Advice for a newbie drummer?

[piece-it pete]

Hello guys!

My 12 year old niece has been interested in playing the drums for some time now.

She has mantained a drumbeat of pressure ( :D ) on her parents and family now for some time, and it appears her father is going to crack and buy her a cheap set for Christmas.

I'd like to get her something to get started. I'm thinking drumsticks and a practice pad. Any suggestions? Stick/pad size, etc?

Pete

[theodoric]

Nylon tip 5a's (brand is unimportant, just make sure they're straight), and a Remo 6" practice pad.

When it's time to look for a kit, look for a used Roland electronic kit. Trust me on this, as a guy who owns 5 complete kits.

[vintage-yungin]

i disagree on this subject if she is looking to really learn she needs an acoustic set the roland sets are quit nice but you cant even fully mute a cymbal on electic sets! i would just go with a cheap (6) lug set. meaning 6 lug toms an 8 lug floor tom and a 16 lug bass you can find them very cheap on the bay http://cgi.ebay.com/PINK-NEW-5-Piece-DRUM-SET-w-CYMABLS-THRONE-SALE-PINK_W0QQitemZ7344090654QQcategoryZ38097QQrdZ1QQcm dZViewItem

I thought the pink would suite her. thesets can sound good with a nice set of remo encore heads just toon them right it will ake a while to get it right but you will get it some time i mean she will ,sorry.and tell her to play with the bottom of her sticks it will save her money in the long run so yes dont play with the tips they brake easy it doesnt matter how big the sticks are.Any ways go with a cheap acoustic set remember(6) lug toms any less is garbage unless its 10"or under.here is my bands link www.xanga.com/samsara_the_band yes im the drummer.

P.S. thats not my set in the pics its the resturants mine is a lot nicer and bigger its a mapex pro m series with the 10" alto om i highly recomend this set over any pearl or ludwig set. the key is always after market heads.
Perferably aquarians...

Shawn.

[Toasted Almond]

Get her a cheap snare, a Billy Gladstone pad to put atop the snare head, metal drumsticks (they are heavy and build up the wrists), a metronome, and a lot of Buddy Rich albums.

[piece-it pete]

Thanks for the advice.

To give you an idea, pink she hates. She's into the Ramones and punkish clothes. She's been trying (unsuccessfully) to talk her father into painting her room black.

In other words, she's ready to be a teenager :D . Heaven help her father!

She wants acoustic drums. What she actually gets is up to her dad. Buddy Rich :scratch2: . Great idea, though I'm not sure I'll be able to pull it off (her liking it, I mean).

So, I've got:

1) Nylon tip 5a sticks, or metal sticks.

2) Practice pad.

3) Metronome (I will definately pick her up one of these)

Excellent. I've got to pass on this joke:

How many drummers does it take to change a light bulb?

Fifteen. One to change the bulb, and 14 to talk about how much better Bonham would've done it :p .

Pete

[fropiler]

Hello guys!

My 12 year old niece has been interested in playing the drums for some time now.

She has mantained a drumbeat of pressure ( :D ) on her parents and family now for some time, and it appears her father is going to crack and buy her a cheap set for Christmas.

I'd like to get her something to get started. I'm thinking drumsticks and a practice pad. Any suggestions? Stick/pad size, etc?

Pete

I'd suggest a decent used acoustic instead of a cheap new kit. after that,

In-person lessons from good instructor, this did more to advance my skills than any other factor I can think of.

[theodoric]

Welllllllllllll,

If she's into the Ramones, get her a copy of It's Alive. The album that made me want to become a drummer.

As far as acoustic kits go, the entry-level kits from Tama, Yamaha, Premier, and Ludwig are all good stuff. Vintage drums are now high-bucks, so I'd look for an 80's Tama kit, be it Rockstar, Swingstar, Fibrestar, etc. Some of the Pearl stuff is good, some not. Almost everything with a Tama logo has good hardware and decent shells.

A lot of the super-cheap kits have crummy 3-ply mahogany shells, poor glue jobs, and horrible hardware. She'll spend more time and money upgrading crummy hardware than the kit is worth.

Me? I have 2 50's Trixon kits, a 70's Staccato kit, a 50's Ludwig, and a modern Ayotte kit.

[piece-it pete]

...In-person lessons from good instructor, this did more to advance my skills than any other factor I can think of.

I was considering giving these as a Christmas present :yes: .

Pete

[piece-it pete]

...If she's into the Ramones, get her a copy of It's Alive. The album that made me want to become a drummer.


Will do!

As far as drum kits go, I doubt she'll get anything good till she shows her pop she's serious.

I had no idea we had drummers in the midst!

Pete

[Toasted Almond]

I WAS going to be the next Buddy Rich. Life got in the way. So... what is a Bonham? Is that like a Peart?

[piece-it pete]

A Bonham is a hairy creature indigenous to England. Gifted and generally friendly, this mammal will lose control when exposed to fermented fruit, gorging itself until it chokes on its' own vomit.

I'm learning life often gets in the way. For instance, my plan was to be making about $300,000 a year by now by doing nothing. Oh well :rolleyes: .

Any advice on metronomes? Back when I was taking music lessons, they didn't have these newfangled electronic ones. Will they do the trick until we know if she's serious?

