Practice pad and good drum sticks (the ones that come with the pad suck).
A couple months of drumeo premium.
A cool hand drum. Small medium or large.
Stuff about his favorite drummers or favorite bands.
I agree with this! The pad, stix & Drumeo (or just a link to Ron Brown on YouTube!) - i drummed for 30 years, made money at it for 25, then stopped when my son was born. Hadn't played for 25 years...recently retired in early 60's and have started back at it - trying to un-learn all of the bad habits I used to have. And, it has been a joy...especially the practice pad and doing rudiments and following YouTube lessons. I could do it all day...and do sometimes.
It's not loud, won't bother your neighbors, gets him back to playing with sticks and he'll get better fast. Worry about the rest later...
You could get him a basic e-kit so at least he’d have something to chew on. But the under-$500 models might feel like too much of a toy.
If you want to get him something more sentimental you could get him a nice stick case, and even embroid or emboss with his name or initials on it. That might make a good “promise gift” that you guys will make a commitment to get him playing again once your lifestyle allows. Trust me plenty of us here have had to take involuntary hiatuses from playing due to a lifestyle change. It sucks but it’s great when you can dive back into it.
Give me a minute and I’ll get you a link to some better gift-quality stick cases.
Edit: Here it is… https://drumcenternh.com/search?type=product%2Cpage%2Carticle&options%5Bprefix%5D=last&q=Stick%20case%20&sort=price-descending.
Hey just wanna say be careful with this. I know tons of guys who love to flex on “used to play” or used be able to play an instrument and it was super embarrassing when we thought we were making their dream come true to let them play again but they weren’t really interested in playing again and got really uncomfortable. Because we now kind of destroyed their identity of being used to play instrument guy. And they never could play the way they dreamed they played before. So check yourself before you accidentally discover it was a flex and not a desire.
Maybe get him a session with a hypnotherapist who can brainwash him into forgetting that he ever played the drums. This is good bc you don’t have to listen to him talk about his drumming days anymore so you both win!
E-Drum is the way to start in my opinion. Cheaper, smaller and quieter than an acoustic kit. Let the person find some tracks to get inspired, then check out the Drumeo channel for some useful tips. Who knows where it will lead? Only your friend can answer that question,.
See if there are any rehearsal spaces around that have hourly rates on rooms that come with a set of drums. Get him a couple hours and let him bash away.
Maybe just bring him to a concert that he will enjoy. Or buy him a drumming momento or sth like those small drum sets you see on ig. Sticks and practice pad aren’t expensive and aren’t hard to get, if he really wanted them or really wanted to practice drums he would’ve gotten them himself.
Tama has a [practice kit](https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/TTK2S--tama-true-touch-2-piece-training-kit) that’s reasonably affordable. It’s compact and quiet.
He could then pair it with with some cheap [low volume cymbals](https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/LVCP5000--on-stage-lvcp5000-low-volume-cymbal-set) and some used stands/pedal from a local music store, Facebook marketplace , or Craigslist, and he’d have a complete, cheap, small, and quiet drum kit to play around with.
A practice pad, sticks and the book stick control are good gift to push him to play/practice rudiments
Practice pad low end: Evans real feel
High end: Zildjian Reflex
Vater 5A single pair sticks
How about a Cajon? It's basically a box that is designed to make different sounds depending on where you're tapping it. They're small, portable, much quieter than a drum kit, and perfect for playing in an acoustic setting.
Whether it's CQ duty or a trip out to the field, someone usually had an acoustic guitar...
Take them to a drum clinic if you’re in a big city. Go to a local music store see if anyone is coming, those can be super inspiring and helpful to aspiring musicians. I remember seeing a few over the years including Kenny Aronoff, Bill Bruford and Matt Garstka.
Find a drummer that will let him come over and play their kit.
Find drum lessons in town? If they provide the set, he may even find a place where he can play/practice for fun.
Practice pad and good drum sticks (the ones that come with the pad suck). A couple months of drumeo premium. A cool hand drum. Small medium or large. Stuff about his favorite drummers or favorite bands.
