Drums are a subset of percussion instruments played by beating a "head" stretched over a hollow "shell."
28
votes
7answers
12k views
Is there a “standard” or “typical” drum kit layout?
I am dipping my toes in the water of getting a "real" drum kit -- by drumming standards, it's still pretty crap since it's (basically) the Alesis DM6 entry level electronic drum kit. But one thing I ...
16
votes
7answers
1k views
How to reliably execute a snare drum rimshot?
A standard snare drum rim shot, as I understand it, requires the stick to contact the drum head and rim simultaneously. I'm having trouble finding the appropriate angle (the majority of the time I ...
14
votes
3answers
1k views
How to properly tune drum heads?
I would like to know if there are any tips on tuning drumheads; I keep hearing harmonics.
13
votes
4answers
394 views
How do you successfully share another drummer's kit at a show?
The typical indie band showcase has 2 or 3 bands on a bill, and it usually makes logistic sense to share a backline (drums, bass amp, and maybe guitar amps). Some stage managers, or entire festivals, ...
13
votes
3answers
419 views
How can I develop an interesting or challenging 8-Beat rock rhythm?
The band I play with generally wants a simple 8-beat rhythm but I can find it a bit boring to play! So I'm looking for suggestions/tips/sheet music/video on how to develop a standard 8-beat drum ...
11
votes
3answers
219 views
Basic Punk Rhythm Guitar--Snare Feels Like Down Beat
I'm a pretty good guitarist, and I can play some tricky rhythms (weird time signatures, syncopation, some of the easier djent stuff) but I've always had trouble when my drummer starts to play anything ...
10
votes
4answers
2k views
Music Theory for a Beginning Drummer
I've been learning Drums for the past few months (lifelong dream, and I should have my very own kit in 36 hours or so! \o/) and my teacher has been teaching me how to sight-read. I'm doing quite well ...
9
votes
2answers
2k views
Soundproofing a room for drum set practice
When I practice my drums in the house, it tends to be a little too loud for people in other rooms. While I know I could trade-in my drums for an electronic kit as an alternative, I'd really rather ...
8
votes
2answers
789 views
How should I go about choosing a beginner drum kit?
I'm thinking about getting a beginner drum kit, and am hesitant to make the jump for fear of either buying a lemon or not being as interested as I'd have hoped.
Things to consider:
24 years old
...
8
votes
5answers
503 views
Keeping both hands (and arms) strong for better stick control
Since there aren't many drumming or percussion related questions, I will start this out with one of my own. As a drummer of almost 20 years, I still have a weaker left hand (and arm), despite trying ...
8
votes
3answers
331 views
Is a very cheap drum kit an impediment to learning?
A national discount chain is offering an adult drumkit for £50 (about US$80).
I've often fancied getting my hand in as a drummer. I don't ever expect drums to be my main instrument, but I would like ...
8
votes
6answers
196 views
How to close the gap between ideas and capabilities when improvising?
I'm a drumset player. I just finished a B.A. in Percussion Performance, marched 4 years of DCI drum & bugle corps, and am now working on a degree in jazz studies. As I've begun to play more and ...
7
votes
6answers
287 views
Keeping time when tired
When I'm playing late night gigs, I find that my drumming is generally a lot slower.
The timing is consistent throughout the songs, but I just start them slower.
When I'm playing early gigs or had a ...
7
votes
5answers
526 views
tips for writing the drum notes to a song in a band
I play the drums in a band, and the song has already been written and everything that the vocalist, guitarist and bassist will play. The drums were left out and I have to write them to fit the song.
...
7
votes
4answers
211 views
Electronic drums in apartment
I'm a drummer and recently moved into an apartment with high ceilings and hardwood floors. I have a Roland TD-4. I've been researching for ways to be able to practice quietly without disturbing my ...
7
votes
2answers
52 views
Drumsticks: Nylon Tip vs Wooden Tip
I am curious about the differences between Nylon Tip and Wooden Tip.
What are the pros and cons of these two?
7
votes
2answers
398 views
When playing drums behind the beat, what instruments define the actual beat?
