United States

They say you cant teach an old dog new tricks... I wont claim to be Old yet.. (46) but over the hill I guess. I love music and want to play drums in a band. here is the catch.. I play drums in my garage covering classic rock n roll, R & B, metal, etc.. simply by cranking up my stereo or with headphones plugged into my I-tunes library.. I only play by ear.. or memorization.. I can keep a beat but not a pro. Problem is I don't have any formal musical education... Question is this.. how much do I need to know.. or where do I get the info.. before I hit up a band to join? Do I have a chance? All constructive criticism is welcome..

Go to the music stores and ask around. Don't poor mouth your self - "I've got no experience..." etc. Just say you can play the following cover songs and have a list.

Maybe record yourself playing and post it here.

I played a couple months a few years ago with a drummer who'd not played professionally. He'd made a mistake I can share with you - he thought it was about equipment. Had so much gear I think it got in his way - it's the fundamentals that count.

Talbot

One thing that is different about playing with others compared to playing along with prerecorded music - keeping time.
A drummer has to keep a steady beat, not speed up (or slow down) except where its called for. Try starting a song with the volume on, then turn the volume off and keep playing, to your memory of the song. Turn up the volume again after a while and see if you're still keeping the same tempo.
Other than that, start searching for others in the same boat as you - not much experience playing with others, but want to. I see tons of CL ads like that around here. There's a local place that gives adults a chance to do just that (they pay to be in 'groups' organized by the guy who runs it).

They say you cant teach an old dog new tricks... I wont claim to be Old yet.. (46) but over the hill I guess. I love music and want to play drums in a band. here is the catch.. I play drums in my garage covering classic rock n roll, R & B, metal, etc.. simply by cranking up my stereo or with headphones plugged into my I-tunes library.. I only play by ear.. or memorization.. I can keep a beat but not a pro. Problem is I don't have any formal musical education... Question is this.. how much do I need to know.. or where do I get the info.. before I hit up a band to join? Do I have a chance? All constructive criticism is welcome..

Just play.
Find some boys, preferably more experienced than yourself, but not necessarily so . . . and play.
If timing is an overall issue utilize a metronome.
And play . . . PLAY !


Study along the way, find a mentor or use YouTube . . . but PLAY !




Did I say . . . PLAY ?

They say you cant teach an old dog new tricks... I wont claim to be Old yet.. (46) but over the hill I guess. I love music and want to play drums in a band. here is the catch.. I play drums in my garage covering classic rock n roll, R & B, metal, etc.. simply by cranking up my stereo or with headphones plugged into my I-tunes library.. I only play by ear.. or memorization.. I can keep a beat but not a pro. Problem is I don't have any formal musical education... Question is this.. how much do I need to know.. or where do I get the info.. before I hit up a band to join? Do I have a chance? All constructive criticism is welcome..

I doubt you'd find more than a half-dozen musicians on bandmix who have "formal music education". Those people are too busy working to visit here.

So just jump in. Find a band of your own caliber that needs a drummer and start jamming for the fun of it.

It's great therapy if nothing else.

Get a metronome or click and play with it. Measure the beats per minute for the songs you want to play. After you learn the songs turn the player off and and play the songs with just yourself and the click. They have an ap for smart phones that has a flash. Play the song and look down at the light and see how far off tempo you are. Nothing frustrates me more than to have a drummer play songs too fast. I would rather play with a mediocre drummer with a great meter, than a great drummer with a crappy meter. Learn to play the right tempo and not let the other folks in the band push you into playing faster. Lead and don't follow. Learn as much as you can about being a drummer. Everything you need to know is on line via the web. Music is a journey only the relentless succeed!

Get out and play with other musicians. Playing along to a "hits list" of songs on an Ipad or a CD wont allow you to build your ability to improvise/anticipate.
Before to long if you keep playing to those same song you are just going through the motions. I started playing with an established band not to long ago and it took a few sessions to get to know each others styles.