Drumming on Rock Band does more harm than good.

Drumming on Rock Band does more harm than good.

Here, you just bought your new gaming system, Rock Band. You pull open the box, start setting up those electronic drumpads, get all the cables in place, pop in the gaming disc and you ar now ready to put the sticks in the hands and start wailing away. In a feverish race to hit the right drumpad when the screen shows you the corresponding pad to hit and you do and the next and the next ...

You have artfully finished the first song and get your score. You see a few mistakes by the score. You heard the awful rejecting sound when you made a mistake and by the simulated audience response.

Now let's look at why this is a terrible way to learn to drum. Yes, this is terrible and for many reasons.

Did anyone show you the proper grip to holding the sticks? NO.

How to balance the sticks in your grip for maximum effectiveness? NO.

Did anyone show you or tell you not to try playing with so much arm so not to make you tired after one minute? NO.

Did anyone show you whether heel up or heel down will produce longer, less tiresome results? NO.

Did you know (or did they tell you) that 'swinging' the sticks the wrong way can cause Carpel Tunnel Syndrome, Rapid Movement Stress Disorder, pulled tendons, blisters and other problems? NO.

Hey! Where is the hi-hat pedal in this game???

Once again, the gaming industry has come up with another way to milk out dollars from the many that are willing to spend money on games and even market it in a way to make you think that you can LEARN to drum from it. Really, they haven't taught you anything. Grip, strengthening the weak hand to be equal to the strong hand, stick patterns to easily get around multiple surfaces, proper balance of the body and breathing ... all of this is important and unless there is someone there to correct these common problems you will cause yourself more harm than good.

If you want to really learn to play you will need a good instructor that can set you up for long term, injury free, drumming.

Another reason to consider drum lessons BEFORE trying to learn from these games; the instructor will not need to undo bad habits you have already developed from this. Lessons spent on undoing bad habits are a waste of your time and money. If you were to take the lessons to learn the right techniques first you would be further along and learn more in less time, actually saving you money.

Drumming is a sport of endurance and to last the long haul will take the knowledge of a good trainer showing you how to drum smart, not hard.

Ok, WoW anyone?