If you want to have some fun, play the drums. Drums are a great way to get into making music. Anybody who has ever seen a music video or a live band knows the drums are where the action is. The drummer controls the groove. The drummer is the engine of the band. 

There are drummers in every style of band and on almost every hit recording ever made. Jobs for drummers are plentiful, especially for the most creative, talented drummers. As a drummer, you could be in a polka band, a rap band, a rock band, a jazz band, a country band, an orchestra, or even a drum circle.

You can begin drumming at a younger age than with many other instruments, since size is not as much of an issue for a drummer. Some students start as young as five or six years old. Eight years old is more common. Student-sized drumsticks are available for smaller hands. Full-sized sticks can be cut back for the right fit. In the beginning, drummers don’t play on a full drum set. Before graduating to an eight-piece, double-bass rock-fusion kit, you need to learn to play one drum at a time. 

To get started, a snare drum or practice pad is sufficient. Your drum teacher will show you how to hold your sticks and how to hit the drum. You’ll learn how to tune it and change the batter head, snare head, and snare wires. Drum maintenance is critical, especially when you graduate to a full drum set. If you break a head while on a gig, you have to be able to change it. If your snare wires break, you need to have a spare set. If you have no snares, you cannot rock.

After you get the basics down, you’ll learn the drum rudiments or patterns. These rudiments are the building blocks of great drumming. You’ll learn to play them with a metronome or click track. This develops your tempo and helps you find a groove. All the drum rudiments are taught with left-handed and right-handed variations. This is to develop both of your hands, reducing the dependence on your dominant hand and balancing the hands for an even sound as you play.

The other traits that the drum rudiments develop are patience, discipline, and confidence. Rudiments must be learned slowly. Trying to learn them quickly will not work. The muscles must be gradually introduced to the new motions and rhythms to develop a memory. Therefore, you have to be patient. After patience, you have to be disciplined enough to remain patient through all the plateaus you’ll face as a drummer. That discipline will bring results. Those results result in confidence. 

Of all the instruments, drumming is among the easiest to begin. You only have to learn to read the rhythm part of music notation since drum notation is for rhythm. Other percussion instruments use the scale, but not drums. As long as you practice slowly, steadily, and don’t give up, you can learn to play the drums. How good you’ll be is directly related to how much you practice. If you’re fortunate enough to be talented, you’ll get better even faster.

Although it’s easier to learn the drums than the saxophone, becoming a drummer requires hard work and dedication. On a scale of one to ten for difficulty, learning drums is a 7. However, on a scale of one to ten for fun, drumming is a solid ten.