As a drummer, I'm trying to improve my micro-time to put more feeling in the grooves I play. For certain songs (ballads for example), you usually try to get a "laid-back" feeling by playing slightly ...
7
votes
2answers
229 views
What factors affect the loudness of a drum?
Is it the size of the drum?
The width?
The length?
Particular body materials?
Particular head materials?
Given that there are a hundred different kinds of drums in the world with very different ...
6
votes
4answers
460 views
Practicing drums with metronome and not hearing it's tick
Often times when I'm doing simple strokes (as from Stick Control) to the tick of a metronome, I get into streaks of not hearing the metronome, just my strokes. I suppose that's a good thing, right? ...
6
votes
3answers
126 views
What do multiple l's and r's beneath a note mean?
I do a tad of drumming, but not enough at all to call myself a drummer (or anything close). I understand what a R or a L means under a note, but i'm not sure what two or three under each note means. I ...
6
votes
3answers
92 views
Learning drum parts by components (each hand and each foot) versus by timeslices
I would like to take drum lessons but unfortunately my schedule doesn't permit it. I know there are many resources online but I'm not sure how long it'd take me to find an answer to my specific ...
6
votes
2answers
181 views
Repairing cymbals?
I have a bunch of cymbals that are in various fairly poor states of repair. One has a few small cracks near the rim. One is just bent out of shape entirely (I don't know how that happened).
Is it ...
6
votes
4answers
1k views
Should I retrain myself to be a right handed drummer?
I'm in a slightly strange situation. I have been playing the piano ever since I was a kid, and have in recent years taken an interest in drumming. Not having consistent access to a real drum kit, I ...
6
votes
3answers
1k views
Rhythm/Drum exercises without drums
I am a 24 year old computer engineering student who just have started playing drums. I spend on avarage 1 hour on bus to school and 40-60 min on exercise like running, biking, etc every day. My point ...
6
votes
1answer
308 views
On being a musician and doing weightlifting
I've had no shortage of music and health professionals tell me how strength training (hypertrophy) is bad for anything that warrants muscle relaxation (singing and drumming being two that I do). And I ...
6
votes
1answer
149 views
Sources for sight-reading exercises that focus on subdivisions (emphasis on drums)
As is the case for all drummers, for me, it's a great fun to find weird rhythmic patterns and to practice over basic beats to create some tension in the straight sections of various songs. However, ...
6
votes
1answer
253 views
How to do a finger roll on a doumbek
So, I've just started playing the doumbek. I've started trying to pick up finger rolls, but they don't have the same ring or intensity as my tek or ka strokes. While this is probably to be expected ...
5
votes
2answers
1k views
Is there such a thing as a silent drum set?
One can learn to play the piano on an electronic or midi keyboard with closed headphones without waking up the roommate. Is there anything equivalent for drumming? Some sort of nearly silent drum ...
5
votes
2answers
77 views
What is the standard closed hi hat hit notation?
So far I've been able to find standard notation for the hi hat hit and hi hat pedal hit but it its not clear to me what is the closed hi hat notation. As i understand, normal hi hat hit is on the G2 ...
5
votes
5answers
1k views
What are the pros and cons of Traditional Grip vs. Matched Grip for snare and drumset?
So far I've just been learning matched grip for my snare and drumset playing, but I see of lot of people using traditional grip as well. I'm curious, what are some of the pros and cons of matched vs. ...
5
votes
2answers
180 views
Understanding the rhythmic structure of a song
I have played drums for a few months. Currently, I play for myself. I do exercises from stick control, but I also want to 'play along' to songs.
Given a song A, how do I start playing along? By ear? ...
5
votes
2answers
307 views
“Standard” drum notation alternatives
For the purpose of playing live, working through ("popular") songs involving verse, chorus, bridge, intro, outro, etc., is there a standard notation that drummers use to help them know what to play, ...
5
votes
2answers
222 views
Projecting “Playing ahead/behind/on the beat ” onto tangible concepts
I was trying to tell to my fellow drummer friend, that he should play something behind the beat so that we can experiment some particular song. But then I realized that I have no idea how to translate ...
