The drums provide good foundation for any song’s rhythm and beats. Drummers play to give life, beat, rhythm and excitement to a song. Indeed, a song is almost incomplete without a drummer. If you’re interested in learning how to play the drums, here is what you should know before taking your beginner drum lessons.
First, when playing the drums, you as the drummer should determine and understand what drum setting you’ll be put in. Plus, you should also have a working knowledge about counts and beats and how to read the music sheets.
If you’re only just starting with learning about drums, then you should know about the many different kinds of drums. Most drums are categorized as cylindrical, barrel, conga, goblet, bowl, or waisted.
The drum teacher will likely teach you all about them but it would serve you well to start your own research about their individual characteristics and sounds. A good drummer will make every effort to at least be familiar with these drums so he can play any song on any instrument.
Next, playing the drums involves heavy rhythms that base off on counts and beats. There are count measures like ¼ time or 4/4 time that you will be learning. These fundamentals of music can aid you in your drum beats once you take the lessons—and eventually perform onstage.
Listen well and train your hearing to identify the different beats and rhythms of a song. This way, you will have no difficulty adjusting to different counts and tempos.
Finally, you should be able to read music sheets. In order to incorporate the music rhythm, having a deep understanding on how music sheets should be read can allow you to time yourself when playing the drums. The drum music sheet usually indicate at what speed or tempo you are to play among other instructional things. Look up some of these symbols so you can get a preliminary idea before taking beginner drum lessons.
Having beginner drum lessons will shock you, if you don’t take the initiative and prepare. Familiarize yourself with the drum types so you can understand what your drum teacher refers to without having to explain too much. You have paid for the lessons, so you might as well learn as much as you can from it.
Also, you must have the skills to know the different beats and rhythms. In fact, this is absolutely necessary. Discerning the beats and rhythms are especially helpful if you are tasked to play the drums for a song. Finally, prepare yourself for the actual drum playing.
Be mindful that you have studied music sheet reading so that you will gain the necessary confidence to perform live on stage. You may have learned the technicalities of playing the drums, but if you are short on confidence then your playing will just be mediocre at best. It’s something only true enthusiasm can carry out.