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Drums are a musical instrument that belongs to the percussion family and are of different types. Examples are the acoustic drum set (including the bass, snare, tom drums) and African drums such as the Batá drum, Bongo drum, Udu, Djembe, and many more.
In Africa, there are different musical instruments used for entertainment. One of them is the drums. These percussion instruments have existed in Africa for a while, and they started from people making beats by hitting surfaces with the palm or with a stick to get a musical sound.
Nigeria has different drum types like the Batá, Omele, iya-ilu, Gangan, kalangu, and more used in making beats and sounds. However, being African does not stop you from exploring other drum types, especially the acoustic drum set.
Drum Lessons for Beginners
Are you interested in a percussion instrument and the art of drumming? Are you eager to learn about different drums and how they are used to produce rhythms, beats, and sounds? If your answer to these questions is yes, you should consider attending drum lessons.
It doesn't matter whether you are young or old; you can learn to play the drums at any age. What matters is your passion and commitment. Moreover, learning to play the drums is just like learning other skills!
To become a good drummer, you have to use every given opportunity to learn. Good drummers always make out free time for practice. How fast you learn the drum depends on how often you practice.
Africa and Nigeria, to be precise, are home to different drum types, of which some have been mentioned. After getting yourself familiar with these drums, you are free to choose the type of drum you are interested in and wish to learn.
You might be searching online for how to play the drums for beginners. It's very understandable. Anyway, there are many things you'll be taught as a beginner. Below are a few of them.
The Different Drum Types
As we've mentioned earlier, there are different drum types in Nigeria, both traditional African drums and modern drums. There's the Bass drum, the kalangu, Bata, udu, gangan to mention a few.
Musical Notes
Like any other musical instrument, the drum has a notation in which musical notes are written. This is to aid your drum rhythm and sound. A typical notes value used in a drum notation is the quarter, eighth, and sixteenth notes. Most drum beats you listen to are made up of a combination of all the note types. However, for African drums, you might not need the musical notes.
Rudiments
The building blocks for all drum beats, and we have 40 drum rudiments in total. But the essential drum rudiments are:
- Single stroke roll
- Double stroke roll
- Parididle rudiments
- Flam based rudiments
Grip
This refers to the way drummers hold the percussion mallet (drumsticks) while playing the drums. Examples are matched German grip, matched German grip, and traditional grip.
Drum Beats for Beginners
Of course, as a beginner, you can start with complex drum beats. You have to start from the most basic beats, and once you're able to get the simplest beats, you'll be able to build on them till you become a good drummer.
Drum Playing Techniques
As long as you have a good and experienced teacher, you'll be taught all the techniques you need to know about playing the drums. Just be free to ask your tutor if there's a technique you're finding difficult.
Having drummers with years of experience teaching you is no joke. The following are ways to know if that years of experience have rubbed off on you.
- Being able to remember everything you've been taught
- Ability to play your first drum beats effortlessly
- Playing the drum along with a particular song
- You'll be able to play alongside other instruments
What Equipment Do I Need to Learn the Drums
Drumming equipment is one of the things you'll be introduced to as a beginner. You'll get to learn the different types of drum gears and their functions alongside their role in making you a good drummer.
At first, you might have to borrow some drum equipment till you eventually get your new set of drums. The main things you'll need are the drums and drumstick or your palm in cases where you're learning drums played with hands.
If you're learning with an acoustic drum set, then you have to get the different pieces of the set, and these include:
- The bass drum
- The snare drum
- The tom
- The cymbals
- A drum stool
- Alongside the set of drums mentioned, you'll also have to get new separate drum stands for drums that require it, such as the snare, cymbals, and the tom.
If you're a fan of marching bands and are interested in learning the band drums, you'll need a drum carrier to support your back and neck while carrying the drums.
Finding Your Ideal Drum Teacher
Now that you have an idea of what the drum is and the different types of equipment used alongside the drums, you can proceed to find the right teacher for yourself.
Finding your ideal teacher with good experience as a drummer is really important because it determines how fun or boring your drumming journey will be. It will also determine how well you'll learn. Also, if you can get along well with your teacher, your learning journey may be smoother and faster.
To find the ideal drum teacher, you can either go to music school or book a private lesson with a teacher for physical or online lessons, depending on your preference and availability. There are a lot of music schools in Nigeria with various musical instruments and amazing teachers with a high level of experience in drumming. They'll teach you how to play the drums like a professional.
Also, if you're interested in taking private lessons, you should find a suitable teacher that you can get along with easily. You can get private teachers online or request them at a music school, be free to do whichever works for you.
Another thing to consider when choosing an ideal teacher is the location. It's really important to know how close or far the tutor you'll be working with is. It's advisable to go for a tutor near you to avoid any disturbance attached to long distances. This also goes for people interested in attending music school. You don't want to go late for your drum lessons every time.
Some of the important things to consider before your first drum lesson:
- How experienced is your drum tutor? It's good to find out before signing up for the drum lessons.
- The type of music you love will determine the type of drum that you'll use
- Collection of drums you'll love to play. Is it African drums or drum sets?
- The structure and content of the drum lessons you'll be taking to help you stay focused.
- Your learning preference. You might prefer a local music school to private lessons, especially if you prefer meeting new people and vice versa.
- How fast can you learn? This will help you know if your teacher has to be a little patient with you.
Cost of Drum Lessons in Nigeria
You have to pay some fees to get enrolled at a regular school, right? The same applies to learning the art of drumming. Drummers taking your drum lessons have to be paid the way regular teachers are paid, so you must be prepared to pay.
So, if you're interested in private lessons, then be sure that the probability of the tutor being available all the time is high, especially if you're based in Lagos. The amount to pay for drum lessons depends on your location in Nigeria, how good the music school is, and how experienced the drum teacher is. So, work with what is within your budget.
There are different tuition fees for drum lessons, and they vary with different music schools. A typical music school in Lagos charges about 50,000 NGN and above for 1 hour per three months. On the other hand, the tutor charges between 2000 to 7000 NGN per hour in private lessons, either physical or online. On Superprof, you'll even enjoy the first lesson for free!
If you think the prices for the lessons are not within your budget, you can watch YouTube videos online and teach yourself about the drums. However, you need a lot of discipline and patience because it might not be that easy to learn without a tutor. Also, you have to get your drum kit for constant practice.
If you're ready to start your drum learning journey today, we recommend learning with a private tutor on Superprof!
The platform that connects tutors and students
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