Does your child constantly drum on household objects like table tops or pots and pans? Do they like to make noise using whatever they have in their reach? Congratulations: you just might have a drummer in the family!

There is a drummer inside almost each and every one of us, and it's no surprise why: the drums are one of the most universal instruments found throughout the world, and are used for a variety of purposes in many different cultures.

Still, many parents wonder: how do you know when a child is ready to study drums? Here at PEN, our instructors can help you determine the best age to learn the drums, for kids or even yourself.

WHAT IS THE BEST AGE TO LEARN DRUMS?

The best age to start drum lessons is generally between ages 6 to 7, as this is the age where most students gain the mental focus needed to learn an instrument. Even so, while ages 6 to 7 are considered the best age to learn the drums, there are always exceptions, and it ultimately comes down to your child's willingness to learn.

The best age to start learning the drums is between the ages of 6 and 7, but there are always exceptions.

Is your child ready to start drum lessons?

For the beginning musician, the drums are one of the easiest instruments to pick up, and are an ideal instrument for students of all ages. Still, all students are unique, and each progresses at their own pace. Before placing your child into classes, it’s important to prepare your child for what they'll need to learn.

Concepts like rhythm or timing are important music skills when learning the drums, and younger children in particular can benefit from the positive effects of music on cognitive development. These effects will have a positive impact on growth and learning in other activities. This is especially true when drums are taught in a focused music program that combines group practice with one-on-one instruction.

7 signs your child is ready to learn the drums:

1.    Your child can comfortably hold the sticks. Children may get frustrated if the sticks are too big for their hands. If the drum sticks are too big, consider hand percussion instead.

2.    Your child has basic rhythmic ability. If you notice your kid is able to keep rhythm as they dance or play along to songs, then they have the basic rhythmic ability needed to learn an instrument.

3.    Your child count to 4. When starting the drums, it’s important to understand drum notation – which uses timing and basic counting skills.

4.    Your child is motivated to learn. If your child expresses interest in wanting to play the drums, then they probably are ready to take the next step.

5.    Your child has the focus required for lessons. Most lessons are between 30-45 minutes long. Children that cannot hold focus for this amount of time may not be ready to begin lessons.

6.    Your child has time in their daily routines to practice. Regular practice is essential to learning any instrument. Children with no time to practice will fail to see results, and become frustrated. Our experts recommend students practice for at least 30 minutes every day.

7.    Your child is mature enough to commit. In order to start the drums, a student must be mature enough to take on the commitment of learning an instrument, repsect their peers, and practice consistently.

Play the drums in real performances

Our music programs are taught by practicing drummers with the experience you need to learn to play. Perform live shows and develop your drum skills in a supportive learning environment for all skill levels.

What you'll learn

• Rock Beats with Kick & Snare Variations

• Drum Fills Around the Kit

• Jam Sessions with Matt

• Drum & Cymbal Names

• Sheet Music / Drum Notation

• Stick Grip & Technique

• Increased Drumming Speed

• Improved Coordination

• Hand & Foot Independence

• Keep Time & Play to a Metronome

Tips when starting the drums

When learning the drums, there are some tips that will help make the journey successful.

• Look at drum size. To start, the drums should be set up to fit the student’s size.

• Get a properly sized drum throne. The drum throne should be at a comfortable height and all drums should be in easy reach.

• Focus on the basics first. When beginning, students should focus on getting the basics down as opposed to just playing fast.

• Use practice pads for quiet study. Practice pads along with low volume cymbals and drum heads will help keep the sound levels manageable, especially around the house.

• Protect your ears. Hearing protection is important with drumming, and there are many different levels of hearing protection available depending on the needs of your child.

• Learn with other students. Playing with others is a great way to quickly improve at an instrument. School of Rock offers unique opportunities for young students to play together in a band as part of a fun learning environment.

Pro tip: Buying your kid's first drum set

If you’re looking for your kid's first drum set, check out our buying guide for tips on finding the best drums for a beginner, so you can get to playing as soon as possible.

Is it ever too late to start drums?

Absolutely not! While we recommend that drummers start studying at ages 6 to 7, kids shouldn’t have all the fun. It’s never too late to pick up the drums or nurture your inner rock star.

Am I too old to take up the drums?

You may want to take drum lessons, but you are worried that you are too old to start! Don’t worry; you can learn to play the drums at any age. You are never too old to learn a new skill or follow your dreams of becoming a drummer so stop asking yourself if it’s too late, or if you are too old to take up the drums and keep reading to see why now is the best time to take drum classes as an adult.

Drum Classes for Adults – It’s Never Too Late

There is the prevailing myth that you can only become good at drums if you start at an early age. That is simply not true. At Music House, we have seen many people come into our doors in adulthood and learn to play the drums with ease and move on to becoming part of a band! You can become proficient in the drums at any age if you put your mind to it and practice regularly.

Advantages of Learning to Play Drums in Adulthood

Taking drum classes for adults as opposed to as a child can have its benefits. Let go through them, so you understand how great it is to take lessons as an adult!

