Take up drums at age 56?


I know this technically has nothing to do with high end audio but I know there are some drummers here that might be able to help me along here....or tell me to skip it altogether. And it does have to do with music.

I'm almost embarrassed to even post this. I'm 56. I have never played a musical instrument other than dabbling with a harmonica. I do not read music. I am certain that I'll never perform for anyone or play in a band.

But I've always wanted to play drums.

And now I have enough money to get a simple cheap used drum kit and I have a basement that is isolated enough to not bother the neighbors. (I actually have an acquaintance who refurbishes used drums who can probably hook me up).

So I have a couple of questions:

1) Can you teach yourself to play drums? Alone or with YouTube etc? Are actual lessons required? Can I skip the practice pad and start with a kit?

2) Is there any point? In other words, even if I were to learn to play are the drums the kind of instrument that you sit down and play for your own pleasure the way you would a guitar?

My realistic expectation is that I'd get a simple kit. Try to do something with it. Find that it is much harder to do than it looks, especially for a guy with two left feet. It sits in the basement for a while and then I sell it for a big loss but hopefully at least happy that I tried it.

Any other thoughts on the matter?

(If totally inappropriate for this site I have no problem removing the post.....especially if someone points me to a better site for the topic.)


n80
@bdp24 is your man for this one!

When I played in a band , our drummer quite often left his kit set up in our practice room which was a sealed off part of my garage.

All I can say is that it was a lot harder than it looks or I imagined it could ever be!

I gave up and stuck to my bass and writing lyrics!
A drum kit, you say.
Everything there is to know about drums is perfectly encapsulated by Dale and Brennan in Step Brothers.
I've never seen Step Brothers. I can only handle Will Ferrell in very small doses.

I can't get the "@" function to work to tag bdp24. But he is a professional drummer and I'm sure my drumming aspirations will sound silly to him. Although I'd be interested in what he has to say about just playing on his own for fun. But I have always felt there is a big difference in doing something professionally verses doing it _just_ for fun. I know when I get home from work doing what I do professionally.....I'm not particularly interested in doing it at home or on the weekend....

As far as having fun, I guess the only way to know is to try it.