Tagged As: Yamaha Electric Drum Set
Question:
First, I apologize to all the traditional acoustic drummers, but bear with me to see where I am heading. My 11 year old daughter wants to play drums. I have a music room in my basement where I (guitar) play with my 15 year old son (bass) to my Yamaha drum machine that I have about 200 songs programmed into. My son and I have about 20 songs down so far, and we are having a blast(I know all 200, I am just bringing him along). I have 4 mics, and a great PA. I have been leaning toward a electric drum kit so she can learn and play at moderate levels. I plan on paying for lessons. My fear of acoustic is the 1 to 2 year noisy learning period, not only while she is learning, but is wanting to play with us. My thought is that with the electric kit she can play with headphones, also hearing us and herself at the same time. Normally, we play at a mellow level, but crank it now and again. My two big questions are; 1- If she learns on the electric kit, will it be a BIG detriment when and if she moves to acoustic drums in 2-3 years? 2- What would be a good starter electric kit?
Answer:
I would NOT recommend the formative years being spent solely on an electronic kit. With the guidance of a teacher and a snare drum, I might consider letting her work on the electronic kit, but bear this in mind: my beginners don't touch a kit for at least six months, and ever after, they work on a pad as long as they're taking lessons with me. As far as technique goes, I personally can play much more complex things on an e-kit than on real drums. Rubber pads have more rebound, and a stiffer surface than a slack drumhead. To combat that, (if this is the only solution) I would recommend extensive work on a pillow or moongel pad, which forces development of finger and wrist control without rebound. I see so many young players who couldn't play a double stroke roll on a floor tom if their life depended on it because they don't use their fingers. Not good. Maybe you could look into an option like the Pacific Chameleon kit, which has reversable shallow drums with slient mesh heads for practice on one side, and mylar (plastic) heads on the other. Alternately, get her a full-sized kit (it'll sound better), and a set of mesh heads for one side, so you can still achieve the chameleon concept without sacrificing sound quality. Next issue is wrist damage. It's very easy to hurt yourself playing on rubber pads (CTS and tendonitis), so that's another detriment to beginning that way. Unless you're really relaxed, and using correct technique, it's unhealthy. Only older players with more mature technique should attempt extensive playing on rubber pads. Finally, sound design and tuning are major skills that will not be developed by playing on an electronic kit. The only way to get good at tuning (sorry Larry Nolly and Bob Gatzen) is to do it. A lot. Develop your ears and hands to hear and feel the drums. Develop sound concepts by spending time with them. Head selection, ear training, cymbal selection, instrument placement, and other items are all unaddressed in the e-kit. As a guitarist, would you start a student on a seven string electric, or a chapman stick? Of course not; you start with an acoustic guitar because that's where you need the most intense technique and physical conditioning.
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