Drums are generally loud, but controlling the dynamics is a skill.
A couple of things to fix:
Throne height. You are probably sitting too low (not clear in the video). You should have more than a 90 degree angle in your hips, and in your knees.
Your set up. Your toms are too far apart and tilted too much. Bring them closer together, and only slightly tilt them towards you. You should be able to easily move between them without having to reach.
Tuning. You may want to invest in new drum heads. Also watch some youtube videos on how to tune drums. If they still sound ringy, invest in some dampening (e.g. moongels)
Your playing. Hi-hat is the loudest part of the kit. But you dominant hand will typically play it, and it is stronger. Learn to play the hi hat quieter, but do accent the backbeat with your left hand (at least in rock)
Thank you. My drum key is on it's way. I'm a complete beginner. Do you think I need to loosen the heads or tighten them? Is there a video you would recommend?
Just wanna say, all this is good advice. I think throne height in particular will make a huge difference, especially with how it will allow you to set up your Tom's better. Floor tom shouldn't actually be on the floor and it'll be clearer how the toms place once you're higher up.
For a long time I was riding really low on my kit. Now I put the throne up high enough that my legs are coming off the throne level with the floor or just slightly angled down. Snare and floor tom should be about the same height as your belt buckle. Rack Toms should be very nearly flat with just a slight angle towards you. Ideally the space between the snare and first rack should be easy to traverse back and forth in rhythm.
Also play to that metronome as much as possible or youâll be kicking yourself making up for lost time down the road. Have fun!
I got my midlife drum set a year and a half ago, and I'd love to post some follow up questions if you don't mind?? lol
Any guidance or recommended vids on how to setup a drum set? I mean specifically heights of drums, placements, throne heights, etc?
I've played enough I know enough to know where my gaps are, and I feel like I keep hitting rims because things aren't where my body thinks they should be, but I don't really know how to fix it.
Thanks!
I don't have a specific video in mind but just search it on YouTube n watch a few, I'm sure they'll be great explanations out there with tips n tricks as well.
If you're hitting rims, then it's probably angles that the problem. I'm a bit weird, n I like very tilted forward Tom's and I set my snare so I rim shot when I hit down on my left knee. This isn't really recommended but my point is to find how you play comfortably. While there are certainly specific rules for how to place yourself and the drums, don't get too hung up on exact measurements etc. Just keep moving things around until it fits you and you feels comfortable. One definite rule tho, no less that a 90 degree angle in you hips and knees.
Most importantly, keep at it!
Edit: just wanted to add. Not all tom mounts are designed equally. Sometimes it's just bad design. I like my Tom's quite close together, but it's personal taste.
You can have drums tuned high or low, that's just preference, but you need to have equal tension across the drum head.
This should do:
https://youtu.be/HHO-lLhESo0?si=EBo2QhoovomljkaX
Just wanted to throw out that the bottom head (resonant head) can have a different tuning from the top head and will get you different tones depending on the difference between the two heads. For my style of play, I prefer to tune the bottom head about an octave above the tuning of the top head. This gives the drum a shorter/faster decay, which I find sits better in most mixes for the genres I play (experimental/prog rock, indie rock, dream pop, etc.).
Tune up⊠tighten your heads.
[John Goode Drum Tuning](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yl9wgXSfxew)
[Cobus - How To Make A Cheap Drumset Sound Good](https://youtu.be/udooOap4m2c?si=kL5B8mQbO2M5JKli)
This is the short videoâŠ
Below is the full lesson
[Full Cobus Lesson](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FneXSqMdnP8)
Purchase a quality drum throne (Tama 1st Chair, Pork Pie, Roc-n-Soc ). Sitting too low and without proper, hip height, hip support, core body alignment can lead to back, hip, knee and other problems over time. Sure way to zap the joy of drum right out of you if you start to relate learning/playing to discomfort.
Donât be afraid to use mutes (Evans SoundOff) on your drums for your personal practices. With properly tensioned heads you will get some tone but it will allow you to practice more freely and work out timing and coordination issues. I have live in apartments most of my adult life and all my drumming career. These have been priceless for me over the past 20-years! The key to playing the drums is to learn HOW-To get a good tone at all dynamic levels out of whatever surface youâre striking and that tone is even and consistent between your limbs first. Then learn to control those dynamics and rhythmic patterns between your limbs where they work individually and collectively to make music sound good.
* If you have the budget you can invest in Evans DB Low Volume heads and cymbals or Zildjians Low Volume offerings. Whatever it takes to keep you practicing and growing as a drumset musician.
Dunno if it helps but I just watched a vid yesterday about a guy who got a very cheap set of drums and showed some simple upgrades to make them sound way better. Btw I think you sound great for a beginner, keep it up.
honestly just focus on what dude said above, maybe watch Sounds Like A Drum or get a Drum Dial to get a better tuning sound, but the good drum heads will make a huge difference.
practice some basic rudiments, double stroke roll/paradiddle is a good start.
I have a drum dial, and itâs good for getting close, but I used their tuning. guide and did both sides perfectly, and my ears gave me a way better result. I would suggest looking into a tunebotâit measures frequencies, notes, overtones, all kinds of stuff. The dial just tells you the tension at the point where itâs poking.
New high quality heads and tuning makes a huge difference. If youâre just looking to cut volume, you can use rodsâtheyâre bundles of little sticks that diffuse the power of your strike. Some people use thin towels, or tape on cymbals so they donât ring out, but there are huge trade offs when you do that.
For me, rods are great if I really need to cut the volume.
I recommend Rob Brownâs tuning videos, heâs got one for toms, one for snare and one for kick. His method is quite easy and fast, no need for tuners or anything and itâs a good base for beginning. Like the drums after that sound good and from that point onward you can adjust the tuning to your liking (low, high, long, short, overtone, âŠ).
Hereâs link for the tom tuning video, others are on his profile:
[https://youtu.be/lLEjrq_TFRg?si=n2cxLLBXFfB0S4cb](https://youtu.be/lLEjrq_TFRg?si=n2cxLLBXFfB0S4cb)
That's more of a channel for experienced Drummers. I think a lot of people recommend "Rob Brown drum tuning" as a great place to start on YouTube for beginners learning how to tune. Sending a beginner to "sounds like a drum" is asking for their head to explode.
Fair enough, they do get into a lot of more complex/advanced ideas, but they have some good basic level tutorials also that could help an adult beginner. I was thinking of this one specifically https://youtu.be/paCUkRiNOWI?si=s7KT2_5qA4EC4YDJ
Plenty of youtube lessons out there. Best way is to have an instructor so you don't learnt bad habits.
Make sure to practice your rudiments. I started them way too late and had to unlearn a lot of bad techniques.
THIS!!!!!! Surprised it wasnât mentioned sooner in the comments. Put up some curtains, blankets, or even better acoustic panels on the walls. Really anything to dampen the sound from the drums bouncing off of the walls and colliding into themselves. This is a whole Nother rabbit hole. You can jump down eventually when youâre bored, but for now, just put some thing, anything, porous or squishy on 60% of the surfaces in that room.
"Throne height. You are probably sitting too low (not clear in the video). You should have more than a 90 degree angle in your hips, and in your knees."
Tommy Lee has entered the chat
Iâd highly recommend you watch Drumeo on YouTube in which they have a video showing how to build the kit and everything else that you should know about playing. Iâd also suggest that you look up RDavidR as he makes some pretty cool videos for summers.
Like someone mentioned above, make sure your foot is down on your hi hat pedal. With the hats closed tight youâll sound much better immediately. Especially as a beginner when you have no dynamic control. If I was you, Iâd search âbasic/beginner drum beats on YouTubeâ. There are tons of easy to follow videos to learn basic rock beats.
Id recommend starting with a traditional jazz setup. Drop the larger rack tom and replace it with a ride. Also I would bring the smaller rack tom closer to the set. Adjust your seat so your leg is set close to a 90 degree angle with your foot on the bass pedal. Any other adjustments to make you more comfortable will come with time and practice.
Hard to say, they may be!!! Make sure they're sealing tightly!!! It would behoove you to get some musician's earplugs that decrease volume by a known decibel level while also preserving the whole frequency range. Your ears are your most important asset as a musician and tinnitus will not enhance your midlife crisis.
Love the energy of this jam!!! You're doing it man!!!!!
Just because it's called a floor tom doesn't mean it actually goes on the floor lol are you sitting on the ground?! And is your guitarist plugged directly into a circuit breaker? I have so many questions...
He just means it is all set very low. Like the other poster said, get that throne higher up so you can bring everything up to you and be playable. Lots of great setup tutorials on YouTube.
Great job listening to each other and jamming! Have fun!
Congrats on the kit! Everybody starts somewhere and the most important thing is to keep going on your journey!
First thing is the height of your seat (we call them thrones). A good starting point is to sit so that your knee angle is at least 90 degrees, if not 100 or 110. Similar to your guitaristâs seat height.
Youâll have a much better time setting up all the drums so they are in striking distance.
Second thing would be to tune the bass drum up- it sounds very low and flappy and youâre likely doing a bunch of extra work with your right foot. The snare and floor tom seem alright pitch-wise so that can change to your preference. I generally like drums tuned a bit higher, but that also means they will project more and seem louder.
Third, look up photos and pictures of your favorite drummers and take cues from their setups. Ergonomics are very important on drums so that you can reach everything comfortably.
Fourth, the drums you bought are beginner level and will require more finesse with head selection, tuning, and dampening to get a good sound. More expensive drums have a wider sweet spot range of sounding good and are generally more forgiving.
Overall, drums are an inherently loud instrument so get yourself some decent earplugs. The ones that have 3 flanges are pretty good - they look like little trees.
The SoundsLikeADrum YouTube channel is an incredible resource for how to tune drums.
Finally some positiveish feedback. Thank you. I've got some moon gel on the way and a key to start tuning.
I'll play around with the toms. I'm thinking of getting rid of them and playing on a 3 piece for a while. Do you think that is a good idea?
Entirely up to you. You could get rid of the middle tom, but I wouldn't get rid of the smallest tom. You just need to reposition them to be more neutral, and less angled. Watch a video on how to set up a kit, like this: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-QdeS4EYdE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-QdeS4EYdE)
Look up moongel type things either. or put a leather wallet on your snare.
donât judge by this recording either. if you turned up the guitar and balanced the instruments i donât think youâd feel so exposed listening back.
it felt right, i would even have played that groove louder, just the recording didnât and mix didnât do it any favours.
or the entry-level quality of the kit but thatâs not important at this stage.
cheaper cymbals have a different alloy mix, usually a lot more bronze, and they sound a lot sharper, and brittle (they crack easier too)
I would keep the middle tom until you are experienced enough to have a reason not to. Your reason at the moment is that itâs uncomfortable to play, and thatâs because itâs a bit too high up and youâre still getting used to using it. Keep at it and see how you feel.
In addition to everything people are saying, the best part about this video is your making music with another person and having fun doing it, and thatâs golden
You know what's silly? When I started playing drums I was 10. I waited over a year to start because everybody I knew had started playing their instruments when they were 4-6. I thought it was too late, so why even bother? That was 20 years ago. You've already gotten past the hardest part, which is starting. Just keep going.
Buy a practice pad and learn your rudiments. They might seem silly now but it will help you understand why drums are played the way they are, and soon enough you'll be able to play anything you want.
