Kid Guitars
Archive for the ‘Kids Drums’ Category
Beginner Drums Should Suit Aspiring Musicians
Parents are always studying their kids for signs of talent, whether it be academic, artistic or musical. When a child demonstrates an aptitude for or interest in playing music, that desire should be fostered with some discount equipment. Basic drum sets should at least include a bass drum, a hanging tom and a snare drum with a high-hat cymbal. These are the raw essentials with which a child can hone his percussive skills.
Even childrens drum sets can be customized for optimal sound. Begin by adjusting the tension of the snare drum. The sound of a drum is determined by the tension of the skin as it lies across the frame. You can turn the lugs of the drum clockwise to increase tension and counterclockwise to decrease it. Be aware that if you tighten the drum too much, it could be punctured with a well-placed stick strike.
Drums are the world’s oldest musical instruments. Before it was even perfected as to what material could be used to make them, different tribal groups have already used them to create sounds and rhythms in certain religious rituals. They either use them for their tribal dance or simply to deliver a message or signals. Drums are usually cylindrical in shape. They can be open on one side or both sides closed.
Nowadays, together with other instruments, drum sets are being used by drummers in a band. It is usually composed of drums, cymbals, triangles, chimes and tambourines. To use drums, you can use two sticks, your fingers or for floor drums, you can use your foot to step on the foot pedal. You can even get your kids off on the right note with a set of beginner drums.
When my son was diagnosed as having Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD), I was at a total loss. I already knew that he had a behavioral problem because it was so hard to teach him to mind. He couldn’t sit down in church, and he always got lost in the mall because he was running about.
His therapist told me that I shouldn’t worry because there are many other cases of ADHD kids growing up to be normal or even more above average than their peers. He simply advised me to help him find an outlet for his energy. He gave me options including a trampoline, childrens drumsets, or a basketball. Slowly I am beginning to understand my son’s condition, and with the proper knowledge in dealing with it, I know that I can raise him to become a normal adult.
Without a doubt, the snare drum is just as integral to your kit as your bass drum. Personally, I prefer stripped down kits: a bass drum, a snare, a floor tom, a high hat and two cymbals – simple, easy to break down and carry. But any skinmaster will tell you, tuning a snare on your childrens drumset can be a real pain. Here’s an easy tutorial:
~ Turn the snares off. The snare drum cannot be tuned correctly with interference from the snare sounds.
~ Tune the top head first. Turn each lug clockwise to increase the tension of the head and make the drum’s pitch higher.
~ Tune one lug, and then tune the lug on its opposite side (180 degrees away). The drum tunes better when you don’t tune these lugs in a circular sequence.
~ Continue this pattern so that you never tune two lugs in a row that are less than a few inches from each other.
~ Repeat this sequence with the bottom head. Be careful not to tune it too high, because these heads tend to break easily.
~ Test the pitch of each lug when finished by lightly playing about 1 inch away from the lug with a drumstick.
~ Make sure all the lugs have equal pitch. At this point, your drum should be tuned.
Music is a form of communication. In fact, the language of music can transcend generations. That is why kids should be exposed to music at an early age.
It would be great to encourage kids to love music. This can be done by bringing them to music lessons where they can learn to play various musical instruments and discover which instrument they like. Some kids would probably pick the piano, others the violin, while others would want to learn how to play the drums. Instead of the professional or adult drum sets, beginner drum sets can be used for younger kids.
Like most five-year-olds, my son often has more energy than I would like. While I love my son, there are times when I wish that he would just sit down for a few minutes. One of my tricks to induce a lull in his rambunctious behavior to find means for him to release his energy.
Since he already is constantly banging on objects around our home, I decided to try to cultivate this passion of his and purchased him a set of drums for children. Now when he has too much energy, I simply tell him to go play his drum kit for a little while. Not only does he love playing the instrument, but it also provides him with a means of creative expression.
Teaching Young Drummers a Sense of Rhythm
While some people are fond of mentioning that their children were born with a natural sense of rhythm, it’s possible to teach even the most woefully rhythm averse kids to stay on the beat. There are three basic ways to get a young drummer on track in terms of establishing the rhythm necessary to master a percussion instrument. The first is listening to music in a passive way. Some people develop rhythm via audio osmosis.
The second technique involves active listening. Encourage kids to focus on various parts of the song, in effect drowning out everything else. Start with the kids drums track and then tell him to listen carefully to the bass guitar. Finally, you can set up a metronome for your child to play along with. Adjust the tempo to a speed in accordance with your child’s level of experience.
By now we’re all familiar with the image of an aspiring vocalist singing into a shampoo bottle in the bathroom. They hone their vocal cords and breathing techniques over time by singing along with their favorite songs. But could a similar technique be equally beneficial for drummers? Is there any validity to the suggestion that drumming along with recorded music makes a difference?
The simple answer is yes, but there is a huge caveat. Beginners can learn a lot about establishing rhythm and playing on beat by following along with their favorite CDs. But don’t let a child’s reach exceed his grasp. As tempting as it might be to emulate a drummer playing fast-paced punk music or thrash metal, the fact is that these rhythms are too complex to start off. Work your way to that point gradually. You will know when the time is right to get the kids drums to start them on the road to being a musician.
It should come as no surprise that a good sense of rhythm is the single most important attribute for an aspiring drummer. It doesn’t matter how many times you can twirl a drumstick in your fingers without dropping it – in the end, those moves are just stage theatrics and nothing more. The true test of a drummer’s mettle is deceptively simple: can he keep the beat?
There are several methods that youngsters can use to improve rhythm while getting used to their kids drums. Counting out loud – so that it’s under one’s breath and barely audible – can instill rhythm in the same way that a metronome does. Eventually the child will learn to transfer that steady count to a tapping toe or some other less overt method of keeping rhythm.
Even before a drummer tunes his percussive instrument or even acquires a drum set in the first place, it’s possible for her to practice. That’s because quality drumming calls for proper playing posture. Children can benefit from the pesky advice their mothers and fathers are always giving them at the dinner table: “Sit up straight.” Playing with a slouch puts a drummer at a rhythmic disadvantage, and it can even cause harm to the lower back over time.
In fact, the dinner table is the perfect place to practice this critical drumming technique. Before the child receives a set of kids drums, tell her to straighten her back and pretend that her knife and fork are the drum sticks. Just make sure that she doesn’t start striking the fine china with said sticks. You can also encourage her to watch drummers in music videos and stage performances; they almost always demonstrate perfect posture.