help with drum terms
- Thread starter ixora05
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drummar-buah
New member
cool..haha thanx wired..
anyway just to add on about stick control..
the size of the stick affects your control too. if u are a smaller sized drummer and u have a teenie tiny hands, try not to get sticks which are to large in diameter or length. cuz it'll be too long and bulky and heavy and it'll affect your speed greatly.
although a longer stick enables u to reach your cymbals or toms easier, i reccomend that u don't use sticks which are too large.
it's ok to use smaller shorter lighter sticks. people won't go up to u and say that u are a weakling just because u use light sticks. u would probably play better with lighter sticks and sound and look much more impressive. this is because
if other people tell u. "hey dude u want to train your forearm muscle or wrist muscle or finger muscle, use heavier sticks. they'll build up your muscles faster!!" go up to them slap them and say that that's bullshit. *winks*
well it does train ur muscles up but that's not the ultimate goal of being a drummer. what u want to do is to train up flexibilty of your muscles. F.L.E.X.I.B.I.L.I.T.Y
a simple example : try playing single strokes. meaning play right left right left right left nonstop. chances are..u can't do it as fast as professional drummers right? u'll be much slower. this is because your finger muscles, or your wrist or your forearm muscle or all of the above, are not used to the motion in which u are trying to achieve. what u want to do is do keep practicing left right left right left right everyday for a couple of minutes each day. this is to train your flexibility and control. with the control, you'll be more consistent. (damnit this post is real long..) anyway..now your muscles will start to think "oh!! now i get it..i should be moving like this!" then you will be able to play faster and faster cuz ur muscles will get used to the motion..
it's important to use the right finger technique even for the most basic of all RUDIMENTS - the single strokes. Rudiments is another term for short hand exercise i guess? there are a total of 40 standard rudiments for drumming. (if i'm not wrong).
wah lao very long already. if u want to know about rudiments u should visit www.vicfirth.com go explore this site.. if got other questions u post lor..maybe me and the other dudes can clear your doubts
sorry for the lengthy post..
~drummar buah~
anyway just to add on about stick control..
the size of the stick affects your control too. if u are a smaller sized drummer and u have a teenie tiny hands, try not to get sticks which are to large in diameter or length. cuz it'll be too long and bulky and heavy and it'll affect your speed greatly.
although a longer stick enables u to reach your cymbals or toms easier, i reccomend that u don't use sticks which are too large.
it's ok to use smaller shorter lighter sticks. people won't go up to u and say that u are a weakling just because u use light sticks. u would probably play better with lighter sticks and sound and look much more impressive. this is because
if other people tell u. "hey dude u want to train your forearm muscle or wrist muscle or finger muscle, use heavier sticks. they'll build up your muscles faster!!" go up to them slap them and say that that's bullshit. *winks*
well it does train ur muscles up but that's not the ultimate goal of being a drummer. what u want to do is to train up flexibilty of your muscles. F.L.E.X.I.B.I.L.I.T.Y
a simple example : try playing single strokes. meaning play right left right left right left nonstop. chances are..u can't do it as fast as professional drummers right? u'll be much slower. this is because your finger muscles, or your wrist or your forearm muscle or all of the above, are not used to the motion in which u are trying to achieve. what u want to do is do keep practicing left right left right left right everyday for a couple of minutes each day. this is to train your flexibility and control. with the control, you'll be more consistent. (damnit this post is real long..) anyway..now your muscles will start to think "oh!! now i get it..i should be moving like this!" then you will be able to play faster and faster cuz ur muscles will get used to the motion..
it's important to use the right finger technique even for the most basic of all RUDIMENTS - the single strokes. Rudiments is another term for short hand exercise i guess? there are a total of 40 standard rudiments for drumming. (if i'm not wrong).
wah lao very long already. if u want to know about rudiments u should visit www.vicfirth.com go explore this site.. if got other questions u post lor..maybe me and the other dudes can clear your doubts
sorry for the lengthy post..
~drummar buah~
turbochicken
New member
erm, to the above.
simply put, it's muscle memory.
simply put, it's muscle memory.
Stick control. Yes, anyone knows where to get that book?
