Budding drummers can’t stop drumming. They’ll send people mad as they subconsciously tap at anything in sight, including their own body parts. But this is all part of practice and without practice we’re not capable drummers (unless you’re a natural of course).
I don’t own an acoustic drum kit - I would love to have a setup at home, but no-one within hearing distance is going to allow this. Drum kits are loud, very loud. Endless, repetitive practice will annoy anyone given time. Catch 22 then. You need to practice to get good, but you can’t practice because you sound bad and everyone tells you to stop. Even if you sound good, you’re going to be told to stop if it’s getting late, or someone wants to watch TV or just have some peace and quiet.
Unless you have very understanding family and neighbours, it’s really difficult to frequently practice at times that suit you. To be honest, I don’t know how this world has managed to create so many great drummers. How did they manage to practice?
Well, here are some solutions I can think of:
1) Find a studio and rent a room with a drum kit. Noise is no longer an issue. However, you have to travel and pay hourly rates.
2) Use a practice pad. Again this is quiet, but you’re limited to what you can practice.
3) Fit silencer pads to your acoustic kit. Now you can practice with the whole kit, but it doesn’t have the right feel.
4) Sound proof a room in your house. Expensive.
5) Practice on an electronic drum kit.
And number 5 is my primary solution, that’s right, the electronic drum kit, which has provided my freedom to practice.
Two years ago, I imported a Hart Kit from the states when I first decided to dedicate time to drumming. Note: I own the previous form of cymbals shown in the picture on the Hart site. Ok, it’s not an acoustic kit, but, that’s not the point. With this gadgetry setup in my home, I can practice when I want. I just have to walk to the front bedroom and start. This means I can spend an hour (or more) almost every day behind a drum kit. No-one complains and no-one will - it’s quiet except for a few taps of wood against machine. With headphones you can control the volume to suit your mood (remember, don’t ruin your ears). Plus, there’s a built-in metronome, multiple kits (which can help alleviate boredom) and the ability to play along to CD’s etc.
I’ve found short, frequent practice hours much more beneficial than less frequent marathon sessions. Of course, I don’t exclusively use the electronic kit. I mix it up with some pad practice for rudiments etc and I go to the studio every other week to get behind a real kit.
If you feel your practice is constrained and you’re not given the freedom to practice as much as you’d like, then try an electronic drum kit. It may surprise others more than it surprises you.
In the future, I’ll describe my practice setup in more detail…
What have you done to gain practice freedom? Please leave commments.
geoff | 25-Oct-05 at 4:24 am | Permalink
buddy, if you could possibly get back to me on how well electronic kits translate to real ones, i’d owe you a big ol’ drum fill in my first record (joke). seriously though, i’ve always wanted a kit, but my mom won’t let me due to noise, so i was wondering if an electronic one would be even a half decent practice medium.
David Caruana | 25-Oct-05 at 6:43 pm | Permalink
If you’re serious, then I’d go for it. Obviously, it’s not an acoustic kit, but it’s close enough for routine practice. I play 80% electronic, 20% acoustic - and since starting regular practice, my playing on both kits has improved remarkably. The plus side is that you get a metronome, can easily play along to CDs and mess around with the sounds so you don’t become bored. Downside, is that the cymbals (at least mine, they’re a few years old now) are no where near as expressive - especially the hi-hat. I wouldn’t mind one of the latest electronic hi-hats myself - they’ve moved on. I’ve got a Hart Kit, but Roland are also very good (if I was buying now, I would seriously consider Roland - there new kit is outstanding). There’s a good Hart Yahoo group at http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/Hartdrums. Let me know if you manage go the electronic route. It’s fun for sure.