Pete

[scolba]

Don't forget the tuning key! Theres nothing quite as annoying (for me, that is) as a head that is out of tune!! Ugh...it turns in to nightmare when trying to extract a decent tone when they are mic'd!! Not that she'd be playing in that kind of environment right away, but it would be nice to teach early!

oh, and im kind of ranting...this weekend, i ran a band with a set of drums that was just horrid!!!! lol...ok, i'll stop now...

[Reel 2 Reel]

since all the others are posting about equipment..

I will give my recomendation...first...Timming!... no matter what kit she gets...the most important thing to do is keep good time...if the timming is off ...so is everything else....

I was jamming with a guy from work, and my kid, over at a buddies house...he has a nice kit with two crash and a decent ride...two toms and a floor tom and a double kick......but he couldnt keep time...and it would screw everything up.....He kept trying to be the next Danny Carey!(Tool)...or 'Animal' from the muppets!......so I gave him some criticism...I told him to "stop trying to do all the fill junk..and just work on keeping time the fill will come naturally ."....

I'm told he's gotten better because he took my advise...But I havent been back.....I guess I'll just have to find out for myself someday.... :dunno:

[theodoric]

Rather than a traditional metronome, you should look into a 'click-track' metronome. It's electronic and far more sophisticated (and durable and portable) than a traditional metronome.

Some good ones:
Boss DB30 Dr. Beat
Korg MA30
Korg MM1
Korg MM2
Metrophones MP

These last two are probably the best for a drummer, as they're designed for high-dB situations (such as acoustic drumming).

[Tom Brennan]

Electronic kits are fine for learning, Hell, they're fine for playing.

Then she can play with headsets and nobody else has to hear her; a drumset played by itself sounds good only to the drummer.

A beginning player should use only high-hat, snare and bass-drum. Learn to keep the beat, that's all anybody who isn't a drummer wants to hear anyway.

I've been playing since, oh, 1967 or so. Have owned Gretsch, Rogers and Sonor. Now I use a Yamaha electronic kit.

[theodoric]

Electronic kits are fine for learning, Hell, they're fine for playing.

Then she can play with headsets and nobody else has to hear her; a drumset played by itself sounds good only to the drummer.

A beginning player should use only high-hat, snare and bass-drum. Learn to keep the beat, that's all anybody who isn't a drummer wants to hear anyway.

Exactly. That's why I recommended getting an electronic kit.

And as Tom said, all good kit drumming revolves around the snare, hi-hat, and bass drum.

[Tom Brennan]

Theodoric---Theodoric, he was a Visogoth wasn't he?

Anyway I think far to many drummers are way too interested in fills and cymbal crashes to the detriment of basic time-keeping. When I sit at the drums most of my time is spent working at the basic relationship between snare and bassdrum, even after more than 35 years drumming it's the beat that intriques me.

I play bass the same way, kind'a like the bass was a drumset, I punctuate the beat. I like the bass to throb, like a pulse.

I have a piano for other things, indeed I think many bassists and drummers who overplay (IMO of course) would be better off learning piano or guitar too and then they'd relieve any frustrations they might have over being timekeepers.

I'd love to hear Peart play on a small 4-peice kit with only a couple of cymbals, like Ringo used. Peart can supply incredible drive when he wants to but he just can't lay off all the junk of his big kits. At least that was true years ago when I kept up with Rush.

Brian Downey of Thin Lizzy was a drummer that struck a good balance between basic drive and the uses of a big kit. But basically I like drummers of the DJ Fontana, Ringo, Charley Watts style. And Tommy Ramone, I saw them play in 77 and it was an epithany.

For busy drummers I liked Mitch Mitchell. But Noel Redding played a very basic and hard-driving bass that allowed Mitchell to jazz around without the band losing momentum. It worked very well when I saw the band.

Momentum, drive---that's the key.

[Vitavox]

Check out musiciansfriend.com. Good prices on good to great drums and cymbols. DO NOT waste money on cheap cymbols. They will sound like trash can lids, and she will hate them. Go for Paiste (OK) or, the best are Avedis Zildjians (I'll probably get some arguements about that) :yes: But, they can get expensive. If you wanted to be a really great uncle, by her a good snare kit, like Ludwig or Rogers. That's where we all start, and its where we all get better.
As to the kit, I played some Mapex at a club last year (they wouldn't let me bring in my big set), and they sounded darned good. Also looked nice and seemed plenty rugged. Its like most things, spend enough to get a real pro set, either new or used. Even if she bails on being a drummer, Dad can get most of his money back.

Personnally, I have owned ludwig (in the early 70s) and now play a 7 piece Pearl set with A-Zildjians and a Ludwig snare.
"Pearl, the only reason to play drums." :thmbsp:

[Vitavox]

Tom: A-men, brother!! The beat is the thing. "C'on, man...PUSH IT!" Ever heard anything like that from a front man?? When you can do it, you become everybody's favorite drummer. Tico Torres comes to mind. :ntwrthy:

There's also the acquired talent of making it "musical", not just hammering. That's where the fills come in. Add to the music, don't overpower it.
We also seem to agree on speaker type, from your avatar, and mine.

But, the real reason I wanted to post again was to mention that Sabian cymbols are good, too. But, to me, A-Zildjians are "it".

Musicians Friend has a sale going on an oversized (14x6-1/2) metal ludwig snare. Under $100. I've been thinking I'd like something larger than my standard supra-phonic. Hmmmm.
V

[clint e.]

Didn't you ever think trying to put her in a drums school,or trying to get some lessons from another drummer ?!

clint.