drum songs?

[YK Thom]

The first two Cars albums would be fun to play along with. They tend to be pretty steady and the ability to maintain time would seem to be a big component while learning. There are a few pretty good You Tube videos of people doing just that. Fills bring the thrills but the groove pays the bills as they say.

[wvu80]

Here's a Fun song:

 

(edit:  I just reviewed the song.  They do drop the F bomb in one place 3:53.  Otherwise good drum song)

 

Here, show your daughter you were cool when you were her age:

 

[Paducah Home Theater]

My room is treated pretty good, all interior walls are insulated, and doors are solid core.  It's interesting though, the snare just rips right through that door.  I don't know if hanging a panel on it will help or not but I guess I need to find out.  I got her the Zildjian low volume cymbals and put a felt blanket over the snare which seems to help, while retaining a decent feel.  Snare still does some damage though.  We had thought about electric drums but the affordable ones didn't seem like a great investment or a great tool to learn on, plus playing videos through my normal system as well as piping in the drum sounds was impossible without a separate system so I wasn't thrilled about that.  The only way I ever learn anything musical is watching youtube videos and playing along.  

[DizRotus]

 Again, I am not a drummer.  The varying responses to the YouTube of the young woman's Uptown Funk video prompted me to forward it to a friend who is a drummer.  His lengthy response is excerpted below.  I found it interesting.

 

"I have never played drums with recordings. Never.  Why you ask?  I find it very boring.  This young girl appears to have her chops, but the real test of a drummer (in my mind) is how they play with a band.  The key to drumming with a band is to hold all of the elements together.  This obviously cannot happen whilst playing with recorded music.  The creativity, and skill of a drummer come through when responsible for all of the components of an ensemble “in the  moment”.  It sound like this young girl is playing along with the recorded track, and imitating the fills that are on that track.  That is great, but it does not really display the skill of any drummer, when it comes to playing live.  It may sound too obvious, but keeping time is what a r&r drummer is responsible for, and this is not as easy as it sounds.  If a drummer cannot keep time, and control the dynamics of an ensemble, then  it matters not how good their skills, and fills are.  It is different in jazz drumming where the bass is responsible for keeping time, and the drums accentuate time, and provide all of the color.  It is also very important for an r&r drummer to maintain a “groove”.  This too is not possible while playing with a recording.  So, my opinion of this girl is that she is good at “playing along”, but without her playing with other musicians, I don’t know what she can do.  Does this make sense.

An example of drummers that “keep a r&r band together” the two most obvious are, to me, Ringo and Charlie Watts.  Without Ringo there would  never have been The Beatles.  In my current band, Hoop’N Holler, I try to emulate Charlie Watts.  When you listen to the Rolling Stones he is almost unnoticeable, he is so good. Not flashy, and it has never been about him, but he is the driving force behind that band. I think w/o Charlie Watts there would be no Rolling Stones, or at least not the format that we know.  He is completely tight, and allows all of the other members to go off, as they have been doing forever!"

[Travis In Austin]

He is spot on about Charlie Watts.

[Paducah Home Theater]

27 minutes ago, DizRotus said:

"I have never played drums with recordings. Never.  Why you ask?  I find it very boring.  This young girl appears to have her chops, but the real test of a drummer (in my mind) is how they play with a band.  The key to drumming with a band is to hold all of the elements together.  This obviously cannot happen whilst playing with recorded music.  The creativity, and skill of a drummer come through when responsible for all of the components of an ensemble “in the  moment”.  It sound like this young girl is playing along with the recorded track, and imitating the fills that are on that track.  That is great, but it does not really display the skill of any drummer, when it comes to playing live.  It may sound too obvious, but keeping time is what a r&r drummer is responsible for, and this is not as easy as it sounds.  If a drummer cannot keep time, and control the dynamics of an ensemble, then  it matters not how good their skills, and fills are.  It is different in jazz drumming where the bass is responsible for keeping time, and the drums accentuate time, and provide all of the color.  It is also very important for an r&r drummer to maintain a “groove”.  This too is not possible while playing with a recording.  So, my opinion of this girl is that she is good at “playing along”, but without her playing with other musicians, I don’t know what she can do.  Does this make sense.