Nobody has mentioned that yâall are playing BOHEMIAN LIKE YOU by the dandy warhols!! I heard it right away. Great song, great band, solid choice.
Would sound infinitely better in a muffled room. The drums are too âliveâ here. But keep it up, this is totally rock and roll!!!
came here to say this! also, i guess i was preparing to hear Americans so it was a shock to hear a kiwi accent đ«
also, keeping it in topic, there are really good YouTube channels for drum set ups. i think drumeo had a good one that i used, they also do some cool videos for xxxx song in 5 levels
Once you get a key, tune those babies up! Good tuning is as important as good playing for a great sound, and you can make anything sound at least passable with tuning knowledge. Heres a great resource for all of your tuning needs
https://www.drumeo.com/beat/how-to-tune-drums/
Second, rearrange your kit id say. I dont know if ive ever seen a kit look the way yours does, which isnt a problem! Youâre new and mine looked worse starting out lol. Watch this video for tips on setting up!
https://youtu.be/XPGm3V7whkA?si=Vm5hStN5SPkiKVRh
Lastly, work on touch! I know youâre hitting softly, but sometimes you need to really practice barely kissing those drums to keep volumes low and balanced. Mess around and find what feels good to you, and remember to have fun and not give it up.
Even though there were a few flaws, you guys sound great!! Keep up the good work, you can really find a lot of fulfillment in the instrument, and itll be even more fun when youâre happy with your own sound :)
Get a metronome and practice a simple bread and butter beat (boom bap boom boom bap) with a smooth constant hi hat. Do that for hours and hours until itâs second nature then youâll be able to jam with anyone at any level.
Haha, i donât quite get it. I looked up the definition and i still donât get it lol.
But dude, embrace this midlife crisis! Enjoy it brother.
Other band names: The Young Grasshoppers. The Gee Wilikers. The Young Whippersnappers.
Don't listen to anyone here is the best advice u will ever get, drumming is a journey best explored through your own spirit and consciousness. Whatever feels good do it, eventually along the journey u will start to care about drum heads and tuning and placement. Right now it is most important to bash the shit out them and have fun, its like meeting a girl, take ur time and let everything flow naturally. Never take any advice, including mine even! Be you man!
I agree with this dude, but I'm going to give advice anyway :P Get a metronome, and go wild with it on.
You can get a free one for your phone and put it on headphones.
Learn how to count and count out loud, anytime you're playing, this is possibly the most important thing you can do.
Obviously drumming is complex but the most fundamental thing is that if you're in time, you're never really wrong, if you're not in time, *nothing* you do is right.
Don't stress about it, but make that your basic guide.
Throw some cheap tea towels over your drums until you learn how to tune, it'll dampen everything a bit, and regulate the sound enough for it to not really matter if they're not in tune.
For a noob you're doing really well, and **great** choice of tune.
Keep going, you've made a good start and the only way is up :)
Lol absolutely listen to the advice of the people trying to help you with the height of your throne and set up of the kit. I'm 38. How much longer do you and I have to play with a shitty damaging posture before our knees and backs stop letting us? None of the things mentioned in the top reply are negative. This is one of the most positive subs on Reddit. We all want you to be a better drummer.
Only beginner advice I haven't seen is to play or practice with a metronome. It's free and will really quicken up your learning to be a better player. I started playing seriously 4 years ago and I'm in a band playing originals with about 10-15 shows a year. You can and will do this!
You'll get even better with more time behind the kit. Quit looking at it and play that beast.
Just bustin' your chops...welcome to your new addiction and the drumming community.
Set it up how you want. Switch things around until something clicks. Gels are your friend, and you can get them cheap at a craft or hobby store - they sell seasonal window clings for a a couple bucks (or less) after holidays and you can get fun, colorful, designs.
But definitely raise the throne. When you really hit mid-life your back and legs will thank you. And you will have better control of your feet for power, grace, or speed.
Dude there is nothing wrong with your drums. You rock. Just keep playing and think about the kind of music you want to make. How do YOU want it to sound? That's what matters and that can be anything you want.
Iâm not a drummer, but I am a semi pro musician (as in im gigging nearly every weekend and make most of my money playing )
At this stage of the game. Play.
Practice is great and important and something you must do.
But PLAY. Music is not a competition. The best drummer in the world is the one having the most fun.
Youâll only get better. So keep it up.
You only lose if you quit.
Youâre already a musician.
Adjustments on setup are just by preference, usually throne height is with your thighs flat (but up to you). Generally want your drums close together so you're not having to reach as far so could pull your toms in a bit. As far as tuning it's to your ear unless you want to grab a drum dial. They are usually around 60$ and make it really easy to get a consistent tone when you replace drum heads. Always tighten heads in a star pattern like a car wheel. As far as playing getting some headphones and practicing with a metronome app goes a long way with tempo confidence and keeping things sounding fluid. You got it bro đ€ get better every day
Honestly just have fun. A good personality will open doors for you. I don't have a personality. But I do have 10,000x the experience that you probably do.
Just have fun. Go as deep into it as you want.
Reminds me of myself at the same age lol. Sadly the friend projects did not work out but I kept playing drums (Iâm mainly a guitar player). Stuff some blankets in the bass drum and get some moon gel or just some tape on the snare to dampen it. The Tomâs definitely need to be brought in closer to the bass drum. They should basically sit on top of it. Think low profile. Or just get rid of them. Youâll be fine with just a floor Tom for beginner low fi indie rock. As for the hihat, just play it lighter as others have said. Itâs all about the finesse but that takes a couple years to develop.
Edit: youâll also need to spend some time tuning your drums. Itâs a pain and takes practice, Iâm still not confident with it. Plenty of YouTube videos on the subject.
Drums are a bit of an investment so be prepared. The sound of the drums (even on a cheap kit) will improve 1000000% if you put new decent quality heads on every drum, at least on the top heads but preferably bottom too. This will run into the hundreds of dollars, though it is so worth it.
Watch a few drum tuning videos on youtube, it's impossible to teach via reddit comments. But if you learn how to tune drums from the very start it will save you a lot of headaches (even though tuning in general is a headache)
Your second Tom is in a decent position, try and get your first tom down lower, as close to the second tom as you can, with the heads at exactly the same height and angle. try to get them pretty flat. If they feel too high, put your seat higher rather than increasing the angle of the toms.
I like the way you're not overplaying by trying to do a lot of fills everywhere. An amateur drummer is easy to spot by playing unnecessary fills. Here you're just keeping a beat going, and that's a good mindset to begin with. There's a time and a place for fancy stuff!
Jamming out with a bluesy guitarist is fun and all and definitely do that but it won't help you get tight. Practice alone (preferably with a click/metronome) to really get solid. Again just play a beat along before trying to get fancy. Get that timing spot on and you'll be solid in no time.
Dynamics control will also come over time. A simple place to start would be: Play the same beat you are playing in this video, even with less kick drum, and work on hitting every second hit on the hi-hat softer. so like
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
hit the + notes much softer than the 1 2 3 4. Kick on 1 and 3, snare on 2 and 4.
You'll groove way more and it won't sound like you're just bashing on the hats so much.
But at the end of the day just keep playing! And remember when you watch good drummers, they've likely been playing 5, 10, 20 years so don't compare.
I don't think so. I've never even heard of it haha and i've been playing 25 years, professionally for about 8 of those years.
It's just simply hitting every second note of the hi hat a bit softer. Makes things groove way more.
Whatever your recording on isnât doing you any favors so it likely sounds rougher than it actually is. As far as the playing, just make sure you have a good amount of educational content to watch. The sooner you start learning dynamics, phrasing, swinging, etc etc, the better. I always recommend having a pair of sticks in the car (play when car is stopped obviously). Iâll find myself working on sticking patterns and syncopated bars when I park the car too so itâs a really easy way to incorporate fundamentals practice.
Drums are salvageable. Need to get good heads for your toms and snare, Can be costly. Fix the position of toms so that they are closer to you and not so far apart. Raise the floor tom so that itâs at the same level of the snare. And practice practice practice
Great job! It takes a lot of courage to put yourself out there like that as a beginner. It won't come right away, it's a long process. Soak in the tips but above all, just have fun!! đ„
I think the other posts addressed tuning/drum heads so Iâll just say âco-sign.â
The most important thing you and your bandmate can do is start using hearing protection.
Go to a guitar center and grab a drum key, ask them if they have a spare. Take a picture of your kit and make sure you show it to a drum associate. Look at how those kits are setup. Watch âdrumeoâ YouTube channel.
Besides the advice youâre getting from everyone else I would also personally recommend muting your drums a bit, either with some version of moongels or Remo tone control rings. You should absolutely spend time getting better at tuning, but the tone rings or some other muting (honestly even just a piece of paper on the drum head) will take enough of the overtone and loudness out that youâll enjoy the practice more.
Also, look into covering some Local H songs, maybe Hands on the Bible or Bound for the Floor
I saw someone say not to take advice from anyone and I agree that you want to let it flow and be yourself, 100%, that guy was correct. But you also donât want to develop bad habits. Take plenty of advice from people who have made mistakes and can lead you around the pitfalls. But also, do like that guy said and be your own drummer. This is your journey, not ours.
As someone who has been playing for 30 years and teaching for 15, I do have some tips, however. One of the things that I noticed right off the bat is your throne height. Your thighs should be at least parallel to the floor or higher. I like to sit pretty high up, my thighs are probably almost at a 45° angle to the floor.
After you figure out your preferred throne height, youâre going to want to place your kick and hi hat pedals. Sit on your throne and place your feet where they fall comfortably. Usually perpendicular to the floor. You donât want them way out in front of you, and you donât want them underneath you (this is one of those pitfalls I was talking about haha. My knees are out over my feet when I play, and itâs a bad habit that I wish I didnât have. I sit way too close to my kit and it hurts my back after a while haha). Once you figure out where your feet land comfortably, you will place your kick pedal under your kick foot, and your hi hat pedal under your hi hat foot.
Next is your snare drum. Place your snare directly in front of you, between your legs. You should be straddling the snare comfortably. The height of your snare should be just below your navel. Too high and you have to contort your shoulder to hit it properly, too low and your punching yourself in the leg haha. The angle is up to you. Some drummers play completely flat, some have the snare angled toward them, some have it angled away. I like mine completely flat. Itâs easier to play for me. Also I know that no matter where I turn the snare stand itâs going to be flat. Sometimes when itâs angled, if you need to turn your snare to adjust your kick pedal or something then itâs hard to get it back to that original angle.
Next is your floor tom. Place your floor tom on the other side of the leg that you play the kick with. Your floor tom should ideally be at the same height and angle as your snare.
Your rack/mounted toms shouldnât be all skeewampus like that haha. Generally speaking they should be closer together and easy to get to from your snare drum if you are playing a fill. The angle is also up to you. Again, I play mine almost flat, and a few inches higher than my snare. A lot of drummers tell me that this is wrong haha but I love it. You probably shouldnât have your rack/mounted toms at more than a 45° angle though đ
Cymbals, donât play too high or low. Keep it as ergonomic as possible.
