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Take up drums at age 56?

I know this technically has nothing to do with high end audio but I know there are some drummers here that might be able to help me along here....or tell me to skip it altogether. And it does have to do with music.

I'm almost embarrassed to even post this. I'm 56. I have never played a musical instrument other than dabbling with a harmonica. I do not read music. I am certain that I'll never perform for anyone or play in a band.

But I've always wanted to play drums.

And now I have enough money to get a simple cheap used drum kit and I have a basement that is isolated enough to not bother the neighbors. (I actually have an acquaintance who refurbishes used drums who can probably hook me up).

So I have a couple of questions:

1) Can you teach yourself to play drums? Alone or with YouTube etc? Are actual lessons required? Can I skip the practice pad and start with a kit?

2) Is there any point? In other words, even if I were to learn to play are the drums the kind of instrument that you sit down and play for your own pleasure the way you would a guitar?

My realistic expectation is that I'd get a simple kit. Try to do something with it. Find that it is much harder to do than it looks, especially for a guy with two left feet. It sits in the basement for a while and then I sell it for a big loss but hopefully at least happy that I tried it.

Any other thoughts on the matter?

(If totally inappropriate for this site I have no problem removing the post.....especially if someone points me to a better site for the topic.)


n80
shadorne's avatar
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shadorne
7,467 posts
 
@richopp

Great advice!

Rudiments are indeed essential to achieve a high level and so is doing them precisely and properly and at first, very slowly. However, working on chops can be rather boring and therefore it is important that rudiments are just a part of a practice routine and warm up. The joy is in the music. Learning to groove is even more important than chops! A band will take a drummer that can groove over one that has amazing chops!

Some of the greatest rock drummers learned by playing along to tracks and learning to groove/feel.




steamboy
8 posts
 
At the tender age of 70, I decided to take up the alto saxophone.For fun, something to do, and for the mental exercise against ageing, and so on. 3 years in, I am loving it and play in two 'community bands'Yes, of course it's harder than it looks. That goes for most things. But you should enjoy the journey. Take lessons, go to band camps in the summer, and just go for it.I know this is a drum thread but all those things go for most instruments.
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kylemack
2 posts
 
I say definitely go for it!  Our muscles and hand-eye coordination take a huge downturn once we hit 50 years of age, and this would probably do wonders at keeping your small muscle groups (as well as some large ones) fit and toned.  It takes an amazing amount of strength and endurance to play for any length of time on a drum set and the music is an absolute plus!
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mudd06
2 posts
 
Hi. This is about learning to play guitar. I came across a great teacher at age 61. I had wanted to play guitar since I was in my teens. Tried several times and got nowhere. One lucky thing was that I had bought a used Fender Strat with the idea of giving it to my son. The lessons were group lessons and at a very reasonable price. The Strat is easy to play - relatively - what I mean is that it is hard to play any guitar which is poorly set up or has other issues.

Group lessons tend to hide mistakes yet encourage you to keep up.

In the space of a month, I was able to play three chords. It was fantastic. Go for it man.

It is 6 years later and I am able to do more, still not a wizard, but having fun. 
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