Can you learn how to drum with the game Rockband 3 and e-drums?

Question

I play the piano (on a low level) but want to try something new. I stumbled on the console game Rockband 3 where you can attach a real e-drum set (the Roland TD9-SX seems to work) and play the game with it. Two questions:

1. Do I learn "real" drumming or is a different skill? Could this perhaps even be detrimental for learning real drumming (e.g. by establishing bad habits)?
2. The game features primarily rock songs. In the long run I'd probably like to play in big bands or brass bands (swing, jazz, ...). Are the fundamentals of drumming the same for all genres?

Answer 1

No. I'm an accomplished drummer but I can't play Rock Band for toffee. Rock Band is a game, so it's designed to present a challenge to the user, one that's accessible to and enjoyable for adults and children with no musical knowledge. For this reason, it omits some things that are a big part of playing drums in an ensemble:

1. Volume. By this I don't just mean the dynamics written in the piece, but of each individual note: the articulation, both written and interpreted. This is something that's easy to understand on a real kit. It's harder on an electronic kit, just like how you can't learn piano just by playing a keyboard. It's not possible at all when you don't have any feedback about what your articulation sounds like.

2. Notation. The "scrolling dots" view that Rock Band gives you might be good for beginners, but I'm sure you understand it's unrelated to sheet music. Different publishers write their drum parts in completely different ways, and the easiest way to learn what the notation means is from experience of playing from lots of sheet music.

3. Counting. Not only does the "scrolling dots" view always tell you where you are, the game also makes sure you're kept busy all the time. If only composers thought the same way! Alas, unless you're playing heavy metal, or some kinds of jazz, you're likely to spend a lot of time playing 16-bar rests. In a way, this is the hardest part of drumming with a big ensemble. Everyone has their own strategies for coming in in the right place, and this is something you can only learn by playing real music with an ensemble.

4. Tempo negotiation. Rock Band is like playing with a metronome. It's all too common for rock and pop bands these days to use a "click track", which is practically the same thing, but most drummers have to follow a conductor, or possibly set a corporate tempo for the rest of their ensemble. This is a skill in itself: it's not just about being able to play in time, but being able to vary the tempo to suit the music and accommodate the other players (e.g. to let them breathe at the end of a phrase). I suspect that too much Rock Band would be a source of bad habits.

Of course, I'm not including here any of the things that a teacher will tell you but are hard to learn from any self-teaching method: what it should sound like, what kind of potential you have, how to set up a kit, how to sit, equipment recommendations, local bands who might want you, and so on.

Overall, I'm not advising you never to play Rock Band. One of the things you need to do to improve on kit is to put in the hours playing the same rhythms over and over again: the percussionist's equivalent of practising scales. On the harder difficulty levels, the arrangements it gives you are pretty representative of some standard rock beats. Once you've learned some technique on a real drum kit, I imagine Rock Band could help make that practise more interesting, if you have the discipline to keep using your technique, and not "cheat" by just hitting the pads any old how.

What I am advising is that if you turn up to a jazz band or another ensemble having only played Rock Band with an electric kit, you will end up looking pretty silly: maybe even worse than if you'd turned up with no experience at all.

Answer 2

What you learn in Rock Band is close to real drumming, but there are limitations.

• To the game, you either hit the drum on time, or you don't. It has no concept of dynamics or tone. So you could learn to play a part such that Rock Band would give you a perfect score, but it would sound awful.
• Rock Band doesn't teach you technique. It's happy to give you a good score for getting the hits in at the right time, but you could be getting those hits using methods that will do your future playing no favours. Use other learning methods - a teacher, videos, books, etc. so you know the proper techniques.

Rock Band in conjunction with books and tuition might be a good combination. On the harder difficulty levels, it's a good way to learn songs, and a good source of backing tracks.

Answer 3

I am proof you can learn to play the drums through rock band. I have an Alesis Dm 10 and not only learned how to play through the game, but now play with a band of my friends after 3 months of me playing the game. Its all memory once the game is off. The timing is also memory. There are career goals in the training section that teaches rudiments and is every intricate fill on the game. Does it teach reading music? No. But if practice is what makes perfect, and a kid having a blast playing he or she WILL learn due to repetition. I also have programmed the ride cymbal in the song on the ride on the e kit. Its programmed pretty well out of the box. I did have to tweek the high tom to match the yellow pad. I agree you do not learn composition, how to read or write or any advanced technique. But to play. Absolutely, yes you do. You build stamina, confidence and skill. If you are an accomplished drummer and you can not play Rockband then the solution is to turn your skill level to expert and familiarize yourself where each drum head is comparatively speaking. Improvise, On the cheap kit with the game its red=snare yellow-high tom blue= floor tom and green= crash and or ride. A regular kit isn't marked with color. But I can play on my acoustic kit (after repetition of playing on the game) and be 100% impressive to the people playing with me. I disagree with the first "no" answer.

Answer 4

If you are playing piano with a teacher, you will be learning about dynamics and phrasing (volume of each individual note in a unit of time) and will have made the first steps on how to apply this when you move to real drums.

If you are using expert mode on the harder songs, the game can help you learn rhythms much quicker than listening to your favourite songs, the game allows you to learn the songs in slow motion for really complicated rhythms. Step up the speed when you can get 100% accuracy, or even better memorise and play without looking at the screen.

You will find your timing on the piano improves as you learn timing on a finer scale.

The instant gratification means your less likely to lose interest and become the standard case of a dusty instrument in the corner of the room.

If you can can play in expert mode, you will have a fighting chance of being very good, even amazing after a few years on the real drums with a teacher, only a teacher can show you good technique. More importantly, you only want to try something new. This game will give you a good footing for rhythm patterns at a fraction of the cost of a good drum kit with lessons.

A good musician is always improving. If you use the game and you are improving as a musician, then keep using it. But if you become really keen, then get a teacher and a practice kit before bad habits become un-learnable.

Answer 5

Although rock band is a great and challenging game think about it this way... you're in the arcades and you walk past someone on the dance mat and they are doing great getting perfects all the time... now take the dance mat out the way are they dancing? no they are jumping up and down constantly... although the movement/technique on rock band and guitar hero is the same as actual drumming the timings of the beats are completely off in most cases on the game the notation is much different and you aren't concentrating on the song just four or 5 colours flying at you for 5 minutes. E-drums by themselves without the game for a "template" is a much better way to learn. Trust your internal clock and your own ability over that game. Keep them separate in my opinion.

Answer 6

I've been a self taught drummer for 20 years and I wish I had this tool when I was beginning. Is it gonna make you a great drummer? No, but it will teach you dexterity in your limbs and rythms every drummer should know for a solid base of rock drumming. .