Things I Wish I Knew When I Started My Child on the Drums

World famous kid drummers like Hokkaido's YOYOKA-chan are setting the standards really high.

There have been several kids who have entered Drum Magazine's contests in the kids' division, and several drummers-only events have been held on the YouTube JemRockJam channel for kid musicians.

Seeing these kids, more and more fathers and mothers are thinking, “If my child starts playing now, he or she will be just like YOYOKA!”

In fact, my son also started playing the drums in kindergarten and is now in the first grade of elementary school.
I taught him for two years, and now he is attending a drum school. There are many children learning drums at his school, and the number of students exceeds that of guitarists.

In this article, I would like to share some things that beginners should be aware of that are unique to children that I noticed with my son’s development.

■ Stick Thickness

Adult drummers choose sticks based on their playing style and desired sound, but for children, it is safer to choose thinner sticks at first.

My son somehow continued to use 15 mm thick sticks that he had at home.
Two years later, when he started attending a drum school, his teacher pointed out the thickness of the sticks, so he switched to 13mm sticks, and his playing improved dramatically.

Although it is only a 2mm difference, it seems to make a significant difference to a child with smaller hands.
He was able to control the sticks in his hands, and he was surprised at how easy it was for him to do so.

Generally, most of the sticks are 14-15mm, and oftentimes many stores don’t carry sticks that are 13mm or smaller.
Sound House has a whole collection of 13mm sticks to choose from, so they make things very convenient.

→ List of 13mm drumsticks

■ About Electronic Drums

In response to the popularity of drummers, electronic drums have become increasingly popular over the past few years.
The Roland VAD506, a high-end model with a cool acoustic drum-like appearance, is not just for home practice, but this is an electronic instrument that can also be used for live performances and recordings.

ROLAND / VAD506

However, few people would buy a drumset for a child who is just starting to play drums due to its high price.

The best choice is a product under 100,000.
Playtech's PDS-750 is also sold as a set with the necessary equipment for practice, and with this one, you won't need anything else for home practice.
It has two cymbals and all toms are mesh-padded, so your child will be happy with it even after he grows out of it.

PLAYTECH / PDS-750 Soundproofing Set S

Many kids who start drumming buy electronic drums and practice at home, but many kids have the same problem with practicing.
My son and his friends all had the same problem.

The problem is that the movements become smaller and the sound becomes quieter.
With the exception of some electronic drums, they are usually smaller than acoustic drums, so the shape is smaller.
In addition, since he is not used to the bombastic sound of acoustic drums, he will tend to delegate to the sound output and try to keep the volume down.

The same can be said for adults who practice with electronic drums, but children learn more with their bodies than adults do with their brains.
Therefore, even if you tell them to “make the form bigger” or “play bigger,” unlike adults, their bodies will not listen to you.
When I show them recordings, they are aware of this, but it seems that they are unconsciously making the drums smaller.

Let's remedy this by giving them opportunities to be exposed to acoustic drums as much as possible.

■ About Twin Pedals

The history of the twin pedal, which allows one bass to handle a two-bass sound, is surprisingly short and is said to have started around 1980.
It wasn’t until the late 1990s that many drummers began using twin pedals.

Perhaps it’s due to this short history, some veteran drummers are negative about the twin pedal itself, and some say that it should be used only by advanced drummers....

People who do not like twin pedals should not use them, but I personally think it is a mistake to say that drummers shouldn’t bother learning to play with them only after you become an expert drummer.

At least the kid drummers around me practice with twin pedals from the beginning and enjoy playing with them as they’re improving.
If you practice with your left foot on the hi-hat and bass drum from the beginning, it will become second nature to you.

Children in particular tend to prefer straightforward rock music because it’s easy to understand and easy to groove to, rather than more difficult music such as jazz or fusion.
If you continue to play music, you will most likely have opportunities to use twin pedals.

■ Skipping Basic Exercises

There is no correct answer because different teachers teach in different ways.
However, two of the drum instructors I know said the same thing. They do not force their children to practice the basics.

It goes without saying that basic practice is important, but if children find it uninteresting, they won’t want to practice and will quit.
Even if you try to persuade them that they will use all the techniques in the future, small children are not capable of thinking about the future, and they want to do what is fun for them now.

The situation is a little different when it comes to musical instruments and scales.
The smaller the child is, the easier it is to acquire a sense of pitch, so it is worth teaching it, even if it takes some effort. However, for rhythm instruments such as drums, there is not much of a problem even if you start late. The important thing is whether or not they can continue to enjoy it, and basic practice that they find boring will become more interesting when they can start to judge what techniques that they want to work on.

However, not all children will have a hard time with basic exercises.
Some children like to practice the basics, while others do not, but it’s not supposed to be completely boring. The basics are important, so it is best to start as early as possible.

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