Practicing rudiments without a pad or metronome. Bad idea?

lxh039

Member
I work in a library as a circulation assistant, which is basically a mildly glorified desk clerk. The overwhelming majority of my day is down time, so I decided to put it to use by practicing rudiments when I'm not otherwise occupied. I got a copy of Stick Control and I'm working through the exercises, but I have a couple of concerns. A) I can't use my practice pad at work because it's too loud, so I'm just tapping out the rhythms on my knee. B) A clicking metronome would be disturbing to patrons, so I can't use one. Am I screwing myself up here? I know that rudiment practice is all about conditioning. By playing on a surface with no rebound and without a metronome, am I conditioning myself to have bad habits? Also, can anyone recommend a good browser-based metronome that uses visual cues like flashing lights instead of audible cues? Thanks for any suggestions you may have. :)
 
I dont know what the actual answer is but I can tell you that it helped me. Im still no good at them or anything but I am a ton faster and have better control than before. I used to practice on a pillow while watching tv so I couldnt rely on a bounce at all. It helped me hone in on the muscle memory.
 
I work in a library as a circulation assistant, which is basically a mildly glorified desk clerk. The overwhelming majority of my day is down time, so I decided to put it to use by practicing rudiments when I'm not otherwise occupied. I got a copy of Stick Control and I'm working through the exercises, but I have a couple of concerns. A) I can't use my practice pad at work because it's too loud, so I'm just tapping out the rhythms on my knee. B) A clicking metronome would be disturbing to patrons, so I can't use one. Am I screwing myself up here? I know that rudiment practice is all about conditioning. By playing on a surface with no rebound and without a metronome, am I conditioning myself to have bad habits? Also, can anyone recommend a good browser-based metronome that uses visual cues like flashing lights instead of audible cues? Thanks for any suggestions you may have. :)

I think it's a great idea. I wouldn't recommend it as a substitute for practicing with a pad and a metronome, but if it allows you to get in extra practice time away from the pad/metronome, it should only help you overall. Just try to be as relaxed and as precise/accurate as possible while practicing the Stick Control exercises. You can also practice rudiments open/close/open (which doesn't need a metronome) or practice independence exercises between your hands (a la the Chapin book).
 
Great idea.... but at some point, preferably on a daily basis, you should apply what you have learned to a real kit

Ive always heard stories about people practising rudiments on their pillow or legs, so anything helps.

The main point is always slow and steady wins the race.
 
If you don't have a metronome it's great if you tap the quarter notes with your left foot as a reference.
 
By playing on a surface with no rebound and without a metronome, am I conditioning myself to have bad habits?
As long as you are attentive, you shouldn't be developing bad habits. Using a metronome will keep yourself "honest" in regards to playing evenly and in time, but the point of working on the rudiments at first is to get used to the movement coordinations and commit the motions to muscle memory. The good part about practicing/learning rudiments on a non-bounce surface is that you learn how to execute them properly, without depending on the rebound crutch, and it sidesteps the whole issue of learning the rudiments wrong, like bouncing your sticks when you do your double and triple stroke rolls. The only rudiment you can't legitimately practice is the multiple bounce roll, but you've got 39 other ones to work on, so that will keep you plenty busy. And, if you don't have sticks, you can use just your hands on your lap, too...
 
I practice rudiments while walking, drumming on my chest (just hands, no sticks) and using my footsteps as the metronome. You can practice anytime and anywhere you can put your hands on something. Even if it doesn't seem to help any, you are still putting the patterns to memory.
 
