Paul Hughes (r) and Steve Eckstorm (l), welcome MyBayCity to the store on Washington Ave. in Bay City Look Mom! I'm a Drummer...?
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Living in a house full of guitars, amps, a keyboard and a musical son, keeps things pretty interesting.
Not wanting to be left out, I've tried my own hand at guitar and pretty much failed miserably.
The keyboard - well, I can plunk out a few somewhat recognizable tunes, is all. But drums?....hhhmm...maybe there's some possibilities there.
Mid Michigan Music-Bay City store located at 716 Washington Ave., Bay City, MI 48708
Having been into Mid Michigan Music many times with my son, and knowing the friendly, helpful service he always receives, I decided to stop in and see what they could do to help fulfill my percussion playing dreams.
I approached Store Manager, Paul Hughes, also the manager of the drum department, about the possibility of trying my hand for a short lesson. Paul is an accomplished drummer himself. He kindly agreed to show me the basics of drumming.
So, nervously, with a deep breath, I sat down at the drum set, picked up the sticks and listened to my first set of instructions.
Paul briefs me on some basics of drumming
To the count of a measure of 4, I was to hit the cymbal with my right hand, while my foot, on the bass pedal, hit on the 1 and 3 count, while my left hand hit the drum in the set on the 2 and 4 count.
Or was that my right hand, on the 2 and 4 count and the cymbal on the 1 and 3?...
Should be easy, right?
Not so much.
According to Paul, the drummers ability to "split their brain into 2 tasks" is key to drumming and not everyone has that ability. Thus, the world isn't filled with remarkable drummers.
It took me SEVERAL awkward attempts to get just this simple combination down. In spite of the fact that I can usually walk and chew gum...while texting.
This was different and was not an easy task!
Of course, most people aren't learning to play drums while in the middle of a store, with customers walking around, while being filmed.
So, I will cut myself a little bit of slack in that regard.
However, in just my short initiation, I was able to see that there's more than just banging out a beat on drums, to actual drum playing. Paul gave us a little demonstration afterwards and made it look effortless and easy.
But, I will tell you that I now know firsthand, that it is NOT, as witnessed in my painfully slow progress, in the video below.
MyBayCity's Diane Szczepanski gets a fast crash course in drums
at Mid Michigan Music, Downtown Bay City.
(Video Production By Julie McCallum, Entertainment Editor, MyBayCity.com)
at Mid Michigan Music, Downtown Bay City.
(Video Production By Julie McCallum, Entertainment Editor, MyBayCity.com)
Will I try it again? Absolutely! It was a blast!
Is our house going to have a drum set too, in the not too far future?
Oh, you bet it is!
Neil Peart, Jose Pasillas and Lars Ulrich, can breathe easy. They are in no fear of me taking their jobs!
Drums, technically classified as membranophones, are one of the world's oldest musical instruments. Many cultures have symbolic uses of drums and drums are often used in music therapy.
Several factors play into the sound produced. Whether they are played with sticks, or hands, what style of drum it is and what type of music is being played.
Drums can range in price anywhere from a starter set, which can run about $399.00, to the "Cadillac" of sets, which according to Paul, is the "DW Drum Workshop, which ranges in price from $7000-$10,000".
A varied hand percussion selection is available
Mid Michigan Music offers many styles of drums, in addition to traditional sets, such as: bongos, congas, timbale's and djembe's.
They offer a variety of lessons such as traditional drum lessons, guitar, fiddle, mandolin, bass, banjo, harmonica and dobro.
Teachers are accomodating to busy schedules and students have access to schedule lessons in the store with their teacher 24/7.
There are many styles and prices of drum sets to choose from at Mid Michigan Music
Paul remarked, "There are getting to be just as many girls, as boys, taking lessons these days" and suggests to get a true feel for playing a new instrument that a student gives it "a month at a time".
The store has been around a while and has 2 locations. One in Midland, MI at 240 E. Main St., founded by Rick Allen, which has been in business since 1984. The Bay City store has been serving musicians for 20+ years.
They offer knowledgeable and helpful staff and service technicians, in both locations. Stop in and see them for your musical needs and check out their website at: www.midmichiganmusic.com
Acoustic guitar heaven
All lined up, just waiting to be played
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Diane Szczepanski |
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