A drummer is a musician who plays a drum set, keeping the rhythm for the other musicians involved.

What Does a Drummer Do?

Here are the main responsibilities of a drummer:

• Keep the time
• Provide the rhythmic underpinning of the music (i.e. the groove)
• Guide the dynamics of a song
• Play supplemental percussive instruments, like a tambourine, cowbell, shakers, wood blocks, etc.
• Lock in rhythmically with the rest of the rhythm section, like the bass guitar and additional percussionist

At the same time, drummers need to know what’s going on musically in the song, like song structure, chords, and lyrics. They need to adjust the dynamics based on the different parts of a song.

A Day In the Life of a Drummer

There are two main types of career drummer you can be: a touring drummer and a studio drummer. You can do one or the other, or a combination of both.

If you’re a touring drummer, you’ll spend most of your days on the road, sleeping in a bus, RV, or cheap hotel. Then you’ll be loading in and setting up your drum set 4-5 nights a week, tear it down after each show, and load it back into the van or truck.

If you’re a studio drummer, you’ll spend your days in a professional recording studio playing drums for others’ songs. Or you could work remotely, which requires you have a home recording studio and know how to record a full drum set.

According to ZipRecruiter, the average salary for a drummer is $12,500 a year¹.

But it can vary widely depending on what type of drummer you are and whether you’re a touring drummer, a session drummer, or a mixture of both.

Drummer Ray “Quasi” Nelson (Kehlani, The Legendary Count Basie Orchestra, Sabrina Claudio) said you could make $800-1,000 a week as a touring drummer on the low end. But that would only be when you’re on tour.

Drummer Terri Lyne Carrington (Terri Lyne Carrington and Social Science, Herbie Hancock, Esperanza Spalding) said some drummers make $100-200 per gig while other, more experienced drummers can make $1,000-2,000 per gig.

How Do Drummers Make Money?

Here’s how a touring/performing drummer can make money:

• A per-gig flat-rate fee
• A percentage of what the venue pays the performers
• A percentage of merch profits (if they’re in a band)
• Performance royalties (if they’re playing songs they’ve written)

Here’s how a session drummer can make money:

• A per-session flat-rate fee
• Hourly rate
• Publishing royalties (if they had a hand in writing the song)
• Master recording royalties (if they were also the producer)

Miscellaneous ways drummers can make money:

• Selling drum sample packs they’ve recorded
• Giving drumming lessons

Hey, what do you think about trying our new Music Career HelperMusic Career Helper really quick? It’s totally free and could help get your career moving fast! Give it a try. It’s totally free and you have nothing to lose.

Like most artistic careers, building a career as a professional drummer will take time, hard work, tenacity, and some luck.

As long as live music exists (which it always will) and as long as recorded songs need drums, there will be demand for drummers.

Whether you’re a touring drummer, session drummer, drum teacher, or any career that revolves around drumming, the best way to build a sustainable career is to build relationships.

If you’re good at drums, continue to improve, be easy to work with, and make yourself available, you can become a career drummer.

There isn’t one way to become a professional drummer, but Carrington outlined the typical career path most drummers take…

Start Drumming at a Young Age

Most successful drummers start at a young age, which makes sense – the more time you spend drumming, the better you’ll be.

But also, if you didn’t start drumming at a young age, that’s okay. You can still pick it up later in life and succeed.

Take Drumming Lessons

Sure, you can teach yourself how to drum. But you will improve so much faster and more efficiently with a drum teacher. And with drumming being such a competitive career, you need all the help you can get.

Get Into Drumming Projects in High School

This could be starting a rock band, joining the marching band, or joining the high school orchestra.

Earn a Bachelor’s Degree in Music

Carrington said going to school for music is “to be able to teach or to have something to fall back on, but it’s also to get more knowledge.”

And your degree doesn’t have to be for drumming or performance. It just needs to be music-related.

Be Involved In Your Music Community

Chris Beck (Soloist, Cyrus Chestnut, Rufus Reid) said succeeding as a drummer is all about community.

“It’s a community of people who gather together, and by word-of-mouth, your name can get to some Bandleader’s desk, and then they give you an opportunity,” he said. “Most of the time, it’s just word-of-mouth. It’s just simple things like showing up on time.”

Careers You Can Have as a Drummer

Once you’ve developed your drumming skills enough, here are some of the most common careers you could have as a drummer:

• Studio session drummer: play drums on others’ recorded tracks
• Live performance drummer: play in live bands and/or sub in for other bands’ drummers
• Private drum teacher: teach students how to play drums as a freelancer or for a music school or music shop
• Drum technician: work as a drum tech for other drummers and/or bands, handling the setup, tuning, and maintenance of drum kits before and during shows

According to the drummers we interviewed, here are the main skills you’ll need to succeed as a drummer…

Learn the Basic Rudiments

Drum rudiments are the most basic drumming patterns that every drummer learns. Once you learn them, you can incorporate them into your style of drumming.

Be Able To Read Sheet Music

As a drummer, you may be asked to sub for a band’s normal drummer. And you will probably be expected to know how to read sheet music so you can quickly jump into the songs. It’s not always necessary, but it can make you a lot more valuable.

Be Disciplined

Not only are you using all four limbs simultaneously, but you’re playing with other musicians, reacting to what they’re doing, and many times guiding the song. So you have to be very good at drumming but also be aware of everything else going on.

Learn Many Genres

It’s definitely a good idea to become a specialist in one style of drumming, but if you can play in multiple different genres, that makes you much more valuable. You have more opportunities you can say “yes” to.

Be Agreeable

Beyond technical and music skills, drummers need to have strong people and leadership skills. Working collaboratively as part of a team, taking leadership roles when needed, and being an effective communicator all contribute to your ability to succeed.

Learn the Music Business

Music is a business, and the best drummers understand the business of music inside and out. This will help you negotiate fair rates for the value you bring to a team.

Almost all successful drummers started playing drums at an early age. From there, many get private lessons and/or go to school for music.

Private Drumming Lessons

Drumming lessons will teach you the basic rudiments, proper stick technique, provide accountability, and give you someone who can guide you on what you specifically need.

Drummer Degree

Drummers who attend a traditional university usually earn a degree in Performance, Music Education, Music, Percussion, Music Production, or Music Technology.

In college, drummers learn the basics of music theory, study harmony, arranging, and ear training (solfege), learn music notation, and become proficient with music technology and music software.

They also study music history and learn to write arrangements. They may also study counterpoint and other traditional music subjects.