Pre-Lesson 2: Beginning hints

  When I first begged my youth pastor to teach me something on the drums, I wasn't expecting to pick it up so quickly. For the next few days I had been steadily practicing what he had taught me (using my hands and feet) in anticipation for transferring it to the drum set. When Wednesday finally rolled around, I got my first ever chance to play a drum set. I had gotten everything he taught me down on my lap, but when I tried the same thing on the drum set it just didn't flow.


  While just starting out, I would have loved to have the help of an experienced drummer, but unfortunately my youth pastor could only help me out so much. Something he told me that I shrugged off, but later found to be very important is this, my first hint: Customize the drum set. Not only did my fills flow better and my errors become few and far between, but my overall feeling of comfort skyrocketed. Now I didn't have to extend my arm so far to hit the ride or raise my hand high enough to hit the snare without touching the rim.


  When I moved up to replacing our current Wednesday night youth drummer about a month later, I still wasn't all I could be.. My timing was horrible. It's an understatement to say that most musicians have an issue with timing when they first start out, but that problem can be remedied with the help of a certain tool and concept. First the concept - Count. When you play, you play in measures, and according to the tempo of the song you'll have to play slower or faster. As you progress, identifying the tempo of the song and counting to it becomes second nature. Most songs are in 4/4 timing. The second most common timing is 6/8.

• The lower numeral indicates the note value, which represents one beat.
• The upper numeral indicates how many such beats are in a bar

  For instance, 2/4 means two quarter-note beats; 6/8 means six eight-note beats. Confusing now, sure, but you'll get the hang of it. When I play it's absolutely necessary for me to count while playing, and when I learn a new fill or drum beat, breaking it down to be able to count it is very helpful.


  And now for the tool: The metronome. A metronome is a tool used to keep time. In the coming days I'll be sure to upload a metronome for use when you're around your computer, or you could spring $20 and buy one online at Guitar Center or Musician's Friend.


Anything I missed? Think I should add something? Need some clarification? Let me know!