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Take up drums at age 56?

I know this technically has nothing to do with high end audio but I know there are some drummers here that might be able to help me along here....or tell me to skip it altogether. And it does have to do with music.

I'm almost embarrassed to even post this. I'm 56. I have never played a musical instrument other than dabbling with a harmonica. I do not read music. I am certain that I'll never perform for anyone or play in a band.

But I've always wanted to play drums.

And now I have enough money to get a simple cheap used drum kit and I have a basement that is isolated enough to not bother the neighbors. (I actually have an acquaintance who refurbishes used drums who can probably hook me up).

So I have a couple of questions:

1) Can you teach yourself to play drums? Alone or with YouTube etc? Are actual lessons required? Can I skip the practice pad and start with a kit?

2) Is there any point? In other words, even if I were to learn to play are the drums the kind of instrument that you sit down and play for your own pleasure the way you would a guitar?

My realistic expectation is that I'd get a simple kit. Try to do something with it. Find that it is much harder to do than it looks, especially for a guy with two left feet. It sits in the basement for a while and then I sell it for a big loss but hopefully at least happy that I tried it.

Any other thoughts on the matter?

(If totally inappropriate for this site I have no problem removing the post.....especially if someone points me to a better site for the topic.)


n80

Showing 1 response by bdgregory

bdgregory
1,708 posts
 
I say go for it. I did a similar thing . . . took up guitar in my 50's. I started teaching myself with books, online lessons, etc. In my case focusing on playing songs was key to keeping me going. After a couple of years of this I found a kid fresh out of college to come to my house a couple of nights a week . . . this was a big, big help in getting me to the next level (especially music theory). 

After that, I began jamming with friends. There is nothing more fun, and more important to your continued development than actually playing songs with people.  Second in line is playing with backing tracks . . . there are many many options for backing tracks to play with.  I now have a Jam studio in my house and 5-8 guys come over once a week for a Jam. I have a keyboard and an Alesis electronic drum kit set up there because these are tough instruments to schlep over. The other instruments (guitars/horns) are easy to cary over (though I have bunches of extra guitars and amplifiers. I also want to learn to play them. None of us really aspire to play in public (though we have) . . . too much work. We just want to play for ourselves for the fun, and to improve.

The Alesis electronic kit sounds great . . . our drummer is an experienced drummer and very good.  That said, I would be inclined to learn on an acoustic kit if I had a choice. 
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