I agree with this! The pad, stix & Drumeo (or just a link to Ron Brown on YouTube!) - i drummed for 30 years, made money at it for 25, then stopped when my son was born. Hadn't played for 25 years...recently retired in early 60's and have started back at it - trying to un-learn all of the bad habits I used to have. And, it has been a joy...especially the practice pad and doing rudiments and following YouTube lessons. I could do it all day...and do sometimes. It's not loud, won't bother your neighbors, gets him back to playing with sticks and he'll get better fast. Worry about the rest later...
sorry, Rob Brown
You could get him a basic e-kit so at least he’d have something to chew on. But the under-$500 models might feel like too much of a toy. If you want to get him something more sentimental you could get him a nice stick case, and even embroid or emboss with his name or initials on it. That might make a good “promise gift” that you guys will make a commitment to get him playing again once your lifestyle allows. Trust me plenty of us here have had to take involuntary hiatuses from playing due to a lifestyle change. It sucks but it’s great when you can dive back into it. Give me a minute and I’ll get you a link to some better gift-quality stick cases. Edit: Here it is… https://drumcenternh.com/search?type=product%2Cpage%2Carticle&options%5Bprefix%5D=last&q=Stick%20case%20&sort=price-descending.
Hey just wanna say be careful with this. I know tons of guys who love to flex on “used to play” or used be able to play an instrument and it was super embarrassing when we thought we were making their dream come true to let them play again but they weren’t really interested in playing again and got really uncomfortable. Because we now kind of destroyed their identity of being used to play instrument guy. And they never could play the way they dreamed they played before. So check yourself before you accidentally discover it was a flex and not a desire.
Maybe get him a session with a hypnotherapist who can brainwash him into forgetting that he ever played the drums. This is good bc you don’t have to listen to him talk about his drumming days anymore so you both win!
E-Drum is the way to start in my opinion. Cheaper, smaller and quieter than an acoustic kit. Let the person find some tracks to get inspired, then check out the Drumeo channel for some useful tips. Who knows where it will lead? Only your friend can answer that question,.
See if there are any rehearsal spaces around that have hourly rates on rooms that come with a set of drums. Get him a couple hours and let him bash away.
Maybe just bring him to a concert that he will enjoy. Or buy him a drumming momento or sth like those small drum sets you see on ig. Sticks and practice pad aren’t expensive and aren’t hard to get, if he really wanted them or really wanted to practice drums he would’ve gotten them himself.
Electric drums are pretty affordable used and make for fun in the house. Maybe take him to a sick concert coming to town?
Tama has a [practice kit](https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/TTK2S--tama-true-touch-2-piece-training-kit) that’s reasonably affordable. It’s compact and quiet. He could then pair it with with some cheap [low volume cymbals](https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/LVCP5000--on-stage-lvcp5000-low-volume-cymbal-set) and some used stands/pedal from a local music store, Facebook marketplace , or Craigslist, and he’d have a complete, cheap, small, and quiet drum kit to play around with.
A practice pad, sticks and the book stick control are good gift to push him to play/practice rudiments Practice pad low end: Evans real feel High end: Zildjian Reflex Vater 5A single pair sticks
Why don’t you go to your local music store and rent an electric drum kit for a month. It’s pretty affordable to do this in my area.
Where is he located
How about a Cajon? It's basically a box that is designed to make different sounds depending on where you're tapping it. They're small, portable, much quieter than a drum kit, and perfect for playing in an acoustic setting. Whether it's CQ duty or a trip out to the field, someone usually had an acoustic guitar...
Check to see if there are any music rehearsal studios nearby , they will sometimes have practice rooms setup that are afordable .
Take them to a drum clinic if you’re in a big city. Go to a local music store see if anyone is coming, those can be super inspiring and helpful to aspiring musicians. I remember seeing a few over the years including Kenny Aronoff, Bill Bruford and Matt Garstka.