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What led you to the drums?


David

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Seeing as we are all new at this, I thought that it may be interesting to find out how much we have in common as far as motivation is concerned. What convinced you to start playing the drums? Do you play other instruments? How are you enjoying the ride so far?

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I should have added my reply in my initial post...   DOH!

 

I learnt to play an electric organ as a kid (many, many years back) but haven't touched that again in decades. The idea of rhythm has always fascinated me and I came to the conclusion that drums would be more fun than a bass guitar. I bought a practice pad and a pair of sticks quite a while back mainly to see if my arthritic hands and arms would stand up to the daily use and so far things are going well.

 

My drum kit has provided lots of fun thus far and I have spent quite a bit of time following Stephen's youtube channel before being convinced to get with the program during his Kickstarter project.

 

Goals are to be able to play enough basic stuff that I can enjoy myself without driving my wife crazy and perhaps to have some fun when any friends are convinced to come by and bring their instruments.

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Great question @David!

I always wanted to play drums back in 5th grade (a few decades ago 😜), but mom was not supportive & wouldn’t sign off on it (never got a straight answer why).  Did saxophone for 2-years but never got hooked.  In college, got an acoustic & electric guitar which I dove into but my expectations where too high vs. my abilities/time investment (never loved my playing so they gathered dust).

Fast forward to last summer, have the house, family, & daughter is doing lessons at local music school.  Something inside finally kicked in, so I loved into lessons for the fall.  Wife was extremely supportive, probably also tired that always lamented never having a chance when young but not proactive pursuing.  Been practicing for 10 months now & it is AWESOME.  Something inside just feels the flow & joy of playing!

I have a Roland e-kit in our somewhat finished basement and also do an adult  band weekly lessons where we work on songs.  We did a family/friend gig this past May that the music school put on with 8 other groups   We’re working on more material for another gig at end of summer.

I also watched Stephen’s YouTube that lead to participating in the Kickstarter.

Goals are to keep progressing with basic to intermediate level music, be patient with my progression, and have the correct technique to not overstrain my muscles, as I want to do this for decades to come.  Eventually would like to get Smells like Teen Spirit down (on my 5-year goal) & even farther out tackle the double-kick pedal.

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I was gifted a cheesy electronic drum pad thing from my dad when I was 9 or 10. Didn't do much with it for about a year, but I started playing around with it and liking it quite a bit. BEGGED my parents for an acoustic drum set. Played it for 6+ hours the first day I had it. The rest is history. haha. Now I've lived in Nashville for 10 years and been a full time musicians my entire "adult" life. 

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18 hours ago, David said:

I should have added my reply in my initial post...   DOH!

 

I learnt to play an electric organ as a kid (many, many years back) but haven't touched that again in decades. The idea of rhythm has always fascinated me and I came to the conclusion that drums would be more fun than a bass guitar. I bought a practice pad and a pair of sticks quite a while back mainly to see if my arthritic hands and arms would stand up to the daily use and so far things are going well.

 

My drum kit has provided lots of fun thus far and I have spent quite a bit of time following Stephen's youtube channel before being convinced to get with the program during his Kickstarter project.

 

Goals are to be able to play enough basic stuff that I can enjoy myself without driving my wife crazy and perhaps to have some fun when any friends are convinced to come by and bring their instruments.

Very cool to hear @David!! I've never met anyone who plays the electric organ, what a great first instrument!

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This is a great topic @David!! 

I got into the drums in elementary school. I loved going to church and seeing the drummer up on stage. My best friend's mom bought me my first pair of sticks - a pair of Joey Jordison - I don't think she had any idea he played for Slipknot. I didn't know who he was at that age and I didn't really care, I was just stoked to have a pair of actual drumsticks!

I then started taking lessons at a local music shop, and the rest is history!

Great question David!

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Most of my story actually mirrors Carl's lol. In my rebellious teen years I moved in with a couple of buddies of mine and we tried to start a metal cover band (Mostly Metallica, Megadeth...). At the time, I played guitar, but so did they. We needed a drummer, so I figured I would give it a shot. Rented a Tama Rockstar kit and started taking some lessons. Of course, we didn't get very far being young brats with little discipline lol. Quit after about 5 lessons, and moved on. Fast forward 30 years or so, and now with my own house, wife and kids, decided to buy the young lad (7) a drum set for Christmas and register him for some lessons. At the same time, I got bit by the bug and decided to take some lessons as well and get back into it more seriously. Young lad lost interest after a couple of months, but I'm sticking with it!

