YouTube is incredibly unique in how easy it connects its creators and their fans. I know many other people feel this way too, there’s something that feels personal in certain good YouTubers but that feeling is multiplied when the YouTube has that ability to connect through a screen while still being a small channel in a niche genre. No one does this better than the YouTube channel “rdavidr,” otherwise known as David Raouf. His channel is dedicated to drummers who like to build their own instruments and use them in unique and inexpensive ways. Even though his channel is intended to have a small target audience his channel is remarkably large at about 138,000 subscribers. I think this is because other people outside of the intended target audience have realized the simple brilliance of David Raouf. It is because of David Raouf’s interesting subject matter and personality that anyone should watch his videos.
Where he really shines is in making the small add-ons that drummers will get, these could be anything from DIY ching rings, a sort of tambourine you can put around cymbals, to cutting up your old cymbals to make smaller splash cymbals. I have personally made a couple of his projects and loved every second of it. Even if you aren’t making his projects it’s just very interesting to see his whole process of turning a literal piece of garbage into a functioning and decent sounding cymbal. I see in the comments hundreds of people saying “I’m not a builder or a drummer what am I doing here?” but they’re watching his videos and loving them.
The YouTube channel rdavidr has some of the most unique videos on an already unique platform of YouTube. Most of his videos stem from the fact that musical instruments are very expensive, especially anything having to do with drumming. A starter drum kit on Guitar Center costs about $250 for just the drums, another $300 for cymbals, and $250 for hardware, totaling at about $800 spent before you even learned how to hold your sticks. As your skill progresses and your interest in nicer equipment increases you realize that a single snare drum could cost you anywhere from $800 to thousands of dollars. But if you knew about rdavidr you could recreate the sound of those instruments at a fraction of the cost. You could even learn how to make your own drums inexpensively and play your own custom drum that no one else has in the world, just watch any of his many videos where he creates his own drums with simple and easy to understand instructions.
David Raouf’s personality and demeanor in his videos draw in thousands of viewers of many types, from drummers to non-drummers. He is always positive and talks in a relaxing and straightforward way so the viewer is glued to their screen, you just want to be friends with this guy. He also has a sense of humor, often self-deprecating humor in a way that always keeps the video light. He also is very active in his YouTube community often doing giveaways and writing back in the comments. After each of his creations, he takes a few minutes to play the instruments at the end of the video. If you want a relaxing video of someone essentially making art out of the art he made in the video this is the right channel for you.
Works Cited
“Drum Department.” Drums | Guitar Center, Guitar Center, www.guitarcenter.com/Snare-Drums.gc#pageName=subcategory-page&N=18218&Nao=0&recsPerPage=30&&Ns=pHL&postalCode=55414&radius=100&profileCountryCode=US&profileCurrencyCode=USD.
I can tell that you seem to have a passion for drums. It's really interesting to know that small add-ons can be made by yourself without spending so much on buying them. I agree that each channel has a little community of its own and everyone can learn from it.
ReplyDeleteI really liked reading about your favorite corner of the internet. You made this sound very interesting and I can tell that you are really into music. I too like music so I might have to check this out because it sounds very cool.
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