Thanks for all of the responses, guys. I'll keep going with my daytime practice at work, then. Currently what I'm doing is starting with exercise one, learning the sticking pattern, then repeating it until I can do it for one minute straight without making an error or resting, then repeating the process with each subsequent exercise to see how far I can get in one shift. The next day I start back at exercise one and do it all over again. I figure this is a good way to get the early exercises ingrained in my muscle memory. My goal is eventually to be able to do each exercise in the book for one minute straight without error over the course of a single work shift. I know very little about rudiments and how long it takes your average person to master them, so I don't know if that's a particularly light or lofty goal, but that's what I'm shooting for. I suppose I'll start worrying about dynamics, accenting, and speed after I've learned all of them. I've also been considering learning to tap these rudiments out with my feet while I'm at work, too. The style I most want to learn to play is jazz, though, so I have no real interest in ever using a double bass pedal. If I'm not using a double bass setup, does it make much sense to put that much time into improving the dexterity of my left foot? Or will learning these rudiments with my feet also help my hi-hat work? It seems to me that the technique you use on the hi-hat pedal is more complex than a simple up and down motion like with the bass pedal. Or maybe I'm just greatly over-thinking this.

@John Campbell: Every day after work I spend about 30 minutes playing a chosen rudiment on different drums around my set (hoping to improve my fills). Wish I had more time to devote to it, but most of the time I spend with my set is devoted to working through the exercises in A Funky Primer with various control beats.

@Numberless: I wish, but there's a no headphones policy in my workplace. :-/
 
I've also been considering learning to tap these rudiments out with my feet while I'm at work, too. The style I most want to learn to play is jazz, though, so I have no real interest in ever using a double bass pedal. If I'm not using a double bass setup, does it make much sense to put that much time into improving the dexterity of my left foot? Or will learning these rudiments with my feet also help my hi-hat work? It seems to me that the technique you use on the hi-hat pedal is more complex than a simple up and down motion like with the bass pedal. Or maybe I'm just greatly over-thinking this.

Yes, they will help your foot independence too. Anything that expands your abilities as a player is a good thing. Remember, if you can do it with your hands you can do it with your feet. Lots of folks neglect their feet, just using it as a time keeper or kickstand. Don't be that person.
 
Three days a week I commute by train over 4 hours per day, and I have also been practicing rudiments and grooves on my legs. From what I can tell, I think it does work, builds muscle memory and independence. But important to transfer the learning to the kit as you can.

I have a free metronome app for my phone which has a timer, which helps.

I think you'll need left foot dexterity for the high at pedal, so relevant even if not planning on using a double bass.

Very good thread, thanks for raising this, ixh039.
 
Practicing rudiments without a pad is probably the greatest idea
Since sliced bread. At least for me. I believe it helps with building
The muscles in your wrist, while also making your legs more independent.
A great Idea if you don't have a metronome is to use your left leg
As a time keeper. It builds muscle and makes it more independent
While also giving you good timekeeping skills.
 
You can practice rudiments just playing along to a song. Chances are, if it's pop music or something like that, the drummer is already playing to a click and the music has been quantified. I'd much rather use the straight 4/4 beat on my Micro BR than the metronome beat.
 
Generally a great idea.

In fact, most of the time I'm practicing to my inner clock (hoping that I have one) - that would be a typical practice situation at the practice pad or the kit.

I think it's good to come back to checking your timing with a metronome if you aren't using a click too often. In the longer run you should develop a good sense of time to not depend on a click.
 
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A metronome generally just gives you a sense of pulse, but even if your internal pulse is wavering a bit you should still be able to sense when you're in time with yourself, if that makes any sense. The time relationships between the notes in the pattern should be right. It's all good practice, the more time you can put in the better.
 
Just practice anywhere anytime you can on anything. I work pipeline in minus 40 and use my hands on my coat when I'm walking two new sections haha. Any practice will help build. The more you build the bigger you get.
 
Not sure if you're allowed to have earphones but you can just have a metronome app on your smart phone and one earbud in, the other one hanging free in case the phone rings or you need to hear someone/something else.

I think it will be good for you to practice on a surface with no rebound but there might be a really quiet pad you can get away with using so you don't have to irritate your thigh. Or an object as soft as your thigh that you can stick to a stand.
 
A lot of the free metronome apps also have a light that pulses on the screen and most show you a ball or marker landing on the quarter notes. So you could just lay your phone down so only you can see it and watch the light pulse.
 
You can try something like this:
ww.drummercafe.com/reviews/gear/bodybeat-compact-pulsing-metronome.html

I wouldn't suggest playing on your thighs for long periods. Even softly that can't be good for your legs... Maybe a moongel pad?
 
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