MB Musicians - Learning to Play

Well like, take the drums...how do you get your hands and feet to all do their own thing? Is it just practice, or is there a technique to it?

Guitar. Self-taught seven years ago at age 53.

Drums. My father played the drums. There was never less then 2 kits in the house at a time. This doesn't include the other percussion instruments littered around the house. My little brother is the one that can play anything. I stuck with percussion.

I taught myself how to play guitar, harmonica and piano. Start out with the basics and slowly progress from there. Once I got over the learning curve for each, they weren't so bad.

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Well like, take the drums...how do you get your hands and feet to all do their own thing? Is it just practice, or is there a technique to it?

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Wish I remembered

I lost the fingers and ordered a kit a week later. That part of my life is a pissed off blur

I just would throw on my headphones and listen to a song and try to air drum what I heard. Then I would replay the song while actually playing. Started out with simple stuff...stones, acdc, Skynyrd. If it was simple and straightforward then I tried it. After that I started practicing what I like to listen to. I like foo fighters and saw them RIGHT before it happened so I was hell bent on learning their stuff. Lots of practice. At bare minimum I probably played 3 hours a night, 5 nights a week for a solid 6 months.

Eventually it just clicks. It looks a lot harder than it is. I got frustrated as hell that first month but eventually it all came together. Best advice I can give is to just grab a metronome and practice. Don't worry about fills. Just practice a basic beat. Once you get that, you'll find the fills and fancy shite just happen naturally.

Trombone and Baritone - 5th grade through 12th grade, school band

Guitar - Youtube videos and justin guitar

This thread really makes me want to learn the guitar I own. I have a hard time finding time for myself having a toddler. Which, I'm realizing now isn't much of an excuse

Guitar - had one given to me when I was 10. Learned a few chords from a neighbor. Stuck with learning by ear and tabs. I eventually took lessons a few years ago from Drew Zaunbrecher (blues guitarists), but that was to help with scales basically. That helped me a lot with theory and bettering my technique.

Drums - got my first kit in 8th grade. I feel like for drums you can either play or you can't. If you can't get on a kit right away and keep a beat, you are likely fricked. You of course get better with practice, but you either have rhythm or you don't.


Piano - self taught. Learn stuff by ear.

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Adding to your "got it or don't" for drums, you have to be coordinated enough to play with your feet while your arms are going. That was always my hang up on drums, not rhythm.

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It really almost seems like you need to be "uncoordinated" with drums. I've seen coordinated people struggle because their extremities are always trying to do the same thing in tandem. With drums, it's like you have to compartmentalize your brain: The right arm does one thing, the left another, the right leg does its thing, and the left does its own thing.