An example of drummers that “keep a r&r band together” the two most obvious are, to me, Ringo and Charlie Watts.  Without Ringo there would  never have been The Beatles. 

 

It makes sense in general but keep in mind that she is a professional session drummer.  She didn't get that gig by playing along with a Bruno Mars recording in a crop top.   Plus, Ringo isn't exactly inspiring 12 year old girls to pick up some sticks and play for hours every day on their own nowadays.  

[Ceptorman]

Ringo played the drums?

[Paducah Home Theater]

interesting articles.  

 

http://web2.airmail.net/gshultz/bryant.html

 

https://mic.com/articles/89363/science-shows-how-drummers-brains-are-actually-different-from-everybody-elses#.AL7MDV2Nz

 

 

[wvu80]

1 hour ago, MetropolisLakeOutfitters said:

It's interesting though, the snare just rips right through that door.  I don't know if hanging a panel on it will help or not but I guess I need to find out.  I got her the Zildjian low volume cymbals and put a felt blanket over the snare which seems to help, while retaining a decent feel.

 

  No, it doesn't. 

 

I highly suggest a Practice Pad.

http://www.samash.com/SearchDisplay?storeId=10001&catalogId=10051&langId=-1&pageSize=15&beginIndex=0&sType=SimpleSearch&searchSource=Q&resultCatEntryType=2&showResultsPage=true&pageView=grid&searchTerm=practice+pads

 

I have a couple of them, they work great.  Your daughter won't like them because they don't make a loud noise which annoys parents, which of course is the point to playing the drums in the first place.

 

I have:

• Remo 6" practice pad. - Can be tightened to adjust rebound, or "feel" which has a "skin" instead of hard rubber.  This gives you the most realistic feel and is very quiet.
• Ahead Double sided 10" - It has both the hard rubber on one side, and the soft rubber on the other.  Also very good.

The CB Percussion 14" is most commonly used because it sits ON and covers entire the snare drum head.  You can also pick it up of the snare and set it anywhere for practice.  These have soft rubber and a very good feel.  This model is required for virtually every school band drummer starting on Day 1.  This is what I would recommend.

 

They have come a long way with materials and graphics, so make sure to get a "cool" one. 

 

There is a dedicated pad which sits on a table (like a 6" pad) and there are very good practice pads, all black rubber with a round rubber  center like a hockey puck which is fitted to the drum.  These are most common for drum sets, so you will find them in 14" (snare) and various tom-tom sizes.

 

Do your research, then when you have what you think you want, talk to the salesman by phone or those little pop up chat windows and ask him what sells the most of, or what does he recommend for drum set, or for beginners.  He'll give you some good suggestions.

+++

 

My intial link was to Sam Ash because they are a large chain, but going to a dedicated drum store is worth your while for expert advice, as all the salesmen play drums.  Here's a good one:

http://www.lonestarpercussion.com/

http://www.lonestarpercussion.com/Practice-Classroom/Practice-Pads/

 

They speak drums.  If you don't have a local store, Lone Star Percussion is the best for on-line.

 

 

[wvu80]

44 minutes ago, dwilawyer said:

He is spot on about Charlie Watts.

 

He is spot OFF about Ringo, the most boring drummer in the history of boring drummers.  Ringo is good the for beginner to listen to and play along with BECAUSE his drumming is so easy.

 

The drummer's drummer is Steve Gaad, of Aja.  His teaching videos are fantastic.

 

 

[Paducah Home Theater]

17 minutes ago, wvu80 said:

 

I highly suggest a Practice Pad.

 

 

Believe it or not the local music store wouldn't sell me one, said it changes the feel so drastically that they just stay away from them.  Guess I'll just have to order one online.  

[wvu80]

15 minutes ago, MetropolisLakeOutfitters said:

 

Believe it or not the local music store wouldn't sell me one, said it changes the feel so drastically that they just stay away from them.  Guess I'll just have to order one online.  

GAck! 

 

Must be some reason Lone Star Percussion has 50 models.

 

If your daughter signs up for middle school band, the first thing the band director will tell her is to get a pair of 2B sticks, a snare drum and a practice pad, usually the 14" model I recommended.

 

I'm also pretty sure if you get a student snare kit from Ludwig, you get sticks, a stand, a 14" snare drum, back pack  and a practice pad.