You Understand the Music

Remember when cultural references in music escaped you as a child? As an adult, you have insight into the purpose of a piece of music, and you understand the emotional place that an artist is coming from when they compose a piece of music. You can analyze the music and connect with it on a deeper level.

This helps you to learn music in a way that you couldn’t as a child. Not only that, but you will understand music theory better than an eight-year-old. When you spend decades listening to music, you start to recognize motifs in music and the progression and composition of a song.

You have the life experience to connect better with the music, and the technical aspect of learning to play the drums will come to you with practice.

You Have the Drive and You Control Your Time

We all know that learning to play an instrument requires practice, patience, and time. As an adult, you have all those things under control. You mother is no longer forcing you to practice for an hour a day. You don’t feel like you are missing out when your friends hang out at the mall. No, you are an adult, and you have the drive, and you control your time. You can practice the drums when you want in your garage, and you are motivated to do so. Your motivation comes for a drive to improve yourself and be part of the music community. You just don’t feel that way as a child, and this is a huge advantage to learning to play as an adult. You will get your 10,000 hours of practice in no time!

Challenges of Drum Classes for Adults

Life isn’t a bed of roses. There are a couple of drawbacks to taking up drum lessons in adulthood, and we want to make sure that you have a balanced expectation of what drum lessons in adulthood are like. That is not to discourage you from taking lessons, but to inform you of the challenges ahead.

Your Commitments

Being an adult is hard. There are so many responsibilities that we have, and our commitments may get in the way. We have jobs, kids, families, and mortgages to pay. While those are all essential things to make time for, you must be willing to make time for yourself and your development as a person.

Astronomical expectations

As adults, we feel as though we should pick up new concepts quickly. Because of that, we have unreasonably high expectations. Getting good at playing the drums takes time and commitment to avoid being disappointed, you may have to lower your expectations in the beginning.

Benefits of Drum Classes for Adults

A Good Workout

Playing the drums requires the use of your whole body. When you play the drums in adulthood, you will improve your overall coordination. When you improve your coordination, your balance benefits as a result. To many people, it may seem easy sitting down to play the drums, but playing this instrument comes with a tremendous advantage – you build core strength. When you take drum classes for adults, you will notice that you get a workout every time.

An Intellectual Boost

Playing the drums helps with your brain’s neuroplasticity! Yes, that is right; when you take drum classes for adults, your mind will continue to grow because you are learning a new skill. Learning new skills like the drums helps you to retain other information in your daily life, and it will help you keep your mind agile as you age.  The more you learn in your drum lessons, the more advanced concepts you will be able to handle because your brain is getting used to learning new things.

Your Happiness Improves

The best part of playing the drums is the happiness and joy it brings! Playing the drums is not only a stress reliever, but it is a bonding experience if you play in a band. When you take more drum lessons, you can express yourself through this fantastic percussion instrument in ways you didn’t think were possible. Being able to express yourself through music is one of the most euphoric experiences you will ever have.

At the end of the day, it is never too late to learn to play the drums. Taking drum classes in adulthood will be one of the best journeys you take in life. Whether you are 30, 50, or 70, you can learn to play the drums, and Music House would love to help you learn.

How Long Does it Take to Learn Drums?

Many newcomer drummers ask: How long does it take to learn drums?

Although there is no way to say the exact time you will need, people usually learn how to play drums in approximately two years.

How fast you will learn drums depends on your intention and effort.

We summed up the amount of time for learning drums regarding usual intentions you might have and added some tips on how to speed up the process.

Playing for fun

Drums can be a nice decoration in your room, but you need to learn some basics if you want to try playing them.

If you want to full around with drums and enjoy playing for the sake of playing, you will not need much time.

For learning how to hold drumsticks and hit the drum in the basic rhythm, you will need about 30 minutes.

However, if you want to learn to keep a solid, simple beat, you will need around three months of playing consistently with a metronome.

Here are some elements of building the basics.

Coordination

Learn the basic coordination.

With one tutorial, you can learn how to hold the drumsticks and hit the drums.

You can try out different grips and techniques of playing later on.

Rhythm

Learn the basic rhythm.

You will find some simple but popular rhythms you can learn easily and start practicing.

You can start with simple rhythms and build up to more demanding ones, watching how you improve with time.

Beat

Learn how to keep the beat.

Try practicing with a metronome, and you will be able to keep a solid, simple beat after a while.

You can try keeping the beat as long as possible and experiment with speed to make it more interesting.

Playing with music

After learning the basics, you might want to practice playing along with your favorite song.

You will need around six months to be able to play along with the music if you practice approximately five times a week.

The following tips might help you with the process.

Keeping the beat

Try practicing the same beat along with the whole song to build your stamina and concentration.

Even though you practiced keeping the beat before, it’s not the same if you do it for a few seconds on a practice drum rhythm and throughout the song.

Standard rhythms

Practice standard rhythms of the song in parts.

You can pause the song after a certain period and practice small parts until you master them.

Drum fills

Practice drum fills.

Fills, or the transitions between parts of a song, are very important because they lead you to what’s coming next in the song.

Playing on the stage

If you want to be able to play in a band and have gigs, you will need more time to practice drums until you are ready.

