i hav been playing drums for 6 years already... but i only play it in church... ok la.. 6 years is not short and i got some skills in drumming and stuff but im seems to be quite consistent...i learn pratically only.. not professionally but most of the skills i had mastered quite ok... but i am only playing in church so i don't really go and "upgrade" myself to the professional stage yet.. anybody got any advice so i can get better in skills and drumming? should i go for courses or classes?

another question is that anybody know how to do the double bass thing? is really hard pratise.. i am training really hard for the double bass stuff... i can do it but not consitent enough... get tired easily.. lol...

6 years?! I want to learn for you lah! That double bass things, the sound is really great, yeah Korn Metallica, all of their drummer use that double bass drum

after my STPM, i will start a class... haha... come la if u want... very cheap... but i teach basic stuff only.. i ain pro..

erm... the double bass thing is actually not double pedal... i tink u mean the double pedal thing... is very easy to do a double bass if u use a double bass... but if wanna do the double bass with a single pedal is reli reli hard... i can do but not consistent enough... haiz.. i see some ppl in city they can do double bass after they learn for 2 years.. i learn 6 years just like nothing... haiz...

you know those serious drummers actually go to gym, jogging etc rite?
and like all music, use a metronome.

yea. i know.. i am an athelete actually... but not very outstanding one la... btw, i don't have one metronome... hmm... i tink i will get one soon...

Practise makes perfect... 1-2 times a week should be great. Make sure your timing is great via metronome, that's the only way to keep up with the beat.

agree wit mike there
a metronome works wonders to ur practises
it builds up the inner clock

i practise my drum skills almost everyday... erm.. only after my spm la.. but now STPM coming... i stopped actually... but gonna cont after that... thanks!

okok... i get 1 metronome... thanks!

btw, thanks for the tips on practising and metronome.
but do u guys know how to get better in skills? i mean other drumming besides double bass... i tink i can master all beats already... except off beat sometimes i miss them... which i have been practising alot alot alot... well, can say ok only... haha! how to upgrade myself to be a professional drummer? anybody got tips?

It's not easy to be a pro drummer. You should listen to lots of music genres. Get use to it.... you should master every genre, thats a pro drummer.

Doesnt mean that if your a drummer and you plays the drum, you're a pro drummer...nope...

This post has been edited by Mike3300: Nov 1 2006, 02:11 AM

this is what i have been doing lately to "upgrade"....or at least try to upgrade

Record yourself and playback. Listen for faults that you think you can clean up. Then rerecord until you are satisfied. Then compare the recording with your favourite drummer, or the drummer whose style is similar to yours. You will realise very quickly, that it's the really tiny aspects and the little things that separate good musicians from the pros. I know many good brilliant musicians, but very few are of pro standard. Even most of the teachers i see in music shops around the KL area are sloppy in their playing (NOT all of course).

This is also a great way to bring yourself down to the ground again when you think you're sooooo great. Works for me, whenever i think i'm the greatest bassist alive, i just record myself and playback and i'm back to "aww man...i really suck".

nice tips... thanks.. i have been doing that sometimes too... but sounds abit funny when doing the rolling stuff without any other musicians.. because i usually practise alone and i don't have a band... is it important to practise with a band together than just myself? i knw is important to cope with the music when we start the beat and stuff like that... but i usually practise with the radio or the recorded music and not live band... live band only during sunday worship... =)

hoho u hav to get a band
there's so much to learn being in a band


me n my frens jz form a band few months bac...wow the world suddenli change
so many little things to learn...a whole new experience...
though im stil trying to keep up and blend wit the drummer
but it reli is so fun than playin alone

Practicing alone is sometimes very helpful. Improves solo playing and creativity. It may sound weird if you practice as if you were playing in a band. But take the band away and it's down to you and your drums. So you are forced to think of new ideas that make it sound not so weird. Find ways to make the rolls sound full (when i watch drum solos, many of them use alot of cymbals...But you know better than me of course so i'll leave that to you ). But of course the basics have to be strong. Single strokes, double strokes, (or whatever you drummers do??) blablabla before attempting the fancy stuff. If not you'll end up like me. Learning all the fancy stuff and not being to execute them clean because my rudiments suck.