As with Carl's story, I also found Stephen through youtube, and loved his teaching style. When the kickstarter came out, he had a free live session on TAOP, and offered up the program as part of the Kickstarter bonuses. I was convinced and decided I had to get in on the party 🙂

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16 hours ago, Julia said:

I am just always getting into new things...and I love to do things that are kind of unexpected of me 🙂

But this song just made me NEED to learn the drums:

 

Super cool drum sound on this track @Julia!!

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I have played music since middle school, starting with the French Horn, I know a real lady killer XD. 

After marching band fun I started to mess with the piano then the ukulele and a tiny bit of bass guitar. I played mostly contemporary worship music for my church and while I enjoyed every minute of it nothing ever quite felt like "my instrument". 

One day I was listening to Rend Collective and one of their songs has a really sweet percussion beat. Not complicated really but just something that makes you really feel it. I was telling my wife that this was a cool beat and I would love to learn the drums just to play it. She laughed and I laughed too, drums are too expensive and I had already gotten a cajon to play with. 

Fast forward, I am longingly looking at drum sets online and convincing myself that I can't afford them when my friend messages me. Someone is selling a Tama Rockstar-dx set near me. 3 toms (including the floor) a kick and a snare. It came with a rather terrible cymbal but WHO CARES it is good enough to practice on. Also a drum throne and some rings to put on the drums to muffle them. 

How much? 150 bucks!

The rest is history. 

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2 hours ago, Joshua said:

@Brian! I love Rend Collective, they have some solid percussion parts. 

They are my absolute favorite band. Ressurection Day was the song that made me hit the ground running!

 

Edit: That and build your kingdom here! The Jingling Johnny is an awesome instrument!

Edited by Brian
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  • 3 weeks later...

I started music with guitar and have always loved that.  My brother had been a drummer but wasn't playing anymore and I got one of his kits that was not being played to try something new.  I've just really liked it and find it more interesting as I learn more.  I've always believed in life long learning and this is another of those steps on that path.  

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2 hours ago, Jim said:

I started music with guitar and have always loved that.  My brother had been a drummer but wasn't playing anymore and I got one of his kits that was not being played to try something new.  I've just really liked it and find it more interesting as I learn more.  I've always believed in life long learning and this is another of those steps on that path.  

What a great way to get into the drums Jim! Love it. Family is such a good way to dive into music even more. 

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  • 1 month later...

I played guitar on and off for years. Me and a few friends decided to try get a band together to play a couple of small gigs for fun, turns out I wasn’t the best guitarist in the band.

So we had two guitar players and one bass player but no drummer. It also turns out my friend had a drum kit in his barn. I tried it out and knew instantly I wanted to be a drummer, it just felt natural where the guitar never did. That was 5 months ago, I’ve got two songs under my belt so far. Seven Nation Army - The White Stripes and Gimme all your Lovin - ZZ Top. Fingers crossed a better drummer doesn’t move into the village 🤣

Edited by Tony
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22 hours ago, Tony said:

I played guitar on and off for years. Me and a few friends decided to try get a band together to play a couple of small gigs for fun, turns out I wasn’t the best guitarist in the band.

So we had two guitar players and one bass player but no drummer. It also turns out my friend had a drum kit in his barn. I tried it out and knew instantly I wanted to be a drummer, it just felt natural where the guitar never did. That was 5 months ago, I’ve got two songs under my belt so far. Seven Nation Army - The White Stripes and Gimme all your Lovin - ZZ Top. Fingers crossed a better drummer doesn’t move into the village 🤣

Yes @Tony!! I love it, that's a great way to get started playing the drums...playing for the love of music. It sounds like the drums were made for you, and you will go far with them. 

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I started with the piano and studied classical music for 15 years. Then work and children came along. In my free time I started tap dancing  - loved it! I got to create rhythms and melodies with my feet. My daughter then took up the drums and became the drummer of a death metal band. She has moved away but left her drums behind (she can no longer play due to a wrist injury). So I sat down at  her well-used set and decided to give it a try. I'm finding it an excellent challenge. This love for percussion also has me playing in an amateur concert band.

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  • 4 weeks later...

My 8 year old son is learning piano but showed an interest in doing drum lessons as well at school. We bought a practice pad for him and I think I used it more than he did before I went out and bought an electric kit a couple of weeks ago for us both (me) to use.

Never used the drums before that, mainly because one of my best friends back in the day was an amazing drummer and I was drawn to the guitar. Been playing that on & off (mostly off) since the mid-90's but haven't played with others for about 20 years. Really enjoying the drums at the moment - haven't picked up a guitar in weeks!

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