In recent years the quality and features on e-drums; even the most affordable electric drumsets, have advanced hugely. This has opened up the chance to play drums and improve quickly to more people than ever.
Traditionally, someone who wished to learn to play on an acoustic drumset would need to have many hours of drum lessons or learn on their own at home. They would need a very tolerant household and neighbours and only play for short periods so that they wouldn’t incur an angry knock on the door from a complaining neighbour.
Alternatively, the drummer would need to book a practice space to play their acoustic drum kit in, which can be costly too. Simply put, for someone to learn to play drums solely on an acoustic kit, progress will be slow, loud and costly.
The advent of the digital drum set has changed all of that - the user has a much quieter kit that allows them to play wherever, whenever and for as long as they want with the sound coming through headphones. It has been a real game changer and we have seen a noticeable uptick in beginners taking up the electric drumset.
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E Drums vs Acoustic Drums
Now, there are many pages on the internet across forum threads and comment sections with people arguing that e drums aren’t as good as acoustic drum kits and that the feel is all wrong, et cetera, et cetera. However, it is important to treat the two types of drum kits as separate instruments; playing them is similar but each also requires a different discipline.
The principles of technique remain the same, it’s just the instrument that the technique is being applied to has a different feel, a different stick response and different dynamics. Although subtle, a person who has exclusively only played one type will find it initially jarring to swap over, but will soon come around to it.
As such, an electric drum set is not solely for beginners. Acoustic drummers looking to find a more regular and easier practice routine should consider e drums. Likewise, gigging drummers may find more opportunities arise if they have the option to use an electric drum set.
There is no fun in arriving at a gig at your local cafe or bookshop (or any other somewhat musically-inappropriate gig location) only to be handed a cajon and told to ‘just tap along’. An electric drum set helps you avoid that humiliation by simply providing a controllable volume level through the PA system.
Whether you’re a new drummer actively researching e drums or you’re a gnarled acoustic drum set grand master looking for a sensible way to squeeze in a few more hours of practice, we’ve compiled a list of ways an electric drumset can improve your playing.
Play For Longer = Become An Expert
Heard of the 10,000-hour rule? There’s a line of thinking that if you dedicate 10,000 hours to practising something, you’ll master it. Now the specific length of time here is subjective, but the principle remains much the same. The more you do something, the better you’ll be at it. Practice makes perfect, after all. Muscle memory and repetition are key so the more practice you can get in, the better.
One of the key selling points for all e drums is the fact they are significantly quieter than acoustic drum kits. Aside from the noise of the drumstick striking rubber or mesh, there are no sounds. This makes practising for longer - or later - a real option that many acoustic drummers don’t get to experience.
For novices, the longer the time that they can spend practising, going over rudiments learned that week, or just playing along to their favourite songs, is essential in building their technique and skill. It’s possible to keep pressing forward with your learning instead of only being able to practice and learn once a week when you can get to a lesson.
The other benefit is improved border relations. Nobody in your neighbourhood wants to listen to a drummer practice on an acoustic kit, regardless of how considerate you try to be, and eventually, people will complain.
Being too considerate in volume and playing very lightly on an acoustic kit will cause problems too. You will find that you are not generally playing at the required volume level to get the best sound from the cymbals and drums, which will cause issues should you ever need to play in a live environment with other musicians or in a recording studio.
After all, acoustic drum kits sound best when you are using the full resonance of the drum and not just the skin, but this won’t be obtainable by playing quietly at home, leading to poor technique and disappointment in the sound of your drums.
No Hiding From Bad Technique
Due to the controllable nature of electric drums, it’s much harder to hide from your bad technique. Due to the nature of e-drums, and the sensitivity of the triggers, it’s much easier to hear if your playing isn’t quite up to scratch.
For example, if your kick drum beater is bouncing uncontrollably on the kick drum pad after each strike you’ll be able to hear this right away as it’s likely to be triggered as a full strike and not a rebound. On an acoustic kit, it’s much easier for these subtler ghost notes to get lost in among the noise of other drums, and so you run the risk of this issue not being picked up early.
Likewise, poor cymbal technique, such as irregular hits may normally get lost in the wash of an acoustic cymbal. On an electric cymbal pad, if the stick hits the pad it will typically trigger one of three sounds: bow, bell or wash. If any of these sounds are not the sound you intended, you will hear this much more clearly, instantly giving you an area of your playing to improve on.
Play Along With Songs & Tutorials
The internet is awash with videos from online drum tutors and experts, many for free, and so it’s entirely conceivable that you could learn to play the drums in complete isolation, with no interaction with a physical teacher. If you’re an established drummer it’s always fun to play along to an interesting idea you may have come across on social media.
Drum tutors out there will probably point out that you need a good teacher to review your playing to ensure you don’t cut corners or learn bad habits, but I’m sure there are plenty of videos covering these points too!
