[pillowpants12]

well me and my friends have wanted to start a band for a while but we don;t have a drummer, and so since i knew the most from them (my brother was a percussionist in the band and i hae friends that are really good at it) so i decided i would be the drummer. now i was wondering what a beginner would be looking for as far as what type of drum brand to get, 5-peice or 6-peice and all that stuff, also if you would reccemond lessons or to be self taught.


thank you

[shazaam]

For the set itself, go to local music shops and hit stuff Hear different wood types, heads, etc...

For lessons, well you'll get better faster if you take lessons and actually do the "requirements", but you can turn out just fine by getting a book and teachin yourself the notes n' stuff. And just listen and play along to songs you like.

[guss]

the smaller the kit, the more likely you will get booked(speed set up and tare down) I would love to see more people with lesser amounts to lug around(I also roadie), I say hang around, and talk to people who play your kind of music(to understand what people use, in that genre).

[mind_drummer]

I'd say first start with a five piece, look at ebay for good second hand kit sometimes you'll find hidden jewel. I mean you may be can even get an old TAMA or PEARL or like yesterday there's was a Yamaha Beech custom for 600$ cdn without hardware. Get the TAMA hardware pack and couples of more stands and some eBay cymbals or Pre-Pack or Dream cymbals from Front Range Bronze, Dream Bliss, Contact, Bosphorus, Cymbals. Vintage Cymbals and you'll be set.

Now for playing I recommend a teacher or at least follow drums online lessons and buy books & DVD's. The, practice, practice, practice...

	Pearl Drums Shop for Pearl Drums at Musician's Friend

	Tama Drums Shop for Tama Drums at Musician's Friend

	Yamaha Drums Shop for Yamaha Drums at Musician's Friend

[guss]

http://www.craigslist.org/about/sites.html

I got my first kit here, it might be used in a music video soon(along with some of my unwanted cymbals, NFS).

[taye drummer]

Start small and work your way up.Learn all you can learn your rudiments that is a big help.
Once you get ok with them you can put what you learn on a kit.Remember slow is better.
And work on stamna,it will help when you are playing the long gigs.

[juan (the ping-pong ref.)]

Well as a beginner, I would recommend a 5 piece. If your comfortable with teaching yourself, then go for it and if it doesn't work out, then you can get lessons.

[drummerjosh1984]

It is all a matter of personal preference really, cause everyone learns differently. But I would say get a 4 piece set. Less is more to me when starting. Really beef up your hands, rudiments etc. Get some speed going, then worry about the rest of the set. I played for 2 years before I realized I should have worried about my hand speed and accuracy more. So the more pieces are really going to just distract you starting off. Move up the a larger set later if that is what you want. Teach yourself the basics, and then get an instructor for the tough stuff. Instructor are great at the advanced stuff, and make it easier to learn them. If you aren't worried about the cost of an instructor, by all means get one now. I just couldn't afford lessons plus the set when i started.

[jhilldrums]

Pick something decent, don't shoot yourself in the foot. Theres plenty of good intermediate level kits you can re-sell if you have not beat the bag out of them. Take care of it and it takes care of you, in more ways than one. Practice practice practice, and don't do what I did and learn only what you want to play. You close HUGE doors on your adaptability, and the amazing drummers play off the wall stuff in straight forward songs 'cause they can. (Try learning that stuff when your 43)!!!

Buy books, take a few lessons, it only helps. Be open to what people who have been around tell you. Do the basics first and go from there. See how well you play by ear. I took lessons but got more by playing by ear, because I could, but only when it was easier stuff.

Now that I feel like your dad, go forth son and buy a good set of drums and most of all, have fun. Thats what it's about. -Dad, JK -Jeff

[ringo starr]

if you decide to teach yourself watch a lot of videos of great drummers, thats how i learned and i never had a lesson or book just instincts and watching