baby's first instrument

[u/earwig_art]

its me, im baby.

so i have a friend circle of fellow artists, but i am the only one that doesn't have/play an instrument. i like percussion and thought a hand drum would be the most natural for myself (long nails, iffy wrists, bad trigger finger in both hands). my only evidence of sense of rhythm is in dancing, but it exists there!

i am feeling a little option paralysis. i have tried djembe and enjoy the way it sounds. i can hold it pretty comfortably with my leg if i sit on the ground. i don't know how it would compare with other drums, but i like the nice dual sounds you can get and the fairly deep register without being like, subsonic.

anyone here have a first hand drum they learned to play along with others?

if it helps my friends play a lot of strings (bass, guitar, violin, and whatever keyboard is)

[u/7swing]

Yeah, djembe is pretty fun. You could also try your hand at cajón. Pretty easy to play and fun as hell to mess around with. Hand drums are fun and surprisingly complex, so definitely a good choice. Congas are also good but super expensive.

[u/earwig_art → u/7swing]

thanks for the advice! i was hoping for the "easy to pick up, hard to master" to be true because that seems like a good steady way to build the specialized motor skills and all!

[u/7swing → u/earwig_art]

Yeah definitely. As a percussionist, congas are the instrument that frustrated me the most because getting good slaps on conga takes a major time investment, but it's also the most rewarding instrument for me because of how much you can do with them as far as grooving and improvising is concerned.

[u/earwig_art → u/7swing]

sick! maybe once im a little more experienced with the slappin' i'll try them out! thanks so much

[u/PM_Me_Yer_Guitar → u/earwig_art]

Cajons are great. Easy to use, fun to play with. You can be ready to play in 10 min.

Maybe buy some cheap eggs, shakers, rain sticks or other accessories to bring along. All cheap & easy to use.

[u/earwig_art → u/PM_Me_Yer_Guitar]

arright! i love lightly sounding jewelry for dancing, i bet i could experiment with wearing some jingly bracelets

great tip!

[u/PM_Me_Yer_Guitar → u/earwig_art]

That would work for sure!

There are no rules. I use to bang 2 Gatorade bottles together in my loop station, it made a cool sound. You can also take some medicine bottles & put rice in one and beans in another for 2 different sounds. Slap some flipflops together. Find your overweight uncle and slap his belly. Buy rubber chickens that squeak. Squeeze live ferrerts together in harmony. Go nuts & have fun!!

[u/earwig_art → u/PM_Me_Yer_Guitar]

pssh, i could bring my live chickens!

honestly i love an improvised noise. sound design/foley arts are a kind of small special interest of mine. i am an amateur voice actor for the people and creatures in my ttrpg and fascinated with the how of sounds.

it is sounding more and more like this is my soulmate instrument category!