Unless you have wealthy parents, plenty of space and patient neighbors, getting start with playing drums is far from easy. The drum kit itself costs a great deal of money and it requires a huge amount of space to get set up. Beyond this, as happy as everyone will be with your new hobby, it won’t take long before they are getting frustrated at the noise you are making. The brilliant Randy Wooten from Blue Man Group often speaks about this, especially that he was often told to be quiet by the very same people who bought him the drum set.
If however you have a passion for playing drums, and you think that this may be something you wish to develop, here is how to get started.
Finding a Kit
It can be a problem if you don’t have a drum kit but this is not to say that you still cannot practice on a full kit. The key here is finding ways in which you can get your hands on a kit and start to practice. For example you will find that many schools have a drum kit set up, so speak to the teachers or professors and ask if there is a chance that you can have a practice on that kit. Alternatively find a friend with a kit or try to join a big band, where you may also get a chance to practice.
Using Technology
There is absolutely nobody who will tell you that a digital kit on your iPad could even come close to what you will feel when you are sat at the drum kit. Having said this, you can use these kind of apps and gadgets to really start to get an understanding for rhythm and pace. Believe it or not using these apps each day will start to really register with you so that when you do eventually sit down at a kit, you will feel more comfortable with how you are playing.
Going Small
There are some options which you could look into with regards to alternative drums which will keep you in the game and allow you to keep on practicing. For example you could invest in a set of bongos, these don’t make anywhere near as much noise as a drum kit will and they will really help you to nail the basics of playing drums. Another option, if you are able to save up and buy them, is an electronic drum kit. These mimic a proper kit yet they have pads instead of symbols and drums. This will enable you to put some headphones on so that you are the only one who can hear the drums. Electronic kits can be reasonably priced and the sound almost perfectly mimics what you would be playing if you had a full kit in front of you.
Once you are confident you can play, once you are sure that you have the passion and once you are ready to take it to the next level, that is when you should do all that you can to get your hands on a drum kit.
