Patience, dedication and hard work are all called for to learn to play the drum or any other musical instrument. It takes years of practice learning the drum, despite the fact that many professionals make it look easy. However, even the great drummers had to start somewhere and learn to play, and if you want to be a drummer, you should persevere and learning the drum online can be one of the easiest ways to master the instrument. The following tips can help you.
Learn To Read Drum Notation
Although many people learn to play drums without learning how to read sheet music, you should not follow in their footsteps because this approach generally limits one's ability to experiment with different styles of music and beats. By experimenting with different music genres, you will enhance your skill level and technical ability. The good news is reading sheet music is not hard. To start with, you need to understand sheet music terms such as tempo. In simple terms, tempo is the pace at which one plays music or drums.
Sheet music uses five horizontal lines, along which the music notes are placed, as well as one note and number to show the tempo. The time signature consists of two numbers, and each beat's worth is indicated by the number on the top, while the number of beats per bar is shown by the lower number; the time signature is an important drum notation to understand. To prepare physically and mentally to play the drum, get into the habit of reading the drum notes a little ahead of the ones you are playing at the moment, which are indicated by drum keys.
Cultivate Good Rhythm
In music, rhythm can make the difference between great and not-so-great music. Drummers need to develop a good sense of rhythm to ensure that every other musical aspect is in sync. Take note that music that lacks rhythm is nothing more than noise. Unfortunately, there is no shortcut to developing good rhythm as a drummer, so you would have to practice repeatedly until you get it. For instance, you can set a tempo on your metronome and then attempt to play at the tempo you set. However, you should avoid the temptation to set a fast tempo right from the start. Instead, start slow and then increase the tempo as you become more confident in your drum playing skills. You can also try playing along to prerecorded music. This will help you develop a keen sense of timing and rhythm.
Improve Your Technique
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 technique involves applying the weight of the entire leg to the foot pedal in order to hit the drum. It is wise to keep the heels of your feet one to two inches off the floor. On the other hand, the heel-down technique involves applying force to your drum's foot pedal using the calf muscles and ankle joint.
It can be difficult for beginners to master the heel down technique, and to do so you will need to keep your feet constantly in contact with the surface of the foot pedal. Staying relaxed and practicing as much as possible is the key to success, although you should also have your feet in an ergonomically correct and natural position.
Obtain a Practice Kit
Sharpening and improving your drumming skills requires regular practice. However, drums generate a lot of noise and you might find angry neighbors outside your door if you live in an apartment block. One way of ensuring this does not happen is by buying a practice pad kit. Unlike real drums, practice pad kits consist of rubber-covered wooden blocks. This makes them much quieter and you can practice without worrying about disturbing your neighbors. You can also buy sound-off pads and place them on top of you drums.
Practice is definitely the key to learning the drum and becoming skilled, although it is admittedly not the easiest instrument to learn. Reading and understanding drum notation, followed by developing good rhythm is the way to go, and this will improve your overall technique. A practice pad kit will allow you to get in as much practice as you need without driving the neighbors crazy.
Learn To Read Drum Notation
Although many people learn to play drums without learning how to read sheet music, you should not follow in their footsteps because this approach generally limits one's ability to experiment with different styles of music and beats. By experimenting with different music genres, you will enhance your skill level and technical ability. The good news is reading sheet music is not hard. To start with, you need to understand sheet music terms such as tempo. In simple terms, tempo is the pace at which one plays music or drums.
Sheet music uses five horizontal lines, along which the music notes are placed, as well as one note and number to show the tempo. The time signature consists of two numbers, and each beat's worth is indicated by the number on the top, while the number of beats per bar is shown by the lower number; the time signature is an important drum notation to understand. To prepare physically and mentally to play the drum, get into the habit of reading the drum notes a little ahead of the ones you are playing at the moment, which are indicated by drum keys.
Cultivate Good Rhythm
In music, rhythm can make the difference between great and not-so-great music. Drummers need to develop a good sense of rhythm to ensure that every other musical aspect is in sync. Take note that music that lacks rhythm is nothing more than noise. Unfortunately, there is no shortcut to developing good rhythm as a drummer, so you would have to practice repeatedly until you get it. For instance, you can set a tempo on your metronome and then attempt to play at the tempo you set. However, you should avoid the temptation to set a fast tempo right from the start. Instead, start slow and then increase the tempo as you become more confident in your drum playing skills. You can also try playing along to prerecorded music. This will help you develop a keen sense of timing and rhythm.
Improve Your Technique
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 technique involves applying the weight of the entire leg to the foot pedal in order to hit the drum. It is wise to keep the heels of your feet one to two inches off the floor. On the other hand, the heel-down technique involves applying force to your drum's foot pedal using the calf muscles and ankle joint.
It can be difficult for beginners to master the heel down technique, and to do so you will need to keep your feet constantly in contact with the surface of the foot pedal. Staying relaxed and practicing as much as possible is the key to success, although you should also have your feet in an ergonomically correct and natural position.
Obtain a Practice Kit
Sharpening and improving your drumming skills requires regular practice. However, drums generate a lot of noise and you might find angry neighbors outside your door if you live in an apartment block. One way of ensuring this does not happen is by buying a practice pad kit. Unlike real drums, practice pad kits consist of rubber-covered wooden blocks. This makes them much quieter and you can practice without worrying about disturbing your neighbors. You can also buy sound-off pads and place them on top of you drums.
Practice is definitely the key to learning the drum and becoming skilled, although it is admittedly not the easiest instrument to learn. Reading and understanding drum notation, followed by developing good rhythm is the way to go, and this will improve your overall technique. A practice pad kit will allow you to get in as much practice as you need without driving the neighbors crazy.
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 desire get more information and reviews about playing the drum, you can go visit is playing the drum reviews, videos and articles pages.
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