Rock Band: Learn To Drum!

Rock Band is a game for XBox, PS3, and PS2. It's a follow-on to Guitar Hero; all the songs have parts for guitar, bass, vocals, and drums. The great thing about the drums peripheral is that just playing the game actually teaches you drumming. If you can play this game on the Hard level, you can basically play drums. Which turns out to be a decent workout! At least it was for me - I was tired and had sore arms and shoulders after a few hours of play. I suspect as you get better at drumming you move more efficiently so it's not quite as much exercise for an expert as it would be for a novice, but then you can play faster and fuller rhythms.

Here's a real drummer playing in Expert mode:


As for me, I can currently get through 41 of the 58 songs in Hard mode. Yesterday I was stuck on Vasoline, so to speak. Green Grass and High Tides is exhausting. Ballroom Blitz is a blast! Go With The Flow is kind of insane. Once Hard level is mastered I'll probably buy a real (albeit still electronic) drum kit and see what I can do with some dynamic range...

A few links:

• Harmonix's Top Tips for Drummers
• You can buy 3rd-party stick-on pads that dampen the sound a bit and add "springiness".
• here's xkcd's take.

Plus as a special added bonus - a collection of jokes:

Q: What do you call a guy who hangs out with musicians?
A: A drummer.

Q: How can you tell that there's a drummer at your front door?
A: The knocking gets faster and faster.
A: He doesn't know when to come in.

Q: What's the difference between a musician and a savings bond?
A: One of them eventually matures and earns money.

Q: Why is a drum machine better than a drummer?
A: Because it can keep good time and won't sleep with your girlfriend.

Q: Why do guitarists put drumsticks on the dash of their car?
A: So they can park in the handicapped spot

Q: How many drummers does it take to change a light bulb?
A: None, they have machines that do that now.

Q: How do you tell if the stage is level?
A: The drummer is drooling from both sides of his mouth.

Q: What's the thing you would never hear a drummer says?
A: "Hey guys, why don't we try one of my songs?

Q: How is a drum solo like a sneeze?
A: You can tell it's coming, but you can't do anything about it.

Q: How do you get a drummer away from your front door?
A: Pay him for the pizza.

Q: What do you call a drummer that breaks up with his girlfriend?
A: Homeless.

Q: What's the difference between a large pizza and a drummer?
A: The pizza can feed a family.