Looking for advice about learning to play the drums for my 10 year old son.

Any good websites, forums?

Electronic kits – what’s good as a starter kit, what to avoid?

Thanks

d-_-b

try here: http://www.mikedolbear.com/default.asp

also here: http://www.icanplaydrums.com/index.html

I prefer the latter.

electronic kits come in two varieties: a) crap and b) expensive 😉

I had an Alesis DM5 Pro which I think falls into category A. ok the pads may be quiet to play but the bass drum pad certainly isn’t – the pedal hitting the pad will transfer noise through the floor. I think I used it three times in 2 years. so it went on ebay in december 2011.

I think you can get mesh heads for acoustic kits, which will play much nicer than a rubber mat, but how you damp the cymbals I’m not sure. My kit lives in a rehearsal room unless it’s gigging, so I don’t need to worry about practice noises & the neighbours.

for a 10 year old if getting an acoustic kit, I’d probably start with a jazz or fusion kit – smaller drums, particularly the bass drum, will make it easier to reach all parts of the kit.

When he’s full grown he can think about a bigger kit, like this one:

for cymbals on an acoustic kit, bare minimum would be hi-hats, ride & 1 crash – and most of the big manufacturers sell cymbal packs containing just these

I was wrong about the mesh heads 🙁 but you can buy rubber damping pads for both drums and cymbals

My son is mainly self taught using youtube. He’s now 14 and having lessons to help him with his GCSE. I bought his first kit off ebay. It’s made by Mapex and is a compact Kit which is slightly smaller. Great for moving around ie to school.

If anyone was going to teach me to play the drums it would have to be the nice Mr Purdie

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGXGpa458Ig[/video]

I would look at the Roland hd1 kit…. It goes for a reasonable price on eBay and it’s pretty simple but well put together and has mesh heads. Very compact as well which is a great thing.

Thanks for the replies!

We’re looking at an electronic kit because of space and noise for the neighbours (and us too…)

Roughly how much should I expect to pay for a beginners kit?

John, that 2nd kit is mental!

yeah, it is, isn’t it? why he needs 4 bass drums when he only has two feet I don’t know 😉

this is my kit:

my Alesis was around £400, but I think it’s an obsolete model now, although that does seem to be the starting price for electronic kits.

try here: DrumShop UK

or perhaps here: DrumWright Ltd

or maybe: Newcastle Drum Centre

or even: PMT Online

love that “Ghostnotes” piece, made me smile 🙂

That’s great John, thanks for your help. Love the set up you have, looks like a lot of fun.

that’s actually a couple of years out of date, photo was taken in 2010 in a recording studio. the big tom on top of the bass drum has now been retired (it’s a 14×12 floor tom really) & replaced with a much more sensible 13×9 rack tom.

Full details:
Mapex M-Birch 2007/8 model – 8 10 12 & 13 rack toms, 22×18 bass drum
Yamaha Stage Custom Nouveau 16×14 floor tom
Mapex Black Panther “The Machete” 14×6.5 stainless steel snare

Zildian Z Custom 14in hi hats, 20 heavy ride
Sabian ProSonix 18in China, 10in splash
Sabian AAX 15in thin crash
Sabian AA 16in thin crash
Paiste Alpha 16in medium thin crash

Yamaha FP8500C single pedal
Gibraltar 3311DB double pedal which I still haven’t learned how to use properly, hence the Yamaha single pedal
all hardware is Mapex tour-duty double braced, except for the stool which probably needs it most 😉

That’s the incredible Terry Bozzio with those four bass drums. Check out Jeff Beck’s Guitar Shop album and you will get some idea of what an incredible musician he is.

actually I think there may be 6…

although in that pic he does appear to be pondering which one to hit next 😉

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtx8Dmo_W-Q[/video]

A bit of pracice and maybe be as good as my all time drumming hero!

I don’t think Neil Peart needs a intoduction. 8)

To get back on topic, I concur with the HD1, it’s a great wee introduction to electronic kits. Very easy to set up and easy to move around if you are going to gig.

I have semi retired from drumming, have sold all my acoustic gear but I still keep a Roldan TD-12 in the house, I very occasionally play and use it to tutor, which its simply brilliant.