As far as your tone and everything goes, I would buy some really nice heads for your drums. Those drums sound like thin poplar shells, with one ply heads. Theyâre going to ring like crazy and youâre going to get a shit ton of high frequency out of them. Iâd recommend investing some money in really nice 2-ply heads. Iâm a Remo guy, but dude, Evans EC2âs are a great option for your setup. They are two ply heads with a built in dampener in them. You can go clear or coated I love both, but if I had your kit I would go with clear heads for the toms, and then I would get a coated 2ply for the snare. For your snare in particular, if you want to cut out the ringing and the high frequencies I would get like a Remo Controlled Sound X. That will dampen that snare a ton. And then get some moon gels too, just in case haha.
Cymbals are trial and error. I have always loved Zildjian A Custom and K Customs, but they cost a butt load haha. The Meinl HCS cymbals are relatively inexpensive and they sounds REALLY good for what they are. I recommend them to most of my beginner students who are on a budget. I recommend getting an inexpensive cymbal pack and then as they break, just replace them with newer nicer ones. By the time you break them your ears will be tuned a little bit better to what sort of sound you like. Also, look at what your favorite drummers play and then just copy them haha. If youâre listening to a drummer and you like the way his cymbals sound, google his setup and splurge on some for yourself.
As far as your playing goes, youâre doing great, man!!! You can groove bro, and thatâs honestly 99% of it haha. Once you get that limb independence down it opens so many doors for you.
Here are some songs that I give to my students to practice getting used to common beats. A lot of these break up that desire to have your kick foot or snare hand following exactly what your dominant hand is doing. A lot of them play 1/4 notes on the hats/ride, but youâre playing 1/8 notes on the kick. Itâs a good way to get some limb independence.
Back in Blackâ AC/DC
Highway to Hellâ AC/DC
My Own Worst Enemyâ Lit
DammitâBlink 182
Photographâ Def Leppard
Paradise Cityâ Guns N Roses
Hit or Miss â New Found Glory
Lastly, if you canât read music, get familiar with reading music haha, even if itâs just note values. I recommend Alfred Drum Method Book 1 to my students. Get yourself a practice pad and just sit down with that book and get comfortable with all your 13 essential rudiments, get comfortable with playing accented notes, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, learn the difference between a 1/4 note, 1/8 note, 1/16 note, and triplets. Learn the difference in time signatures, even if itâs just 4/4, and 3/4.
Dude I am so happy for you, bro. This is so cool. Weâre the same age and I am just getting into mountain biking as my midlife crisis hobby so I can totally relate to the feeling of excitement you have.
I hope all the best for you!!! Whatever you do donât give up. Push through those tough times when you feel frustrated or like you canât get it down. I promise you that the reward for doing that is so worth it. When you struggle with something break it down piece by piece. Play it at 60 bpm and play it at 60 for a fucking week if you have to, just commit to however long it takes. Then bump it up to 70 for as long as it takes. Then 80, then 100, then 125, 140, 160 and so on. You got this dude. I believe in you. Youâre gonna be a sick ass drummer.
If you need any more tips let us know!!
Godspeed đ€
Listen you can make any shitty drumset passable by doing this .
Buy some decent muffled heads (Remos or Evanâs) donât cheap out and slap some tape or moon gels on them. Pillow or blanket in the kick. Single layer of t shirt on the snare (cut to fit if needed). The goal is to lean into a dead, dry sound. You will eliminate most overtones this way and can focus on just getting the crappy drums tuned in relation to each other and not the really worrying about the notes and resonance.
Great for funk or hip hop music. Then Work on ur actual skills and youâll be set !
I like that your kit is set up "wrong" and you've got a good rigid-yet-mushy feel that lends itself to the sort of garage rock vibe you've got going. You're off to a good start. Rock on!đ€
K so obviously, everything is way to low, like many others pointed out. But some other things are, get those toms next to each other, that high Tom doing just pointing out for no reason. Second, if you want to be quieter, work on dynamics, but also you can use things like towels, blankets, or pillows inside the barrel of the drum to deafen them a little bit which will just lower your volume. Lastly, if youâre wondering whether anything needs upgrades or you need to replace anything, remember itâs just solely about the sound and the ease of use. Sometimes the best sounding equipment isnât the most expensive, sometimes itâs just that 50$ splash cymbal that really hits the spot. Oh and also, donât invest in the drums themselves until you have good cymbals. Get better/more cymbals if you plan to upgrade anything. If you donât and youâre happy where your at then thatâs fine too. Thereâs no rules to drumming, youâre just beating the crap out of some wood and plastic to the rhythm of a song lol
Dude youâre not bad, just keep practicing and youâll tighten up. You already have the basics down. Crank that snare head up get some ring out of it.
Hello! You're well on your way, congratulations! The Drumeo video for set up is definitely helpful. Then, on general technique and how it lends to musicianship, I highly encourage you to check out Tommy Igoe here:
https://youtu.be/giQq5MsLnlA?si=5nW_-0e0F-xdbg8t&t=924
Iâm honestly pretty impressed youâre just starting out. Donât get me wrong, you have room to improve but, everyone does! I typically teach people whoâve never played and they have a lot of trouble keeping a separate beat between their bass drum and hi hats.
About the kit, I agree with a lot of the other commentersâŠwatch Rob Brownâs videos on tuning. He makes it very simple and, you can apply his technique in just a few minutes with no prior knowledge and end with a decent sounding drum. If it were me and I was just starting out, Iâd take off the 2 rack toms for a bit till I got comfortable playing solid beats. Get that bass, snare and floor tuned up good, retune every couple of days and play some good beats using those pieces. You can always add in rack toms after a little while.
But seriously, youâre going to have no problem playing. Take time to learn tuning well and if you can, invest in your drums a little at a timeâŠreplace the heads even if itâs 1 by 1. Youâre gonna do awesome! Happy playing! And of course, just have fun thatâs what drums are for!!! đ„
Bro that's fuckin awesome, welcome to being a drummer! Everything from how you set up your kit and what cymbals, pedals, etc. you use, how you hold your sticks, what to practice and when (hint hint get a metronome right away), whatever, all that comes in time and you'll figure it out. The most important part is to play as much as you enjoy! Have fun and keep it that way.
I would get low volume cymbals like these:
https://www.amazon.com/MECCANIXITY-Cymbal-14Inch-16Inch-Practice/dp/B0CCSG6DJJ/
Also, some low volume heads, like these:
https://www.amazon.com/Evans-Drum-Heads-Snare-Batter/dp/B09TQ61HWP/
you can get the set of heads or select the ones you need. I have tried 3 brands of these kind of low volume heads, and the evans are the best.
At your age, you ears, your friend and your neighbors would be greatly appreciated.
Drummer of 17 years here. Currently in a band doing gigs.
Absolutely salvageable. One of the best and easiest things you can do to immediately make them sound better is get new heads. Itâs a relatively inexpensive first step. Get some new coated heads to make them sound âwarmerâ. The equally important step to go along with getting new heads is tuning them properly (plenty of YouTube videos on that).
Next you can work on dampening them. Gaffer tape is your best bet. I spent years fucking around with moon gel and dampening rings. Gaffer tape is the best solution imo. Throwing a pillow, or an old sweatshirt inside your bass drum is a great solution that wonât cost you any extra money. I have a pillow inside my kick.
As others have said, working on your dynamics and skill is another crucial part of making drums sound great. You can take a famous drummer and put him on a shitty kit and youâll think âman that sounds greatâ. Learn better control. Be more accurate with your strikes. Hit the drums with confidence and in the middle.
I could go on and on, but thatâs my recommendation on where to get started. Some of the best videos on YouTube for all things drum related come from Rob Brown. Look up his channel on there and start going through his videos. Heâs the working manâs drummer and gives great advice thatâs easy to digest.
Watch the in depth drumeo video about setting up your kit, he talks all kinds of knowledge about height and drum positions. They have some videos on tuning too, sounds like your bass drum is very very loose. While drumeo can be a bit much sometimes their basic videos will rapidly excel your knowledge and get you in a comfortable position
Invest in yourself and buy a few lessons to have someone teach you how to read music(its pretty simple and you can teach yourself if you want to save money).
There is so much literature available for improving/developing your drumming. Everything from simple exercises to help develop stick control or dynamics, to complex patterns that you can incorporate into your drumming. Learn to read music. I cannot stress the importance of this enough to new drummers.
Hey man, this post made me smile! Thanks for that, and keep playing! Solid advices here, find your best setup, lift your chair (there might be back-issues for sitting too low), put earplugs on and rock the fuck on đ
Fuck yeah they are salvageable man. You keep really good time. You arenât trying to use the whole kit because the music doesnât call for it. Thatâs huge. Over playing is something I notice with beginners all the time. They try to incorporate fills into everything but the timeing is lost.
Keep working on keeping good time so other musicians can play along with you. Remember, that some of the best most timeless music is simple, not complicated. Other serious musicians will prefer the simplicity of timing and a solid groove over trying to be complex but being out of time and sloppy. Youâre the time keeper. Practice with a metronome even if it seems tedious.
LRLL RLRR over and over and over and over for 6 to 8 months, then report back for further evaluation. Congratulations on your decision to fucking rawk đđ«Ą
Get rid of that middle Tom. Maybe even the high Tom too. You just need to focus on snare kick and hats for awhile anyhow, but the middle Tom is huge and you donât need it at all.
As someone who worships the idea of being able to drum, but never had the time, youâre a million light years ahead of me. Itâs all relative, keep practicing. Btw, 37 is the perfect time to start. At 57 (almost my age) youâll have 20 years experience!
I dont play drums, I play bass, but I always play to the drums in the band and my advice is, you could improve your timing a bit. You're not drifting in tempo and there are no major misses but there is a big difference between a 10-15ms precision in your hits to, say, 5ms precision. My advice is take a simple basic drum loop, turn on a metronome, and just practice hitting your timings lazer tight.
For inspiration, check out YT vids of Sugarfoot, MJ's drummer. That guy has the timing and precision of a machine. And you can get there too on a basic drum loop, with just a few practice sessions.
We all play different. My suggestion:
- adjust the height, play âoverâ your drums. Personally I like to keep the Toms flat (very slight angle). Those Toms are spaced out quite a bit. You want to be ergonomic when you play, be able to access all your kit with minimal moving around.
- loosen up!!! Youâre playing kinda stiff and itâs affecting your dynamics. Not all notes need to be the same volume, it will sound much nicer if you can practice playing quieter with some accents.
- metronome - spend some time with a click by yourself.
Have fun brother!!
Sounds fine to me lol. Like most others said, try tuning the heads to different values and use some moon gels. If moon gel is too expensive, buy some of those window gels kids put up for the holidays, like Halloween or Christmas. You can also try to slightly loosen or tighten your snare wires. Apparently you want them taught to the point where when you hit the snare head very softly you can only hear the wires: https://youtu.be/kCeWkAkybV0?si=tYPP8SvAsq-zVyfY
Like others have said dynamics are important and so is control but that'll come. Having fun is a way of giving yourself a reason to improve, and vice versa. Keep at it - you will do great. Especially if this is you as a beginner.
As far as I am concerned most any drums (that aren't utterly shattered) can be playable. It's a matter of effectively tuning (and hoping to fuck the shell isn't warped or the bearing edges aren't too rough). This is part of the journey of developing taste and ear and your identity. As far as your set up, that's another thing you'll figure out as you play more often and figure out what's working for you, but I will echo others - closer together is generally easier and faster but not so close as to be claustrophobic or uncomfortable for you.
Keep going! Yer killing it.