For an acoustic drum kit player, there are in-ear monitoring capabilities out there for you to run audio into your ears but it’s a lot of work to set up, you need to know what you’re doing and would require putting microphones on the drum kit for you to be able to hear your playing clearly.
With e drums, you can just plug in your phone, laptop or MP3 player via an aux lead. Load up a video or your favourite songs and off you go! This saves money in the long run as you’ll be less dependent on a drum teacher to help you progress, and you’re more likely to remain engaged if you can hear yourself playing along to the songs you want to play.
Smaller Target Area Improves Accuracy
A key aspect of playing the drums is to have the ability to hit the drum with consistency. If the top of the drumstick isn’t landing in the same place with each hit on the snare drum of an acoustic drum set, for example, you’ll get a broad range of sounds, none of which are intentional or wanted.
This particularly becomes an issue in a recording studio where every drum hit needs to match the previous in terms of volume and tone, but it is also applicable in a live setting and for learning to play with dynamics. Imagine a bullseye in the centre of the drum, this is the area where you want the tip of the stick to land every time.
Naturally, practice is key as that’s the only way to acquire consistency, but with electric drum kits, the target area to begin with is generally smaller than that of an acoustic drum kit. This forces you to play with more control and accuracy from the moment you pick up the sticks, which will always be a good thing.
Adjustable Drum Volume
With an electric drum set, you are in control. You control the volume with a twist of a knob, whether in your headphones or through an electronic drum amplifier, which is a really handy thing to have. Sometimes your ears need a rest, other times you may want full immersion at a louder volume. On some models available you will have the ability to control the volume of individual drums.
The benefit of this for improving your skills is that you can set up the kit to draw focus on a specific drum you are focusing on. For example, you may wish to increase the volume of the kick drum if you are honing in on a particular pattern. This ability gives you control without over-straining your ears.
Available Coaching Features
Many e drums have coaching features included with the ‘brain’ of the kit, which can be very helpful in improving your drumming overall. It’s naturally recommended that new drummers utilise this feature to save them from drifting around aimlessly between regimented learning sessions, and gives them something to play along to when they may be unsure. Most have patterns to learn and these increase in difficulty.
This is a benefit for e drums because it prevents you from stagnating and only playing the things that you already know and not progressing.
Many e drum kits will have a vital feature that all drummers should utilise and embrace: the metronome. Dreaded or adored, it is probably the simplest yet most important tool available to a drummer that you will benefit from using. By having a metronome so easily within in reach, all you need to do is set the tempo and play along.
Yes it can be boring and yes the click or pip sound can drive you mad, but it is an important way to build up your internal timekeeping and rhythm and is commonly used in live shows and recording processes, so it’s good to be comfortable and familiar with it, at the very least.
Getting Comfortable
This suggestion may be viewed as a bit of a moot point for experienced drummers who want their practice to correlate directly to their acoustic drum kits, but it does certainly have its benefits.
Electric drum sets have a smaller footprint and don’t typically require as much space since you don’t need the full resonance of a drum shell or the full diameter of a cymbal. The benefit of this is the fact that the kit can be set up for comfort over practicality. The toms can be closer together, the cymbals lower and the kick drum in a more ergonomic position for your leg.
On an acoustic kit, you are often at the mercy of drum sizes and depths, hardware placements and cymbals, and the position of the kit falls in around these factors. The more assertive acoustic drummers may insist the layout of the e drum set should directly match the layout of the acoustic kit you may go and play on, and there is likely to be some merit in this as it could make an acoustic kit feel huge in comparison to your e drums. However I feel that the act of playing the drum: moving your arms and feet rhythmically, is the benefit of practice and not relying on the placement of specific instruments. Plus, why risk strain and injury?
Being comfortable during your practice session is key as it will keep you coming back to the instrument. Drumming with any kind of intensity puts enough strain on the body without needing to overreach for no reason so enjoy the ability to position the e drums in a way that suits you perfectly.
Listen Back to Yourself
You are your harshest critic, so why not apply that to your drumming too? Having the ability to record yourself and then listen back to is an invaluable tool that many e drum models have.
This capability is a really helpful tool and it can help your progression to hear your drumming from a new perspective. Hearing yourself lets you listen critically and in a broader context. You’ll likely hear aspects of your drumming that you’ve never heard before, and this will give you something to work on improving.
Also, for drummers in bands, or with ambitions of joining a band, it’s a fun and easy tool to record ideas and demos.
Conclusion
The fact that you’ve reached the end of this blog post shows that you are in pursuit of improving your drumming.
An e drum kit won’t fix all of your problems and it won’t make you a better player overnight, but it is a fantastic tool to get you there. What’s more, they are a lot of fun and can really reinvigorate your playing.
Yes, an e drum kit isn’t exactly like an acoustic drum kit, but the benefits and features available make the two virtually incomparable - they’re essential two different instruments.
From beginners to experienced drummers looking to hone their skills, e drums can become a fundamental element in your drumming career. Take the best step you can make towards improving your drumming today and browse our collection of electronic drum kits.
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