Shortcut to Great Technique - Guaranteed

[Pete Stoltman]

The post about using tennis balls really got me thinking about this. We drummers, more than any other musicians seem to be obsessed with trying any kind of oddball shortcut to get to where we want to go. I don't hear about sax players for example learning how to blow better by stuffing cotton up the bell of their horn or some other crazy idea. Not sure why this is the case but I know it's true because I've done goofy stuff myself in the past and observe other guys doing the same. Some of the posters on the board may come off as being overly critical or even rude at these suggestions and I include myself in that bunch. Speaking for myself the reason is that I see how futile many of these things become and that guys could do so much better by using sound practice techniques rather than searching for some elusive shortcut or crutch that is going to make you a great drummer. This stuff is no more than distractions (interesting as they may be) that steal time away from what is going to really make you a good drummer.

So you want to know my shortcut to great technique? Practice with the sticks that you use on the drums that you use with the aid of a good qualified instructor. Stay focused on the goal at hand and think about why you are doing what you are doing. Now put in quality practice time, not just spending time in front of the drums mindlessly repeating the same mistakes you've already made. If you do these things on a consistent basis I guarantee you WILL become a better drummer.

One of my favorite quotes that I think applies here came from the great violinist Ithzak Perlmann. After a concert some lady who was an amateur violinist came up to him and very excitedly said "Oh Mister Perlmann, I'd give my life to be able to play like you". To which he responded " I did."

[jeffwj]

So you want to know my shortcut to great technique? Practice with the sticks that you use on the drums that you use with the aid of a good qualified instructor. Stay focused on the goal at hand and think about why you are doing what you are doing. Now put in quality practice time, not just spending time in front of the drums mindlessly repeating the same mistakes you've already made. If you do these things on a consistent basis I guarantee you WILL become a better drummer."

I agree. What else is there to say?

Jeff

[jazzsnob]

Anyone who has paid any attention to my posts know what I think about this. Pete is exactly right. Two additional points.

1.I believe Derrick said this in one of his early videos and it stuck me "too many are going forward, get frustrated and then turn sideways. You don't improve that way." It kind of shows, because how many posts are like "I'm frustrated with my singles, so I'm going to play moeller accents or I'm going to play open handed and then whenever I get bored with that crap maybe my singles will be better." Follow the path, for the path is grey. It's boring, a lot of boring stuff that hammers you and pounds you into a quivering pile of jelly. And there's always more and that's the way it is and it's FINE so deal with it.

2. Remember this:Virtually all of the great drummers we know of right now didn't have a resource like this when they were in their formal years. It's hard to miss the advantages, students without teachers can do fairly well, you can ALWAYS find something to work on and there's usually someone willing to help you. But nothing's perfect, and the one advantage that the guys growing up without the internet is about 1/100th the amount of distractions you can get. Distractions are bad for a begginner especially. And they never had to worry if someone was giving good advice, because if anyone was giving them advice it was probably in person and that person's ability and sense could be judged much more accurately.

So yeah, this place is a gift to the community, but you need to be selective more than ever, kiddies.

Nice post Pete.

[Womble]

Thank you, Pete, for telling it like it is. Unfortunately it won't do any good. People will keep asking about new miracle ways of practising; people who know better will type out the same reply for the hundredth time in understandable frustration, and then be accused of being rude. Makes you wonder why you bother, really.

[NUTHA JASON]

here's a shortcut...
















http://www.edoug.com/images/red-bull.jpg

[Womble]

Mike Shapiro used to rip it out of us for drinking Red Bull and running away with the tempo - "Jeez, guys, Bonham could play solid time on horse tranquilisers!!"

[kung_f00]

here's a shortcut...
















http://www.edoug.com/images/red-bull.jpg

Guh, I hate the taste of redbull. But a Starbucks double shot, that's more like it.

And thank you Pete for pointing that out -- hopefully more people will realize that there is no quick fix. However, getting plenty of exersize and stretching regularly before sitting down at a kit has always helped me out tons.

[khanedeliac]

Mike Shapiro used to rip it out of us for drinking Red Bull and running away with the tempo - "Jeez, guys, Bonham could play solid time on horse tranquilisers!!"

So thats the key then!
Take Ketamine to truly play like Bonham!
Thanks so much guys!

Im off to the pharmacy...

