Have a drum set but having trouble picking up the sticks? A drum kit is one of the most difficult instruments to master. We talked with an experienced precisionist/drummer who’s been playing for longer than three years. So if you’re interested in the art of drumming, Look no further. I talked with Alexander Friesen, an experienced drummer who was interested in sharing his techniques
Coordination is one of the hardest things to master on the drums and also the biggest roadblock. Playing the drums requires each part of your body and learning to use each part can be a real challenge for experts and beginners.
“Always, always, always, Practice your drills. Don’t try to drum like somebody you’re not. Before you drum like the pros, you need to be able to master the beginner stuff. Don’t expect yourself to master overnight,” said Friesen.
There is a lot of terminology for drumming, drills are a basic roodment every drummer needs to know, Rudiments are the building blocks of drums and percussion and music. Drills teach you consistency, they teach you coordination, they teach you the basics. If you wanna learn the drums it’s recommended to learn how to do drills.
Playing like your favourite drummer is as easy as listening to how they play, every musician has a styler, it’s good to take notes from other drummers because every drummer can teach you something, but don’t expect to be an exact copy.
“over time you’ll have your own style. Music is just self expression,” said Friesen.
Find easy songs to practice with, listen to them and try to replicate it. Or look online how to play that song. Find songs with a slow tempo and easy enough that you don’t have to play extremely fast.
“seven nation army is a good example for a beginner. It only uses four parts of the kit, your bass,high hat, snare, and crash. It is just a very simple easy to learn beat,” said Friesen.
The drums are a great instrument to learn, but being open to learn other instruments is a great way to become better. Every instrument is connected, and with time you could learn them all if you learn one of them really well
Don’t play an instrument you dislike. I chose the drums because they were cool, and they looked like a challenge. It’s also a great way to express myself,” said Friesen.
The drums are a fun instrument to try out. Alex also brought up many times the importance of practice like any other things. Any lingo that Alex said that you never heard of, he recommends to check out pas.org for more information.