Anyway, rudiments are called "rudiments" for a reason. According to Wordweb, rudiments = "The elementary stages of any subject (usually plural)"
So yes, they are the building blocks of a drummer's sound.
Anyway, just for clarification purposes, yes, please do buy sticks that work well for you. Every drummer is on the quest to perfect their techniques. Like what drummar-buah said, your chops will be contrastingly inferior compared to those of drummers like Weckl or Vinnie. These people spend most of their lifetime playing and practicing with proper techniques and improving based on what they were taught.
It's a life-long never-ending lesson as a drummer. So why go through such a difficult process of finding AHEAD sticks, and then using them, only to limit yourself as a drummer, and slow down your progress in improving your techniques? This goes out to all of those "WERE OD I BUY AHEAD STIX" people.
And DrumDead hit the nail on the head, compile yourself a nice set of sticking exercises, then practise them, practise them slow, practise them fast, practise them inverted, practise them between your hands and feet, the possibilities are endless!
Anyway, rudiments are called "rudiments" for a reason. According to Wordweb, rudiments = "The elementary stages of any subject (usually plural)"
So yes, they are the building blocks of a drummer's sound.
Anyway, just for clarification purposes, yes, please do buy sticks that work well for you. Every drummer is on the quest to perfect their techniques. Like what drummar-buah said, your chops will be contrastingly inferior compared to those of drummers like Weckl or Vinnie. These people spend most of their lifetime playing and practicing with proper techniques and improving based on what they were taught.
It's a life-long never-ending lesson as a drummer. So why go through such a difficult process of finding AHEAD sticks, and then using them, only to limit yourself as a drummer, and slow down your progress in improving your techniques? This goes out to all of those "WERE OD I BUY AHEAD STIX" people.
And DrumDead hit the nail on the head, compile yourself a nice set of sticking exercises, then practise them, practise them slow, practise them fast, practise them inverted, practise them between your hands and feet, the possibilities are endless!
drummar-buah
New member
oops..yea muscle memory..haha damn... 2 words only i explain until so jiat lat
eh wired..we 2 like bombarding that dude with so much info he didn't even ask leh i just realised. haha. well it's good anyway...spare him from spending so much time looking for info on the net.
don't fret ixora. u gettin drum lessons soon right? just keep practicing. there's no substitute to it. the lesson will probably start with sitting posture. foot technique : heel up or heel down. don't worry. your teacher will guide and show u wat heel up and down means. if he doesn't then u ask..if he dunno then u better quit ur drum lesson.
don't bother about wat wired and i talk about for now.. just get a pair of drumsticks which u feel very comfortable with. something light enough. something which u can grip it nicely and comfortably. stick with it for the moment. when u got more money, invest it in experimenting with different sticks.
cheers
~drummar buah~
eh wired..we 2 like bombarding that dude with so much info he didn't even ask leh i just realised. haha. well it's good anyway...spare him from spending so much time looking for info on the net.
don't fret ixora. u gettin drum lessons soon right? just keep practicing. there's no substitute to it. the lesson will probably start with sitting posture. foot technique : heel up or heel down. don't worry. your teacher will guide and show u wat heel up and down means. if he doesn't then u ask..if he dunno then u better quit ur drum lesson.
don't bother about wat wired and i talk about for now.. just get a pair of drumsticks which u feel very comfortable with. something light enough. something which u can grip it nicely and comfortably. stick with it for the moment. when u got more money, invest it in experimenting with different sticks.
cheers
~drummar buah~
mel80
New member
drummar buah is right. Don't ever go for those big ass thick sticks. They may make you look like He-Man or some warrior behind the drumkit, but they can seriously hinder your playing. I used those thick sticks during my young ignorant days (thinking that thick = more durable) and boy did I play crap hahahahaa!
Start with the usual 5As, then try out different sticks until you eventually find a pair that you feel most comfortable with.
Start with the usual 5As, then try out different sticks until you eventually find a pair that you feel most comfortable with.
Funkifized
New member
I agree with everything the above few posts have highlighted, but I also personally feel that different sticks work for different people.
The tip of the stick truly affects the sound, ESPECIALLY the cymbals. Go play a jazz gig with some crazy tips (like el negro's signatures or those with big fat barrel tips) and you'll find it reeeeeeeaaalllyy hard to get that vintage ride sound. Like wise, use Peter Erskine's ride stick on a rock gig and you'll just get a really wussy sound out of your drums and cymbals.
