DRUMS!!!

**W. Rabbit** · Posted On: 1/07/2013 1:50pm

**Permalost** · Posted On: 1/07/2013 2:11pm

I used to be a lion dance musician (drum, gong and cymbals), and I liked it a lot more than hunching over and acting like an animal's ass. When I got into FMA and DBMA, I found that a lot of SE Asian styles incorporate drumming into training and/or demonstrations. I've become one of the go-to drummers of the group if we're performing somewhere. At the last Dog Brothers gathering, there were no other drummers so I drummed for nearly every fight for like 4 hours.

In the last few months, I started learning the dumbek drum, and going to actual classes to learn it properly from a master. Its my favorite drum so far yet. I got to play it as part of a drum ensemble for a FMA Guro exam just yesterday (also like 4 hours).

^my teacher and I on the news

^playing Marc Denny's big djembe for the gathering

A few weeks ago, my teacher asked me to show him the lion dance drumming. It turns out that like 4 years later, I'm still pretty good at it.

**Permalost** · Posted On: 1/07/2013 2:17pm

Also, as a kung fu teacher and lion dance drummer, I would sometimes incorporate the drumming into class, as a beat marker for shifting stances or whatever. Everyone liked it.

My arnis style also has a cool little form thing that focuses on shifting chambers while moving in a "chicken step". Done to a drum beat. Reminds me of Latin dance, since the feet are close and quick- you can't try to do it with wide, low kung fu stances and still be quick enough.

**Diesel_tke** · Posted On: 1/07/2013 3:17pm

Originally Posted by Permalost

In the last few months, I started learning the dumbek drum, and going to actual classes to learn it properly from a master. Its my favorite drum so far yet. I got to play it as part of a drum ensemble for a FMA Guro exam just yesterday (also like 4 hours).
.

That's pretty cool. I've got a dumbek, just a little one, and it's pretty cool. We had a drum circle at my house on new years and a friend brought a pretty nice one that actually had little cymbals like a tambarine mounted near the head on the inside of it. It made a really cool sound. I don't know where that one came from but I'm thinking about getting one!

**W. Rabbit** · Posted On: 1/07/2013 3:51pm

Wow I was looking up previous years' Chinatown videos on youtube and found my horrible gong performance. I'm in this video, as is my sifu. I'm the guy on the right, in the black cap at 0:58 and near the end, playing the mini-gong.

**Beatdown Richie** · Posted On: 1/08/2013 4:43pm

Originally Posted by Zencreative

There's a poster in my local gym advertising drum lessons with the claim that drummers have the same stamina as professional athletes (or premiership footballers at least).

Hyperactive, heavy-hitting drummers like Neil Peart, Mike Portnoy or Brent Smedley definitely get an awesome workout, but I think it takes a few years of practice until you can play fast enough for it to be physically exhausting.

I've been playing for nearly two years now, although I wouldn't call myself a drummer yet. Still working on the absolute basics - the double stroke roll is still an enigma...

**ermghoti** · Posted On: 1/08/2013 5:12pm

Originally Posted by Beatdown Richie

Hyperactive, heavy-hitting drummers like Neil Peart, Mike Portnoy or Brent Smedley definitely get an awesome workout, but I think it takes a few years of practice until you can play fast enough for it to be physically exhausting.

Vinnie Paul says don't rely on drumming for maintaining general conditioning.

**Permalost** · Posted On: 1/08/2013 6:02pm

Originally Posted by Diesel_tke

That's pretty cool. I've got a dumbek, just a little one, and it's pretty cool. We had a drum circle at my house on new years and a friend brought a pretty nice one that actually had little cymbals like a tambarine mounted near the head on the inside of it. It made a really cool sound. I don't know where that one came from but I'm thinking about getting one!

Neat. I got a drum light from my GF for Christmas- it sits in the drum, and lights up either blue or red depending on the tone (dum or tek/ka).

I like the dumbek compared to the djembe because it's a little more rigid and delicate, so you can drum fairly lightly to get a good sound, which means that you can also drum very quick beats since your arms don't have to move as much.

One of the guys that sometimes trains in my backyard is a pretty good self-taught tabla player, and my Hawaiian training partner plays djembe.

**Diesel_tke** · Posted On: 1/08/2013 10:03pm

That's cool! I need to buy a few of those. It would really be cool when I play my kit. I like how it just sits inside the drum without having to mount it.

**cereus** · Posted On: 1/11/2013 10:39am

When I was in high school I got into rock and roll and metal in quite a big way (my taste in music has since broadened) and my best friend at the time took up the drums because we were totally going to be a famous band. He was the only one who actually bothered to learn an instrument. He was truly talented, within about 6 months he had his head around dozens of rock and metal staples. He gave it up completely a couple of years later when he turned his back on rock and metal. One of the true tragedies of my young life.