music sheet. The time signature is another significant drum notation. It is comprised of two numerals with the top number indicating the worth of each beat. The bottom number indicates the number of beats that each bar contains. Writers of sheet music use drum keys to denote drums. The prevailing rule of thumb is to read drum notes a little bit in advance of the ones being played. This allows you adequate time to mentally and physically prepare to play the drum.
Cultivate Good Rhythm
Rhythm can mean the difference between superb and substandard music. Drummers must develop an excellent sense of rhythm in order to ensure that all other aspects of the music remain properly synchronized. It should be noted that music which lacks rhythm is merely noise. Unfortunately, no shortcut to good rhythm development exists for drummers. Thus, you must repeatedly practice until you get the hang of it. For example, you may set a tempo on your metronome and then try to play at the pre-set tempo. You should, however, avoid the temptation to set a rapid tempo in the beginning. Instead, begin slowly and then gradually increase the tempo as you build confidence in your drum-playing skill. You may also try to play along to pre-recorded music. This helps you cultivate a sharp sense of rhythm and timing.
Hone Your Drum Techniques
Drummers traditionally used their hands alone to play drums. Today, however, they use both their hands and feet to play drums. This means that you have to learn and perfect drumming techniques that involve the feet. Examples of popular drumming techniques include the heel-up and the heel-down techniques.
The heel-up method involves application of the entire leg's weight to the foot pedal in order to strike the drum. It is a wise practice to keep the heel of your feet one to two inches above the floor. On the other hand, the heel-down method entails application of force to the foot pedal of your drum by using the muscles of your calf and ankle joints.
Pulling off the heel-down technique requires you to maintain contact between your foot and the surface of the foot pedal at all times. Do not worry if you find it difficult to master this technique. Instead, just keep practicing and ensure that you remain as relaxed as you can. Also, allow your feet to assume a natural and ergonomically-correct position.
Obtain a Practice Kit
Improving and sharpening your drum-playing skills demands practice. However, drums produce lots of noise. Thus, you may find irate neighbors at your door if you live in a block of apartments. One way to avoid this is buying a practice pad kit. Unlike actual drums, practice pad kits contain rubber-covered wooden blocks. This enables them to be played much more quietly, and you may practice often without disturbing your neighbors. You may also purchase sound-off pads to put on top of your drums.
Although learning the drum is not a "cake walk," you may enhance your skills through regular practice. Begin by learning how to read drum notation. Afterward start developing good rhythm and fine-tune your drumming techniques. If possible, buy and use a practice kit.
Learn To Read Drum Notation
Many people learn to play drums without first learning how to read sheet music. However, you should not take this course of action, because it usually limits your ability to experiment with various music styles and beats. By experimenting with different musical genres, you can improve your technical acumen and level of skill. The good news is that reading sheet music is not difficult. To begin, you need to comprehend sheet music terms like tempo. In simple terms, "tempo" denotes the pace at which music or drums are played.
Most music sheets utilize one note and a numeral to indicate the tempo. Also, music notes lie on the staff - five horizontal lines that run the entire length of the music sheet. The time signature is another significant drum notation. It is comprised of two numerals with the top number indicating the worth of each beat. The bottom number indicates the number of beats that each bar contains. Writers of sheet music use drum keys to denote drums. The prevailing rule of thumb is to read drum notes a little bit in advance of the ones being played. This allows you adequate time to mentally and physically prepare to play the drum.
Cultivate Good Rhythm
Rhythm can mean the difference between superb and substandard music. Drummers must develop an excellent sense of rhythm in order to ensure that all other aspects of the music remain properly synchronized. It should be noted that music which lacks rhythm is merely noise. Unfortunately, no shortcut to good rhythm development exists for drummers. Thus, you must repeatedly practice until you get the hang of it. For example, you may set a tempo on your metronome and then try to play at the pre-set tempo. You should, however, avoid the temptation to set a rapid tempo in the beginning. Instead, begin slowly and then gradually increase the tempo as you build confidence in your drum-playing skill. You may also try to play along to pre-recorded music. This helps you cultivate a sharp sense of rhythm and timing.
Hone Your Drum Techniques
Drummers traditionally used their hands alone to play drums. Today, however, they use both their hands and feet to play drums. This means that you have to learn and perfect drumming techniques that involve the feet. Examples of popular drumming techniques include the heel-up and the heel-down techniques.
The heel-up method involves application of the entire leg's weight to the foot pedal in order to strike the drum. It is a wise practice to keep the heel of your feet one to two inches above the floor. On the other hand, the heel-down method entails application of force to the foot pedal of your drum by using the muscles of your calf and ankle joints.
Pulling off the heel-down technique requires you to maintain contact between your foot and the surface of the foot pedal at all times. Do not worry if you find it difficult to master this technique. Instead, just keep practicing and ensure that you remain as relaxed as you can. Also, allow your feet to assume a natural and ergonomically-correct position.
Obtain a Practice Kit
Improving and sharpening your drum-playing skills demands practice. However, drums produce lots of noise. Thus, you may find irate neighbors at your door if you live in a block of apartments. One way to avoid this is buying a practice pad kit. Unlike actual drums, practice pad kits contain rubber-covered wooden blocks. This enables them to be played much more quietly, and you may practice often without disturbing your neighbors. You may also purchase sound-off pads to put on top of your drums.
Although learning the drum is not a "cake walk," you may enhance your skills through regular practice. Begin by learning how to read drum notation. Afterward start developing good rhythm and fine-tune your drumming techniques. If possible, buy and use a practice kit.
About the Author:
Daniel Sears is an expert in drum playing for several years, who is giving is experience, reviews and knowledge through is own website blog. if you want to know more about it, you can visit is drum site. if you want get more info and reviews about playing the drum, you can go visit is playing the drum reviews, videos and articles pages.
No comments:
Post a Comment