How long to wait to jam with beginner drummer?

[Matthew_84]

One of my friends told me today he got a drum set.

I want to jam with him as soon as possible, but I'm worried if I do it too soon it may hurt his development. I think I keep decent time. I can keep a steady rhythm for several minutes without drums or a metronome, but there will likely be the odd note I play that is rushed or behind, and it may change his timing if he hasn't developed, or learned to trust, his internal clock.

So, I'm looking for opinions on how long I should wait before jamming with him. I feel like giving him a month or two of practicing with a metronome would be good for him. However, he likely got the drums to play with me, and if I don't jam with him soon, he may not be as motivated if we jammed weekly or something like that.

Any thoughts? Whenever we jam, I'll likely bring my metronome for us to play along to.

Thanks,

Matt

 

[Hans Gruber]

Honestly, I'd say start right away. Others may differ, but getting better comes with experience, especially playing with other people. There's no substitute. If he wants to learn how to groove, best to do it with a live person, even if the person isn't the strongest player. You won't hurt his playing, he won't get any worse, that's for sure.

His timing is inside and it will be developed. Playing with a metronome is a whole other skill. Being able to play with one is helpful, but feel is king. His time will get better as he develops more control, so don't worry.

This is all from personal advice, but also from reading Robben Ford, Rocco Prestia, etc.

 

[drumsnbass]

Have him play straight time with no fills for a while while you lock in. Keep it slow and steady. When youguysaretogether, tell him to try some stuff while you keep the time for him. He needs to know YOU are the timekeeper and try to lock to you then.

Btw, best beginner drum book for a newbie is probably "rockin' bass drum". That book will teach him loads in a very short time.

http://www.amazon.com/Rockin-Bass-D...d=1404807560&sr=1-1&keywords=rockin+bass+drum

 

[raventepes]

I agree with the other two. No sense in waiting, really. Get him into the right mind frame of playing with others from the get go! But as suggested, make sure the drummer is following you to keep time, for now until he gets his own sense of time. A metronome would be a good idea for both of you to give him a sense of BPM.

 

[Matthew_84]

Good tips everyone. Thanks.

And thanks for the recommendation Drumsnbass

 

[dmac1961]

Has he ever played drums before? I mean, if he just got them yesterday and has never been behind a kit before, you need to give him a little time to develop some coordination between all his limbs. For both his sake and yours. It does take a little time to be able to do 4 different things at one time. I would think it would be uncomfortable for both of you until he develops some basic chops. But once that happens, there's no reason to not jump right in and do some jamming.

 

[Matthew_84]

Has he ever played drums before? I mean, if he just got them yesterday and has never been behind a kit before, you need to give him a little time to develop some coordination between all his limbs. For both his sake and yours. It does take a little time to be able to do 4 different things at one time. I would think it would be uncomfortable for both of you until he develops some basic chops. But once that happens, there's no reason to not jump right in and do some jamming.

No, he's never played the drums before, and you raise good points.

 

[dmac1961]

In that case, just wait until he's comfortable enough to jam. He won't want to be embarrassed by his playing, so allow him a little time to get some rudimentary beats down. When he's ready, you jamming with him can't hurt his development, it will only help it. Also, metronomes are good tools, but I wouldn't introduce that too soon either. A drummers job is playing with a rhythm section, not a metronome. He needs to develop an affinity to playing with people before he concentrates on perfect timing. Just help him get his groove on.

 

[dvdtlsn]

You only get better by playing. You get better at playing in a band by playing in a band. I have ran across wanabes who seem impressive while showing off, but can't play with a band. Take every opportunity to play with other people if this is the skill you want to develop.

 

[ShredderMaximus]

I agree with the thought of giving him a little time to get some basic coordination first. Going to fast might lead to some frustration between both of you. Once he gets the basics down though, game on. You both will improve and develop much faster playing together, and you get the chance to mold a drummer from the ground up, every bassists dream! Lol.

 

[drumsnbass]

If he has never hit a drum before in his life that book is THE book to start with for him.

He needs to take it slow, as reading drum music is something you either get immediately or it confounds the crap out of you. For me it was cake.

If he gets thru that book have him get the Jim Payne Funk drumming book, even if he has no interest in funk drumming. It is like a huge continuation of my first suggestion and one of the best drum books I have ever seen.

If he TRULY wants to be a good drummer, he will need a book on snare drumming only, and Dahlgrens 'syncopation' book will confound in by page two!

 

[drumsnbass]

Hey I want to add one last thing here that confounds all new drummers.

Accent crash cymbals get hit on the one beat, not the four. He's gonna try hitting them on the four and it's going to confuse the crap out of him why he loses his time and rhythm.

And by all means tell him he MUST count! Or get a metronome with variable beat sounds. Without doing one or the other he'll end up with suck timing.

 

[Jazz Ad]

Do it right away and make sure you have fun grooving together before even thinking about a metronome.

 

[davy4575]

Im a drummer as well. You have a great opportunity to bond with him. Cool thing is, there dosnt need to be a box. Simple, simple, simple is best though, that being said. For sure keep a click going for both of you, that way he dosnt feel like you dont need it and he does. It takes a long time to get the foot/hand coordination going, so simple kick snare, kick snare beats will help ease him into that, even if he dosnt have his hi hat going the whole time is fine. The beat is where its at, not the fills, so I would simplify your playing as well. The biggest thing is make him feel comfortable and establish an environment where he can talk to you openly and ask questions.
Much more important for him to be able to keep a simple beat in time for 3 minutes rather than concentrate on technique. Also, the absolutely best thing you can do is get him the rudimental snare drumming guide. Its the 26 rudiments for drumming, they are simple and easy to read, can be practiced slowly on a practice pad and then spread out over the set. Drum charts and sheet music are really easy to read and will give a great foundation.

 

[BoxcarWilbur]

Take away all of his drums except for his kick, snare and hi hats. Make a mute pad (a dense pillow pushed up inside the drum to the kick pedal). This will make his bass drum nice and tight with no over ring. This stripped down drum set along with a nice bass is where it all comes from! I've seen many a drummer with a drum set to rival Neal Peart simply fall apart when doing rolls and stuff because they never got the basic "groove" down in the first place. Instead of a metronome, you could simply run any loop you like through your recording system (i.e. keyboard arpeggio, etc.). This will help both of you in developing your time keeping and it's a hell of a lot more interesting than hearing "tick tock", "click, click" over and over again. As far as when to start?.......i wholeheartedly agree with everyone who says "now"! When i was 15, i answered an ad for a bass player needed and met with a guitarist who was waaaaay better than i was. In fact, to be honest, i could barely play but i totally had the desire. Well to make a long story short, this guy.....Giles Sonnier in Lake Charles Louisiana took me under his wing and we practiced our butts off over the next few weeks for a gig he and his band mates had already been booked for at the Civic Center. I remember the drummer and lead guitarist coming to hear my progress after the first practice or two and i'm pretty sure they were ready to cancel the gig.....lol. But i kept at it. The first song i learned to play was "Lip Service" by Elvis Costello. Costello's bassist Bruce Thomas is a monster bassist but i pulled off the song without error. That gig was one of the greatest rushes i have ever had and really due in part to someone having patience with me, and me having patience with myself.