Structuring Practice for Beginners?

Hi all,

I've just started drumming recently (a couple of weeks), and it's quickly becoming an obsession for me. The trouble is, I'm having difficulty filling up my practice sessions with useful stuff. My drum teacher has given me a couple of tips on how to practice, but it's really only enough to fill up about an hour or so each day when in reality I'm finding myself drawn to the kit for like 3-4 hours per day! I don't work so I have LOTS of free time.

At the moment I have an hour session broken up like this:

5 mins warm up.
25 mins working on songs for my grade 1 exam this summer (or other songs I want to learn)
15 mins single-stroke and double-stroke rolls and single paradiddles.
15 mins free play, messing around, coming up with new beats, etc.

I'm basically just repeating this several times over a day and it's becoming a bit stale. I don't mind it the first time each day (it's fun), but the 3rd or 4th time through it feels more like work.

So my question is, for those of us who have an excessive amount of time to practice, how do you come up with material (esp. as a beginner) to fill practice sessions that keep it varied and fun whilst still improving technique? Do you think it's worth me starting on higher grade material and rudiments even though my technique is still sloppy just to add more variety or is it vital to just nail the correct basic technique and muscle memory at this stage?

I'd really appreciate any advice really at this point, thanks

Invest in a copy of Stick Control. There's enough in there to keep you going for a lifetime. Focus on technique rather than speed and play about with accents and spaces. Add feet when you can.

With the amount of practice you're doing you'll come on in leaps and bounds. I was in a similar position, and I was playing Grade 8 pieces within 18 months. But there's a lot more to being a drummer than just playing, so use this forum as an educational resource. You'll learn about stuff you didn't know even existed, and become obsessed by things you didn't know you'd be interested in.

Welcome to the forum and to the addiction!

Working with a few books dealing with various styles should fill up and organize your practice time quite nicely. My recommendations:

- "Art of Bop Drumming" by John Riley
- "Afro Cuban Rhythms for Drumset" by Frank Malabe
- "Brazilian Rhythms for Drumset" by Duduka da Fonseca

You should also add analytical listening to your practice regime. Make transcriptions and steal grooves and fills from your favorite drummers!

As recommended, get "Stick Control" by G.L. Stone... and if you don't have your copy of "Syncopation" by Ted Reed, get one ASAP!

"Syncopation" for a very recent beginner? I agree it's a must-have, but it sat on my shelf for three years before I was able to do anything with it. What did I miss?!

All the books that Wave recommended are excellent...though possibly a bit advanced for you atm. Definately get them if you want some classic texts.

It seems to me you don;t have a hand routine other than 15 minutes singles doubles paradiddles....even I would get bored at that.

A routine I like is Tommy Igoe's lifetime warmup. It is great for giving you something to learn that will improve your hands no end but isn't boring.

All my students do this from day one and always have great results. The dvd is great hands for a lifetime.

Stick Control is another essential book so you could work on that as well.
A way to use it would be to play 6 exercises a day for 2 minutes each working on keeping your grip correct, stick heights the same and posture.

Right away there there is 30 minutes of work just on your hands.

Secondly you are working on the Grade 1 (trinity or Rock School?) the main thing I would say about these is look past the pieces. By that i mean try and think what concepts is this piece teaching me. What type of style is it?
Can I play the grove in a different way?
Can i orchestrate the fill differently.

I'm not a huge fan of grades as I feel it is a little bit painting my numbers but if you try and understand some of the ideas being presented and expand on them you can get great benfit from doing them.

30/40/60 minutes right there.

As the lessons go on I'm sure your teacher will give you more exercises which will fill up your time. If you feel you don't have enough stuff to work on then say to your teacher is there other stuff I can work on?
I know that I am always wary of giving a student too much especially as I know how little people practice. You sound like the perfect student so just ask that is what he is there for.

Other good books to check are
Tommy Igoes - Groove Essentials 1.0 and Mike Dolbear - Rhythm and Fills

Finally keep a diary. I like to fill int he diary before I practice as more of a practice plan so i can say I';m going to do this this this and this at this tempo, this page from this book etc etc. It really helps you see your progress and help you see where you could fill in the time.

Most of all have fun. PLay with loads of records and enjoy it.

Dave

Magenta said:

"Syncopation" for a very recent beginner? I agree it's a must-have, but it sat on my shelf for three years before I was able to do anything with it. What did I miss?!

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All of my students start working on it pretty early on. It's a great introduction to reading -- even the youngest pupils get the hang of it very quickly. The first ten lessons are really beginner stuff that is instantly applicable to various grooves and fills, but it does get a bit trickier later on...

