[obie23]

whats up yall, my name is Adam Obermann AKA obie.. so this is my intro. i am so glad to found this site.. i have been playing drums for about ten years on and off for 5 of them.. i am currently in a band in Longview Texas called A Silent Takeover. we have not totally found our sound yet but its right now a punkrockish metal sound. i have a 4 piece pearl world series kit, all pearll hardware includin my double pedal, and zildjian A custom cymbals.. so my biggest problem right now is i kinda taught myself and never took lessons early in school like i wanted too so with that said i find myself now feelin inadequate in my playing and where i should be. i have recently went back to the begining and tried to start over but am finding it very hard to reteach myself proper technique and basic fundamentals.. Any advice or suggestions???? anyone?? thanks

[PyroDrummer19]

What up mate

[TerenceM]

Hi Obie,
going back to basics is a good thing, start with rudiments,pattern drumming, developing beats and adding in fills.
Always learn things slowly, to play at 600bpm from the get-go may be cool to watch but could actually sound bad. Faster is not necessarily better. A phat beat played with precision and confidence wins everytime in my book, rather than something very technical played in a rush.
A good way to begin is say a Double Paradiddle: LR LR LR LL RL RL RL RR.
Very easy to learn and once you can play it back to back then that is the time to increase the tempo to a point where it sounds good to you. Then this can be applied to the rest of the kit. I am sure that you know all this stuff anyway but I just wanted to point out the importance of learning slowly and expanding around the kit.
You could also ask at the local music store about teachers and lesson books with DVD or CD's. There is also the option of Googling on-line drumming lessons.
Best of luck Obie, and happy drumming

[Church Drummer]

Welcome Obie, as far as suggestions for getting back into it: Well I think it's been covered start with the rudiments. I've been playing rudimental bass drum in a group with the Local NYSDA (NY State Drummers Association), and it's amazing how much the rudimental bass drumming has improved my set drumming.

[slingerland59]

Hi Obie, welcome to the site (small but helpful). I agree with what the others have said, especially the focus on laying down fat beats with precision, and then working up hand and feet chops with exercises based on rudiments.

I'm guessing for a punk/metal band you don't need to work up shuffle, slow blues or swing beats (maybe ska/raggae?). But for sure you should experiment with solid 4/4 rock beats using different cymbal patterns for variety. For example, instead of always playing straight eighth notes on the hi-hat, ride or floor tom, I'd suggest getting comfortable playing beats with1) quarter notes on the ride, (2) sixteenth notes (one hand if it's a slow groove or alternating hands if it's a trashy punk/disco feel), (3) every second eighth note, and (4) an eighth note plus two sixteenth note pattern (like in Clapton's "Cocaine").

Rock on!