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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
kylemack's avatar
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. 
lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
5,403 posts
 
@richopp   Loved your story. And so true about proper form and strengthening the wrist while practicing rudiments. 
I was merely extrapolating the fingering concept forgetting that we're dealing with a beginning drummer. Fingering may be a non issue for him.

My advice to the OP is to warm up with the rudiments,  then practice and play the entire kit and have fun. What I did as a beginner was to have a friend teach me a basic rock beat that enabled me to jam to tunes right from the jump.

And Rich,
I forgot about the old expression "it's all in the wrist."




bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,549 posts
 

@n80, allow me to offer one piece of advice: remember that the value of technical ability is nothing more than the ability to play with your limbs what you hear in your mind. Poorly-conceived drum parts perfectly-executed nonetheless constitutes poor drumming. There are a number of drummers known for having advanced technique whose parts in musical terms are not what I look for in a drummer. I won't mention any names, as any one of them may be a favorite of a participant in this thread ;-) .

Conversely, there is a musician whose drumming in musical terms is amongst my favorites: Richard Manuel, pianist/singer of The Band. He plays drums on about half the songs on The Band's second s/t album, and his parts are absolutely amazing. Not just musically appropriate, but very imaginative, original, and unique. And drums were not (R.I.P.) even his first instrument!

There is one drummer rarely mentioned whose playing is really, really special (even Buddy Rich loved him): John Barbata of The Turtles (and later Jefferson Airplane/Starship). Listen to his drumming on "Happy Together", "She'd Rather Be With Me", and "Elenore". For the technically-inclined, the drum parts are fairly difficult to execute. For the musically-inclined, they are not only absolutely brilliant, but also very exciting in a Keith Moon-kind of way.

Here's another tip, this one from guitar virtuoso Danny Gatton:

Danny, to his new drummer after the first set of the drummer's first live gig with Danny: "Hey, you know all that fancy sh*t you play?"

The drummer to Danny: "Yeah."

Danny: "Don't."

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