DRUMMERS: Advice for a beginner

Every time I move drums I wish I played the piccolo - even when using the dinky-ass Rhythm Traveler, or my Octapad-based electronic setup.

NYC contrabassists have my eternal sympathy

i don't know which would be worse. i guess you can't fit an upright bass into a regular cab and taking it on the subway is probably a nightmare, but at least it's possible, drums just have too many pieces unless you're really dedicated to some type of wacky Hipgig situation. but in nyc everybody just takes their cymbals and pedal and plays the house kit, right?

More or less, yeah (most bring their snare, too). But sometimes/usually the house kit is a pile of poo, either in terms of it being a falling-apart cheapo set, or missing key components (like heads).

My tiny 60-pound daughter plays a euphonium. Some days I'm sure she wishes she played the drums.

Even an el cheapo house kit sounds like paradise. I played at the Continental in NYC a while ago and it was a breeze.

In DC almost no venues have house kits or backlines. Recording studios and rehearsal studios do, but you're expected to bring snare, pedals, and cymbals.

i remember crawling around the rickety lofted storage space at Glasslands looking for something important for the shitty house kit (i think it was the hi-hat stand). but yeah, it would still be amazing if anywhere in my state had a house kit.

House kits are very hit-or-miss, you never know when you're going to get one where the hardware just won't even stand up or the heads are completely blown.

I can only think of one place here that I know for sure has a house kit. Otherwise I always see people lugging their own stuff around. Maybe there are more but idk go to those venues?

i guess the Mill has a house kit, and it's really nice too. is that the one you're thinking of?

No Constellation -- theirs always looks pretty nice too! I guess I know of two.

i had a friend who could fit his upright bass into his gf's mini cooper. The angle is the key.

i've been trying to teach myself drums for the past month and this thread has been incredibly helpful

i had a friend who could fit his upright bass into his gf's mini cooper. The angle is the key.

if you know what I mean and I think you do

in his case, we are talking both literally and figuratively. He was a big guy ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

update:

not only did i have no trouble getting the drums out of the basement, into the car, into the venue, and back into the house, but i learned something new and interesting:
apparently strangers love to talk to a person who is loading/unloading drums from a car, or even driving with drums visible in the car. two random motorists smiled at me, five people stopped to talk while i was loading in/out and my neighbor talked my ear off the next morning.

the show went well too! the only bad thing that happened w the drums was that i really screwed up my tom placement and they were like totally wonky which made me avoid them while i was playing. eventually between songs i fixed them and by the end (when we played our triumphant cover/closing tune) they were ok.

one thing that kept me going pre-show was knowing that when i brought the drums home in the first place, i had never assembled a drum kit in my life, and it worked out fine. i don't think i'm going to screw it up too badly 2.5 years later after having bonded w it.

oh and while i was setting up i was informed that there was a house kit
lol/sob

(mostly lol)

I'm not a drummer but just as musician in general I would never want to rely on any house gear unless I really had a chance to go check it out ahead of time so it's probably still good you brought your drums.

i agree, i was ok with it

hey folks! a time flies update from three years on:

this summer i spent a week teaching drums at girls rock! camp, all beginner-intermediate (acc to loose guidelines). 2 campers were in their early teens and the other 4 were aged 8-10. a transformative experience!! they learned so much, i was so proud of them (and myself tbh) and i directly passed on the most useful wisdom i've gathered over the last 3 years to them. i gave them all the best advice and tips i had received (that were relevant to their interests) and none of the garbage. at the end I organized a group jam for each group because I wanted them to have experience playing with people they had never played with before.

they were all so different from each other too. some were obviously feel-motivated, others totally out there making up their own beats. one camper told me that when you have a bunch of people playing without a song it is called "hot jazz" <3 they were all really into improvisation!! i also got to praise a few of them to their parents at the big show, that was also very satisfying.

anyway STILL AT IT!!

also omg i moved so much gear that i no longer fear moving the gear
like, at all

xpost Almost sent my younger daughter there!

you totally should, it is a great organization and so fun for campers and volunteers!! one of my campers was so tiny i donated my child-sized throne to them.

cool, i've been thinking that i would like to do some sort of volunteer thing teaching drums or production, not really sure where to start.

do you know any orgs in your area who serve youth? i bet they would leap to have a workshop about basic production tools & techniques!!

