Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners OT: Drummers out there, advice needed.

hey there,

kid wants to play the drums eh? awesome! quick background: i've been playing for just over 20 years now. have done everything from teaching, to session work, to a small tour across Canada. if the kid has rhythm, let him play! if he doesn't, you can't teach it. he'll just get frustrated, and you'll want to throw the drums out the door.

#1 - get kid a practice pad and some sticks.
#2 - get kid some lessons.

the teacher will be able to judge the kids aptitude for playing and should, within a lesson or two, be able to give you a thumbs up, or down.

if everything looks like it's a-ok, I'd highly recommend getting a used kit from a local drum shop or music store. most music stores will sell their rental kits at extremely discounted prices. make sure they either throw in new heads or give you a discount on a set.

if your kid is a natural, and shows signs of becoming the next Neil Peart or Mike Portnoy you can't go wrong by investing some money on something the kid can play on and grow into over the years.

my 1st kit was a junker; Pearl Export, made in Taiwan stuff, but still have it. it gets carted to gigs once in a while. but I got my 2nd kit about 15 years ago and it has been my workhorse ever since. it's a Yamaha Maple Custom. it has a beautiful sound. the Export kit, and low-end kits like it, can be difficult to tune and find the sweet spot of each tom. The Yamaha (and other higher end kits from just about any reputable manufacturer -- DW, Sonor, Tama, Pearl, Ludwig, etc...) have a nice tone and resonance that simply sings. That flat, dead sound will have your kid, along with you and your neighbors, wanting to mute them in no time. of course this is completely subjective and your mileage will vary.

cymbals? the two biggies, Sabian and Zildjian, make a massive line-up of cymbals. most kits will include 'em. Keep in mind that the more you pay does not necessarily get you a better sounding cymbal. cymabls are very subjective. I have a 17" crash from Zildjian that set me back well over $300 but my 22" Sabian ride was $80 and I absolultey love the sound. it all comes down to taste.

get proper ear protection. a 15-20db flat-response cut is ideal for drums. several manufacturers make ear protection but I absolutely love the ER.15 from Etymotic Research. they run a little pricy, but are custom fitted to your ears. otherwise a good set of ear goggles from Home Depot will do the trick. I can't stress this enough. I've lost ~20% of the high-end in my right ear because of bad protection practices and even worse monitoring in my old practice studio. i don't even to to clubs without them in my ears now...

anyway, I hope this helps. if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask.

-s

Spish,
Great advice! You beat me to it (pardon the pun). I was going to suggest renting a kit first. That way, father and son can take turns playing and if either one shows the aptitude required, then purchase a set. I played drums when I was younger and fortunately had the aptitude and feel to play. My 32 month old son is crazy about drums (Neil Peart's drum solos) and actually remembers some of the drum parts. If he is still interested in a year or two I'll probably get him a scaled down set of drums. Learning to play any musical instrument is a great skill that shouldn't be overlooked. Young musicians are the future of music.

Nice post, Spish. Thanks for sharing your expertise.

I'm not sure it is so important whether the kid is a "natural" or not. If he/she has fun playing the drums then that is all that really matters.

J

I agree with Spish, as I too am a profesional drummer and teacher (not at the moment tho).

One more point, buy a cheap kit because kids often lose interest in things like musical instruments quickly if they can't conquer them.

I had a drum student once that had previously been on piano, trumpet, guitar, and bass, he was al gung-ho about drumming, and he quit my lessons after a month because I told him if he doesn't practice at home, not to come back.

And he didn't come back

Especially, the.......cow bell.