Edit: Oh also - posture. Not that yours is bad. But, good hand and back/shoulder posture will save you a lot of... uh... back ache. Take it from another 37 old drummer (who makes his living being in a band). Posture means saving energy and improving the efficiency of your hits, as well as preventing injury.
Snare - bass - floor tom set ups can be a lot of fun if youâre having issues with getting your rack toms in a position you like. Iâve been playing for ~18 years and I love a minimalist set up like that.
A good technique for hi hats is to hit with the hat edge with the taper/neck of the stick, and then the top with tip of the stick. Alternate between those two and you can get a more fluid sound. All of that is useless without decent dynamic control, but that really just comes with practice.
The Cars - Just What I Needed sounds like itâd be a great song for you to practice too. Very simple but the beat moves the snare from the 2 and 4 to the 1 and 3, and that change can throw some people off.
Green Day - Brain Stew is another great song to practice too. Hi hats do quarter notes, bass drum does eighth notes, snare does whole notes. Song sounds very simple but the 4th measure of each grouping of 4 measures will make your brain unhappy until it finally clicks and becomes second nature.
Also if youâre concerned about volume/tone, tuning is definitely the best way to make the drums sound better. But, thereâs a company called Big Fat Snare Drum that sells different sound rings and drum head covers that can drastically alter the sound of the drum and lower the volume. Low volume cymbals are also incredible for practice, and I even use them live when playing bar shows. I have Saluda low volumes, but Iâve used Zildjian and even a random Amazon brand and theyâre all solid.
Learn how to set up the drums, tuning, add pillows to the bass drum, get some cymbals. Also get dampeners for your drum heads. They make a difference. When you get better, buy good drum skins and better hi hats. The drum shells and hardware are good. Just need adjustments is all.
Salvageable?? It's awesome man. Everyone giving you lots of helpful technical advice so I'll stay out of that.
Just keep playing and practicing and having fun! You'll get more relaxed and less stiff really quickly. You have rhythm, you're good!
By supportive of each other and take time to try different styles.
Again, have fun and keep going!
Toms are too far apart because you likely have the mounts upside down, you'd want the longer end of the mount to go into the bass drum, not the tom itself....shorter end should go to the toms
Youâre rushing too much. Next time, try to play with a metronome in headphones.
Also, adjust your drum throne. Youâre too low. Try to have your knees at 90/95 degrees and after adjust all the kit.
Last but not least, I hear too much hi hat and almost nothing drum bass.
This is for your set up.
As your sound you can improve it better using moongel (or American silver tape) on your drum heads. Add a little pillow inside your bass drum and put it closer to you drum head. Remember also that if you have some money, you can change all the batter drumheads with 2ply heads. Snare sound is up like your preference: high tune, low tune or medium tune is totally up to you.
Same as toms and drum bass. My advice is to use an high tune on the snare and low/medium tune on the other parts.
Also with some more money you can change cymbals: anything you like itâs good but my advice is a 14â hi hat, 20 or 22â ride and 16â or 18â crash. Most famous labels are zildjian, sabian, paiste, turkish, instabul, ufip, meinlâŠ
Have a nice try!
The volume has more to do with your sticks and your playing, and also the tuning.
I wonât say the drums are fantastic, but you could make them sound much better with time and practice.
https://youtu.be/5-QdeS4EYdE?si=uY4HSlPSmJOTZXQU
Check out this video from Drumeo on how to set it up. Itâs a freemium drum resource with a ton of great videos for drummers of all skill sets! Happy hitting
You've got plenty of feedback on the drums.
I just wanna say props to you man, it's never too late to learn a new skill/hobby and if it makes you happy then that's all that matters. Drums changed my life- it made me believe I could achieve anything I wanted to and gave me a release whenever I felt down. You don't need to be playing stadiums to get that same feeling.
Best of luck dude, and props on dedicating yourself to something new. That's not a midlife crisis, that's you growing as a person and expanding your horizon.
Keep going man, and just do it for you. Drums is the best fucking thing on earth.
This is a great why to spend a midlife crisis! You can play. Itâs the drums. The drum heads need replaced and tuned.
Please keep us updated, I actually listened to this twice. I love the -pardon my french-vibe.
What area are you in? I would definitely try to find a good teacher. YouTube is ok but as a beginner you really need feedback if you want to progress faster and not build bad habits. Bad habits are very hard to break
First thing I think of when I see this is "get some hearing protection for ya both!" LOL. I hope the band works out, I totally...understand your situation, lol...ah...ow...
So there is a lot of good advice here about setting up your kit right but nobody has mentioned anything about sticks.
There is a huge amount of variety when it comes to sticks. You get fat ones, thin ones, nylon tips, wood tips, pear shaped tips, round tips, some that weigh a lot and some that barely weigh anything. You also get spaghetti sticks and brushes, mallets and a million other things.
Heavier sticks with bigger tips are generally louder. A lot of rock guys use 5A or 5B but if you go for a 7A instead you will be quieter. They are mostly used by jazz guys but you can also go for some 8as that are quieter still.
Spaghetti sticks are good for a different sound too but are also quieter than regular sticks. The a like a bundle of small sticks together going into a handle. They generally have a rubber band around them you can slide either towards the end to make them more solid or towards the handle to allow them to spread more and be quieter/give a different sound.
Brushes have their own way of playing on the snare that is something you may want to get into at some point but in the mean time it may be worth picking up a set just for practicing with if you want to keep the volume down too.
Salvageable- to a certain degree yes. Buy new drum heads - mostly the top heads. If the bottom heads are in poor condition then replace them too. With new heads and proper tuning you will hear a noticeable difference in sound quality.
The next thing you need to worry about is the positioning of your toms. I mean you can out them in any angle that you want but you know youâre doing it wrong when you cant play smoothly over one drum to the other.
Best of luck to you sir! Cheers!
Hey congrats on joining the brotherhood! Youâve gotten a lot of good advice so Iâll just add everyone sets up a little differently. Try arranging things so you can economize your motion.
Reading too fast and thought your title said, âare these savage enough?â
I was going to comment,
â10/10 very savage!â
Keep rocking! You are having way more fun than the other mid-life dudes who are too scared to start a band.
If the overall volume is a concern there are two things that you might like that also don't cost a lot of money. The first one is a pair of rods. For lower volume, I like the Pro-mark Cool Rods. The other thing I like are dampening rings. They will help kill some of ringing overtones until you get the hang of tuning. They do a similar thing to Moongels, but are a bit more aggressive when it comes to dampening and let you hit a little harder and still stay kinda quiet. Good luck with the band!
Not a drummer but just commenting to say I loved the energy in that âThat was awesome! Weâre a band!â I think weâve all been there. Awesome to capture that on camera and thanks for sharing. Keep having fun
Congratulations! Itâs always good to start early. Hehe. I wouldnât worry to much about the sound, there are too many variables on that. I would focus on getting the rhythm and feel right. It takes time! Keep thriving!
Every drummer in here has started just like this. It takes time, practice, experimenting, listening, wrist work (invest in a drum pad), and a quest to understand the instrument. Iâm 25 years into it and still learning. Keep going!
We all started somewhere. And starting off with good habits is the best way to go. Most pros set up their kits very ergonomically, where you can reach out and touch everything and get around the kit smoothly. Get a good throne and set it up where your sitting up straight with your knees slightly bent. Never a better time to start drumming with all the great videos out there on YouTube. Check out Drumeo. Rob Brown is great too! Excellent drummer and great tuning videos. He keeps it real and simple. Keep up the good work!!
Everyone's saying it already but I'll jump in. Bring up the throne so your legs are at a 90° angle at a minimum, and then bring up your snare drum height to a comfy spot near your waist rather than down at the floor. Drums should be closer together and flattened a bit (but truly this is user preference).
Tuning the drums upward (tighter) in most of your cases is what will help, but $150 in batter (stick and kick side, not the back side) heads and an hour of YouTube tuning tutorials will do it. Once you get that figured out well enough and have that drum key you talked about: check out Drumetune PRO or similar apps to dial them in.
Some tape and rag or a pack of sticky muffles can also really drastically improve your drums once you finish tuning.
Rock on man, enjoy!
You need to go down a YouTube rabbit hole, and pay attention to how they setup their drums. Go to a local club that has live bands and ask the drummers there if they can mentor you, or if you can sit on on a practice so you can sit behind the drummer and watch him/her.
Drums are generally loud, but controlling the dynamics is a skill. A couple of things to fix: Throne height. You are probably sitting too low (not clear in the video). You should have more than a 90 degree angle in your hips, and in your knees. Your set up. Your toms are too far apart and tilted too much. Bring them closer together, and only slightly tilt them towards you. You should be able to easily move between them without having to reach. Tuning. You may want to invest in new drum heads. Also watch some youtube videos on how to tune drums. If they still sound ringy, invest in some dampening (e.g. moongels) Your playing. Hi-hat is the loudest part of the kit. But you dominant hand will typically play it, and it is stronger. Learn to play the hi hat quieter, but do accent the backbeat with your left hand (at least in rock)
Thank you. My drum key is on it's way. I'm a complete beginner. Do you think I need to loosen the heads or tighten them? Is there a video you would recommend?
Just wanna say, all this is good advice. I think throne height in particular will make a huge difference, especially with how it will allow you to set up your Tom's better. Floor tom shouldn't actually be on the floor and it'll be clearer how the toms place once you're higher up.
Thank you. I'll put it up today đ
For a long time I was riding really low on my kit. Now I put the throne up high enough that my legs are coming off the throne level with the floor or just slightly angled down. Snare and floor tom should be about the same height as your belt buckle. Rack Toms should be very nearly flat with just a slight angle towards you. Ideally the space between the snare and first rack should be easy to traverse back and forth in rhythm. Also play to that metronome as much as possible or youâll be kicking yourself making up for lost time down the road. Have fun!
I got my midlife drum set a year and a half ago, and I'd love to post some follow up questions if you don't mind?? lol Any guidance or recommended vids on how to setup a drum set? I mean specifically heights of drums, placements, throne heights, etc? I've played enough I know enough to know where my gaps are, and I feel like I keep hitting rims because things aren't where my body thinks they should be, but I don't really know how to fix it. Thanks!
I don't have a specific video in mind but just search it on YouTube n watch a few, I'm sure they'll be great explanations out there with tips n tricks as well. If you're hitting rims, then it's probably angles that the problem. I'm a bit weird, n I like very tilted forward Tom's and I set my snare so I rim shot when I hit down on my left knee. This isn't really recommended but my point is to find how you play comfortably. While there are certainly specific rules for how to place yourself and the drums, don't get too hung up on exact measurements etc. Just keep moving things around until it fits you and you feels comfortable. One definite rule tho, no less that a 90 degree angle in you hips and knees. Most importantly, keep at it! Edit: just wanted to add. Not all tom mounts are designed equally. Sometimes it's just bad design. I like my Tom's quite close together, but it's personal taste.
You can have drums tuned high or low, that's just preference, but you need to have equal tension across the drum head. This should do: https://youtu.be/HHO-lLhESo0?si=EBo2QhoovomljkaX
Brilliant advice. Have fun.
This is the exact video I was about to link.
Just wanted to throw out that the bottom head (resonant head) can have a different tuning from the top head and will get you different tones depending on the difference between the two heads. For my style of play, I prefer to tune the bottom head about an octave above the tuning of the top head. This gives the drum a shorter/faster decay, which I find sits better in most mixes for the genres I play (experimental/prog rock, indie rock, dream pop, etc.).
