How many of you play or dabble in the drumset? Many teachers and players believe that the relationship between the drums and bass is the most paramount for developing good feel and a good groove in any contemporary ensemble. As bass players we need to know how a drummer approaches these concepts. To help me understand this I have taken up practicing the drums. Have any of you tried this? Sometime in the future I would like to be able to playd rums whilst teaching my bass students, to allow them to jam with a "real" drummer (versus a metronome or drum machine).

I put "listen but don't play". however, I'm currently looking to pickup a decent set now that I have a house and somewhere I can learn without pissing off my whole building.

I voted "I like to listen" but I think you left out a category between playing and listening. I do not play drums and have no desire to, but I do program drum tracks on a machine.

I think it's a great idea. I can play a couple of beats on the drums, nothing fancy or special, but i do like to mess on them every once and a while. I do think it enhances your bass playing too.

I don't play a kit. But I play a lot of different hand drums. Djembe. Morrocan Kettle Drums. Boduberu drum. And I have a really large standing African drum but I don't know it's name. Definitely helps with timing and definitely transfers over to bass.

I finally started with drums last may after wanting to since i was a kid. i have been playing bass for 17 years. i was picking up an axe i had some fretwork done on and while i was standing there i looked at the only kit they had in the place and decided 'screwit im gonna get a drum set'. i didnt get that set, but my wife got me a 5 piece ludwig for my birthday. i think my background as a bass player has made the transition easier. i practice every day for hours, if not behind the kit, then on a pad with a metronome. its odd, i dont have to push myself to go do it. i just WANT to practice to the metronome. its freakin wierd. i jam with a few dudes now. the bass player is the drummer from a band i was in years ago who decided he wanted to start playing bass(hes been at it a few years now). its mutually beneficial, and now we switch off whenever we feel like it. its pretty cool. its funny that he approaches his bass fills like a drummer. and i approach my grooves on the drums like a bass player.

Until recently I never owned a kit, but I would always play my drummers set when ever he would leave them at my house. My boy has a set now so I can play when ever I want and I do agree, not only are they fun, there is a a direct link between bass and drums.

I used to play drums for half of one of my old band's sets.

I started to play drums seriously maybe 3 years back (when I bough my kit) and it's been great. My timing and groove on bass are WAY better, (and I was no slouch to begin with, lol) but the time away means some of my chops aren't as sharp. I think the trade off is a no brainer and I am incredibly happy that I did it, but not all bassists would enjoy that bargain.

Also, as you suggest I play drums (and guitar as well) with bass students in lessons and its fanastic how much easier it is for them to see theory in practice. My students are very quick to get into bands because they feel comfortable playing at volume with other instruments - they know what to expect. They seem to ace every audition!

One unfortunate note is now I am very, very picky about drummers, lol!

Peace!

I played the drums for 6 years before highschool. I was no childstar or anything, but I was better than the drummer's in my school (my school went from preschool to grade 12), until I just kinda lost my drive for it. I became lazy, obsessed with computer games (ie of the 6 hours between school ending and bed time iw as on them for like 5.5 hours), and it just became more of a chore than a fun thing to do. I've always been somewhat musical, took glockenspiel lessons when i was 5 and recorder when i was 6, and then drums (lessons too) from 7-13.. worst mistake of my life was not keeping up at that... or maybe it wasn't, cuz 3 years later i picked upa bass, and now here i am with 3 years experience of that under my belt (sans lessons unfortunately)

Edit: i forgot my point... which would be that, it wouldn't hurt to be a multi-instrumentalist.

I started off on drums and I'm pretty good, when I'm in practice. But I've had wrist problems this year and they're slowing down everything but work.

I'm way less capable on bass. And even less so on guitar. But my aim is to be able to be a decent rhythm player on all three instruments by the end of the year.

