Hitting The Ground Drumming (2)

12:43 PM Unknown 3 Comments

          Hi guys! So, I didn’t realize that when I used to play the drums, I actually learned most of the basics. Knowing the basics actually puts me a little bit ahead of where I thought I would be by week two. This means that instead of devoting the whole week to learning the basics, I actually got to begin to learn to play!

Image result for drummers

            This week I began learning to play rifts and fills, and also began to learn my rudiments. For those of you who aren’t acquainted with the drums, a rift or a fill is a part of the song where the drummer strays from the normal beat. This means he makes up his own pattern that is different from the pattern that he has been playing the whole song. These can be used as transitions between different parts in a song. Rudiments on the other hand are the very basics of playing the drums, or the most basic beats. A rudiment, is used for stick work, but are also used in the smog as the basic beat a drummer plays.


 Not too complicated right? Well, once I began learning these, I found that if I devoted a good bit of time, I could get them down pretty easily. When I realized this, I decided that I should test my coordination and knowledge thus far. I decided that I would start learning a very basic drumming song in order to be able to pick up on drumming in regular music. About four nights ago I began to learn the song, “You Shook Me All Night Long” by ACDC. This is a song I have always loved and am excited to have learned it. Keeping in mind I have not gotten to spend much time on it, here is about thirty seconds of me playing the song:



Now, I know this isn’t amazing, but I hope to only improve from here. I have been setting a lot of time aside each night to work on different aspects of drumming that I realized needed work when I started learning this song. As I was playing, I realized that the coordination with my foot was a bit off. My foot controls the pedal that hits the base drum. So my foot controls the beat of the base drum. This means that I need to start playing beats that incorporate different bass drum patterns, to improve my foot coordination. I also found out how hard it was to keep the beat, and keep track of the measures, while playing a song. To practice this, I will definitely start to attempt more songs. By finding these flaws, I realized a great way in teaching yourself how to do anything. The only way you are going to realize the areas you struggle in is by pushing yourself. So, whatever it is you are learning now, I encourage you to push yourself

Image result for you can do it meme


Besides the flaws I found in my drumming, I also created a new attack plan for learning the drums. I have decided to dedicate my time at home to learning to play, and my time in class to learning more specifically about the drums. I think that class time will give me a good opportunity to research the drums, their history, and their importance. I am excited to continue playing. Hopefully I have another, harder, song for you guys next week!

3 comments:

Where Do I Begin???? (1)

9:27 AM Unknown 2 Comments

Image result for happy drummer
When we were first given this project, I honestly had no idea what I was going to do. I had no ideas, not a single thought. So I started thinking in categories. I started big, with hobbies of mine, and started to think of things I wanted to do when I was younger. I always wanted to learn to draw, and sing, and play guitar. However, I have no artistic ability, and my voice is horrible. So I scratched those two. Then I started thinking about instruments, guitar obviously the cause, but guitar had already been done, so I moved on. When I was thinking about instruments, the idea of playing the drums crossed my mind.  As soon as I thought of it, I knew that’s what I was going to do
The reason I probably thought of the drums, was that I played the drums when I was in fourth and fifth grade. I only played the snare drum, but I played drums nonetheless. This is my main inspiration for choosing drumming for my topic. I want to prove that even though I barely learned anything about the drums in the two years I did play, in these two months I will be able to learn about the drums, and be able to play them. This comparison will show the power of determination, combined with opportunity. I have finally been given a chance to learn to do something, which is the opportunity. Now, I need to have the passion and drive to actually learn something new. I don’t think this will be a problem. Playing the drums has always been something I have enjoyed, and getting back to playing it reminds me how much I liked playing.
The problem with learning how to play something new, is getting lessons. Lessons cost money, however, I do not exactly want to spend money for someone to teach me to play, I would rather learn in my own way on my own time. Lucky for me, I have found two online drumming websites that will get me started. One site that I found, which was the first one I found, is called Drumeo. This is a website full of experts who teach all the basics of drumming. They teach the rudiments of every great drummer, and while they do this they teach a lot about the history of drumming. This site, so far, has helped me develop my basic skills, such as some paradiddles, rifts, and fills, that I couldn’t do before I started. I have also learned the history of some of the great drummers and how the influenced types of drumming such as, jazz, rock, and folk. The other website I found is called, DrumTheWorld.com. This site also has a YouTube channel with a variety of videos, that give another way of learning the basics. This website teaches a lot slower than the other site I found which is nice. It allows me to learn some of the basics skills at a slow pace before I jump into the faster pace that Drumeo offers. This site also teaches how to teach part of beginner songs, which will help me later on.
After finding some of these websites that I have so far used to learn, I created a timeline based off of their lessons. Here is the timeline:
Week 1: Learn basic information about drumming (read and write drum notes)
Week 2: Learn basics- how to hold a drum stick and correct form
Week 3: Learn basics of the drum (rifts, beats and paradiddles)
Week 4: Learn how to incorporate 3(or more) drums at a time 
Week 5: Learn higher level fills- work on coordination
Week 6: Learn beginner song called (Thorn in My Side)
Week 7: Be able to play intermediate song (Ex. 21 Guns or Californiacation
This timeline covers everything I want to learn in these next seven weeks. I have already started learning to read notes, and am even able to write some of my own fills and rifts now with what I have learned. Luckily for me, I know some of the drumming basics, such as how to hold the stick, but my form needs a lot of work. This is why I have left some time in the schedule to learn some of these basics. The good thing about the drums, is that the rifts and fills are all interconnected, and the coordination and basic skills can be formed while learning some of these fills and rifts. The schedule is very fluid, it all just flows together, allowing me to prepare the whole time for the song I will learn at the end. The whole timeline works on my memory of notes, my coordination with the sticks, and my framework as far as drumming goes.
All in all, I am very excited to learn to play the drums. It is something I have always loved to do and something, I have found, I still love to do. I am excited to be able to perform at the end for the class, and to show the process it took for me to learn, which I am sure won’t be easy. I plan to continue learning when this project is over as well, so I can try to master this skill. This is something I am very passionate about which will make the practice hours seem short and the learning more enjoyable. 

2 comments:

Welcome To the World of Drums

9:18 AM Unknown 1 Comments




       Hello everyone!!! This is my journey learning how to play the drums. I have barely ever touched a drum kit in my life, but am going to attempt to come close to mastery of the instrument in just under two months. I would love for you all to accompany me on this adventure. Hopefully, besides just learning a bit about the drums, you can learn a little about what it takes to learn a new instrument. You will also get a sneak peak, every week or so, on how far a long a have come with a video recording. 
Image result for drummers

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