* Gives two sarcastic thumbs up with cheesy smile included *

[NUTHA JASON]

actually (slightly off topic) i find that if a drink red bul in the hour before the first set i do somethimes actually find it hard to keep a steady tempo. but if i drink one two hours before the gig and then a beer to counter it in the hour before i am awake but mellow ...ie: ideal for a gig.

on topic i confess that i have tried many quick fixes etc to accelerate my drumming...gyro balls, gym grips, squash balls, running,...

nothing works better for me than a basic version of the mangini method... long practice of basics in a focussed schedule over a long period of time at slow tempos and occasional evaluative practices to see how fast i can go.

j

[Johnest]

Also, i think that everybody should start to accept where he (or she) is regarding is drumming ability and try to work from there, not too far ahead. Why trying to be the fastest drummer in the world if you have just started a year ago?

Embrace rudiments and basics. Built your technique... There is no secret shortcut.

[fat in the middle]

This post is much needed for everybody involved in music. Great post Pete.
Although i am not a buddist, there is a similar concept i recently read that relates to this; When the monk was asked by a student about how long it took to reach enlightenment, his reponse was; "it took me 10 years while meditating 4 hours a day,,," the student replied: "So i can meditate 8hrs and do it in 5yrs,,," Then the monk finished it off by saying; "if you did that 8hours a day, it would take you 20 years!"

[vadrum]

although i agree, in general, w/ everything being said on this thread i do want to point out something about the "practicing w/ a tennis ball" thread (since it was referenced here). having looked at the first post, it was never written that you were to scrap your sticks and devote all of your time to playing w/ tennis balls. i find a lot of the posts about that specific topic to be a bit too reactionary, it was never written that this was the panacea for poor technique or the quickest route to get hands like buddy rich. it only stated that your hand speed would improve A LITTLE. if i were looking for a quick fix for my hands, im not even going to invest my time in a shortcut to get my hands A LITTLE better. i honestly think that there is too much reading into the point of that thread.

going by the logic presented here, i should really never practice at all unless i can sit w/ a pad or drums w/ sticks in my hands. quite frankly, thats not always easy. i work a job during the day and during that job, during the down time, i will sit and tap out rhythyms w/ my hands, i will run thru independence exercises left handed by playing w/ my hands on my legs and tapping my feet on the floor. and i believe, although its not the most effective way to practice, that these types of exercises can help when used in conjuction w/ a regular, regimented practice routine (as a matter of fact i have read that ginger baker used to practice rudiments w/ his feet while riding on trains). it seems that everyone has put whomever started the "tennis ball thread" at the end of a scale that makes him an uninformed and dangerous radical, and for the sake of the children, those who feel that they are on the correct end of the scale are coming out and blasting his idea or any idea that seems similar.

ive practiced on pillows, on my legs, tapped on desks, phone books, what have you in order to bang out a little extra practice during the day but never felt it was a viable replacement for honest practice at the drums. and i think that its more important to relay a message to all the impressionable young students out there that there are in fact NO quick routes to great hands or improved drumset skills (it always takes years of dedicated work), that you should never give up honest practice time in search of a quick fix, but that alternate exercises (such as using a tennis ball to understand rebound) can be an effective way of illustrating a particular lesson or portion of a lesson. just dont take these alternative exercises as the means to true control of the drums or drumset.

the saxophone analogy is cute, but the nature of our instrument is 100% different than practically every other instrument on the planet. its a physical instrument, more so than any other that i can think of (short of the organ), in that we are physically engaging all 4 of our limbs at any given time. we are also working w/ an instrument that does send most of our chosen implements of attack back to us (be it hands, mallets, brushes, etc.) w/ quite a bit of force, thereby calling on us to increase our understanding of the true physical chartacteristics of the drum and how to control it. if this can be accomplished by bouncing a ball on the drum, then why not try it. as i said b4, just dont let it consume ALL of your practice time.

its almost as if we should walk around smacking the hands of all the pf students who sit at a table tapping out fingering exercises, send them to their room w/ no dinner, and tell them the next time i see them they better have a piano strapped to their body so they can practice the only true way to practice, at the piano.

[fat in the middle]

well written, vadrum,,and the beauty of this 'reactionary post' you pointed out, enables people like yourself to get good ideas out. This instrument is always evolving. i think everyone has good points here, and a good thread consists of issues being addressed that seem to hit the self- disiplinary nerve! Didn't Mickey hart use tennis balls and bungie cords on bass drums?! great thread.......!