You should add something like "I'm a frustrated drummer" to the poll, since that's my case. I LOVE the bass, but I'm playing an instrument that was totally unknown to me before I started taking music seriously. I wanted to play drums. I even got a teacher, bought a pair of drumsticks, but couldn't gain access to a drum set to practice. One of my uncles had one and I played Beatles stuff like "Anna (Go To Him)", "Boys" and "Baby It's You" on it, but he never allowed me to practice because he was always traveling and I only could play when he was at home. And I did LOTS of air drumming along with "Detroit Rock City" and stuff like that! Still, Neil Peart is the one who makes me want to play drums.

I think it's a great idea to learn to play drums. The bass, to me, is a union of rythm and harmony, like all music, I guess, but the bass moreso that just guitar or drums. While rythm is pertenent to the guitar, it's main purpose is melody. And while tuning your drums is equally pertenant, it's the rythm that's really important. Granted, there are drum and bass solos, and rythm guitarists, but each instrument has it's own serparate purpose. (Not to knock the bass or drums as solo instruments, they're perfectly suited for it) I play guitar, bass, and drums whenever I can get a hold of em. I also try to do other rythmic stuff, I learned to beat box, whistle etc. So I can sort of practice without practicing. Understanding different expressions of music will help you to understand all of them, in my opinion.

I just bought my boy a drum set for Christmas, so I've been practicing my drumming a lot lately. It's a lot of fun. I played drums in the school band from grade 5 until grade 10, but I was never very good and never learned to play any beats on the trap set. I'm able to play a bit now, it's fun, and I believe that it will make me a better bass player. I have two kids, ages 11 and 8. One is learning bass, the other is learning drums - and they switch a bit so to some extent, both kids are learning both. Rhythm section is where it's at!

My older brother played drums in a band when I was in gradeschool and just starting out with music. I dabbled on his drums even before I touched a bass (I already played piano and guitar). Being really into Rush and Led Zeppelin at the time, and those two bands having very influential drummers, it was hard not to be thinking about playing the drums along with Bonzo and Neil Peart.

I still play some drums now and then and have done a few gigs as a drummer in bands.

Not only is this a great idea for helping with being a bassist, but it helps you get inside the head of the drummer and relate more to how they are thinking. I think any rock musician should be familiar with playing all instruments in the band: guitar, bass, drums, keys, and sing. Especially if you write and arrange music, or make recordings by yourself. Being solely aware of what your own instrument does is pretty limiting and can isolate you in your relationships with other musicians.

I also am married to a drummer, and he also plays bass, keys and guitar quite well. A good situation for us both. :D

I play both bass and drums, and I think the two disciplines compliment one-another quite well. I think I have a much greater ability to stay in the pocket, and be able to anticipate where the drums and bass are going, respectively.

New knowledge and skills are always a good thing.

My bass guitars are in the avatar, and here is my kit.
(Sonor Designers)


http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f145/salicete/My%20Gear%20Page/DSCN8338.jpg

It's funny, because I was the other way around. I have played drums for 10 years or so and I recently picked up the bass about 2 years ago because I wanted to further explore that connection. Having played drums definitely made the transition easier, and I can approach things from a drummer's perspective in regards to syncopation, groove, and the pocket. If the bass and drums aren't locked, you ain't got nothin.

I put "listen, but don't play". Over the past month or so though, I've been playing drums whenever I can. If I'm at a friends house with a drumset, I play it a lot. I figured out how to keep some beats. It's enjoyable.

I voted great idea.

I bought a drum kit to have some fun with and maybe help improve my understanding of the relationship between rythm instruments. The kids love it too :)

i can't play anything that crazy on drums, but i like to sit there and groove... i try to make a groove and then keep playing it over and over again, throwing simple fills in here and there.

i think it's a great idea to be able to play at least a few simple beats!

besides that, i'm a very competent air-drummer.

i dont totally agree with the fact that is enhances your knowledge of bass, cuz it doesnt, but it does help you establish rock solid timing and groove, and it also lets you see how the drummer views your bass playing.

