What are some methods of being a good drummer?

Answer 1

As this is a very open ended answer, I will answer it at it's most basic level. The most basic type of music, as far as drum set goes, is standard Rock Music in 4/4 time.

The basic five piece rock drum set consists of five drums and three or more cymbals; I will give a brief description of each of the drums. The bass drum is the "low end" of the drum set. It is the typically the largest of the drums in the drum set and being anywhere from 18-26 inches in diameter. It usually has a wooden shell and is played with a foot pedal. The snare drum is the high end of the sonic spectrum on the drum set. It is usually about 13-15 inches in diameter with 14" being the most common size. The shell can be made from a large variety of wood or metal with steel, aluminum, brass, birch and maple being common. The snare drum is unique in that is has several wires, or snares, running along the bottom head giving is a raspy sound. It and the toms and cymbals are played with the two drumsticks held in your hands, matched grip is now more popular and useful in pop-rock music. Spend many years under professional instruction on how to hold and bounce-control your drumsticks ! The three tom-toms (or toms) are typically made from the same material as the bass drum, but are in the middle of the sonic spectrum. Drum diameters for rock music are 12" to 20". The standard "fusion configuration" is 10", 12" and 14". Finally, there are the important cymbals. The ride cymbal is relatively heavy and large, typically 18-24 inches in diameter, and is used primarily for both timekeeping and setting the color-mood of the music - more relaxed or more tight. This ride pattern may change frequently in some more complex songs. The hi-hat has two smaller cymbals, usually 14", that are affixed to a stand that allows them to be "choked" together by pressing a pedal with one foot, usually the left foot if you are right-footed and play the more important bass drum with your right foot. The hi-hat is primarily used for timekeeping and playing softer sounds than the more driving ride and crash sounds. The crash cymbal, usually about 16"-20" is a light or medium weight and a bright-cutting sounding cymbal this is used for accenting anywhere in the music or signifying the beginning of a new section of a song.

As for the function of the different parts....

The hi-hat and ride cymbals are used for timekeeping and they usually play a very simple repeating pattern of steady eighth or quarter notes. The snare drum is normally used for playing louder the back beats, or the two and four of rock music. The bass drum is used for the loud front beats, the one and three of rock music in 4/4 time. The toms and crash cymbal are used for fills...improvised faster rhythms that help to signify the end/beginning of a section of the music or to add more drive intensity anywhere when needed. When coming from the verse to the chorus, for instance, one might play two beats on the toms/snare drum, ending with the first beat of the chorus on the crash cymbal, or moving the ride beat to a different cymbal.

Remember, that this is only rock music, and there are exceptions to every rule. If you are interested in learning how to play the drums, then you should find a qualified private teacher in your area who will teach you how to properly hold and control the stick bounces, read music and to play a variety of different styles including many types of jazz, rock, funk, Latin (bossa nova, samba, songo, rumba, Mozambique, etc.), country, etc. This will ensure that you are a well-rounded percussionist should you every decide to enter into music as a career. Solid time-keeping is more important than flashy speed ! Few drummers are born with naturally solid time; long years of dedicated playing will improve your time-keeping. Many drummers use an earphone or flashing light metronome to keep more solid time. This has pros and cons of course.

For big band and solo playing, Buddy Rich was a master drummer, and someone to watch and listen to as an example.

Answer 2

here are some methods i use:

well a good drummer is a good timekeeper or clock, and watch of the music

1.relax-chill-Chilax when playing a piece of music

2.don't think, just do-or try to do

3.keep it simple: don't try so hard, or it'll be hard to try in other words don't go way over board, or way over the bar or it'll be too much for you-play what you can only play, only play what you can play-don't go too extreme on yourself or you'll screw up the music for ownself and others

4.play at your own comfort level/zone, explore and experiment to find your expiremented comfort zone

5. have a blast and fun/good time with it: keeping good time

if you try these methods you are not only gonna help yourself but the others around you-your music ensemble, your team/teammates

just like cleaning a path filled with snow: if don't clean it, it will hurt others and yourself too, but if you do clean it, it will protect you and your fellow mere man and vise versa for all instruments too-etc.........

Answer 3

You can teach others to play drums just by knowing how to play drums and teaching others the same way you learned.

If you want to become a music teacher at a school, you would have to attend college and become a certified teacher. You would be teaching more instruments than drums in that case, though.

Answer 4

One way one can learn to play the drums is by going to the Free Drum Lessons website. They have lessons that one can download on one's computer. Another way to learn is to look in one's local yellow pages for instructors that teach drums.

Answer 5

You cann find a good online lesson, YouTube.com, or go on Google and look for drum lesson teachers near you.

Answer 6

becoming a session drummer is all about the experience, people want a drummer that can work his stuff without spending years reading through sheets of music.

Answer 7

PRACTICE . i am a pro drummer on Guitar Hero

Answer 8

Passion. Effort. Exercise. Time. Rhythmics. Maybe even your auditory sense if you go as far as Phil Collins did by experimenting...