I kinda wish I considered my social anxiety and picked a better solitairy instrument than drums. They’re super fun to play, but I was only ever in one band and I’m too anxious to play with strangers right now. I just jam by myself, but I suspect I’d have an easier time actually writing music if I had more experience with melody. I tried picking up guitar and violin later, but so far I haven’t had the energy to really devote the time needed to learn another instrument.
Guitar is difficult to learn, especially if you don’t know anything about music theory.
You might want to start with a basic digital piano, and learn basic keyboard skills, and music theory at the same time. As a drummer, you have good hand independence, and will probably pick up piano pretty quickly.
Music theory is a supremely elegant system, and you may find it soothing for your anxiety.
This is really intensely packed information, but EVERYTHING you need to know about music theory is on there, especially the basic stuff. You’ll find lots of great explanations on YouTube. It’s a lot like mathematics, one small thing leads to another, and it all develops into an elegant complex system built on logic at every step. Most of it becomes pretty intuitive once you figure out the basics.
When you get a keyboard, make sure to get one with weighted keys, so it feels like a real piano. I got a really nice Donner on sale, and it’s lasted for years.
And of course practice every day. Try to get 20-30 minutes a day, either when you first get up, or before you go to bed, or preferably both. Make it a habit, and you’ll get better quickly. Keep it up and you’ll get fluid at reading music, and then it gets fun. You can be there in a year. You can take up the guitar next year.
And don’t worry about playing with someone else, just learn to play keyboard and you can start making your own recordings on your computer, and you only have to play with yourself. That’s what I do, along with guitar and bass. I wish I played drums, I have to use pads and program drum grooves.
Yeah, the guitar is really hard, you have to really want to play. There’s a long learning curve (endless, really), and it’s not very intuitive, ESPECIALLY when it comes to theory. That’s why guitarists have a much different approach to theory than other musicians.
Piano on the other hand, makes theory seem ridiculously easy, once you’ve mastered the notes on the staff.
I’m a guitarist, primarily, but I learned music theory getting a degree in music history about a million years ago, so I got the educational grounding BEFORE I really got into the guitar. It made it a LOT easier. I can’t imagine learning proper theory on guitar. I run through chord progressions on the guitar just fine, but so much of early theory is harmonic note leading, and that can only be taught, and learned, properly on a keyboard.
Once you’re decent on the keyboard, not a master or anything, but you know basic theory and can play some easy stuff, you can try to learn guitar, and transfer your knowledge over there. It should shorten the learning curve a bit, or at least make it less frustrating.
You’re fingertips are still going to scream either way.
Have you thought about an “MPC” type instrument like a Native Instruments Maschine? I feel like that might be a nice evolution for you as it would allow you to transition a love for percussion into a songwriting tool that is a blast to jam out with and make patterns with.
I mean, I really like nice finger drumming pads, but you could also just use a more traditional midi drum kit to record loops the point is that you can have a blast with an MPC type tool all by yourself with headphones on and you can then choose to share that or not, it is perfect as a solo instrument.
Bonus points you could record loops of yourself playing your actual drums and slice up the audio samples in an MPC, that would be super cool.
I also think as a drummer having an MPC might be really nice to throw loops of certain sections of songs into that you wanted to practice so that you could easily switch between them and keeping looping that section to practice as long as needed.
If you have a computer you can get a used/older NI Maschine for fairly cheap just make sure you get a software key. The pads feel really nice on those, but it is all down to preference.
A lot of people like the Ableton Push series of controllers but for me the pure playing feel of the Maschine is hard to beat and the ability to build loops into songs without looking at your computer screen while still having access to all the benefits of being connected to a computer (easy file access of samples for example) is really nice.
Go to Guitar Center or something and try out one, they are a blast I promise! They are inherently percussive instruments and I think having experience as a drummer is a great platform to enter into learning MPC type instruments from.
drummer here as well! I’m very glad to play the drums and not guitar or anything else. Okay, you’re the loudest one, but you also have your own safe space. I really see my drums as a wall between me and the rest of the stage/the band. It’s a comfort zone, a protection. Let the drums do the talking and hide behind your kit (figure of speech, not literally as that would be hard to play)
I definitely had similar issues with bass, it would have made more sense for me to start with guitar. Though either way, I do my best work when I’m programming synths. And I never really got good enough at bass to play the kinds of lines that made me pick up bass in the first place, anyway …
I started with guitar, but quickly grew bored with it because I’d rather play bass. Never really seriously played any instrument after that, though I have two guitars and three accordions laying around, along with another guitar, a ukelele and two keyboards from my kids. I guess I’m more of a collector.
I kinda wish I considered my social anxiety and picked a better solitairy instrument than drums. They’re super fun to play, but I was only ever in one band and I’m too anxious to play with strangers right now. I just jam by myself, but I suspect I’d have an easier time actually writing music if I had more experience with melody. I tried picking up guitar and violin later, but so far I haven’t had the energy to really devote the time needed to learn another instrument.
