Frustrated Drummer seeking reassurance

[coakley]

Hello all,

Im new to the forums here and I was hoping you all could help me out or at least give me some reassurance. Ive been playing drums for quite along while now and I have a few serious issues that just depress me everytime I think about them.

1. Ive been playing along time off and on but I just dont feel like I ever really improve. I really like funk drumming but at times when I practice I feel that I always end up playing the same beat over. I can never seem to really come up with anything new.

2. I hear some drummers that just blow my mind, it literally sounds like they have 10, 000 hands, buddy rich for example its insanity. Are they just basically doing rolls on the toms and throwing in some triplets with the toms and base drums or what? I would really like to learn this technique.

3. Do you have any suggestions that would help me out as far as learing new stuff? I dont know how to read music and I mainly just play by ear.

Drums are just something I do for fun and as a hobby right now but I would really love to get good. Everyone that hears me says im really good and ive played in alot of paying bands but for me personally I just dont feel like im going anywhere, stagnant with my beats and improvement if you will.

Oh one other thing that im really concerned about. I have a weird play style, I play with my left hand on the high hat and my right on the snare but im right handed. For some reason my wrist isnt as fast with my left so it just feels more natural to play that way. Does anyone see a problem with this? I know a few famous drummers play this way also Billy Cobham for example but I just wanna do it right and really get good.

Any tips or advice you could give would be great. Thanks so much.

[Smelly_granny]

I would be proud of being able to play like that if your right handed. It means you will be able to swap round your hands easier. Im left footed, but i play kick with my right. Its odd becuase i now have more strength in my right foot, but my mind likes playing bass with my left foot too. It has made it far more easyer to learn double bass.

Reasurance. Yea, i used to get to stages where i could see myself going anywhere, but now i take lessons, and that has helped loads. It has opened me up to many other different styles of beat, and i really enjoy it. So thats an option if you dont already take lessons.

Also, see if you can get more on your kit. Get some extra hardware. Something really unusual. A few months ago i got a cowbell pedal stand.

That opened up a new road of beats for me, and at the moment im working out how to move from my hihat pedal to the cowbell pedal, and useing them both at the same time.
I also bought a double pedal, so im allways trying to improve on that.

I listen to a lot of music too, and some of this music i play along to. That way im always finding new beats.

Anouther way which my drum teacher told me, was this:
Pick a time when you can be interupted, and lock the door to the room you play in.
Get comfortable on your stool, close your eyes, and just start playing a simple beat.
Play this beat for about five minuets, and in that time, just listen carefully to the beat your playing. Try lisening to diifernt parts, like just the hihat, or just the bass, but still keep the same beat constant.
Once you think you played it for a long time, start to make the beat more technical. But in accents, hit a tom every 6 beats or somthing.
Still keep your eyes closed, and just go around the kit trying differnt stuff, but keeping with the beat. You will find that you will play some really differnt stuff which you never thought you would.

Then you can go to drum clinc's, because i often get very inspired when i go to any, and you learn alot too.

You can also buy drum DVD's that have drummers going through the processes to get their beats.

And most of all, just because you like funk drumming, dont do just that. Try other types, like rock, jazz, or bigband. Really mix your sources around.

I hope that helps.