Building speed: slow focusing on technique - or just go for it?

[T-1000]

You always hear people say you should practice hand/foot technique at a speed that you can just play for 5 or 10 minutes solid, but then there are guys like Derek Roddy who say that the best way to build speed is to pick a fast song you can't play and just try to last through as much of it as possible. Then repeat until you can get through all of it.

Apparently that's how Derek got to where he's at now, so I guess you can't argue with the results... But all those people who say to practice relatively slowly focusing on proper technique and speed will come later can't be wrong can they?

What should a 'modern drummer' looking to increase his/her speed do?

Thanks in advance.

[abe]

Yes, and then there is Mangini and Famularo how say that you should practice at very slow tempos for hours...

I guess it works.

[Gyrefalcon]

Personally I do not think there is a 'best' way to work on it. Try both ways and see which works better for you.


I generally get better results using the slow method, and I find that it increases my consistency. Just remember that everyone learns slightly differently.

[blade123]

A bit of both. You NEED to work through things slowly, but working on things slowly gets you better at playing slowly. You need to just "go for it" after awhile.

[si20]

I find the best way for me to work is to spend 10 minutes non-stop at a medium tempo so that its strains me a little but i can still do it without becoming tense, then have a 2 minute period where I try and go for it, then shake any tension out of my limbs and then repeat. Tis good for me.

[Paradiddlemadness]

I think you certainly have to get the correct body motions, and that can only be done while practicing your technique slowly. But I also think to go fast you just have to go fast - once you have the correct technique/motion.

[Therma lobsterdore]

A bit of both seems to be working best for me, I practice my rudiments slowly for half of my practice, then I play to fast music for the rest it

[zambizzi]

I'll hop on the "bit of both" bandwagon just out of my personal experience.

There are certain rudiments that I can do very fast now with minimal effort...but that all came about from practicing them very slowly at first and finding what type of stroke and/or rebound made them easiest.

Recently I was creating a groove for a song my new band is working on and it had to be very fast, straight eighth notes. I struggled w/ it at first because I was working too hard. I played through the drum-less track 4-5 times and found my "groove" (har har) and found it effortless to play it and get through fills. Faster was better in this case...and I feel like my speed and control has improved as a result.

[defregano]

Play as fast as youre able to without tensing up. I cant stress enough how important a loose grip ( and loose body) is when starting out drumming. If "Just going for it" means tensing up..losing control... just to squeeze out the notes then thats no good. Youll be teaching your muscles to tighten up and that will be detrimental to your drumming overall.
One technique that i found helped me out with holding the sticks is to always make sure i can move my hand to any area of the stick while im playing. There is no way to do this if your grip is too tight..so its a way of keeping me in check.

[maddrummr]

I wouldn't practice like that unless i had a teacher watch me. Because when your going as fast as possible you might change your technique to compensate for the speed factor. You could develop bad habits.

I focus slow with the right technique so when I get to the higher speeds I can play with the right technique and not potentially hurt myself.

[petelawless]

There's a similar post to this where Derek Roddy explains that the only way to get fast, is to play fast. I think this of course, is true. Playing slow is essential to get the feel for the technique and to develop muscle memory, but you have to gradually bring the tempo up if you want to get faster.

[FFFF]

I definitetly go with both. You don't want to tense your muscles to compensate for the speed, which I find is a rather weak technique. You'll drain a lot energy before halfway through your practice or a gig. However I also find that learning slow most of the time can be intense and boring. So once in a while, I just rip it fast.

[Ben Tormey]

One thing I'd like to know is: when you've got that speed, what're you going to do with it?

[T-1000]

One thing I'd like to know is: when you've got that speed, what're you going to do with it?

Hmmm... well I play in a pop-punk band that does some fast stuff - only very occasional double bass but there is quite a lot of pressure on the 'time-keeping' hand to keep up to speed.

I figure that the faster you are capable of playing - the more comfortable you will be with slightly slower tempo's (a lot of stuff we do is in the 180bpm range) - and I just want to feel more comfortable lasting through songs and gigs. Especially my moving around the kit for fills and tom-tom grooves needs a lot of work so I'm trying to build up my speed to help with this.

[zambizzi]

I figure that the faster you are capable of playing - the more comfortable you will be with slightly slower tempo's

I don't agree. Playing fast all the time will result in you being uncomfortable at slow tempos, which is why it's important most times to start slow and build up to speed (without straining) - as others have said.

[bridgecity]

here is an elementary observation from someone very new to drumming.

I was having trouble speeding up the double stroke when playing with my teacher.
but i realized if i just roared into it super fast with tense muscles, then listened closely to balance it out and relax my body...i was able to slow it down correctly.

now it's a bit easier to start slow and go fast but I still struggle with it, so when warming up I tend to start super fast then slow down and speed up.

[mikeveny]

In terms of drumming speed, I'd be more specific (hand speed, foot speed, groove speed, etc.) and also try not to confuse that with endurance.

It is important to practice things slow for muscle memory purposes. We can walk fast very easily because the technique of walking has been deeply ingrained into our minds.

With good technique as a foundation, I would also focus on exercise that allow you to sprint, such as holding a single stroke roll (16th note triplets) at 110 bpm for 3 minutes. An exercise like this will develop your speed and endurance very quickly, but you need to have good technique as a foundation first.