You will need about three years to learn how to play drums very well and get out on the stage.

Some people feel they are ready for the live performance sooner than others, so it might also take less time for you.

It depends on many factors, including the confidence to go on stage.

Here is what you need to do to speed up the process.

Practice consistently

If you practice regularly for at least one hour a day, you will build solid abilities.

If you want to get into the groove of playing, the minimum practice time should be 30 minutes.

Focus

If you concentrate on your intention and plan, you can learn drums in less time.

Build the strategy, respect the schedule and focus on accomplishing small steps towards your goal.

Be confident

Try to work on the anxiety you might have about playing in front of the audience.

You may never feel you are ready to play live, but if you throw yourself out there, you might discover that you can do it sooner than you think.

When will you know that you learned drums?

There probably won’t be a moment when you will be sure that you learned drums.

It’s because there is always more to learn.

Even after becoming a pretty good drummer, there will always be room for improvement and learning new things.

If you aim to be a top drummer, you will need countless hours of playing and eagerness to polish your skill.

Here are some things you can learn as a drummer besides playing drums.

Improvisation

There are things you can learn only through the experience with live gigs and communication with band members.

You will learn what to do when you or other band members make mistakes or when some technical difficulties happen during the live gig.

Improvisation and adapting to new circumstances cannot come with practicing the beats, and that’s one of the stuff you will learn through your life as a drummer.

New gadgets

New technology offers a fresh wave of possibilities for drummers who want to broaden their experience.

Electronic drums, drum pads, and other gadgets can show you new ways to make the drumming more interesting and offer the audience something unique.

New techniques

You can experiment with new ways of playing the drums and learn new techniques that you never tried before.

Famous drummers and their techniques can inspire you, our you can build your own and create history.

Who knows, maybe you will create something never seen before and leave your legacy in the drumming world.

Conclusion

How much time you will need until you learn drums depends on your goal and the effort you are ready to give for it.

If you want to play just for fun, you will need about three months to learn the basics, while to be able to play along with the music, you will need at least six months of practice.

However, if you want to play with a band, it might take three years to master the skill.

Whatever your attentions are, if you work hard and consistently, it will get you fast where you want to be.

Top 10 Benefits of Learning Drums for Adults and Children

Reduce Stress

Playing drums can relieve frustration, disappointment and stress. Playing for just a few minutes can boost your mood. 

Similar to a “runner’s high,” drummers’ brains release feel-good endorphins immediately after playing. The physical stimulation of drumming and the sound vibrations that resonate through every cell in the body stimulate the release of negative emotions.

Boost Brain Power and Increase Academic Performance

When you play the drumkit, you coordinate all four limbs to work together at the same time requiring you to use both sides of your brain simultaneously. This type of brain activity can improve an individual’s IQ level. 

Learning drums can boost academic performance especially in math; after all, drummers have to count! Drumming can also help students learn fractions, frequencies and intervals.

Develop Confidence

Drumming is powerful. To be successful, drummers must learn to play dynamically: loud and soft. The act of playing a loud beat takes guts and confidence.

In the act of learning the instrument, drummers develop a growth mindset. That is, you must believe that you can learn challenging parts by starting slow and breaking them down. The skill of breaking complex tasks into manageable parts carries over in many areas of life. Believing you are able to learn difficult material is crucial to overcoming obstacles both in music and in life

Motor Skill Development

Playing the drums requires a synchronicity between the brains visual encoding and the body’s muscular coordination. Research shows that drummers are better able to control their motor functions, possess a higher degree of dexterity, are better at activities that require steady hands, and have the ability to react quickly. 

Drumming demands the coordination of both fine and gross motor skills, mental speed, listening ability and the ability to automate movements.

A Therapeutic Tool 

The physical sensory nature of drumming provides a unique aesthetic experience. Recent research indicate that drumming accelerates physical healing, boosts the immune system and assists in releasing emotional trauma. Drumming has a positive effect on anxiety, grief, fatigue, depression and behavioral issues. 

While drumming children strengthen their ability to focus and work on impulse control and decision making skills.

Self Expression

Playing the drums can help people express themselves and get in touch with their emotional state. Drumming helps us connect to our core, enhances our sense of empowerment and stimulates our creative expression. 

Get Fit

Nothing gets your adrenaline flowing like playing the drums! A drum practice session is a great way to break a sweat while having fun.

Drum students burn an average of 270.4 calories in 30 minutes just by playing the drumkit and moving to the beat.

Make New Friends

When you learn how to speak drums, the opportunities to meet new and interesting people grow. You may find yourself forming your own band or joining a percussion ensemble.

Lifelong Learning

You can be a drummer at any age. Once you start, you can keep drumming as long as you want. Learning drums will enhance your life well beyond your first few lessons, and as long as you never stop learning, you will have endless opportunities to improve, perform, and be the best musician you can be.

Be in the Present Moment

When one plays the drum, they are placed squarely in the here and now. One of the paradoxes of rhythm is that it has both the capacity to move your awareness out of your body into realms beyond time and space and to ground you firmly in the present moment.