I got an electronic drum kit! It makes drum sounds when I hit it! I can plug My headphones into it and it doesn’t annoy the neighbours!
I played a simple beat on it and it was fun. I want to practice until I’m really good at it and I can invent great music.
Any drummers out there with newbie advice?
Is that using just the wrist and fingers to switch between drums (like snare to high hat) or just to actually hit it?
Actually hitting it. If you try to play a song like Rush’s Tom Sawyer with a poor technique, you will be tired halfway through the song. If you use your fingers more, you are able to do these faster notes cleaner and for much longer.
If you can find a local teacher or mentor, go for it. But tons of awesome online videos on these techniques.
I think I already use My wrist and fingers to hit drums. My elbows don’t move at all when I repeatedly play the same drum. Dunno if My grip is any good, I just followed the advice to hold the sticks in a loose grip.
Yesterday while practicing I realised I can get a crisp single hit if I let the stick bounce and don’t hold it too loose or too tight. But if I want the hit to gain some texture, I can keep pushing the stick down after the first hit. It’ll bounce on the pad a couple times before it stops.
I think what they’re referring to is being able to get some rolls and ghost notes and things that are subtle parts of a beat or a fill but aren’t the main part of it.
An edrum set is way fun, and a great way to learn the basics and figure out what styles you like etc etc. but unless you get a super-fancy expensive one that has multiple triggers and such, it’s basically one hit = one sound. Whereas on an acoustic drum the way you hit it (angle, force, stick type, head type, drum type, tuning) all change the sound in certain ways. Cymbals, the hi-hat in particular, are super expressive but in electric form usually get limited to one or two sounds.
Don’t worry about it for a long time though, just have fun. I love that there’s tons of drummerless tracks out there so you can play along with songs you know. Do that. Rock the Casbah.