Good luck!

[Tim Waterson]

You always hear people say you should practice hand/foot technique at a speed that you can just play for 5 or 10 minutes solid, but then there are guys like Derek Roddy who say that the best way to build speed is to pick a fast song you can't play and just try to last through as much of it as possible. Then repeat until you can get through all of it.

Apparently that's how Derek got to where he's at now, so I guess you can't argue with the results... But all those people who say to practice relatively slowly focusing on proper technique and speed will come later can't be wrong can they?

What should a 'modern drummer' looking to increase his/her speed do?

Thanks in advance.
Derek GREAT drummer,has been playing fast for over 20 years, but ive also seen him change his technique over the years.NOW he plays much more relaxed and is a much better drummer.
TRUE speed can only be measuerd by one limb at a time.
Mr Vruk posted a demonstration similar to what Mike Manginni teaches in his Rhythm Knowledge books
here http://www.vrukpedal.com/public_html/Media/videoclips.html
circle of death is TRUE speed
Tim

[Derek Roddy]

Derek GREAT drummer,has been playing fast for over 20 years, but ive also seen him change his technique over the years.NOW he plays much more relaxed and is a much better drummer.

Thanks for the great drummer comment Tim but... what are you talking about? Haha.

As far as I know....you've never seen me play live...other than farting around at the Axis booth.
I don't think you're qualified to make that statement (having only seen me playing... for a few minutes).

Yes, I sound more relaxed now because... I've been doing it for years.

My technique hasn't changed....it has just been "honed" an "refined" for many years.
Same motion I've been using since I started though.

Cheers,
D.

[gusty]

You always hear people say you should practice hand/foot technique at a speed that you can just play for 5 or 10 minutes solid.

More like hours.....

[TheIronCobr4]

What I do to get anything fast down is a pick a song that I like is fast and by getting that song down normally I can play faster all around. With your new found speed attempt a faster song. Once that song is smooth try another. Do so until your at your desired speed. Thats how I've always worked it out and its worked. Just make sure you really have the song down before you try going any faster. Derek Roddy is fast and its gonna take time to reach his standards either using his methods or not. Just play around with it.

[m1ck]

Play as fast as youre able to without tensing up. I cant stress enough how important a loose grip ( and loose body) is when starting out drumming. If "Just going for it" means tensing up..losing control... just to squeeze out the notes then thats no good. Youll be teaching your muscles to tighten up and that will be detrimental to your drumming overall.
One technique that i found helped me out with holding the sticks is to always make sure i can move my hand to any area of the stick while im playing. There is no way to do this if your grip is too tight..so its a way of keeping me in check.

I think there's some sense to this. I was studying West African percussion for a while, and some of it gets pretty fast. My instructor would periodically tell his students something counter-intuitive: that playing faster does not mean playing louder and harder. Just the opposite. Relaxing, with a lighter touch, enables you to play faster. I've never forgotten that, and now when I'm trying to play something faster than I'm comfortable with on the drum kit, I make a point of lightening up on my strokes and relaxing. It works.

[Tim Waterson]

Thanks for the great drummer comment Tim but... what are you talking about? Haha.

As far as I know....you've never seen me play live...other than farting around at the Axis booth.
I don't think you're qualified to make that statement (having only seen me playing... for a few minutes).

Yes, I sound more relaxed now because... I've been doing it for years.

My technique hasn't changed....it has just been "honed" an "refined" for many years.
Same motion I've been using since I started though.

Cheers,
D.
Derek,
Ive seen LOTS of videos of you.lol
and yes your playing is more refined but your technique has gotten better..
Dont forget the WFD sent meYOUR videos remember the drumometer mistrigger....
And NOW You are even talking about technique in your ARTISAN promo...
That was ONLY meant as a compliment you were FAST before but NOW you are smooth and relaxed which makes you a better drummer.
Tim

[Ironcobra]

You can't analyze something that has no definitive answer. Practice everything, good technique, slow playing, fast playing. All of these will improve all aspects of your drumming, no point in trying to vigorously determine which aspects of practicing constitutes to what results you achieve.

Having said that, IMO, I think speed can be achieved much easier by practicing faster/longer muscle workouts, this will naturally make you more relaxed at those higher speeds. The only way to do this is to take it slow and work your way up, it's like a corporate ladder.

[Citizen Insane]

Slow focusing for along time. You need a lot of patience to truley master a technique.

[jotte]

Hi!

I have tried som hints from Dave Wecl that works for me.
For instance, to get your bassdrum technique up in speed, try this tutorial
at Learningdrum.

Learningdrum Education Start (http://www.learningdrum.com/drumeducation.html)

Choose module: Technique, in the left menu
Choose chapter: Bassdrum in the top menu
Choose scene: # 5 Ancle Joint Muscle Trainer, in the bottom menu


The idea is to first practice in slow comfortable speed 120 bpm (as an example).
Then crank up the tempo as fast as yoy can, it shall be so fast so that you nearly cant manage 150 bpm (as an example). Then after a while go back to the slow tempo 120 bpm, thats ow feels realy comfortable. The crank up the tempo a litte bit faster than the previous fast tempo to (160 bpm as an example). Repeat the cycle.

After a while your first fast tempo 150 bpm is going to feel comfortable, even it felt realy tensed in the beginning.

/ Jotte