Re: Drum Tabs
Alright, I just signed up for the forums less than two minutes ago and I picked a hell of a thread for my first post, but this is something that i feel very strongly about.
So here goes.
First of all, so-called "drum tabs" are almost completely and totally worthless. Trust me, you don't want to waste your time on them. Here's what you should do instead:
You mentioned that you are going to be a drummer soon, which means that you haven't started yet. That's good. What you need to do is find a competent teacher in your area. Ideally, you should find someone who is well-versed in many styles, including (and especially) jazz, Latin and ballroom dance styles. Even in you don't intent to learn those styles, you can learn valuable techniques from them that can be applied to many different styles of music. Also, you will want to find someone who knows how to read music and who knows how to read/write and interpret drum charts (not quite the same as reading music, but close).
Being able to read and write music and drum charts is a valuable tool that will get you noticed and called back on gigs and auditions. Believe me, I've gotten strange looks when I show up to band auditions carrying written music, but they are always impressed when I nail new songs (or changes to existing or in progress songs) on the first or second run through.
Also, reading actual musical notation is incredibly simple. One of the great myths of music is that reading it is difficult. I began reading music when I was eight and was pretty competent by the time I was nine. I personally know people who could read musical notation before they could read the English language. It's all based on simple fractions and is dead simple with regular practice. "Drum tabs", on the other hand, are convoluted, over-complicated and usually a complete mess. Also, do you really want to rely on scouring the internet every time you want to learn a new song? And it's really someone else's "interpretation" of the song that you're really getting. Wouldn't you rather learn to listen to a song and come up with your own interpretation of it? With some practice, you'll even be able to figure and what is being played practically note-for-note. Also, drum tabs are ALWAYS, without exception written by sub-par musicians. Otherwise they would be using musical notation.
As for finding a good teacher, that can sometimes present a challenge and can be expensive. My suggestion to you (especially if cost is an issue) would be to contact a nearby college or university, if you have one with a music department. Ask them if they have any percussion majors that are offering lessons. This is a good way to find top-notch (or nearly so) instruction at a very low price.
This is all, of course, only my advice...so you can take it or leave it. On the other hand, this advice comes from 22 years worth of experience, so I happen to think that it's pretty valuable. Of course, the most important thing is to have fun with it, but I say that anything worth doing is worth doing right.
Take care and good luck!
--adam--  | 
Linear Mode