Guitar is difficult to learn, especially if you don’t know anything about music theory.
You might want to start with a basic digital piano, and learn basic keyboard skills, and music theory at the same time. As a drummer, you have good hand independence, and will probably pick up piano pretty quickly.
Music theory is a supremely elegant system, and you may find it soothing for your anxiety.
Here’s your textbook
This is really intensely packed information, but EVERYTHING you need to know about music theory is on there, especially the basic stuff. You’ll find lots of great explanations on YouTube. It’s a lot like mathematics, one small thing leads to another, and it all develops into an elegant complex system built on logic at every step. Most of it becomes pretty intuitive once you figure out the basics.
When you get a keyboard, make sure to get one with weighted keys, so it feels like a real piano. I got a really nice Donner on sale, and it’s lasted for years.
And of course practice every day. Try to get 20-30 minutes a day, either when you first get up, or before you go to bed, or preferably both. Make it a habit, and you’ll get better quickly. Keep it up and you’ll get fluid at reading music, and then it gets fun. You can be there in a year. You can take up the guitar next year.
And don’t worry about playing with someone else, just learn to play keyboard and you can start making your own recordings on your computer, and you only have to play with yourself. That’s what I do, along with guitar and bass. I wish I played drums, I have to use pads and program drum grooves.
It’s a lifetime journey, have fun!
Can confirm, switch from drums to piano after trying the guitar.
I couldn’t stick with the guitar but the keyboard, aw man, that’s awesome.❤️
Yeah, the guitar is really hard, you have to really want to play. There’s a long learning curve (endless, really), and it’s not very intuitive, ESPECIALLY when it comes to theory. That’s why guitarists have a much different approach to theory than other musicians.
Piano on the other hand, makes theory seem ridiculously easy, once you’ve mastered the notes on the staff.
I’m a guitarist, primarily, but I learned music theory getting a degree in music history about a million years ago, so I got the educational grounding BEFORE I really got into the guitar. It made it a LOT easier. I can’t imagine learning proper theory on guitar. I run through chord progressions on the guitar just fine, but so much of early theory is harmonic note leading, and that can only be taught, and learned, properly on a keyboard.
Once you’re decent on the keyboard, not a master or anything, but you know basic theory and can play some easy stuff, you can try to learn guitar, and transfer your knowledge over there. It should shorten the learning curve a bit, or at least make it less frustrating.
You’re fingertips are still going to scream either way.
This resource is awesome, thanks for sharing!!
Have you thought about an “MPC” type instrument like a Native Instruments Maschine? I feel like that might be a nice evolution for you as it would allow you to transition a love for percussion into a songwriting tool that is a blast to jam out with and make patterns with.
I mean, I really like nice finger drumming pads, but you could also just use a more traditional midi drum kit to record loops the point is that you can have a blast with an MPC type tool all by yourself with headphones on and you can then choose to share that or not, it is perfect as a solo instrument.
Bonus points you could record loops of yourself playing your actual drums and slice up the audio samples in an MPC, that would be super cool.
I also think as a drummer having an MPC might be really nice to throw loops of certain sections of songs into that you wanted to practice so that you could easily switch between them and keeping looping that section to practice as long as needed.
I had not thought about an mpc type instrument, but I’m going to look into it right now because that sounds cool lol
If you have a computer you can get a used/older NI Maschine for fairly cheap just make sure you get a software key. The pads feel really nice on those, but it is all down to preference.
A lot of people like the Ableton Push series of controllers but for me the pure playing feel of the Maschine is hard to beat and the ability to build loops into songs without looking at your computer screen while still having access to all the benefits of being connected to a computer (easy file access of samples for example) is really nice.
Go to Guitar Center or something and try out one, they are a blast I promise! They are inherently percussive instruments and I think having experience as a drummer is a great platform to enter into learning MPC type instruments from.
drummer here as well! I’m very glad to play the drums and not guitar or anything else. Okay, you’re the loudest one, but you also have your own safe space. I really see my drums as a wall between me and the rest of the stage/the band. It’s a comfort zone, a protection. Let the drums do the talking and hide behind your kit (figure of speech, not literally as that would be hard to play)
Unless you’re Dave Grohl. Than you can jump right through that wall
I definitely had similar issues with bass, it would have made more sense for me to start with guitar. Though either way, I do my best work when I’m programming synths. And I never really got good enough at bass to play the kinds of lines that made me pick up bass in the first place, anyway …
I started with guitar, but quickly grew bored with it because I’d rather play bass. Never really seriously played any instrument after that, though I have two guitars and three accordions laying around, along with another guitar, a ukelele and two keyboards from my kids. I guess I’m more of a collector.
I was fairly obsessed with bass, too, when I started playing instruments. I guess guitar never would have worked for me back then.