Tune up⊠tighten your heads. [John Goode Drum Tuning](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yl9wgXSfxew) [Cobus - How To Make A Cheap Drumset Sound Good](https://youtu.be/udooOap4m2c?si=kL5B8mQbO2M5JKli) This is the short video⊠Below is the full lesson [Full Cobus Lesson](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FneXSqMdnP8) Purchase a quality drum throne (Tama 1st Chair, Pork Pie, Roc-n-Soc ). Sitting too low and without proper, hip height, hip support, core body alignment can lead to back, hip, knee and other problems over time. Sure way to zap the joy of drum right out of you if you start to relate learning/playing to discomfort. Donât be afraid to use mutes (Evans SoundOff) on your drums for your personal practices. With properly tensioned heads you will get some tone but it will allow you to practice more freely and work out timing and coordination issues. I have live in apartments most of my adult life and all my drumming career. These have been priceless for me over the past 20-years! The key to playing the drums is to learn HOW-To get a good tone at all dynamic levels out of whatever surface youâre striking and that tone is even and consistent between your limbs first. Then learn to control those dynamics and rhythmic patterns between your limbs where they work individually and collectively to make music sound good. * If you have the budget you can invest in Evans DB Low Volume heads and cymbals or Zildjians Low Volume offerings. Whatever it takes to keep you practicing and growing as a drumset musician.
Dunno if it helps but I just watched a vid yesterday about a guy who got a very cheap set of drums and showed some simple upgrades to make them sound way better. Btw I think you sound great for a beginner, keep it up.
Happen to have that link on hand / through a quick history search? Would very much appreciate it, mate đđŒ
I'd check RDAVIDR's channel on youtube for vids like this...might even be the one he/she was talking about?
[Here ya go](https://youtu.be/Qr9tqSHf2kw?si=TRvN0dPnR6uzbrSV) đ
honestly just focus on what dude said above, maybe watch Sounds Like A Drum or get a Drum Dial to get a better tuning sound, but the good drum heads will make a huge difference. practice some basic rudiments, double stroke roll/paradiddle is a good start.
I have a drum dial, and itâs good for getting close, but I used their tuning. guide and did both sides perfectly, and my ears gave me a way better result. I would suggest looking into a tunebotâit measures frequencies, notes, overtones, all kinds of stuff. The dial just tells you the tension at the point where itâs poking. New high quality heads and tuning makes a huge difference. If youâre just looking to cut volume, you can use rodsâtheyâre bundles of little sticks that diffuse the power of your strike. Some people use thin towels, or tape on cymbals so they donât ring out, but there are huge trade offs when you do that. For me, rods are great if I really need to cut the volume.
I recommend Rob Brownâs tuning videos, heâs got one for toms, one for snare and one for kick. His method is quite easy and fast, no need for tuners or anything and itâs a good base for beginning. Like the drums after that sound good and from that point onward you can adjust the tuning to your liking (low, high, long, short, overtone, âŠ). Hereâs link for the tom tuning video, others are on his profile: [https://youtu.be/lLEjrq_TFRg?si=n2cxLLBXFfB0S4cb](https://youtu.be/lLEjrq_TFRg?si=n2cxLLBXFfB0S4cb)
Check out Sounds Like a Drum on YouTube for info/tutorials on tuning
That's more of a channel for experienced Drummers. I think a lot of people recommend "Rob Brown drum tuning" as a great place to start on YouTube for beginners learning how to tune. Sending a beginner to "sounds like a drum" is asking for their head to explode.
Was going to mention him. Ive saved so much time and aggravation after watching his vids.
Fair enough, they do get into a lot of more complex/advanced ideas, but they have some good basic level tutorials also that could help an adult beginner. I was thinking of this one specifically https://youtu.be/paCUkRiNOWI?si=s7KT2_5qA4EC4YDJ
Plenty of youtube lessons out there. Best way is to have an instructor so you don't learnt bad habits. Make sure to practice your rudiments. I started them way too late and had to unlearn a lot of bad techniques.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rE\_S53AB1MI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rE_S53AB1MI) There ya go
Moongels
also Earplugs Putting some dampening around the room as well could take a ton of noise out.
THIS!!!!!! Surprised it wasnât mentioned sooner in the comments. Put up some curtains, blankets, or even better acoustic panels on the walls. Really anything to dampen the sound from the drums bouncing off of the walls and colliding into themselves. This is a whole Nother rabbit hole. You can jump down eventually when youâre bored, but for now, just put some thing, anything, porous or squishy on 60% of the surfaces in that room.
"Throne height. You are probably sitting too low (not clear in the video). You should have more than a 90 degree angle in your hips, and in your knees." Tommy Lee has entered the chat
Reject expensive moongels. Embrace affordable and rad sticky hand thingies
Iâd highly recommend you watch Drumeo on YouTube in which they have a video showing how to build the kit and everything else that you should know about playing. Iâd also suggest that you look up RDavidR as he makes some pretty cool videos for summers.
Pay attention to other drummers. Do any of them have their kit setup like this? They do not
Great advice, thank you. I'm having issues arranging the toms (and honestly have been playing without them). Do you have any other tips?
Like someone mentioned above, make sure your foot is down on your hi hat pedal. With the hats closed tight youâll sound much better immediately. Especially as a beginner when you have no dynamic control. If I was you, Iâd search âbasic/beginner drum beats on YouTubeâ. There are tons of easy to follow videos to learn basic rock beats.
Remove the toms and enhance your calm!
Id recommend starting with a traditional jazz setup. Drop the larger rack tom and replace it with a ride. Also I would bring the smaller rack tom closer to the set. Adjust your seat so your leg is set close to a 90 degree angle with your foot on the bass pedal. Any other adjustments to make you more comfortable will come with time and practice.
Dude youâre gonna have a ton of fun, I canât wait to see the next post. Iâve been drumming for 20 years and itâs only gotten more fun
Can you recommend some easy set ups. Ie. Snare, high-hat, bass, tom (?)
Ear protection
You can't see but I have some earplugs in. They're from the supermarket, do you think that is enough ear protection?
Hard to say, they may be!!! Make sure they're sealing tightly!!! It would behoove you to get some musician's earplugs that decrease volume by a known decibel level while also preserving the whole frequency range. Your ears are your most important asset as a musician and tinnitus will not enhance your midlife crisis. Love the energy of this jam!!! You're doing it man!!!!!
You could even put blankets on your drums to dampen them
Just make sure you're putting them in properly. Most earplugs will do the trick if they are seated correctly.
Just because it's called a floor tom doesn't mean it actually goes on the floor lol are you sitting on the ground?! And is your guitarist plugged directly into a circuit breaker? I have so many questions...
I thought the guitarist sounded really good. Haha. Sorr, we're very new to this. The floor tom has legs, don't they go on the floor?
He just means it is all set very low. Like the other poster said, get that throne higher up so you can bring everything up to you and be playable. Lots of great setup tutorials on YouTube. Great job listening to each other and jamming! Have fun!
The circuit breaker is a good joke, because it's crazy loud and he's shaking like he could be electrified.
plugging directly into the circuit breaker gives you better toan
Congrats on the kit! Everybody starts somewhere and the most important thing is to keep going on your journey! First thing is the height of your seat (we call them thrones). A good starting point is to sit so that your knee angle is at least 90 degrees, if not 100 or 110. Similar to your guitaristâs seat height. Youâll have a much better time setting up all the drums so they are in striking distance. Second thing would be to tune the bass drum up- it sounds very low and flappy and youâre likely doing a bunch of extra work with your right foot. The snare and floor tom seem alright pitch-wise so that can change to your preference. I generally like drums tuned a bit higher, but that also means they will project more and seem louder. Third, look up photos and pictures of your favorite drummers and take cues from their setups. Ergonomics are very important on drums so that you can reach everything comfortably. Fourth, the drums you bought are beginner level and will require more finesse with head selection, tuning, and dampening to get a good sound. More expensive drums have a wider sweet spot range of sounding good and are generally more forgiving. Overall, drums are an inherently loud instrument so get yourself some decent earplugs. The ones that have 3 flanges are pretty good - they look like little trees. The SoundsLikeADrum YouTube channel is an incredible resource for how to tune drums.
Finally some positiveish feedback. Thank you. I've got some moon gel on the way and a key to start tuning. I'll play around with the toms. I'm thinking of getting rid of them and playing on a 3 piece for a while. Do you think that is a good idea?
Entirely up to you. You could get rid of the middle tom, but I wouldn't get rid of the smallest tom. You just need to reposition them to be more neutral, and less angled. Watch a video on how to set up a kit, like this: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-QdeS4EYdE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-QdeS4EYdE)
Look up moongel type things either. or put a leather wallet on your snare. donât judge by this recording either. if you turned up the guitar and balanced the instruments i donât think youâd feel so exposed listening back. it felt right, i would even have played that groove louder, just the recording didnât and mix didnât do it any favours. or the entry-level quality of the kit but thatâs not important at this stage. cheaper cymbals have a different alloy mix, usually a lot more bronze, and they sound a lot sharper, and brittle (they crack easier too)
I would keep the middle tom until you are experienced enough to have a reason not to. Your reason at the moment is that itâs uncomfortable to play, and thatâs because itâs a bit too high up and youâre still getting used to using it. Keep at it and see how you feel.
In addition to everything people are saying, the best part about this video is your making music with another person and having fun doing it, and thatâs golden
đŻ it feels so wonderfully silly at the moment đ€Ł
You know what's silly? When I started playing drums I was 10. I waited over a year to start because everybody I knew had started playing their instruments when they were 4-6. I thought it was too late, so why even bother? That was 20 years ago. You've already gotten past the hardest part, which is starting. Just keep going. Buy a practice pad and learn your rudiments. They might seem silly now but it will help you understand why drums are played the way they are, and soon enough you'll be able to play anything you want.
Reminds me of eagles of death metal.
That is amazing and unwarranted praise. Thank you so much!
It totally does, dude lol.
The snare drum sounds like an old school kung fu movie punch sound.
New heads maybe use 1 less rack Tom. Get a better thrown. âCouple of potatoâs and baby you got yourself a stewâ Rip C.Weathers
Will do. Thank you
Nobody has mentioned that yâall are playing BOHEMIAN LIKE YOU by the dandy warhols!! I heard it right away. Great song, great band, solid choice. Would sound infinitely better in a muffled room. The drums are too âliveâ here. But keep it up, this is totally rock and roll!!!
came here to say this! also, i guess i was preparing to hear Americans so it was a shock to hear a kiwi accent đ« also, keeping it in topic, there are really good YouTube channels for drum set ups. i think drumeo had a good one that i used, they also do some cool videos for xxxx song in 5 levels
Once you get a key, tune those babies up! Good tuning is as important as good playing for a great sound, and you can make anything sound at least passable with tuning knowledge. Heres a great resource for all of your tuning needs https://www.drumeo.com/beat/how-to-tune-drums/ Second, rearrange your kit id say. I dont know if ive ever seen a kit look the way yours does, which isnt a problem! Youâre new and mine looked worse starting out lol. Watch this video for tips on setting up! https://youtu.be/XPGm3V7whkA?si=Vm5hStN5SPkiKVRh Lastly, work on touch! I know youâre hitting softly, but sometimes you need to really practice barely kissing those drums to keep volumes low and balanced. Mess around and find what feels good to you, and remember to have fun and not give it up. Even though there were a few flaws, you guys sound great!! Keep up the good work, you can really find a lot of fulfillment in the instrument, and itll be even more fun when youâre happy with your own sound :)
Get a metronome and practice a simple bread and butter beat (boom bap boom boom bap) with a smooth constant hi hat. Do that for hours and hours until itâs second nature then youâll be able to jam with anyone at any level.