drums might be more difficult unless there is a system for providing the space/tools -- i imagine production might be easier if there are is a computer/projector/room

true, although i think you'd need multiple computers/education copies of software too. the funny thing is i'd probably have to get proficient on Ableton or Logic since that's what everyone uses nowadays.

eh don't shut it down before you get started! :)

i bet even an afterschool library program would be into your skills

http://knkx.org/post/when-beat-goes-how-small-stroke-changed-drummers-life

^every musician's worst nightmare

wow what a sad story! wish they could have included some of his playing before and after the stroke, though I understand why he might not be so keen on that. he mentions skipping ahead, or stubbing his toe, but is he right on the money otherwise?

the write-up makes it sound like he completely lost his sense of rhythm but I wonder if it's more like a kind of perpetual uncontrollable spasm, or blank out that he can't get around

check this out: http://www.polarityrecords.com/vintage-drum-kits-1920s-and-30s.html

i really want to copy/paste almost every image in there, but here's just one:

http://i.imgur.com/KhpV25h.png

i really love all the nature-stylized bass drum heads. it makes me think about trying to start up some sort of customized operation to bring it back.

also the finish on some of these kits is just amazing.

very nice

the page goes on and on in that fashion, with lots of detailed descriptions and opinions that seem to be written by an actual human being with a personality. highly recommended

Love it!! I'm thinking of maybe upgrading my kit a little now that I'm almost 4 years old as a drummer. I'm graduating!

what kind of upgrade are you thinking of? like, the whole kit, or just adding a cymbal or switching out a part here or there?

xpost you are almost ready for drummer kindergarten!

(er do kids still go to kindergarten?)

Yes kids still go to kindergarten!
I'm not sure -- I've gotten a new cymbal and a few doodads, replaced the heads a while ago. I would like to 1) make some different sounds and 2) have a kit that is marginally easier to transport. Not sure where this will lead me but 4 yr anniversary is June 14 iirc, I've got time.

just a little update to note that on the 4th anniversary of bringing home my drum kit, i will be on tour
graduation time! what kind of certificate/degree/diploma do i get?

(deets of tour are being worked out as we speak, if you are social media friends w me you will hear about it as soon as i know :)
i'm so excited!)

WAOWWWWWW

workin' hard!

Anybody have advice for packing and moving drums with minimal damage? I'm moving across the country and definitely want to keep the drums I paid $100 for 11 years ago, but the cheapest set of drum bags looks to be about the same price and they're just bags, so not really that structurally sound?

i've had the same set of bags since i was a kid, and they've always served me well. but i think they were $150 or so. i definitely prefer bags to hard plastic shells (which i always had to use for the bands i played with at school), which imo are only necessary if you're a touring band with beefy roadies who will move your shit for you.

are the drums super amazing or something? $100 is insanely inexpensive! it does seem odd to spend more on protective equipment than on the drums themselves. if you don't want to go that route, you could just use lots and lots and blankets and be ok as long as you don't do any loop to loops on the highway or anything.

Can you nest the drums inside one another and just use one or two big boxes, or just one or two bags?

Packing and moving is a one-time temporary thing; drum bags and cases are intended for regular use. If I were moving across the country I might not mind removing heads, putting everything inside the kick and floor tom (with some foam or blankets or pillows) and putting all that inside an ordinary large moving box.

I bought them when I worked at a food coop in Moscow, Idaho from a hippie guy who claimed he was selling all his worldly good to travel the country as a troubadour. They're absolutely nothing special, but decent enough for my needs and I don't think I'd ever find a complete set - with cymbals and hardware - for that price again. I've put maybe another $100 into new heads over the years.

The mover who walked through to give us an estimate suggested using wardrobe boxes so that plus blankets might work? Just don't know if there are tips about stacking them, taking the heads off first, etc.

I've also been frantically acquiring guitar cases for my cheap guitars that have never left the house in the last couple years which feels really anticlimactic as well.

that's awesome! wonder if he's still troubadouring around.

y.m. puffin's suggestion is a good one. i would just use a blanket between each layer.

congrats LL!

thank you!
also while i'm braggin yesterday after a first rehearsal someone* told me i am a human metronome after hearing me play :) granted i wasn't doing much so it's pretty easy to be steady but he didn't have to say that

*who i don't know well but met once at a party

i have really been working hard and i feel good about it!