[bromasi]

Hey you want fast results buy jared falk's DVD (just kidding, the only way to get better lots of practice and focus )

[GRUNTERSDAD]

I have been drumming, tapping, on desks, tables, dashboards, steering wheels, you name it for as long as I can remember. I am 58. I played drums from the 8th grade until the 12th grade and then in bands for another year or so. I was at a particular level. I owned drum sticks for the last ten years but did not even touch a drum for 32 years. I bought a set last March and tried to recover whatever skills I had. Two months ago I bought a practice pad and a cheap snare stand for it. I now play on the pad more than the drum set, because of neighbors etc. I will guarantee I am better now than I was after four years of playing drums in school. I can practice rudiments while I watch TV and play to background music. etc. Take some advice for an old man who plays for the fun and love of drums. Practice. There are no short cuts. Practice. Some gimmicks may relieve boredom but practice is the only shortcut, if you consider it a shortcut. My two cents.

[maddrummr]

Also, i think that everybody should start to accept where he (or she) is regarding is drumming ability and try to work from there, not too far ahead. Why trying to be the fastest drummer in the world if you have just started a year ago?

Embrace rudiments and basics. Built your technique... There is no secret shortcut.

Yess my singles are fair...but now im starting to try and even out my paradiddles, clocked at 80 bpm was a solid even paradiddle.

[JacobKaye]

"This path is short and long, and the other is long and short" (Eruvin 53b)

A shortcut is often the fastest way to get to somewhere you don't want to be.

[wy yung]

Although I lean toward agreeing with the opening post on many counts, I do not believe that the human race has yet found all the answers. This does not mean I believe there ever will be a 'miracle cure' as it were, to finding great technique. It is more that I lean towards the discovery of ways that may help muscle development that can lead to better technique on the drums. Not in place of proper practice, but to facilitate proper practice; to support it.

Muscle groups are complex things and there are many ways to develop them. For example, a martial artist can improve the power of a kick through building the muscles via weight training. This training is not to replace the basic kicking exercise, and in fact it must support the basic kick, but it can and does help. The kick must always be performed as well, because the weight training can reduce speed, but together these exercises offer dual support.

If anything I believe many drummers do not think like musicians. This constant need by many to have the fastest single stroke roll on the planet is hardly musical, but rather a sporting contest. Often we see that a drummer who has spent too much time focusing on picture perfect technique sounds sterile. An imperfect technique can often have more character and individuality. Although I do feel we should all strive to practice and develop our technique, this should never get in the way of what is really important: i.e. the music that is in our hearts and minds.

Having said that, the development of superior technical ability allows one to play more easily. The execution of an idea is far easier when one has the technique available to do it. Certainly from my own experience when younger and less skilled, not having the technical ability to perform an idea is a frustrating exercise. I play many instruments other than drumset and I still have to deal with this and it is just as frustrating as it ever was. There is only one way to get past this, practice practice practice. But if I can find a way to support this practice, I will use it. But I wont substitute the time I use to actually practice playing an instrument. I will perform this exercise at a time when I am not playing.

[cwignall]

This post is much needed for everybody involved in music. Great post Pete.
Although i am not a buddist, there is a similar concept i recently read that relates to this; When the monk was asked by a student about how long it took to reach enlightenment, his reponse was; "it took me 10 years while meditating 4 hours a day,,," the student replied: "So i can meditate 8hrs and do it in 5yrs,,," Then the monk finished it off by saying; "if you did that 8hours a day, it would take you 20 years!"




in other words a steady regular practice is better than a mental session every so often?

[Raymond Bloom]

I have discussed all this shortcut thing with my fellow drummers that teach and we came to conclusion that to be a good drummer you need to work thorugh (atleast)

Stick Controll and 4-Way Coordination

learn some basic styles, grooves

learn the Free stroke and Moeller

and play a lot with a other musicians

[vadrum]

I have discussed all this shortcut thing with my fellow drummers that teach and we came to conclusion that to be a good drummer you need to work thorugh (atleast)

Stick Controll and 4-Way Coordination

learn some basic styles, grooves

learn the Free stroke and Moeller

and play a lot with a other musicians


well, i think that might be over simplified a bit, although i cant argue w/ your choice of books. my only issue w/ stating things this way is that there are plenty of drummers that didnt go throught those books (chambers, for example) and they are still monsters and then there are the drummers who have gone thru all of those books and they still sound as good as a steaming pile of poo.......

[Raymond Bloom]

well, i think that might be over simplified a bit, although i cant argue w/ your choice of books. my only issue w/ stating things this way is that there are plenty of drummers that didnt go throught those books (chambers, for example) and they are still monsters and then there are the drummers who have gone thru all of those books and they still sound as good as a steaming pile of poo.......
of course, everyone is different, and Chambers is such a monster mostly because he is really talanted, have put in some hard work and he did A LOT of what I sayed in that last sentence in bold... :-)