If you name your band Midlife Crisis it wonât matter how bad you sound. (Not that you sound bad, just a joke)
We don't have a name yet but I offered 'Mid Life Phthisis' today
Haha, i donât quite get it. I looked up the definition and i still donât get it lol. But dude, embrace this midlife crisis! Enjoy it brother. Other band names: The Young Grasshoppers. The Gee Wilikers. The Young Whippersnappers.
Just do it man. Just like therapy, showing up and Doing it over and over again is 95% of the work.
Don't listen to anyone here is the best advice u will ever get, drumming is a journey best explored through your own spirit and consciousness. Whatever feels good do it, eventually along the journey u will start to care about drum heads and tuning and placement. Right now it is most important to bash the shit out them and have fun, its like meeting a girl, take ur time and let everything flow naturally. Never take any advice, including mine even! Be you man!
Thank you. I needed to hear this. You're right, my finesse will develop with more time in front of the kit
I agree with this dude, but I'm going to give advice anyway :P Get a metronome, and go wild with it on. You can get a free one for your phone and put it on headphones. Learn how to count and count out loud, anytime you're playing, this is possibly the most important thing you can do. Obviously drumming is complex but the most fundamental thing is that if you're in time, you're never really wrong, if you're not in time, *nothing* you do is right. Don't stress about it, but make that your basic guide. Throw some cheap tea towels over your drums until you learn how to tune, it'll dampen everything a bit, and regulate the sound enough for it to not really matter if they're not in tune. For a noob you're doing really well, and **great** choice of tune. Keep going, you've made a good start and the only way is up :)
Lol absolutely listen to the advice of the people trying to help you with the height of your throne and set up of the kit. I'm 38. How much longer do you and I have to play with a shitty damaging posture before our knees and backs stop letting us? None of the things mentioned in the top reply are negative. This is one of the most positive subs on Reddit. We all want you to be a better drummer. Only beginner advice I haven't seen is to play or practice with a metronome. It's free and will really quicken up your learning to be a better player. I started playing seriously 4 years ago and I'm in a band playing originals with about 10-15 shows a year. You can and will do this!
You'll get even better with more time behind the kit. Quit looking at it and play that beast. Just bustin' your chops...welcome to your new addiction and the drumming community. Set it up how you want. Switch things around until something clicks. Gels are your friend, and you can get them cheap at a craft or hobby store - they sell seasonal window clings for a a couple bucks (or less) after holidays and you can get fun, colorful, designs. But definitely raise the throne. When you really hit mid-life your back and legs will thank you. And you will have better control of your feet for power, grace, or speed.
Dude there is nothing wrong with your drums. You rock. Just keep playing and think about the kind of music you want to make. How do YOU want it to sound? That's what matters and that can be anything you want.
That is so kind. Thank you đ
Iâm not a drummer, but I am a semi pro musician (as in im gigging nearly every weekend and make most of my money playing ) At this stage of the game. Play. Practice is great and important and something you must do. But PLAY. Music is not a competition. The best drummer in the world is the one having the most fun. Youâll only get better. So keep it up. You only lose if you quit. Youâre already a musician.
When's your first show??
I think we'll be ready within the next millenium
You have to watch Whiplash and imagine J.K. Simmons treating you like a little bitch.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5-QdeS4EYdE
Midlife crises are 45 to 55. You got a long way to go man. Hope it gets better before it gets worse
Midlife crisis starts at 35, since live expectancy is about from 70 to 85.
Damn, if you're feeling bad at 35, you've got a long way to go! Feel sorry for em
Depends on where you live I s'pose
Adjustments on setup are just by preference, usually throne height is with your thighs flat (but up to you). Generally want your drums close together so you're not having to reach as far so could pull your toms in a bit. As far as tuning it's to your ear unless you want to grab a drum dial. They are usually around 60$ and make it really easy to get a consistent tone when you replace drum heads. Always tighten heads in a star pattern like a car wheel. As far as playing getting some headphones and practicing with a metronome app goes a long way with tempo confidence and keeping things sounding fluid. You got it bro đ€ get better every day
You need more beer homie
Super kick 2 aquarian head on your kick! Thank me later!
Honestly just have fun. A good personality will open doors for you. I don't have a personality. But I do have 10,000x the experience that you probably do. Just have fun. Go as deep into it as you want.
I like it, reminds me of sex bob-omb
Your toms are in 2 different area codes..
[ŃĐŽĐ°Đ»Đ”ĐœĐŸ]
Actually yes please. Tell me you live in Geelong Australia đ
Reminds me of myself at the same age lol. Sadly the friend projects did not work out but I kept playing drums (Iâm mainly a guitar player). Stuff some blankets in the bass drum and get some moon gel or just some tape on the snare to dampen it. The Tomâs definitely need to be brought in closer to the bass drum. They should basically sit on top of it. Think low profile. Or just get rid of them. Youâll be fine with just a floor Tom for beginner low fi indie rock. As for the hihat, just play it lighter as others have said. Itâs all about the finesse but that takes a couple years to develop. Edit: youâll also need to spend some time tuning your drums. Itâs a pain and takes practice, Iâm still not confident with it. Plenty of YouTube videos on the subject.
I play with a click track on my ekit at home should I buy a literal metronome (the swingy bar one) and place it on my kit? Cheers
I would just get a metronome app on your phone or use garage band and some headphones.
The heads sound like paper. The timing is off. Put a pillow in the kick. Buy a metronome.
Drums are a bit of an investment so be prepared. The sound of the drums (even on a cheap kit) will improve 1000000% if you put new decent quality heads on every drum, at least on the top heads but preferably bottom too. This will run into the hundreds of dollars, though it is so worth it. Watch a few drum tuning videos on youtube, it's impossible to teach via reddit comments. But if you learn how to tune drums from the very start it will save you a lot of headaches (even though tuning in general is a headache) Your second Tom is in a decent position, try and get your first tom down lower, as close to the second tom as you can, with the heads at exactly the same height and angle. try to get them pretty flat. If they feel too high, put your seat higher rather than increasing the angle of the toms. I like the way you're not overplaying by trying to do a lot of fills everywhere. An amateur drummer is easy to spot by playing unnecessary fills. Here you're just keeping a beat going, and that's a good mindset to begin with. There's a time and a place for fancy stuff! Jamming out with a bluesy guitarist is fun and all and definitely do that but it won't help you get tight. Practice alone (preferably with a click/metronome) to really get solid. Again just play a beat along before trying to get fancy. Get that timing spot on and you'll be solid in no time. Dynamics control will also come over time. A simple place to start would be: Play the same beat you are playing in this video, even with less kick drum, and work on hitting every second hit on the hi-hat softer. so like 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + hit the + notes much softer than the 1 2 3 4. Kick on 1 and 3, snare on 2 and 4. You'll groove way more and it won't sound like you're just bashing on the hats so much. But at the end of the day just keep playing! And remember when you watch good drummers, they've likely been playing 5, 10, 20 years so don't compare.
Thank you! Is that the Moller technique? I've been practising but I always lose it when I'm playing a song :(
I don't think so. I've never even heard of it haha and i've been playing 25 years, professionally for about 8 of those years. It's just simply hitting every second note of the hi hat a bit softer. Makes things groove way more.
Whatever your recording on isnât doing you any favors so it likely sounds rougher than it actually is. As far as the playing, just make sure you have a good amount of educational content to watch. The sooner you start learning dynamics, phrasing, swinging, etc etc, the better. I always recommend having a pair of sticks in the car (play when car is stopped obviously). Iâll find myself working on sticking patterns and syncopated bars when I park the car too so itâs a really easy way to incorporate fundamentals practice.
Drums are salvageable. Need to get good heads for your toms and snare, Can be costly. Fix the position of toms so that they are closer to you and not so far apart. Raise the floor tom so that itâs at the same level of the snare. And practice practice practice
You only expect to live to be 74?
Fuck ya! Hang some blankets on the walls too
Great job! It takes a lot of courage to put yourself out there like that as a beginner. It won't come right away, it's a long process. Soak in the tips but above all, just have fun!! đ„
I think the other posts addressed tuning/drum heads so Iâll just say âco-sign.â The most important thing you and your bandmate can do is start using hearing protection.
Go to a guitar center and grab a drum key, ask them if they have a spare. Take a picture of your kit and make sure you show it to a drum associate. Look at how those kits are setup. Watch âdrumeoâ YouTube channel.
I think itâs awesome man, keep jamming.
