teaching oneself is great once you get a strong foundation in the basics of drumming-- a great book is basic drumming by joel rothman- stick control by george lawerence stone-- bass drum control by ted kerr--- syncopation also by ted kerr will give you a great start . also practice with a metronome --practicing 1/4 notes, 1/8th notes, 1/16th notes ---starting at 40bpm and stay on that tempo for one week and every week after increase it by 4bpm and after 1yr you'll be up to 120bpm. The reason i say this is because when i started practising i devoloped bad habits and wanted to play right away and wante to play like the pros like neil peart- jeff pocaro-- Danny Saraphine (chicago)- well when i was 25 1990 i received a letter from the man himself about practising and how to become a good drummer (danny saraphine) wrote as the quote above, and dont rush anything, listen to music you really like--and never be in a rush to join a band, bands are not a great enviroment to learn- if you can find a professional in your area that would be great- and never go to someone who shows you more by him playing then you playing on the kit. Fortunately i live across the border from Detroit and had many professionals available. IF you live near a university with a music degree program in music with a Percussion major this should help some one should be able to help-- I know many cant afford Professionals but it's worth the investment-- they will be able to monitor you and will help you not to develope bad habits . i hope thiswill help you.