It took me 20 years before I actually played an electronic kit, but once I had I was very surprised. I always used to have some electronic drums in my set up.

Go for it, and worse case if he gives up then just stick it on eBay, they fetch good money second hand.

Buy a pair of sticks, a single practice pad and a book of rudiments. Tell him you’ll buy him a kit once he can play all the patterns in the book. Like this.

My son’s a drummer and in our experience the pads on a real kit are pretty rubbish. For quieter practice electronic drums are the way to go. As others have said though they are not silent. You will still hear the rapping of stick on pad but you do not get the associated boom and resonance that you do with a real kit so it is easier on your ears and will be quiet for the neighbours. Great for [practice as well as you can hook up the mp3 player and some headphones and he can drum away to his hearts content. We ended up getting the Yamaha DTXplorer. Bottom of the range Yamaha but was functional enough for what we wanted. Preferred over the Roland in the end because you can at least use a real bass drum pedal with it which gives you a more realistic feel for what you are playing. By comparison the Roland felt disconnected.

And a positive recommendation for DrumWright. Used them quite a lot over the years and always been happy with them.

wordnumb – Member
Buy a pair of sticks, a single practice pad and a book of rudiments. Tell him you’ll buy him a kit once he can play all the patterns in the book. Like this.

Rubbish.

SOme really good advice so I hope I can add some more. I would definitely fond a good teacher and book some lessons. Enough for your lad to get stuck into. No need to buy a kit straight off the bat. Just the right sticks and a decent practice pad. The lessons will enable him to start correctly ( I am still having to work harder to get rid of bad habits than I would have done had I learned correctly the first time round. Once he has the basics down and a solid practice structure then you can cut back on the lessons but not totally as it is always good to go back, check what your doing and learn something new.

The other advantage is that the instructors kit will most probably sound good! Starter kits can sound terrible and even more so, some of the cheap cymbals. It tends to put people off when they hit something and it sounds like a bin lid or cardboard box.

The Mike Dolbear site mentioned above has a forum and would be a good place to ask about teachers in your area. They are a friendly bunch and will also be able to offer you advice if needed.

If he has an aptitude for it and wants to take it further then his teacher will confirm whether it is the right time to invest in a kit, whether it is acoustic or electronic.

Hope that helps and I hope he enjoys his drumming!

well, that’s a really helpful post. I’m glad you felt able to contribute. Maybe an explanation of *why* you think it’s rubbish might be more useful? As a tutor, I’d expect you to be able to support your position

As a drummer who learned solely on a kit, I’m now struggling to master the rudiments. I wish I’d started out with them as it would make things a lot easier now. Hence, while I might not recommend *only* getting a practice pad, I’d certainly encourage you to get your son to work on proper technique

The Yamaha lower end kits i think have slightly better sounds. But for me in the higherr end kits the Roland are much more playable with the mesh heads. And the ability to connect midi and other pads like my SPD-30. Also connection to PC for control of screens.

There are others on the markt now, especially at the lower end, im sure they should have moved the game on, it was 5 years ago i bought mine things move fast in this area.

The main things you need to do is get him sitting at the kit properly and get him holding the sticks properly, there are loads of tuition books and videos to check.

Thanks again all!

He’s getting a lesson every Saturday morning and it seems to be going well – he certainly enjoys himself.

Yamaha DTX has been brought up a few times and seems pretty cool – just need to get saving for one now…

Looking for advice about learning to play the drums for my 10 year old son.

Any good websites, forums?

Electronic kits – what’s good as a starter kit, what to avoid?

Thanks

My son started drumming lessons at 10, last year through his primary school.
The teacher comes in and provides the lessons in school but is a private drum teacher.

I got his drum kit from Gears4Music, they also sell via Amazon. It was £170 for a full size starter kit and is very good quality. I had to buy the silencing pads too though as it is so loud!

stevewhyte > Rubbish.

I’ve never heard anyone good with drums say they felt that they wasted their time learning the basics.

nbt > while I might not recommend *only* getting a practice pad, I’d certainly encourage you to get your son to work on proper technique

Nah, it’s worth going the whole Mr Miyagi. You’re not just learning coordination and useful patterns, you’re learning to hear tiny variations in note and rhythm. This comes in handy when you’re in a studio, playing something basic which requires you hit the drum consistently.