I think it's more or less the same for any instrument. If you have interest and own a drumset and are creative, then you will learn real fast.

This post has been edited by Bassix: Nov 1 2006, 03:26 PM

icic... ok.. i try la... btw, i tink i am kinda gud at my basic only.. other advanced type of drumming... i am not that gud yet... haha...

dun worry mate!!
mastering the basics is building a stronger foundation to more advanced techniques
no need ta rush

having a strong sense of groove and beat means more than rollin a fancy lick


drummers is the backbone of a band...
keep it solid and steady is more important
do it for the band...for the song...not for u alone

nolah who said, bassist backbone of the band

hahah yeah bassist is the backbone hahah


bassist and drummers are both the groove keepers

who cares? The guitarist and lead singer gets all the chicks most of the time...........

yea... because they get to stand in front..

not without their drummer and bassist

I recommend you to play some jazz bits like bossa nova and fusion. And try to listen to some pro drummers play, like Dave Weckl and Omar Hakim if you know them. Ah yes one more thing, try this site Drummerworld. Damn good site.

k thx! i met a pro drummer before... brad knight... the drummer for desperation.. a christian band... if u knw la... he is reli gud. he got giv me some tips and web too...

btw, u guys knw where to get the cool stuff like some funky grooves?

funk got a few that are nice. But i don't know their names. I only know the bassist . But check out rocco prestia's drummer. Dave weckl is also another crazy chop guy. Steve Gadd is groove pur. And for shuffles look up that Purdie (however you spell it) guy on drummerworld.com

k... thx! i m still searching for better grooves actually but i don;t quite have the time nw... =) gonna study 1st... may be after STPM... =)

ice can,i've been playing drums around 2 years and ur 6 i salute you! double bass is easy but need lots of practice and few usefull tips

1:if ur tired carry ur legs up just play it and carry the back of ur leg for faster
2:left then right start <- start left leg then right
3:get a wooden beater if you wanna make it sound better

cheers

I've get use to the metal pedals and beater ler... chg to wood one would be hard and need sometime..

yea. i tried that.. but what i meant about double bass is with only 1 leg and not with both legs on the pedals... if with double pedals is much simplier... btw, thanks for the tips... =) i will try it on double bass... i will practise after my examinations..

I like funk, but i think funk grooves are a bit too simple. Indeed, because there are all simple 8th and 16th only.

Beginners should stick to single padle first, and best recommended with legs heel up.

well, wat kinda funking grooves you mean?

it depends what type of funk? Funk doesn't have to be simple. Shuffle things around and you don't have regular straight 16 beat anymore. 16 beat funk is the basic of funk. I have even seen people doing dotted note funk. Now that's is complex....

dotted note funk? erm... wats that actually... btw, im not professionally train... so i dun reli understand some of the terms... but i can understand only some basic... i can play but i duno how do u call it... erm... professionally...

neither am i. I think it's a term i created. Basically it's dotted notes. Like dotted quavers or crotchets.

its sounds something like, 1+ e n a , 2 e n a, 3+ e n a, they're pretty much a straight up 16beat rhythm just that the parts are syncopated thats all. Add a shuffle to it and you get a pretty sick groove there.

ic.. sounds kinda like 16 beat to me.

btw, gonne ask how u guys practise for getting the correct timing for these groove?

i have a beatbox software on my com. And i just use the hi hat function to get the different beats. halfnote, quarternote, shuffled, triplets whatever... Although the samples are super shitty, it's good enough for practice.
Dunno if the same thing works for drums, but i know alot of practice routines that work for drums work for bass as well

wow.. thats kinda cool... wat about electrical drums? wats the diff actually? i tried b4 once but feel very diff playing electrical drums... just not my type. i would jz bang everythg instead of heating it softly.

wow.. thats kinda cool... wat about electrical drums? wats the diff actually? i tried b4 once but feel very diff playing electrical drums... just not my type. i would jz bang everythg instead of heating it softly.

meet mr.lewis pragassam

erm... sorry... i don't get it..