I usually use Virgil Donati's Assault signature sticks (Vater). Not just because I am a fan, but they're probably the best weighted sticks... for me. The barrel tip provides a real punchy prog-rock sound. The rebound isn't quite there (Donati hardly uses the rebound anyway, he muscles everything, what a mofo), but the sound quality more than makes up for it.
And personally, I disagree with not using heavy sticks. Of course you can't go TOO heavy, but to me i tend to use a lot of gladstone (velocity) strokes when playing high speed singles, so heavier sticks make it really easy to play hard and fast. To me, the lighter the stick, the slower it is, coz you gotta use more strength to control the stick and force it to come down after the rebound... unless, of course, your drum heads are as loose as Dave Weckl's (where's the rebound, yo?).
But never blame your sticks for a bad performance. I usually blame the air-con for freezing my hands and joints instead
The tip of the stick truly affects the sound, ESPECIALLY the cymbals. Go play a jazz gig with some crazy tips (like el negro's signatures or those with big fat barrel tips) and you'll find it reeeeeeeaaalllyy hard to get that vintage ride sound. Like wise, use Peter Erskine's ride stick on a rock gig and you'll just get a really wussy sound out of your drums and cymbals.
I usually use Virgil Donati's Assault signature sticks (Vater). Not just because I am a fan, but they're probably the best weighted sticks... for me. The barrel tip provides a real punchy prog-rock sound. The rebound isn't quite there (Donati hardly uses the rebound anyway, he muscles everything, what a mofo), but the sound quality more than makes up for it.
And personally, I disagree with not using heavy sticks. Of course you can't go TOO heavy, but to me i tend to use a lot of gladstone (velocity) strokes when playing high speed singles, so heavier sticks make it really easy to play hard and fast. To me, the lighter the stick, the slower it is, coz you gotta use more strength to control the stick and force it to come down after the rebound... unless, of course, your drum heads are as loose as Dave Weckl's (where's the rebound, yo?).
But never blame your sticks for a bad performance. I usually blame the air-con for freezing my hands and joints instead
drummar-buah
New member
HAHA THE AIR CON!! bloody hell.. reminds me of my recent gig where my band played indoors. in this air con room. then when it's our band's turn then i kinda screwed up the beggining of the performance..my fingers damn cold and stiff man..it sucks..
but after that i got real bad sweaty palms. i wish i had that drum glove thingy..wat ever it's called. but i think it's really unneccecary aynway.
~drummar buah~
but after that i got real bad sweaty palms. i wish i had that drum glove thingy..wat ever it's called. but i think it's really unneccecary aynway.
~drummar buah~
wangdexian
New member
Funkifized said:
HAHAHA. :lol:
Nice way of putting it man.
drummar-buah
New member
HAAHA no problem man! good job wired! ahah
well yea anyway..just for ur info...i used to go for drum lessons. after my begginer's course which is about 6 months i quit immediately..i felt that it was a waste of time.. cuz lessons were only half an hour per week. and prices were really high and i couldn't learn much. after i quit. i looked up the internet and found over 150 yes ONE . FIVE . ZERO websites which contained free drum lessons. yea.. it took me months to gather all those websites man.. then guess wat... disaster strike.. a virus hit my com. and i format it without saving the websites.. then all 150++ websites gone.. and i felt like crying man.. thankfully i had gone through a couple of them. and i learnt so much more than the 6 months of drum lessons. the internet is really good man.
here's a FAIRLY nice website www.drumbum.com
i would really love to get a teacher.. but i want a really PROFESSIONAL ONE.. not some crapshEEt. right now i'll stick with books and internet cuz i got no money. i learnt lots of BASIC TECHNIQUES which my teacher didn't teach at all. all the info that i typed in this forum was based on my own research.. not the dumb teacher.
~it'll be great if someone can send me a list of over 100websites again~ =)
it'll take a lifetime to complete everything there.. really fun
hey ixora if u have anymore queries don't hesitate to ask man..
