Learning to drum. Wherever you are at in your drumming, is where you are at. And thats fine! You are who you are and your level is your level. But did you know that if you took classes and learned to hit the drum correctly, learned rhythms, how to play in harmony with others and how to improvise you could actually have more fun drumming? Many people do not understand that the drum is an instrument like any other musical instrument and it involves a skill set. To improve your skill set, skills must be learned and be developed. If you seek to improve your level and your skills there are so many learning options. All it takes is making the decision to learn. That is the first step. Sounds simple but most people waver in this simple step. SO hard to make commitments for many of us! I have heard so many excuses against learning but it is often simply being lazy. Studying traditional drumming is one way of learning basic fundamental rhythm principles and how to play with yourself as well as others in harmonious and very useful ways. Learning to speak on the drum is like learning a new language, it opens doors to communicate with others that we may not have known even existed. When you learn new rhythms, patterns and phrases you are actually rewiring your brain, making new and useful pathways. Once the wiring is in place you build on that and keep expanding. Just like building a house with a strong foundation. Once you have made the commitment to learn and to improve a great way to learn is to find a good teacher. A group class can be very fun and supportive. Be sure to bring an audio recording device (if allowed). If you have indeed made a commitment to learning you will also need to practice what you learned in class. If you dont probably wont improve noticeably, or it will take you quite some time. By studying with an actual human being, you can learn intricacies and nuances, the correct feel which is hard if not impossible to get 100% off of a Youtube video or from a book or on line drum notation. West African drumming comes from an oral tradition, handed down from one generation to the next, or one person to the next. And the best way to learn in my opinion is from a qualified teacher who has good teaching skills. However, books, notation and videos can be very helpful, fun and interesting as reference tools. And if there is no teacher around and that is all you have available that will have to do. Just like anything else, you have to practice to get better at something. even if you only practice a few minutes every day or every other day it will still help. Learning traditional rhythm patterns and formulas for group playing, in time.. will also give you the skill set of how to compose with rhythms and eventually set up your own rhythm structures. On a more basic level, learning simple hand patterns and sharing them with others helps improve any jam session as well. Please do not think you are too old, too young or not skilled enough to lean. If you have an open mind and heart, anyone can learn. Even if the class is hard, simply being there you will learn by observing. I am often in beginners classes with my teacher and I always learn something. For me, one of the many beautiful things about drumming is that there is always something new, interesting and exciting to learn. Learning drums, like any other instrument , never stops. Try it. You ll like it!
Posted on: Tue, 08 Jul 2014 05:50:41 +0000
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