BPC Drummer's Forum - Birmingham Percussion Center

If I were to pick up hand percussion, a definite possibility this summer, which instrument should I buy first? I know it's probably a matter of preferance..but you people know more than me lol.

Also, since I wouldn't be taking lessons until the summer, would it be okay to go ahead and buy the instrument, conga drum, rumba, or whatever it may be, and just kind of mess around with it prior to the starting of lessons? Or would I risk(I suppose there is always some risk..) of developing bad techniques/habits by playing on it before I was instructed.

I've taken drumset lessons before, and I'm a bass player so I have enough sense to not hurt myself. But yeah.

Thanks in advance!

Shade wrote:Also, since I wouldn't be taking lessons until the summer, would it be okay to go ahead and buy the instrument, conga drum, rumba, or whatever it may be, and just kind of mess around with it prior to the starting of lessons? Or would I risk(I suppose there is always some risk..) of developing bad techniques/habits by playing on it before I was instructed?

As with everything, there is always the risk of developing bad habits and what-not before actually getting proper instruction on how to play the instrument.

Personally, I would say get maybe a conga or two, or possibly a set of bongos, and just play around. Have some fun.

Just go for it. Hand drums are a great deal about how it "feels"...which actually takes a little time to get into. Technique will just help make you that much more awesome Some of the best players in the world started out not having a clue about what they were doing.

Agreed. Congas, Bongos, Timbales, whatever: If you can improvise on them, you'll be great. most of your rythms you will be playing on these type percussion will probably be fairly simple, so you won't have much trouble there. The tgrouble will come when you start Improv-ing. So if you can do that fairly well, you'll do fine.
And you know what Improving is... playing anything that sounds and looks amazing! so messing around won't hurt you in the slightest.

I'd say get the funk master jam on and just go for the gold.

Great stress reliever as well.

Thanks for the replies!

That's something I thought about..like..the people that first made these instruments. They didn't have a teacher, they just got whatever they could get their hands on and started pounding away. And look where we are now.

I'd consider myself to be fairly creative/able to improvise, cause that's pretty much all I do on bass and guitar lol. 95% of what I do is just noodle around with what sounds good, and I pretty much take that approach to every instrument now...piano..trumpet..ect, and drums of course.

The percussion instrument that really struck me when I heard it was the jembe(sp?). I went to an honor band performance down in T-town to see one of my friends, and on one of the songs some dude came out with this drum. And man he was just banging away with the coolest grooves. And I was like, "I gotta get me one of those.." lol.

Shade wrote:The percussion instrument that really struck me when I heard it was the jembe(sp?).

My advice is to totally get a djembe (that's how you spell it, btw). They're not too expensive, and you can get all kinds of unique sounds outta them. Plus, you could spend your whole life finding new, cool-looking djembes from all over the place.

Just like a guy once told me: "Djembes are like guns: you can never have too many!" haha