Wavelength said:

All of my students start working on it pretty early on. It's a great introduction to reading -- even the youngest pupils get the hang of it very quickly. The first ten lessons are really beginner stuff that is instantly applicable to various grooves and fills, but it does get a bit trickier later on...

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Ah, I get you. As a former pianist, I was a pretty useful sight-reader from the get-go so that aspect of the book passed me by. I couldn't live without it now though.

Stick control can definately wait until you can read. Get a good snare drum method or get syncopation because that does have some basic reading at the beginning. People think stick control is the end all be all. What a bunch of misguided info.

Spend some time working on your hands and feet. Especially if you're saying that your technique is sloppy. Here are a couple things to start off your practice schedule.

2-50 Warm Up:
Free Stroke exercise - 45-50 Min

Stick Control
1 Page/Day 1 min per exercise ~ 24 Min Hands/24 Min Feet
(1 Page of the book per week, upping the tempo each day)...

bigd said:

Stick control can definately wait until you can read. Get a good snare drum method or get syncopation because that does have some basic reading at the beginning. People think stick control is the end all be all. What a bunch of misguided info.

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The first 10 or so pages are really easy to read especially with the aid of a teacher. I agree that the end sections are hard to read and understand but the amount of time it takes to get there means that your reading will be able to cope when you get there. And hey even just using the first 2 sections up to the flams would do wonders for your playing. I wish I had done it when I was starting and not 6 years in.

IT's also not a reading book....it is a hand technique book. Nothing stopping you using it in conjunction with a snare book and syncopation.

D

Thanks guys, some great ideas and advice so far. I've added a few books to the shopping list that's for sure!

With regard to the grading, I'm doing Rock School but only to give myself goals to work toward and a way of checking my progress. I'm certainly not going to limit my learning to only their syllabus.

I have started a drum journal too but at the moment it's just been for recording which pieces/exercises I can play at what tempo and still feel happy with it. I know it's not all about speed but I'm tracking for example my progress towards being able to play the grade songs and technical exercises at the correct tempo for the exam while keeping good technique.

What do you guys think of online learning and resources? I was looking at Drumeo for example, and noticed they have pre-made video training packs by various instructors like Jared Falk. Do you think these are worth the money when I'm already taking lessons or would it be pointless?

Thanks again for the help

In a word no.

Those drumming systems etc are a gimmick to get money from you and I actually don't dig Jared or any of the instructors playing. There are far better players out there doing the same thing. Unless you are a superstar of drumming you don't have a system and even then the really great guys use many different approached and ways of learning to get to where they are.

For others I like Mike Johnston's stuff as it seems more genuine. The one off lessons are cheap and great for getting little things and new ideas or the subscription lesson thing is pretty good value for what it is. Check it out.

Your journal sounds great. That's all I use mine for. Tracking which tempos I have done and for how long.

Dave

I've got a more general comment. I often see players over divide their practice time. They'll play 10 minutes of this and 10 minutes of that. For me, such a regime does not work. I like working in chunks of 20-30 minutes. As far as rudiments go for instance I would spend 30 minutes on just singles (and single stroke figures) in stead of 10 minutes of para diddles, doubles, and singles.

As far as on-line services go. There aren't any that I find to be really great. This has little to do with the skill of the drummers though. It has more to do with the lack of interaction and the over-focus on " measurable " skills. You need a real teacher to help you with dynamics, overall sound, timing.

If I may I'd like to suggest two more books. Groove essentials 1 and 2. They are great and, if you use them properly will last you a long time...

Wavelength said:

All of my students start working on it pretty early on. It's a great introduction to reading -- even the youngest pupils get the hang of it very quickly. The first ten lessons are really beginner stuff that is instantly applicable to various grooves and fills, but it does get a bit trickier later on...

Click to expand...

I thought Syncopation was a beginners book and my teacher gave me an eye-opener.

He said it is defintely not a beginners book. Yes, the readng is not hard. I just completed the whole book 'Understanding Rhythm--A Guide To Reading Music' by Lauren which is really an outstanding book for learning reading, but some of the reading is very difficult.

There are seventeen lessons in it. Lesson 17 is called 'syncopation' and my teacher said that lesson is the point where the book syncopation begins.

He proceeded to take the top line of the syncopation exercise and hit each written note with hard, even accents. when there was a whole not or a half note and a rest, he would do a real soft tap on the rested note, or the 'and' of a whole not.

