Face it. You've been playing boring rudiments over and over. You are tired of hearing that "click... click... click..." of the metronome. Your hands are bleeding, you are tired, and you are wondering when you will get better.
Does this sound like you? Have you been wishing you could actually get better at drumming instead of playing the same boring stuff over and over and over?
"What other options do I have?" you ask. Drum play along songs. What are drum play along songs? Imagine a song with the guitars, maybe some other instruments, but the one instrument that is missing... the drums! That's right. Drum play along songs are nothing more than regular songs with the drums removed.
What's particularly fun about this is that you can play anything that your imagination will allow. There are no rules. Simply take a pattern you like and lay it down. Need a fill? Drop it in. Prefer double-bass, go ahead.
If you've never played to a drum play along song before, you absolutely must. You will find a new world that you will never want to leave. I've personally played to a single drum play along track for hours simply because the creativity it unleashed was phenomenal.
"Where do I find drum play along songs?". I'm glad you asked. Head over to minusdrums.com. You'll find 600+ MP3 drum play along songs including cover songs of your favorite bands, as well as plenty of original songs in rock, blues, metal, and jazz. If you can't find what you want there, some of the big online music stores carry book/CD combos. I don't like those as much because you have to get all the songs, even if you don't like them.
If you have an acoustic set, my recommendation is simple: Buy a mixer and 4 microphones. You'll need a kick drum mic, a snare mic, and two room mics (condensers). Send all of those plus your MP3 mix to the mixer.
For electronic kits, it's easy. Most electronic kits have an input jack. Take your MP3 player and run the signal directly into the electronic kit brain. You should have mix knob or some way of adjusting the level of the drums independently from the level of the MP3 player.
Got headphones? Check. Got sticks? Check. Got your MP3 drum play along? Check. Well now it is time to get to it. Take all the stuff you've learned and apply it. It's ok to try some new stuff. Mess up? No big deal... start from wherever you want (this is digital, after all) and keep practicing. I like to set it on repeat and just practice until I can't practice anymore. The best part is, the band will always be there for you. Enjoy!
Does this sound like you? Have you been wishing you could actually get better at drumming instead of playing the same boring stuff over and over and over?
"What other options do I have?" you ask. Drum play along songs. What are drum play along songs? Imagine a song with the guitars, maybe some other instruments, but the one instrument that is missing... the drums! That's right. Drum play along songs are nothing more than regular songs with the drums removed.
What's particularly fun about this is that you can play anything that your imagination will allow. There are no rules. Simply take a pattern you like and lay it down. Need a fill? Drop it in. Prefer double-bass, go ahead.
If you've never played to a drum play along song before, you absolutely must. You will find a new world that you will never want to leave. I've personally played to a single drum play along track for hours simply because the creativity it unleashed was phenomenal.
"Where do I find drum play along songs?". I'm glad you asked. Head over to minusdrums.com. You'll find 600+ MP3 drum play along songs including cover songs of your favorite bands, as well as plenty of original songs in rock, blues, metal, and jazz. If you can't find what you want there, some of the big online music stores carry book/CD combos. I don't like those as much because you have to get all the songs, even if you don't like them.
If you have an acoustic set, my recommendation is simple: Buy a mixer and 4 microphones. You'll need a kick drum mic, a snare mic, and two room mics (condensers). Send all of those plus your MP3 mix to the mixer.
For electronic kits, it's easy. Most electronic kits have an input jack. Take your MP3 player and run the signal directly into the electronic kit brain. You should have mix knob or some way of adjusting the level of the drums independently from the level of the MP3 player.
Got headphones? Check. Got sticks? Check. Got your MP3 drum play along? Check. Well now it is time to get to it. Take all the stuff you've learned and apply it. It's ok to try some new stuff. Mess up? No big deal... start from wherever you want (this is digital, after all) and keep practicing. I like to set it on repeat and just practice until I can't practice anymore. The best part is, the band will always be there for you. Enjoy!
About the Author:
Want to find out more about drum play along songs? Then visit minusdrums.com and search through over 600 drumless backing tracks for your drumming needs.