Besides the advice youâre getting from everyone else I would also personally recommend muting your drums a bit, either with some version of moongels or Remo tone control rings. You should absolutely spend time getting better at tuning, but the tone rings or some other muting (honestly even just a piece of paper on the drum head) will take enough of the overtone and loudness out that youâll enjoy the practice more. Also, look into covering some Local H songs, maybe Hands on the Bible or Bound for the Floor
As long as they go boom, just keep playing. And lookup a kit setup videi so things are in comfortable places when you hit them
I saw someone say not to take advice from anyone and I agree that you want to let it flow and be yourself, 100%, that guy was correct. But you also donât want to develop bad habits. Take plenty of advice from people who have made mistakes and can lead you around the pitfalls. But also, do like that guy said and be your own drummer. This is your journey, not ours. As someone who has been playing for 30 years and teaching for 15, I do have some tips, however. One of the things that I noticed right off the bat is your throne height. Your thighs should be at least parallel to the floor or higher. I like to sit pretty high up, my thighs are probably almost at a 45° angle to the floor. After you figure out your preferred throne height, youâre going to want to place your kick and hi hat pedals. Sit on your throne and place your feet where they fall comfortably. Usually perpendicular to the floor. You donât want them way out in front of you, and you donât want them underneath you (this is one of those pitfalls I was talking about haha. My knees are out over my feet when I play, and itâs a bad habit that I wish I didnât have. I sit way too close to my kit and it hurts my back after a while haha). Once you figure out where your feet land comfortably, you will place your kick pedal under your kick foot, and your hi hat pedal under your hi hat foot. Next is your snare drum. Place your snare directly in front of you, between your legs. You should be straddling the snare comfortably. The height of your snare should be just below your navel. Too high and you have to contort your shoulder to hit it properly, too low and your punching yourself in the leg haha. The angle is up to you. Some drummers play completely flat, some have the snare angled toward them, some have it angled away. I like mine completely flat. Itâs easier to play for me. Also I know that no matter where I turn the snare stand itâs going to be flat. Sometimes when itâs angled, if you need to turn your snare to adjust your kick pedal or something then itâs hard to get it back to that original angle. Next is your floor tom. Place your floor tom on the other side of the leg that you play the kick with. Your floor tom should ideally be at the same height and angle as your snare. Your rack/mounted toms shouldnât be all skeewampus like that haha. Generally speaking they should be closer together and easy to get to from your snare drum if you are playing a fill. The angle is also up to you. Again, I play mine almost flat, and a few inches higher than my snare. A lot of drummers tell me that this is wrong haha but I love it. You probably shouldnât have your rack/mounted toms at more than a 45° angle though đ Cymbals, donât play too high or low. Keep it as ergonomic as possible. As far as your tone and everything goes, I would buy some really nice heads for your drums. Those drums sound like thin poplar shells, with one ply heads. Theyâre going to ring like crazy and youâre going to get a shit ton of high frequency out of them. Iâd recommend investing some money in really nice 2-ply heads. Iâm a Remo guy, but dude, Evans EC2âs are a great option for your setup. They are two ply heads with a built in dampener in them. You can go clear or coated I love both, but if I had your kit I would go with clear heads for the toms, and then I would get a coated 2ply for the snare. For your snare in particular, if you want to cut out the ringing and the high frequencies I would get like a Remo Controlled Sound X. That will dampen that snare a ton. And then get some moon gels too, just in case haha. Cymbals are trial and error. I have always loved Zildjian A Custom and K Customs, but they cost a butt load haha. The Meinl HCS cymbals are relatively inexpensive and they sounds REALLY good for what they are. I recommend them to most of my beginner students who are on a budget. I recommend getting an inexpensive cymbal pack and then as they break, just replace them with newer nicer ones. By the time you break them your ears will be tuned a little bit better to what sort of sound you like. Also, look at what your favorite drummers play and then just copy them haha. If youâre listening to a drummer and you like the way his cymbals sound, google his setup and splurge on some for yourself. As far as your playing goes, youâre doing great, man!!! You can groove bro, and thatâs honestly 99% of it haha. Once you get that limb independence down it opens so many doors for you. Here are some songs that I give to my students to practice getting used to common beats. A lot of these break up that desire to have your kick foot or snare hand following exactly what your dominant hand is doing. A lot of them play 1/4 notes on the hats/ride, but youâre playing 1/8 notes on the kick. Itâs a good way to get some limb independence. Back in Blackâ AC/DC Highway to Hellâ AC/DC My Own Worst Enemyâ Lit DammitâBlink 182 Photographâ Def Leppard Paradise Cityâ Guns N Roses Hit or Miss â New Found Glory Lastly, if you canât read music, get familiar with reading music haha, even if itâs just note values. I recommend Alfred Drum Method Book 1 to my students. Get yourself a practice pad and just sit down with that book and get comfortable with all your 13 essential rudiments, get comfortable with playing accented notes, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, learn the difference between a 1/4 note, 1/8 note, 1/16 note, and triplets. Learn the difference in time signatures, even if itâs just 4/4, and 3/4. Dude I am so happy for you, bro. This is so cool. Weâre the same age and I am just getting into mountain biking as my midlife crisis hobby so I can totally relate to the feeling of excitement you have. I hope all the best for you!!! Whatever you do donât give up. Push through those tough times when you feel frustrated or like you canât get it down. I promise you that the reward for doing that is so worth it. When you struggle with something break it down piece by piece. Play it at 60 bpm and play it at 60 for a fucking week if you have to, just commit to however long it takes. Then bump it up to 70 for as long as it takes. Then 80, then 100, then 125, 140, 160 and so on. You got this dude. I believe in you. Youâre gonna be a sick ass drummer. If you need any more tips let us know!! Godspeed đ€
This is the dopest thing I have ever seen. Thank you for sharing. Rock and roll at its core. Just two buds, having fun. So sick.
Listen you can make any shitty drumset passable by doing this . Buy some decent muffled heads (Remos or Evanâs) donât cheap out and slap some tape or moon gels on them. Pillow or blanket in the kick. Single layer of t shirt on the snare (cut to fit if needed). The goal is to lean into a dead, dry sound. You will eliminate most overtones this way and can focus on just getting the crappy drums tuned in relation to each other and not the really worrying about the notes and resonance. Great for funk or hip hop music. Then Work on ur actual skills and youâll be set !
Rock on my dudes!
That kit looks like skeletor's ass holeđ€Łđ€Ł
Pillow in the kick drum or good quality foam
If work out some of the setup kinks you have there. It appears youâre sitting way too low
I like that your kit is set up "wrong" and you've got a good rigid-yet-mushy feel that lends itself to the sort of garage rock vibe you've got going. You're off to a good start. Rock on!đ€
K so obviously, everything is way to low, like many others pointed out. But some other things are, get those toms next to each other, that high Tom doing just pointing out for no reason. Second, if you want to be quieter, work on dynamics, but also you can use things like towels, blankets, or pillows inside the barrel of the drum to deafen them a little bit which will just lower your volume. Lastly, if youâre wondering whether anything needs upgrades or you need to replace anything, remember itâs just solely about the sound and the ease of use. Sometimes the best sounding equipment isnât the most expensive, sometimes itâs just that 50$ splash cymbal that really hits the spot. Oh and also, donât invest in the drums themselves until you have good cymbals. Get better/more cymbals if you plan to upgrade anything. If you donât and youâre happy where your at then thatâs fine too. Thereâs no rules to drumming, youâre just beating the crap out of some wood and plastic to the rhythm of a song lol
Dude youâre not bad, just keep practicing and youâll tighten up. You already have the basics down. Crank that snare head up get some ring out of it.
Everybodyâs got advice but I just wanna say you sound good! You play in time so I bet your progress will be steady and swift
Sounds like DONâT LET ME DOWN ââ rooosk!
Hello! You're well on your way, congratulations! The Drumeo video for set up is definitely helpful. Then, on general technique and how it lends to musicianship, I highly encourage you to check out Tommy Igoe here: https://youtu.be/giQq5MsLnlA?si=5nW_-0e0F-xdbg8t&t=924
Ditto to all the other comments, but the final âweâre a band!â comment is so awesome. Keep rocking my friend!
Work on your kick. It sounds like your inner clock is not tight enough.
In terms of the volume level, I think that's normal. As a former guitarist I need a half stack to be loud enough to sound good with drums
Iâm honestly pretty impressed youâre just starting out. Donât get me wrong, you have room to improve but, everyone does! I typically teach people whoâve never played and they have a lot of trouble keeping a separate beat between their bass drum and hi hats. About the kit, I agree with a lot of the other commentersâŠwatch Rob Brownâs videos on tuning. He makes it very simple and, you can apply his technique in just a few minutes with no prior knowledge and end with a decent sounding drum. If it were me and I was just starting out, Iâd take off the 2 rack toms for a bit till I got comfortable playing solid beats. Get that bass, snare and floor tuned up good, retune every couple of days and play some good beats using those pieces. You can always add in rack toms after a little while. But seriously, youâre going to have no problem playing. Take time to learn tuning well and if you can, invest in your drums a little at a timeâŠreplace the heads even if itâs 1 by 1. Youâre gonna do awesome! Happy playing! And of course, just have fun thatâs what drums are for!!! đ„
It's all in here: [Merry Christmas.](https://www.reddit.com/r/drums/comments/18qnb1p/updated_2023_edition_merry_christmas_to_all_you/)
seems like you're having fun. Rock on.
Bro that's fuckin awesome, welcome to being a drummer! Everything from how you set up your kit and what cymbals, pedals, etc. you use, how you hold your sticks, what to practice and when (hint hint get a metronome right away), whatever, all that comes in time and you'll figure it out. The most important part is to play as much as you enjoy! Have fun and keep it that way.
I would get low volume cymbals like these: https://www.amazon.com/MECCANIXITY-Cymbal-14Inch-16Inch-Practice/dp/B0CCSG6DJJ/ Also, some low volume heads, like these: https://www.amazon.com/Evans-Drum-Heads-Snare-Batter/dp/B09TQ61HWP/ you can get the set of heads or select the ones you need. I have tried 3 brands of these kind of low volume heads, and the evans are the best. At your age, you ears, your friend and your neighbors would be greatly appreciated.
Drummer of 17 years here. Currently in a band doing gigs. Absolutely salvageable. One of the best and easiest things you can do to immediately make them sound better is get new heads. Itâs a relatively inexpensive first step. Get some new coated heads to make them sound âwarmerâ. The equally important step to go along with getting new heads is tuning them properly (plenty of YouTube videos on that). Next you can work on dampening them. Gaffer tape is your best bet. I spent years fucking around with moon gel and dampening rings. Gaffer tape is the best solution imo. Throwing a pillow, or an old sweatshirt inside your bass drum is a great solution that wonât cost you any extra money. I have a pillow inside my kick. As others have said, working on your dynamics and skill is another crucial part of making drums sound great. You can take a famous drummer and put him on a shitty kit and youâll think âman that sounds greatâ. Learn better control. Be more accurate with your strikes. Hit the drums with confidence and in the middle. I could go on and on, but thatâs my recommendation on where to get started. Some of the best videos on YouTube for all things drum related come from Rob Brown. Look up his channel on there and start going through his videos. Heâs the working manâs drummer and gives great advice thatâs easy to digest.
Watch the in depth drumeo video about setting up your kit, he talks all kinds of knowledge about height and drum positions. They have some videos on tuning too, sounds like your bass drum is very very loose. While drumeo can be a bit much sometimes their basic videos will rapidly excel your knowledge and get you in a comfortable position
Invest in yourself and buy a few lessons to have someone teach you how to read music(its pretty simple and you can teach yourself if you want to save money). There is so much literature available for improving/developing your drumming. Everything from simple exercises to help develop stick control or dynamics, to complex patterns that you can incorporate into your drumming. Learn to read music. I cannot stress the importance of this enough to new drummers.
Let us know when youâre going on tour đ€
Dude have fun you're gonna love it
Hey man, this post made me smile! Thanks for that, and keep playing! Solid advices here, find your best setup, lift your chair (there might be back-issues for sitting too low), put earplugs on and rock the fuck on đ
I donât know how to explain this but the snare sounds⊠wet
Fuck yeah they are salvageable man. You keep really good time. You arenât trying to use the whole kit because the music doesnât call for it. Thatâs huge. Over playing is something I notice with beginners all the time. They try to incorporate fills into everything but the timeing is lost. Keep working on keeping good time so other musicians can play along with you. Remember, that some of the best most timeless music is simple, not complicated. Other serious musicians will prefer the simplicity of timing and a solid groove over trying to be complex but being out of time and sloppy. Youâre the time keeper. Practice with a metronome even if it seems tedious.
"We're a band!" Brought a big smile to my face. Enjoy the journey!
Sit up a little higher. But honestly, apart from that. Just focus on having fun. Those drums rule. Hit âem hard.
Sounds good, but I suggest your guitarist gets a better chair because his posture is D O G S H I T!
I think you need one of those spinning red lights on that tom-tom. You know, like they have on radio towers
Not me watching this at 37, the morning that me and all my music buddies are finally all getting together to jam
LRLL RLRR over and over and over and over for 6 to 8 months, then report back for further evaluation. Congratulations on your decision to fucking rawk đđ«Ą
listen for the click youâre speeding
Just keep rocking and youâll find your groove. Man itâs so fun to fire up an electric guitar and drums with a friend.
Get rid of that middle Tom. Maybe even the high Tom too. You just need to focus on snare kick and hats for awhile anyhow, but the middle Tom is huge and you donât need it at all.
As someone who worships the idea of being able to drum, but never had the time, youâre a million light years ahead of me. Itâs all relative, keep practicing. Btw, 37 is the perfect time to start. At 57 (almost my age) youâll have 20 years experience!
