Need Advice, Ideas, Opinions!

[damica]

I realize that speed is not everything. However lets face it, you have to be able to play atleast in the ball park.

I practice everyday and I use (Stick Control, Master Studies, and the 40 PAS rudiments), while all of this practicing has help me greatly with (Control, note spacing, and independence), I am still not able to gain much speed. (Example: The paradiddle, according to Vic Firth rudiment guide, the top level is at 180 bpm.) I can play them at 150 bpm. Now, like I said I don't need to be at the top level, but I do want to be in the Ball-Park let say 166 bpm.

I practice the paradiddle everyday and just can't seem to get past 150bpm.

How can I gain more speed?

[Casper "DrPowerStroke" Paludan]

I realize that speed is not everything. However lets face it, you have to be able to play atleast in the ball park.

I practice everyday and I use (Stick Control, Master Studies, and the 40 PAS rudiments), while all of this practicing has help me greatly with (Control, note spacing, and independence), I am still not able to gain much speed. (Example: The paradiddle, according to Vic Firth rudiment guide, the top level is at 180 bpm.) I can play them at 150 bpm. Now, like I said I don't need to be at the top level, but I do want to be in the Ball-Park let say 166 bpm.

I practice the paradiddle everyday and just can't seem to get past 150bpm.

How can I gain more speed?

Get a good teacher to show you how to
1) hold the sticks (German, French, American)
2) use the rebound (free stroke)

While you are doing that, on your own, work on
3) loving your playing the way it is. Do you really need 166 bpm? (answer: probably not)

Casper

[Jeff Almeyda]

Try slowing down to about 100 BPM and playing it for 90 minutes nonstop (!) 4x weekly. You'll be MUCH faster in 6 weeks if you do it.

[zambizzi]

I agree w/ Jeff - the only way to get faster, once you feel you can't progress any further, is to slow it down.

One good exercise is to start very slowly, say 60 bpm...then without stopping, gradually increase the speed. Do this gradually over a long stretch and only speed up when your strokes are clean and comfortable. When you think you've gotten to the point you can't speed up any more, slow back down, gradually...back to 60 bpm (or whatever you'd like.)

[foursticks]

I say practise doubles and singles more too. A paradiddle is just a combination of the two, so it makes sense stripping it right down. Make sure you can do a double stroke roll comfortably at 180 bmp and practise them going from slow to fast and back again, making sure they sound perfectly even. Same applies with singles. This should help.

[Drummer Karl]

Like Jeff said: Slow down to get faster.
That`s a very effective way to increase the speed and consistency.

And I agree with foursticks...practicing doubles and singles will probably help because all those paradiddle variations are combinations of singles and doubles. As simple as that.

When practicing generally pay attention for the movements you make. Look carefully at your arms: How do they move and when do they move? Try to figure out when there is time for one arm to "whip", when there is no time...
In general analyzing the "movement of an excercice" is really really helpful and in my opinion very important. While practicing it can happen that you listen more to a melody you wanna hear in that excercice than executing movements.

So don`t forget about the movement.
Taking care of that aspect should make the whole thing more fluid.

Karl