Finger Drumming vs. Acoustic Drumming

In this free finger drumming lesson video, I break down the difference between finger drumming and acoustic drumming.

As a finger drumming instructor with over 14 years of experience as an acoustic drummer, I have been in both worlds and have a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of each. Because of this, I feel well-equipped to answer the question: which one is better?

A lot of my finger drumming students ask me if it wouldn't be better to just learn acoustic drums.

In my opinion, finger drumming is a total valid and legitimate way to play drums, and it has a lot of unique advantages over acoustic drumming.

First of all, acoustic drumming is expensive. If you want a decent drum kit, you'll be paying close to $1,000! Plus, you have to constantly spend money to replace drum sticks, drum heads, and cymbals.

Compare this to finger drumming, where you can buy a top-of-the-line pad controller for less than $300, and a full-fledged drum software with dozens of drum kits for less than $200! For less than $500 total, you can have a full professional-level finger drumming setup that will last you years without needing to replace anything.

Second, acoustic drumming takes up a lot of space. A drum kit is huge, it can take up almost half of a room by itself, and it's really difficult to move and transport it.

Finger drumming, on the other hand, is incredibly portable! A pad controller takes up only a little space on your desk, and if you have a laptop, you can easily fit your whole finger drumming setup into a small backpack and take it with you anywhere. Never before has drumming been anywhere near this portable.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, acoustic drumming is LOUD. Even if you're able to afford an expensive drum set and have space to put it, if you live in a place where you can't make a ton of loud noise, you basically can't be a drummer. Anyone who lives with their family, or in an apartment building, or just a quiet suburb, is completely locked out of the world of drumming.

This is the biggest problem that finger drumming solves. You can play drums with just headphones! All anyone will be able to hear is you tapping lightly on your pads, which is barely louder than a quiet conversation.

For all of these reasons, I believe finger drumming will impact the future of drumming in a massive way. It won't replace acoustic drumming entirely, but it will make it so much more accessible to millions of people all over the world who never could play drums before.