Music Pro: Learn to Play Drum Set with Your Playstation or XBox

Ever wanted to play the drums but never had the time or the money? Now you can learn how to play drum set using your video game system. Sure, gaming with Rock Band, Guitar Hero, and other music based games only gives you a virtual experience, but with some practice and these great tips, you can start playing like a real musician.

Drum Tip 1: Drum Set Practice
When playing Rock Band, it is too easy to slop through a song just enough to get to the next level and earn a new music gig. Instead, go into Quick Play practice mode. Set the drum groove at a slower tempo like 80 percent. Start playing the drum groove with only your bass line. Make sure you get used to jamming with the right foot. When you have that down, add the right hand. After that, add the left hand. When you feel like you have the groove down, slowly raise the tempo until you are up to 100 percent.

Drum Tip 2: Listen
Your drum set rhythm was not chosen arbitrarily. Listen to how your drum set rhythms fit into the band. Does the drum riff match up with the guitar solo? Does the bass drum's rhythm sync up with the bass player? Once you get used to listening to the music, instead of just following the colorful video game display, you will start developing a good ear.

Drum Tip 3: Play Like a Musician
There is a reason why many drummer jokes revolve around a lack of musicianship. Most amateur drummers think that hitting the drums as loudly as possibly makes them an awesome musician. The video game Rock Band encourages this mentality, even coaxing the player to play louder because it is "better". In the real world, the good drummers are the ones that are musical. In other words, if the band is playing quietly, the drummer should do the same unless there is a drum solo. In a real music gig situation, the drummer would not drown out the lead singer. Besides, playing with a little bit of musical sensitivity will help your virtual drum set survive a little bit longer.

Drum Tip 4: Hold the Drum Sticks Right
For some reason, people that have never played the drum set before take on this crazy caveman death grip when they get a pair of sticks. When you hold a drum stick, the grip should be loose, but not so loose that the drum stick flies out of your hand! The stick is gripped between your thumb and forefinger, with the other three fingers lending some support. And don't be fooled by the drummers who have their pinky sticking out like they are sipping tea. You need all the support you can get, and playing like a European aristocrat won't help your drum chops develop.

Drum Tip #5: A High Hat
Virtual drum sets are all missing one vital component of the drum set: the high hat. If you don't know, the high hat is the small pairing of cymbals that essentially clap together when you hit a pedal with your left foot. Yep, your LEFT foot! In other words, professional drummers have all FOUR limbs working when they jam on the drum set. If you REALLY want to blow your mind, watch some serious Afro-Cuban drummers. Their coordination will knock the drum sticks right out of your hands! The good thing is that usually the high hat has a very mundane rhythm, so you are not missing anything too vital. However, be aware that if you decide to go public with your drumming chops, you are going to need to know how to work a high hat. For now, if you want to ghost the high hat, you can practice moving your left foot on the beats and on every other beat just to get your left foot used to playing.

Finally, nothing can beat having a real set of drums to play in a real band in a real gig. Fortunately, you can practice with your virtual gaming drum set. In fact, if you are a computer whiz, you can even find ways to plug in your virtual drum set into a computer music program like Garage Band to get some real sounds going. So play your virtual set, get good at it, and when you are ready, go out and jam like a pro!