4 piece or 5?

[MeekaFlow]

iv been debating on weather what to play i like to play both. 4 piece i feel more open like i dont need that other tom. 5 i feel the same ol same ol. my teacher(that i just started lessons) teaches me on a 6 piece set and i wanna learn that but at the same time play a 4 piece. how can i explane that to him. can i learn how to play drums with a 4 piece? can i just switch back and forth i play at my church and the other drummers at our church play 5 or 6 im the only one that plays a 4. iv seen a bunch of worship music played with 4 piece drum kits. or maybe im just stupid and dont know what im talkin about ha. help?

 

[Edge3591]

your answer to can you switch between 4-5-6 piece sets: yes, I play on a 5, and my church has a 4. I wasn't solid @ first but it's fine now.

 

[SGarrett]

The only drums you need are your kick and snare. How many toms you have just determines how many tonal options you have.

 

[king_friday]

The only drums you need are your kick and snare. How many toms you have just determines how many tonal options you have.

you don't need a kick

 

[SGarrett]

The only drums you need are your kick and snare. How many toms you have just determines how many tonal options you have.

you don't need a kick

In more than 90% of music, you do.

 

[Llama_Dude]

I am most comfortable in a 4 piece but I wanted more tonal options so I set up Like a 4 piece and put a smaller tom on the left side of my snare and added another floor tom and it worked great. but if that has nothing to do with what your talking about then I'm sorry.

 

[kylevater]

The only drums you need are your kick and snare. How many toms you have just determines how many tonal options you have.

you don't need a kick

wow
you must be new to drumming

 

[king_friday]

The only drums you need are your kick and snare. How many toms you have just determines how many tonal options you have.

you don't need a kick

In more than 90% of music, you do.

ok, ill agree with that. but there are styles that you dont have to have a kick for. slim jim phantom and victor delarenzo often times did not use a kick drum.

 

[dave lynch]

In my opinion if you're gonna buy a new/used kit it may depend on what comes with it...A four piece is perfect for beginning, but having an extra tom or two hangin aronud to add later is a good option..if you like playing four piece I say do it..you'll be happier and you know you can add other toms later..even if later turns out to be tomorrow..!!

 

[m]

nice thing about it is inside every 5 pc (or more) IS a 4 pc.

 

[Potatoe Snack]

go with whatever you're most comfortable with. If you got a kick and snare and some cymbals, thats all you need, everything else is up to the individual.

 

[ThePloughman]

Best of both worlds, one up, two down.

 

[Lancelot Frosty]

I've been playing with 5 piece kits, but my teacher teaches me on a four.
Personally, I like having the ride close, so I've been tinkering with a 4 piece.
You could go as Ploughman said.

Still wanna mess with something more than a 5 piece, though.

 

[JAdrums2k]

Yea... try every different combination that you can & have fun with it.
The challenge is taking what you've learned on the 6 piece and translating it to your regular 4 piece kit.
I think you'll find the more you play & the more you learn it's really not as difficult as it seems right now. Try asking your teacher for some 4 piece exercises he can give you as well

 

[Daza73]

i was originally taught on a 6 piece kit same set up as a 5 piece just with another floor tom
but my church has a 4 piece and my kit is a 5 i cant say i like the feel of the 4 piece as good
as the 5, i dnt think i can play as good with just the 1 tom above the bass drum but everyone's different

 

[MeekaFlow]

what about learning with a 4 or 5 piece does it matter? What about those 2 floor toms whats with that whats the 2nd one for? should i try now or later in my drumming adventure lol

 

[Lancelot Frosty]

Well, if you go with the one up and the two down, you have the advantage of having a 5 piece while being able to pull in the ride closer.
All depends on what you like.

In my opinion, it doesn't really matter what you learn with.
One thing I like about a 4 piece is that you really gotta think about the grooves because you have one less tom to work with.
In my opinion, just go with what appeals to you the most.

 

[Steven McTowelie]

i have the one rack tom and 2 floor toms set up and i must say i love it. it just feels so much more comfortable for me to have my ride cymbal in closer, with the first floor tom perfectly even with my snare. i would just experiment and find whatever feels most comfortable to you. i just one day decided i was going to take a few hours and try a bunch of different configurations to see what felt most comfortable, and then i stuck with it.

i play a 5 piece but there's nothing at all wrong with a 4 piece.

 

[SGarrett]

Four, five, six, or 20 piece, you can play all of the same things. The only difference is the number of tonal options you have.

 

[Rob Crisp]

I'm more impressed by a guy who can rock a 4 piece, like Billy ray does, than someone who has a gazillion toms and does the same 16/32nd note fill over them constantly.

If I was you I'd try and keep the number of toms down, go with the 4 piece and learn to express yourself on that. When you have a load of phrases down you can then add in an extra tom for more tones.

Plus there are serious advantages to a small kit. less to hike around for one and less storage space. Not to mention tuning will be a shed load easier and replacing heads a lot cheaper.