Then he played it fast and said, 'this is what syncopation by Ted Reed is about--and the rhythm came alive in a very musical way--it was really an eye opening experience about what I had thought was an 'easy' book.

He said we are going to do syncopation like that. The point of it is that it is a large number of rhythms that need to be mastered for the musicality of playing rhythm. It isn't a rote reading book--but it is good reading exercise.

I can read and play most of the book syncopation well. But I'm not even close to being able to play it with the kind of musicality that was demonstrated to me.

stellar92010 said:

I thought Syncopation was a beginners book and my teacher gave me an eye-opener.

He said it is defintely not a beginners book. Yes, the readng is not hard. I just completed the whole book 'Understanding Rhythm--A Guide To Reading Music' by Lauren which is really an outstanding book for learning reading, but some of the reading is very difficult.

There are seventeen lessons in it. Lesson 17 is called 'syncopation' and my teacher said that lesson is the point where the book syncopation begins.

He proceeded to take the top line of the syncopation exercise and hit each written note with hard, even accents. when there was a whole not or a half note and a rest, he would do a real soft tap on the rested note, or the 'and' of a whole not.

Then he played it fast and said, 'this is what syncopation by Ted Reed is about--and the rhythm came alive in a very musical way--it was really an eye opening experience about what I had thought was an 'easy' book.

He said we are going to do syncopation like that. The point of it is that it is a large number of rhythms that need to be mastered for the musicality of playing rhythm. It isn't a rote reading book--but it is good reading exercise.

I can read and play most of the book syncopation well. But I'm not even close to being able to play it with the kind of musicality that was demonstrated to me.

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It's a beginners' book in a sense that you can start learning from it from the get-go, but learning to read the rhythms is just the tip of the iceberg. Its true beauty lies in the fact that its applications stay relevant throughout your drumming career. I've studied the book for over a decade and I don't see myself "finishing" it any time soon. No wonder it's a classic.

Yes, it is an easy book to read. But for learning/teaching reading you should look at the aforementioned book by Lauren. THAT is a book thats purpose is solely to learn to read.

I'm sure syncopation has a lot of other nice surprises in it. Teach said stick control is also a book that never ends. He said you could basically work the first eight pages of it and spend the rest of your life learning different stuff.

His approach though is very formal with a twist. He takes beginning students through the reading book, only touching on rudiments where necessary. (Single stroke, and he introduced double stroke when 32nd notes popped up) To read that book, he taught me two very strict sticking methods--one called 'root sticking' and when there are triplets 'alternate sticking'. Now that I've mastered these he is going to teach me the hybrid. I have to admit the approach works. ) He also spends a good deal of time on grooves, which exercises coordination and the feet. We started with the basic money beats, and have so far progressed into 16th notes on the hats with two hands.

And all during this he is being anal about timing, counting, and the correct feel for what is written. He insists everything be played ultra-slow, with a metronome, and counted out loud--at least for now.

Now that the first 'reading' book is done, i am starting stick control, accents and rebounds, and syncopation. he said accents and rebounds usually isn't done this early, but he thinks I can benefit form some of the early exercises, since I already have a bit of dynamic control, but he is restricting me quite a bit on it.

Its a good program, and hes a great teacher.

I have settled on Stick Control, Syncopation, Groove Essentials 1.0, Understanding Rhythm, and the Great Hands DVD to start me off. I think with some reordering of what/how I'm practising and some more stick work I should be able to fill out a few hours per day with those, which is perfect. In the meantime whilst waiting for the books, I've printed off some sheet music I found with alternating 8ths, 16ths and triplet rhythms to work on, and I've started (very slowly) learning to play 8th triplets with one hand and standard 8ths with the other, which sounds cool and is great fun!

Many thanks again for all the help and advice!

Asmodaios said:

What do you guys think of online learning and resources? I was looking at Drumeo for example, and noticed they have pre-made video training packs by various instructors like Jared Falk. Do you think these are worth the money when I'm already taking lessons or would it be pointless?

Thanks again for the help

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IMO your best online investment would be to Skype some lessons with Dom Famularo. He will set you in a great direction - with your motivation and his teaching - you'll be in a very good place!

Magenta said:

"Syncopation" for a very recent beginner? I agree it's a must-have, but it sat on my shelf for three years before I was able to do anything with it. What did I miss?!

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It took you three years to find anything to do with quarter notes and eighth notes?

Boomka said:

It took you three years to find anything to do with quarter notes and eighth notes?

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Not entirely. I did come across a few of them in Stick Control, Accents & Rebounds, 4-Way Co-Ordination and The New Breed. I just didn't "get" Syncopation.