5
votes
3answers
324 views
Hang drum, what type of music is this?
I was greatly impressed by the hang when I saw this street player last year. I would like to know if there are other examples in this type of music (sounds like Gypsie music but Im not good with ...
5
votes
2answers
278 views
Can old batter heads be used as resonant heads?
Is it possible to use old worn-out drum batter heads as resonant heads? I have a couple of heads that have dents in them, and are sounding pretty crap, and I'm wondering if it's worth using them as ...
4
votes
3answers
179 views
Drum set made from towels/pillows
I'm a drummer who lives in an apartment. I have an electric set, but it is too noisy and I am receiving complaints. I'm sure this has to do with the pads and the kick pedal. I'd still like to practice ...
4
votes
2answers
525 views
How to determine time signature of drum tab?
Recently I started playing drums on the side just to relax, so nothing serious. I picked up this song because the drums seemed reasonably complex so that they would present a fair challenge for the ...
4
votes
1answer
136 views
What characterizes ragtime drumming?
I listen to a lot ragtime pieces played by brass bands. What generally characterizes the drumming? Which elements of the drumset are used more and which aren't used as much?
4
votes
2answers
1k views
How to prevent snare rattle?
When I play my drum set, the toms make the snare rattle. Also, some pitches played by guitar or bass will make it rattle. I've tried tuning all the drums to certain pitches (somewhat effectively), but ...
4
votes
1answer
166 views
What characterises Irish drumming?
A bunch of my friends are into Irish music, including irish punk/rock (like the Pogues), as well as more folky stuff. I play (kit) drums, and would like to be able join in. I've tried, but I'm not ...
4
votes
1answer
165 views
Can playing in cold weather damage a drum set / skins?
My set is in the garage, and now that it's winter, temperatures have been between 10 C and -10 C (50 F and 14 F).
Is it OK to play the drums at such low temperatures, or will it cause damage to the ...
3
votes
6answers
519 views
What websites offer good and trustworthy free online drum lessons?
As a beginning drummer I'm looking around on the web to see if there are any free online (video, website, ebook) drum lessons available for beginners. As with everything the internet is full of good ...
3
votes
5answers
391 views
Common drum rhythm index
I'm looking for an index of common rhythms. This video shows basically what I had in mind, only it is for the bass.
I'm pretty sure there has to be names and a list somewhere for the common rhythms ...
3
votes
2answers
155 views
What differences with an acoustic kit should a new drummer keep in mind when starting on an electric kit
After years as a bass player I'm thinking of getting an eletric drum kit and learning how to play. (I want to play an electric kit because I'm often home late and want to be able to practise without ...
3
votes
4answers
895 views
Cajon as Alternative to Drum Set?
The first time I saw this Cajon drum is during a performance by a band in a shopping mall. The band uses keyboard, guitar, violin and a Cajon. I though that box is actually a digital drum kit. And ...
3
votes
4answers
479 views
What would you call all-drum instrumental music?
I'm trying to find the title for music containing all percussion instruments (pianos/xylophones not included) such as drum corps and marching band drum breakdowns. I'd basically like to listen to ...
3
votes
1answer
54 views
What are the differences between coated drumheads and clear drumheads?
What are the differences between clear drumheads and coated drumheads?
Do they have different purposes?
3
votes
2answers
74 views
What do I need to know about drums as an electric metal guitar player
My questions are as follows ...
As A guitarist (Mostly electric with heavy distortion) what minimum knowledge of drums do I need to be able to create or chose drums beats that suits the song I am ...
3
votes
1answer
2k views
Is there software for computer assisted drum lessons with MIDI input?
My little brother wants to learn drumming, and seeing that I have a cheap RockBand drums clone lying around I wanted to know if there are is some kind of didactic software for drums that accepts MIDI ...
2
votes
3answers
278 views
What keys are associated to what drums when connecting keyboard to Roland electronic drum via MIDI?
How do I know which key to press on my keyboard to get the kick drum or the cymbals for example ?
