Hi guys,
This is kind of an embarrassing question, but I need to ask it. Back when I was a kid, I really wanted to learn drums, but my parents told me that I had to learn to read sheet music first and signed me up for piano lessons instead. After probably a year or two of playing piano, hating every minute, and feeling no closer to getting the drum lessons I wanted, I broke down and convinced my parents with tears in my eyes to stop forcing me to go to piano lessons. After they let me quit, I lost all interest in learning any musical instrument whatsoever, drums included. I hated it that much.
I know that some music schools require their drum students to learn the piano. They say that it's a "percussion" instrument, which I guess is technically true, but at the same time, I feel like that's kind of a stretch. I asked a musician friend of mine if you had to learn piano before you could learn drums, and he told me no, and the only overlap is that you use some of the same muscle groups for both instruments.
Recently, the desire to learn the drums has come back to me again, and I really want to know who's right. Should I go back and learn piano again, or can I just buy a kit and start playing?
I have to admit, I've realized that there's a lot of bitterness towards my parents in this area. I grew up feeling cheated, and I know that I have to forgive them, not only because it is right, but also because I don't want my bitterness to ruin my ability to enjoy music in the future. At the same time though, I really want to know what the truth is so I can have the ability to pursue my dream and do it well.
Does anybody have any relevant experience here?
Edit: Punctuation
Submitted June 01, 2020 at 02:30AM by PinkEyeTheGlitch https://www.reddit.com/r/Learnmusic/comments/gueo2z/do_you_have_to_learn_piano_before_you_can_learn/?utm_source=ifttt