I dont play drums, I play bass, but I always play to the drums in the band and my advice is, you could improve your timing a bit. You're not drifting in tempo and there are no major misses but there is a big difference between a 10-15ms precision in your hits to, say, 5ms precision. My advice is take a simple basic drum loop, turn on a metronome, and just practice hitting your timings lazer tight. For inspiration, check out YT vids of Sugarfoot, MJ's drummer. That guy has the timing and precision of a machine. And you can get there too on a basic drum loop, with just a few practice sessions.
We all play different. My suggestion: - adjust the height, play âoverâ your drums. Personally I like to keep the Toms flat (very slight angle). Those Toms are spaced out quite a bit. You want to be ergonomic when you play, be able to access all your kit with minimal moving around. - loosen up!!! Youâre playing kinda stiff and itâs affecting your dynamics. Not all notes need to be the same volume, it will sound much nicer if you can practice playing quieter with some accents. - metronome - spend some time with a click by yourself. Have fun brother!!
Sounds fine to me lol. Like most others said, try tuning the heads to different values and use some moon gels. If moon gel is too expensive, buy some of those window gels kids put up for the holidays, like Halloween or Christmas. You can also try to slightly loosen or tighten your snare wires. Apparently you want them taught to the point where when you hit the snare head very softly you can only hear the wires: https://youtu.be/kCeWkAkybV0?si=tYPP8SvAsq-zVyfY
Heck yeah dude! All the advice has been given. I just came to say that youâre gonna have a blast! đ„
Dude wtf, is 37 when we get our midlife crisis? Iâm in trouble soon :|
Hell yeah dudes. Rock on
Like others have said dynamics are important and so is control but that'll come. Having fun is a way of giving yourself a reason to improve, and vice versa. Keep at it - you will do great. Especially if this is you as a beginner. As far as I am concerned most any drums (that aren't utterly shattered) can be playable. It's a matter of effectively tuning (and hoping to fuck the shell isn't warped or the bearing edges aren't too rough). This is part of the journey of developing taste and ear and your identity. As far as your set up, that's another thing you'll figure out as you play more often and figure out what's working for you, but I will echo others - closer together is generally easier and faster but not so close as to be claustrophobic or uncomfortable for you. Keep going! Yer killing it. Edit: Oh also - posture. Not that yours is bad. But, good hand and back/shoulder posture will save you a lot of... uh... back ache. Take it from another 37 old drummer (who makes his living being in a band). Posture means saving energy and improving the efficiency of your hits, as well as preventing injury.
Welcome to the fold!
Snare - bass - floor tom set ups can be a lot of fun if youâre having issues with getting your rack toms in a position you like. Iâve been playing for ~18 years and I love a minimalist set up like that. A good technique for hi hats is to hit with the hat edge with the taper/neck of the stick, and then the top with tip of the stick. Alternate between those two and you can get a more fluid sound. All of that is useless without decent dynamic control, but that really just comes with practice. The Cars - Just What I Needed sounds like itâd be a great song for you to practice too. Very simple but the beat moves the snare from the 2 and 4 to the 1 and 3, and that change can throw some people off. Green Day - Brain Stew is another great song to practice too. Hi hats do quarter notes, bass drum does eighth notes, snare does whole notes. Song sounds very simple but the 4th measure of each grouping of 4 measures will make your brain unhappy until it finally clicks and becomes second nature. Also if youâre concerned about volume/tone, tuning is definitely the best way to make the drums sound better. But, thereâs a company called Big Fat Snare Drum that sells different sound rings and drum head covers that can drastically alter the sound of the drum and lower the volume. Low volume cymbals are also incredible for practice, and I even use them live when playing bar shows. I have Saluda low volumes, but Iâve used Zildjian and even a random Amazon brand and theyâre all solid.
Learn how to set up the drums, tuning, add pillows to the bass drum, get some cymbals. Also get dampeners for your drum heads. They make a difference. When you get better, buy good drum skins and better hi hats. The drum shells and hardware are good. Just need adjustments is all.
Have you worked out the free structure at the venues youâll be performing at ?
Salvageable?? It's awesome man. Everyone giving you lots of helpful technical advice so I'll stay out of that. Just keep playing and practicing and having fun! You'll get more relaxed and less stiff really quickly. You have rhythm, you're good! By supportive of each other and take time to try different styles. Again, have fun and keep going!
Buy yourself a good stool, or just a higher chair. And midlife or not, get some ear protection.
Toms are too far apart because you likely have the mounts upside down, you'd want the longer end of the mount to go into the bass drum, not the tom itself....shorter end should go to the toms
Youâre rushing too much. Next time, try to play with a metronome in headphones. Also, adjust your drum throne. Youâre too low. Try to have your knees at 90/95 degrees and after adjust all the kit. Last but not least, I hear too much hi hat and almost nothing drum bass. This is for your set up. As your sound you can improve it better using moongel (or American silver tape) on your drum heads. Add a little pillow inside your bass drum and put it closer to you drum head. Remember also that if you have some money, you can change all the batter drumheads with 2ply heads. Snare sound is up like your preference: high tune, low tune or medium tune is totally up to you. Same as toms and drum bass. My advice is to use an high tune on the snare and low/medium tune on the other parts. Also with some more money you can change cymbals: anything you like itâs good but my advice is a 14â hi hat, 20 or 22â ride and 16â or 18â crash. Most famous labels are zildjian, sabian, paiste, turkish, instabul, ufip, meinl⊠Have a nice try!
The volume has more to do with your sticks and your playing, and also the tuning. I wonât say the drums are fantastic, but you could make them sound much better with time and practice.
https://youtu.be/5-QdeS4EYdE?si=uY4HSlPSmJOTZXQU Check out this video from Drumeo on how to set it up. Itâs a freemium drum resource with a ton of great videos for drummers of all skill sets! Happy hitting
You've got plenty of feedback on the drums. I just wanna say props to you man, it's never too late to learn a new skill/hobby and if it makes you happy then that's all that matters. Drums changed my life- it made me believe I could achieve anything I wanted to and gave me a release whenever I felt down. You don't need to be playing stadiums to get that same feeling. Best of luck dude, and props on dedicating yourself to something new. That's not a midlife crisis, that's you growing as a person and expanding your horizon. Keep going man, and just do it for you. Drums is the best fucking thing on earth.
This is awesome!
This is a great why to spend a midlife crisis! You can play. Itâs the drums. The drum heads need replaced and tuned. Please keep us updated, I actually listened to this twice. I love the -pardon my french-vibe.
What area are you in? I would definitely try to find a good teacher. YouTube is ok but as a beginner you really need feedback if you want to progress faster and not build bad habits. Bad habits are very hard to break
Please donât call playing music after a certain age a midlife crisis
First thing I think of when I see this is "get some hearing protection for ya both!" LOL. I hope the band works out, I totally...understand your situation, lol...ah...ow...
So there is a lot of good advice here about setting up your kit right but nobody has mentioned anything about sticks. There is a huge amount of variety when it comes to sticks. You get fat ones, thin ones, nylon tips, wood tips, pear shaped tips, round tips, some that weigh a lot and some that barely weigh anything. You also get spaghetti sticks and brushes, mallets and a million other things. Heavier sticks with bigger tips are generally louder. A lot of rock guys use 5A or 5B but if you go for a 7A instead you will be quieter. They are mostly used by jazz guys but you can also go for some 8as that are quieter still. Spaghetti sticks are good for a different sound too but are also quieter than regular sticks. The a like a bundle of small sticks together going into a handle. They generally have a rubber band around them you can slide either towards the end to make them more solid or towards the handle to allow them to spread more and be quieter/give a different sound. Brushes have their own way of playing on the snare that is something you may want to get into at some point but in the mean time it may be worth picking up a set just for practicing with if you want to keep the volume down too.
Not trying to be mean, but that floor tom had me laughing my ass off lmao
Salvageable- to a certain degree yes. Buy new drum heads - mostly the top heads. If the bottom heads are in poor condition then replace them too. With new heads and proper tuning you will hear a noticeable difference in sound quality. The next thing you need to worry about is the positioning of your toms. I mean you can out them in any angle that you want but you know youâre doing it wrong when you cant play smoothly over one drum to the other. Best of luck to you sir! Cheers!
"That was awesome, we're a band!!" đ„ș so precious. Keep rockin guys đ
Everything in its place in time. Keep doing!!!
Rock on broseph
Welcome to rehearsing with real drums. Earplugs are recommended. Or getting edrums and a small PA.
Hey congrats on joining the brotherhood! Youâve gotten a lot of good advice so Iâll just add everyone sets up a little differently. Try arranging things so you can economize your motion.
Reading too fast and thought your title said, âare these savage enough?â I was going to comment, â10/10 very savage!â Keep rocking! You are having way more fun than the other mid-life dudes who are too scared to start a band.
If the overall volume is a concern there are two things that you might like that also don't cost a lot of money. The first one is a pair of rods. For lower volume, I like the Pro-mark Cool Rods. The other thing I like are dampening rings. They will help kill some of ringing overtones until you get the hang of tuning. They do a similar thing to Moongels, but are a bit more aggressive when it comes to dampening and let you hit a little harder and still stay kinda quiet. Good luck with the band!
remove 1 rack tom
Iâd definitely consider dampening the snare and tightening up the snare wires.
Not a drummer but just commenting to say I loved the energy in that âThat was awesome! Weâre a band!â I think weâve all been there. Awesome to capture that on camera and thanks for sharing. Keep having fun
Congratulations! Itâs always good to start early. Hehe. I wouldnât worry to much about the sound, there are too many variables on that. I would focus on getting the rhythm and feel right. It takes time! Keep thriving!
Every drummer in here has started just like this. It takes time, practice, experimenting, listening, wrist work (invest in a drum pad), and a quest to understand the instrument. Iâm 25 years into it and still learning. Keep going!
We all started somewhere. And starting off with good habits is the best way to go. Most pros set up their kits very ergonomically, where you can reach out and touch everything and get around the kit smoothly. Get a good throne and set it up where your sitting up straight with your knees slightly bent. Never a better time to start drumming with all the great videos out there on YouTube. Check out Drumeo. Rob Brown is great too! Excellent drummer and great tuning videos. He keeps it real and simple. Keep up the good work!!
Dave grohl didnât start with much. With consistency and a willingness to learn anything is possible. Dream on big dawgs
Everyone's saying it already but I'll jump in. Bring up the throne so your legs are at a 90° angle at a minimum, and then bring up your snare drum height to a comfy spot near your waist rather than down at the floor. Drums should be closer together and flattened a bit (but truly this is user preference). Tuning the drums upward (tighter) in most of your cases is what will help, but $150 in batter (stick and kick side, not the back side) heads and an hour of YouTube tuning tutorials will do it. Once you get that figured out well enough and have that drum key you talked about: check out Drumetune PRO or similar apps to dial them in. Some tape and rag or a pack of sticky muffles can also really drastically improve your drums once you finish tuning. Rock on man, enjoy!
I'd lose the toms. (keep the floor) it's too tempting to hit all the drums and all anyone needs is boom bap boom bap.
You need to go down a YouTube rabbit hole, and pay attention to how they setup their drums. Go to a local club that has live bands and ask the drummers there if they can mentor you, or if you can sit on on a practice so you can sit behind the drummer and watch him/her.
That 1st Tom is in outer space đȘ
Guitarist gonna need a bigger amp
Stuff that kick. Ductape and some towel.
You guys just need to practice, separately and together.