I picked up my first drumset about 8 months ago, been playing bass for about 3 years now. I think it has helped with timing and such and it gave me some more ideas to think about when I get stuck on somethign with bass. Also its wierd but I hate practicing with a metronome on bass but actually enjoy practing drum beats to the metronome. My kit hasn't seen a whole lot of use, maybe a few hours each week, but it has helped me.

I played drums for 16 years before switching to Bass.

I got a cheap kit about two years ago and my main goal was to have a kit in my studio for recording and for rehearsals. I started learning how to play beats so I would have something to play when I was learning micing techniques. I also did a lot of tuning. I recently upgraded by getting new drums. I bought a PDP birch kit. This thing sounds great with Evans G2 coated heads on it. All that effort I put in learning how to tune crappy drums has paid off at least.
I want to get better on drums but I don't practice enough.
As far as helping my bass playing, I don't see much difference.

I have tried to play drums and really suck at it, but did do one gig double drumming. When I was a recording engineer I got into tuning drums, because the average drummer is bad at tuning drums. There used to a couple studio drummers that worked all the time because their drums sounded so good and recorded so well. Being time is money in the studio (back in my day), if we can just throw up mic's and the drums sound great that is money saved.

What I have noticed over the years is many bass player later on start playing drum even if only for fun. You spend so much time listening and working with drummers, and getting picky about drummers it only make sense to want to try it out. A couple guys I know play great on both drums and bass. When I run into them at gig first question is which they are play.

So I think playing enough drums to understand the instrument and how a drummer thinks is a good thing. We also give weight to your comments to a drummer, because they know you understand their axe.

i dont totally agree with the fact that is enhances your knowledge of bass, cuz it doesnt, but it does help you establish rock solid timing and groove, and it also lets you see how the drummer views your bass playing.

+1

Playing drums and taking lessons probably hasn't made me a better bassist, but it has helped my

* songwriting

* ability to talk w/ drummers about possible alternative grooves and accents in tunes we're playing (In the old days, we had to try variations until something clicked, and then I'd say "Great! Play that thing you just played. No! Not that one -- the one before you started the hat thingy...")

* demos


Beyond that, having my own kit makes it easier to play with a bunch of drummers since they don't have to cart their kit and set it up.

BTW, if you're thinking of learning to play kit and awfulness is an issue -- or if your living arrangements aren't friendly to loud drums -- I highly recommend acoustic drum kit with mesh heads and cymbal pads --> drums triggers -->a trigger-to-MIDI interface (an Alesis D4 or D5 can be had for fairly cheap these days)-->drum sample software.

The look and feel is very similar to an acoustic set, and the sounds are as good as your drum sample software (i.e., probably an awful lot more polished and balanced than the sounds you're going to get if you aren't a great drummer playing a well maintained, high quality kit w/ genre-appropriate mics, mic placement, and processing). Best of all, you'll have a set that you can play essentially silently through headphones, or crank to concert volume through a PA, as your mood and needs dictate.

Nice if you share living quarters with others, or if you have kids who are likely to want to play your drumset.

i love playing drums. I always try to get some playtime when we rehearse with our band. the funny thing (and really sad actually) is that our drummer isn't good at all, he doesn't have any talent nor does he practise a lot to make up for the lack of talent. So everytime i ask him if i can play some drums he's always very suspicious and tells me to be really careful not to break the cymbals or sticks. On a sidenote: he thinks he's awesome on drums.

But since i never took any lessons i think i can become a decent drummer. Always wanted a drumset but 1. i dont have the money and 2. my parents won't like the noise

however there will be a day i'll own my own drumset!!! :hyper:

for all you neophyte aspiring drummers, I highly recomment the book "Rockin' Bass Drum". You can get it on amazon, and this little book will teach you a lot in no time. Best beginner book I ever saw/used when I started.

My first instrument was the drums, and then I picked up the bass a couple of years later. Back then, I took private lessons (bass) and my instructor was also a drummer, so we would do just what you're hoping to do with your students. I think it's a great idea. I think it could prove to be a good way to instill good listening and grooving skills in young bassists.