How to Know If You Could Learn to Play The Drums

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By gotsticks
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This article is simply a test to see if anybody wants to become a drummer- ha!! Everybody I know has wanted to be a drummer at some point in their life. And the heck of it is I REALLY BELIEVE that you can. I've been a professional teacher for 20 years and can teach from garage band to graduate school. YOU have to do the work at your own pace. READY?

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

a good chair in front of your computer for now
a metronome or access to one online. these are both good and free. http://www.metronomeonline.com/index.php?/Default.asp http://www.nch.com.au/metronome/index.html?gclid=CKuk5o6szZgCFQMdgwodfUHO0Q
about 10 minutes a day for starters.. all you people getting laid off should give me an hour a day...just a joke!hope you get your jobs back!!!

Step 1

In the beginning- DON'T spend any money yet. I'm walking you through a real simple dexterity check that's absolutely free. It tests two things; 1. dexterity- dugh.. and 2. your ability to separate your 'self-criticizing-self' from your 'learning-self'. I'm sure there's psych terms for those but who cares- we're drummers!
Step 2

Get comfortable in front of your computer but NO SLOUCHING. Your weight should ride above your butt and you shouldn't have a lot of pressure on your feet. Have the metronome (aka.. NOME)close by or on your browser.
Step 3

How you sit is very important. Your thighs should be basically parallel with the floor or slightly angled downward toward you knees. Your forearms should be able to reach a flat surface without having to reach real far forward.
Step 4

Here's a test- lift both your feet off the floor at the same time. If you fall out of your chair then it's one of three problems: 1. You're not very bright 2. you've already had too much to drink or 3. you're not balanced in your chair.
Step 5

Set the 'nome' to 80 Beats Per Minute (bpm)and start it. On sheet music you'll see this in the upper left corner above the first bar (measure). It's usually expressed as mm= 80. MM, in short, means 'metronome marking.'
Step 6

Count out loud with the nome in repeating groups of four: 1-2-3-4. Each number you speak should coincide exactly with the nome clicks. These are DOWNBEATS. No- not DEADBEATS, but DOWNBEATS!
Step 7

Here's the real dexterity test- as you count, begin adding in appendages (that's your hands and feet!). Start with your dominant side; if you're right handed then start with your right hand. Count out loud- tap the surface with your right hand. Be disciplined and symmetrical in the amount of taps. Do 8 groups of four- here's how you count them along with the nome: ONE-2-3-4 TWO-2-3-4 THREE-2-3-4 FOUR-2-3-4 FIVE-2-3-4 SIX-2-3-4 SEVEN-2-3-4 EIGHT-2-3-4.
Step 8

As you progress, be sure to follow the combinations closely. RH= right hand, LH= left hand, RF= right foot, LF= left foot.
Step 9

Cycle through these combinations: COUNT OUTLOUD WITH THE NOME
- RH, then
- LH, then
- RF, then
- LF, then
- Both hands- keep your forearm down and use wrist only
- Both feet- keep your heels touching the floor
- All-
Step 10

now STOP ALREADY!!!... How' d you do? Are you just JAMMIN? I'd LOVE to hear from you. I can write and teach forever and fortunately I'm a much better teacher then I am a writer- I think I just heard a collective "WHEW" from you new drummers! If there's interest in this I'd love to keep going- I have tons more of stuff!