1 | Percussion is the heartbeat to every musical style.
Take a listen to some of your favourite songs, whatever genre they may be. Imagine there are no drums or beat carrying you through it. Having that percussive element to the song is what makes you tap your foot, defines the changes between the loud and quiet parts and creates the dramatic build up to the music. You control the intensity and speed of every song you perform.2 | It’s a chance to express your creative side.
When you’re being creative, it opens your eyes to look at everything in a different way. You express your musical ideas by playing all sorts of new, different beats and fills. The drums are like your voice, you have to be confident in expressing your new ideas and skills to gain more knowledge and experience. You may find yourself being interested in styles such as samba drums or playing in groups as part of your creative exercise.3 | You don’t have to play a big acoustic kit, there are plenty of great electric kits out there!
The idea of having to own such a big instrument, having no room and neighbours is daunting. There are so many electric drum kits available that are great to practice on with or without headphones. They have smaller frames and a lot of them are able to fold up and move out of the way!4 | Helps your concentration and coordination skills.
If you're playing as part of an ensemble, it is important that you do not disturb the tempo of the song. The more rehearsal you put into drumming the more you can hold your concentration for long periods of time. If you practice more your coordination skills will improve at change over’s and drumming patterns. All of this will benefit you in everyday activities as well.5 | Once you have your desired kit, you can add all sorts of fun drum equipment to it!
Although it is preferred by some people to have minimal drum kits, there is so much you can add to your kit to make it sound great. As you progress as a drummer and start playing different kinds of music, you will find yourself wanting to add more and more to your kit. This may be different cymbals or even bongos for a more traditional style. Electronic drum machines are forever getting more popular in music and adapting them to an acoustic kit can sound great!6 | It is a brilliant stress relief.
Whether you have had a bad day at school, work or just in general, there is nothing better than being able to come home and relieve it. Drumming can be fast paced and give you such an adrenalin rush it will help shake off the stress and cheer you up.7 | Learning drum notation means you can play for anyone.
Although it is not as common to read drum notation these days, it is always a good thing to learn. This will help you if you ever get asked to do session or show drumming as well as being able to write down ideas for new songs or interesting drum beats and fills you come up with.8 | Whatever instrument you want to play, learning the drums means you’ll always have perfect timing.
It’s your job as a drummer to keep everyone in time. You become a human metronome after years of experience. No matter what you go on to play you will always have good timing. You know exactly how the music works so you can progress as a player in any instrument you choose.9 | You can rock out to anything!
Even though you may be sitting down, you are always moving the most in a band. Everyone else will be able to move around on stage, which is a great opportunity to get into the music and let yourself go. You have to have a stage presence somehow, so being able to rock out means you can show off your talent and look impressive at the same time. Everybody wants to rock out!10 | You get to learn one of the oldest, most cultural instruments there is.
Being a drummer isn't just about sitting behind a drum kit. There are so many different types of drums out there such as djembe’s, bongo drums and timpani’s. You may find yourself wanting to play in a marching band, jazz band or orchestra. All these styles involve different a form of drums which creates an endless list of what you could do in your drumming career.If you're really keen, click on the drums bellow to take a look at the different types!
