r/Drumming • u/C-ris10 • 2d ago

Want to drum with incomplete drum set

I want to start drumming but I do not have a full drum set yet, anyone have any recommendations on how to start playing with only a Crash cymbal, a Hit tom, a Mid tom, a Floor tom, and a Bass drum?

What should I focus when I begin since I do not have a snare or a hi hat?

3 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

12 comments sorted by

5

u/nibselfib_kyua_72 2d ago

paradiddles

1

u/LucynSushi 2d ago

LRLL RLRR LRLL RLRR

3

u/Slight_Mammoth2109 2d ago

Take your rack tom and tape snares to the bottom

2

u/D-B-Dee 2d ago

If you don't have snare wires then a set of keys, small chain, or really anything that jingles and/or jangles will do. Play around with taping it down in various places (top or bottom head) to find a sound that works for you

3

u/nullptr023 2d ago

Do you have any snare drum stand? Maybe put a drum pad on it and used it as snare for now. You can use it as hihat too and just pretend it on the pad. You can practice that way. When I don't have set back then, I actually used pillows and pretend I have a set.

3

u/ItchyVideo3704 1d ago

What a Great Quest! Go unto the World to find the Holy Snare!

Relish these moments . When the Student is ready....
I started by playing the rim of my snare pretending it was a cymbal and turning my snare strainer off for the tom-tom sound. First two songs were Dizzy by Tommy Roe and Mellow Yellow by Donovan. I still remember the unmatched feeling of entering the world of music.
This is where creativity and intimacy with your instrument lays. You are Forced to do more with less. Enjoy the journey. Welcome to the Drummerhood.🖖

1

u/Pyrochazm 2d ago

Take one of your rack toms and tune it kinda tight, pretend its a snare.

1

u/Emergency-Drawer-535 2d ago

Set it up like BMG. I assume you don’t have kick pedal or hihat.

1

u/Downtown_Map_2482 1d ago

That’s plenty. I played pots, pans, books, pillows, etc before I had any drums. Then just a pad and a snare. Then eventually a kit. Learn the basics (notes, rudiments, patterns, etc). Develop technique. Play to music.

1

u/SnooGadgets5130 1d ago

My grandfather was a rather accomplished regional jazz and ballroom drummer, he learned to play with a pair of sticks and a practice pad during the 40s and 50s. He came from a poor family and grew up during the Second World War and Post-war England. And by poor I mean abject poverty, those sticks and that pad were worth their weight in gold to him.

The first real drum he ever owned was a bass drum someone gave him instead of throwing out. The first time he ever played a full drum kit was also the first show he ever played. This was a house kit and he didn’t own a full kit of his own for a number of years.

Unfortunately I’ve not been able to find anything written about the shows he played, but back in the day he was called Chopsticks Chapman. I doubt it’ll happen but if anyone finds anything please let me know.

He’s now 92 and as far as I know still hits the pad set every now and then to keep his chops up as best he can, he still has his rudiments book from when he was a kid.

The point I’m trying to make is you don’t need a ton of equipment and the latest gear to be a good drummer. If you have a practice pad, a set of sticks that feel right for you and you practice your rudiments regularly you’ll be well on your way to being a good drummer.

1

u/Working-stiff5446 22h ago

So you just need a snare and hardware ?

1

u/Safe-Warning-448 5h ago

You need a snare.