~drummar buah~
well yea anyway..just for ur info...i used to go for drum lessons. after my begginer's course which is about 6 months i quit immediately..i felt that it was a waste of time.. cuz lessons were only half an hour per week. and prices were really high and i couldn't learn much. after i quit. i looked up the internet and found over 150 yes ONE . FIVE . ZERO websites which contained free drum lessons. yea.. it took me months to gather all those websites man.. then guess wat... disaster strike.. a virus hit my com. and i format it without saving the websites.. then all 150++ websites gone.. and i felt like crying man.. thankfully i had gone through a couple of them. and i learnt so much more than the 6 months of drum lessons. the internet is really good man.
here's a FAIRLY nice website www.drumbum.com
i would really love to get a teacher.. but i want a really PROFESSIONAL ONE.. not some crapshEEt. right now i'll stick with books and internet cuz i got no money. i learnt lots of BASIC TECHNIQUES which my teacher didn't teach at all. all the info that i typed in this forum was based on my own research.. not the dumb teacher.
~it'll be great if someone can send me a list of over 100websites again~ =)
it'll take a lifetime to complete everything there.. really fun
hey ixora if u have anymore queries don't hesitate to ask man..
~drummar buah~
I'm really confused now. have been reading everything on the forums and I'm really not sure--yamaha or private lessons? cos like some people say yamaha is okay but others tell me that private lessons are the only way to go. my problem with private lessons is the cost and the parental objection factor. they're not exactly very supportive of me wanting to learn drums. and I've never touched the drums in my life--so what do you guys recommend? yamaha or private lessons?
self taught if u got no choice also can. but be smart abt it. get a band together when u think ur ready this really impt. u got any friends that play? ask them to show u some stuff and ask if u can go watch them jam. pads are a good idea like unwell said. if u can't use a padded chair, the arm rest as a hi hat make sure its padded or something. play to songs. have fun!
mel80
New member
ixora:
Everyone will have their own preferences man. End of the day, it depends on your own budget/time/priorities etc. If you have the money to spare, by all means go for private lessons. Nothing beats getting 100% one to one attention from a teacher. But if you can't afford it, group lessons at Yamaha aren't that bad either. It's your choice dude
Everyone will have their own preferences man. End of the day, it depends on your own budget/time/priorities etc. If you have the money to spare, by all means go for private lessons. Nothing beats getting 100% one to one attention from a teacher. But if you can't afford it, group lessons at Yamaha aren't that bad either. It's your choice dude
drummar-buah
New member
hey unwell...maybe u can just spend a couple of hours shopping for drum stuff? u can check out the prices of pads...at the same time.. u can drool at the series of drumsticks and cymbals there!! haha it'll be fun to check out drum stuff..
ixora.. it's your choice whether u want a private teacher or not. does yamaha offer one-to-one lessons? if they do u can try out la.. stick to the dude for a few weeks.. if u find him good then continue on. if not quit and find another one. u can ask your teacher to show u a demo.. a short drum solo if possible.. then u roughly gauge the way he plays lor..
the other time i went to yamaha for a one-to-one. the teacher wasn't really good so i quit.
try to persuade ur parents to give u more support.. download drum videos. buy drum books. listen to drum solo. buy drum dvds...show them that ur enthusiastic about it.
if u wanna hit ur arm chair or wat..dun be like me.. i hit my sofa until the leather tear all over.. and they blame me for it.. (i insisted that it was my dog who did it..)
anyway.good luck...if u need more tips.. feel free to ask.
ixora.. it's your choice whether u want a private teacher or not. does yamaha offer one-to-one lessons? if they do u can try out la.. stick to the dude for a few weeks.. if u find him good then continue on. if not quit and find another one. u can ask your teacher to show u a demo.. a short drum solo if possible.. then u roughly gauge the way he plays lor..
the other time i went to yamaha for a one-to-one. the teacher wasn't really good so i quit.
try to persuade ur parents to give u more support.. download drum videos. buy drum books. listen to drum solo. buy drum dvds...show them that ur enthusiastic about it.
if u wanna hit ur arm chair or wat..dun be like me.. i hit my sofa until the leather tear all over.. and they blame me for it.. (i insisted that it was my dog who did it..)
anyway.good luck...if u need more tips.. feel free to ask.