 

Here is a random student drum kit from Ebay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-DELUXE-STUDENT-PERCUSSION-SNARE-DRUM-KIT-/371671378285?hash=item568957296d:m:mUJH5IDJU2yrVyE-wOIW5Vg

 

Drum pad

 

[Paducah Home Theater]

38 minutes ago, wvu80 said:

Your daughter won't like them because they don't make a loud noise which annoys parents, which of course is the point to playing the drums in the first place.

 

Already experienced that.  I got her a Remo SilentStroke head for the snare but it completely kills the sound, it's basically like a very tight mesh rather than a typical solid film or other material.  You can really whack it and it's barely enough to engage the snare wires on the bottom.  You can't hear it at all if you also use hearing protection, just a really weird effect, you'd have to be cool with swapping out all your heads, using silent cymbals, and not using ear pro.  I'd like to find something that can kill the sound by 50% rather than 95%.  Have no idea what that would be.  

[wvu80]

9 minutes ago, MetropolisLakeOutfitters said:

I'd like to find something that can kill the sound by 50% rather than 95%.  Have no idea what that would be.  

Get on that Lone Star Percussion site I linked to and ask.  Once you are on there for a minute or so a little Chat Box "can I help you" pops up.  Ask your question.

[Mighty Favog]

1 hour ago, MetropolisLakeOutfitters said:

 

Believe it or not the local music store wouldn't sell me one, said it changes the feel so drastically that they just stay away from them.  Guess I'll just have to order one online.  

 

If I'd known sometime last year, I might have been able to send you one that we bought for our grandson (that never uses it).

[Jeff Matthews]

A great album to show some musicality, plus variety, that's still easy enough for beginners to jump in and play to is Abbey Road.  There are many, many other bands that have great tunes which are not too hard to play.  Steely Dan, Supertramp, etc.  Most of these 2 bands' stuff might be too hard, but there are plenty of great songs between those 2 bands for a beginner to learn.  ELO is another great one.

 

Smells Like Teen Spirit... easy!

 

Don't think about the paradiddle, yet.  Obviously, she has mastered 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4, where the bass is on 1 and the snare is on 3.  Yes, that gets old.  All quarter notes.  Time to move ahead.

 

Next move.  Time to throw in some eighth-notes.   Can she do this:  

 

1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-and-a, 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-and-a.  

 

These are all equal length measures:  4/4 time.

 

The "and" is the right hand on the high-hat on the 4th beat as usual.  The "a" is an 8th note with the left hand (if she's a righty) on the snare.  This is very basic and a must-have before moving ahead.

 

If you listen to Smells Like..., you can hear the "and-a."  Just listen...  (Tip:  There is no paradiddle, but that's for later.)

 

 

 

[Jeff Matthews]

If you can hear the "and-a" in Smells Like, you will actually hear 2 "and-a's" strung together like this:

 

1 - 2 - 3 - (and-a)       (and-a) - 2 - 3 - 4       1 - 2 - 3 - (and-a)       (and-a) - 2 - 3 - 4

 

If you got that down, you are very, very close to being able to play that song.

[Paducah Home Theater]

41 minutes ago, Jeff Matthews said:

 

If you listen to Smells Like..., you can hear the "and-a."  Just listen...  (Tip:  There is no paradiddle, but that's for later.)

 

 

This is where I was getting the paradiddle from, watch starting at 2:53, my paradiddle reference is explained from 4:07 to 5:01.  I'm having a hard time doing this part at speed.  Maybe he's not teaching it properly, I wouldn't know the difference.  

 

 

[JJkizak]

OK, I believe it's time now for the Led Zeppelin style intro.

JJK

[Jeff Matthews]

1 hour ago, MetropolisLakeOutfitters said:

This is where I was getting the paradiddle from

My mistake; I was thinking double-paradiddle.  I am not too versed in terminology.  Picked it up by ear.  Can't read music too well.

 

Once you get the beat down I described above, you only have to throw in the double-stroke on the bass, and you're there.

 

1           2          3          and-a          and-a             2       3       4

hh         hh        hh        hh               hh                  hh     hh     hh

bass                 snare        snare      bass-snare   bass*  snare

                                                         and - a

 

* Practice first with this 1/4 note bass.  When you are comfortable, convert it to two 1/8 notes (bass-bass).