i need some advice, after coming back from hiatus

derbz_

Junior Member
i'm having a lot of issues currently and i figure most of you may have gone through this.

I want to see if i'm alone or not, if not please give me some advice here.

To introduce myself:

I'm currently 23, and been playing since i was 8... during middle school and high school i never picked up the sticks once, when i was young i was always told i was a natural by my teachers.

Right after high school i joined a band, we went strong for about 3-4 years, played a hundred or so shows until finally drama happened and things were never the same and it broke.

After that i took a year off of drumming to focus on finishing up college. My current career is the fallback.

Now I'm back to drumming and finding myself lost. I'm finding an overwhelming load of drumming information coming my way, i've picked up a lot of books and i really don't know what to start to get more into the advanced level.

Right now, i'm trying to do all of this at once:
- The 26 rudiments, trying to apply them to grooves
- Dynamics, ghost notes, accents
- Getting my left foot better for double bass
- Dipping into different styles, jazz, latin, ska, funk
- Sticking, doing patterns with the right hand while playing a beat (i really suck at this)
- Covering every song I love to kill boredom

I am overwhelmed by all of this, to the point where i'm too frustrated to even start something. I keep changing my mind every minute.

Do you guys have any direction on where i can go? What are the core fundamentals i NEED to get down before i even try different styles of music, or rudiment grooves? How can i do it without wanting to bash my head in? I get bored easily :(

I have no confidence in my skill set, it just doesn't feel solid. I have mastered various things but there's a lot of spaces in between that are not filled.
 
Hmm i guess my advice would be to bust out the metronome at 85 bpm and play a money beat for a while. Something simple with a bit of variation but focus mostly on your timing. Timing is everything! Just jam away at 85 bpm for a week or so and see how you feel after getting your feet wet again!
 
Don't feel alone, I'm basically in the exact same boat as you. In my experience it's hard to beat one or two exercise/practice tools that really work for you. At the moment I have a hand routine of rudiments, a 4 way coordination routine (paradiddle on hands, different paradiddle on feet), and a 'precision routine' which is basically playing singles or a paradiddle variation with my hands and playing a right foot kick on each of the 16th note placements and watching out for flams. My groove and consistency has gotten a lot better since doing this.

One more thing I sometimes do is I guess what I'd call "fitness" - I load up a few songs and play the fastest realistic subdivision (usually 16ths or triplets) with both hands and both feet for the whole song this keeps my strength up and is helping my double bass too.

I also think you just need to choose one thing and stick with it until you have it conquered. As my teacher says, when I'm having trouble with something - "how much time are you spending practicing this? do it for 10 minutes every day and you'll be fine in a week" and it's usually that simple. There is plenty of time to dive into other styles and getting fancy, but I think rudiments and coordination are a good foundation that will make the process of learning that stuff faster. And of course, timing, but I'm sure you know that.

I have wanted to learn jazz for years - can do the basics - but I'm not going to get good at it until I really make it a priority.

What exactly do you mean by "Sticking, doing patterns with the right hand while playing a beat" ? do you mean different patterns on the hats?
 
I honestly think a teacher would solve all your problems, I used to sit at the drums and not know what to play, but ever since I've begun taking lessons, I always have something to practice and it covers all areas, technique, reading, coordination and different styles.
 
thanks for all of the replies guys

What exactly do you mean by "Sticking, doing patterns with the right hand while playing a beat" ? do you mean different patterns on the hats?

yeah i guess what i mean is different patterns on the hat. more like linear stuff where its not a consistent 1+2+3+4+ or 1e+a2e+a3e+a4e+a. Gary Chaffee is a great example of what i'm talking about.

Btw the 10 minutes a day thing is a great idea, i hardly consider doing that. Kinda forgot all about that rule of thumb.

I honestly think a teacher would solve all your problems, I used to sit at the drums and not know what to play, but ever since I've begun taking lessons, I always have something to practice and it covers all areas, technique, reading, coordination and different styles.

I went back to my childhood teacher this year and he gave a listen to my last bands CD and said he has nothing left to teach me. He simply said "you know what you want to do at this point, get better at counting/notation, grab some books and off you go." Unfortunately I don't feel the same way he does.

Finding a new teacher should probably be something i should do, i do need to get organized with all of this.

Perhaps doing this type of schedule may help?

Mon - Excising rudiments to where i can play them fast and controlled.
Tues - Groove beats
Wed - Feet exercises/coordination
ect ect.
 
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if you are suffering from info overload...my first thought would be to just work Tommy Igoe's methods for a year solid. "hands for a lifetime" is stunning on the no-nonsense / myth-busters approach. his exercises at speed are extremely challenging & something to work toward. then add "groove essentials" 2.0. done for 12 months. that is a lot of good material & you will be a diff player 12 months from now.
 
ill check it out, that would probably develop the foundation that i'm simply missing.

Thanks for the information
 
what turned you on about music and drums? maybe go back to that for a while...to get that feeling back....a teacher is always a good thing, as long as your teacher works with you, asking you about your goals, etc.

my dos centavos

Chuck
 
I went back to my childhood teacher this year and he gave a listen to my last bands CD and said he has nothing left to teach me. He simply said "you know what you want to do at this point, get better at counting/notation, grab some books and off you go." Unfortunately I don't feel the same way he does.

Finding a new teacher should probably be something i should do, i do need to get organized with all of this.

Perhaps doing this type of schedule may help?

Mon - Excising rudiments to where i can play them fast and controlled.
Tues - Groove beats
Wed - Feet exercises/coordination
ect ect.

You need to have some real conversations with a very good teacher. Your childhood teacher, who will always have a special place in your heart, well... go find someone who will talk to you and help you develop realistic, attainable goals. This new teacher will probably be more expensive!

By the way, I can't imagine why dividing your practice materials by the day would be a good idea! Why not practice in ways which simultaneously work all 3 topics at once? A good teacher will be able to get you practicing in a multi-faceted way.

As much as I like the Tommy Igoe Groove Essentials stuff, why not just learn "real" songs in the styles he explores? Want to get into Latin music? Learn to play Spain and Blue Bossa! Want to check out jazz? Get a Real Book and check out playalongjazz.com! You like R&B and funk? Learn some James Brown and Stevie Wonder classics. My point is: learn the songs! Transcribe the beats, and write out your own charts.

Also, a DVD can't point out that your fulcrum needs adjustment, or any of a thousand things you might not be aware of as you're playing. Another human can evaluate you in real time, and that is a very, very nice thing to have on the path from good to great.
 
I know a guy who bought the Great Hands DVD because he wanted to get back to the basics and improve his technique. He's been playing for years and despite buying the DVD, he has the double stroke roll of a week long drummer. Get a teacher!
 
good advice guys, appreciate it.

especially about covering some music that has the styles i want to learn, i should start doing that more often.

i'm currently on the lookout for a new teacher.

thanks again!
 
There are a few things you can do to get back in the groove of things. First, I would go to YouTube (or here on this site) and watch ANY drum video you can. This will get you some inspiration. Second, I would probably order a drum dvd, as mentioned by other users. Tommy Igoe has a fairly new dvd out titled 'Great Hands For a Lifetime'. It'll bring your technique to life. It's the real deal. Other than that, just practice as much as you can and take your time. You'll be fine.
 
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