Took a break, lost my touch.. :'(

CavemanZipper

Junior Member
Hey guys..

So, about a month ago I managed to return to drumming when I saved up enough to buy another set, after having sold my old one off (Which has heartwrenching but necessary at the time).

Between the time I sold them and when I returned, I think I developed some bad habits while tapping along to songs for example hitting the "snare" sound with my right instead of left like I normally would and using my hands for bass.

After the 1 year 2 month break from drumming...all that lost practice, I feel like i've lost most of my advanced drumming sense.

I had played for about 8 years previously, and having developed my foundation in jazz, I went straight to heavy metal to tip the scale of my skills and I greatly enjoyed the experimenting with all sorts of genres! I felt like I learnt so much..

Now, returning to it, I can't play worth jack.
I can only do simple rock beats and slightly advanced variations but all my fills are sloppier, my pedal control is practically nonexistent and I feel so disheartened..


I feel like perhaps I should start mending my bad habits from the bottom up.
Maybe it IS time for a refresher..go back to playing along to a metronome with simple beats..
Start with AC/DC, etc.

What do you guys think?
 
I believe you answered your own question....Put the time in and you will be surprised how fast you will learn...That is what is suggested here for me,it seems to be slowly working.
 
Being in the military I have tons of experience with losing years of drumming time. It is usually the finer things like stick control and my lefthand technique that suffer the most.

Much like a new student I spend a ton of time on the practice pad working on rudiments and focusing on my left hand. You will find that it all comes back pretty quickly. And I always use a metronome.

I like the idea of playing along to AC/DC songs. Kind of like drum basics.
 
Miles gave it away, lost his touch and came back. I fell down a flight of stairs and broke my back. I lost loads and couldn't walk for ages. I kept at the pad, practiced walking and finally returned after seven years in the dark. I also suffer severe arthritis and chronic pain. I am a full time professional drummer. I am NOBODY. If I can do it, you can do it..
 
I once had nowhere to play for a few months, I didn't touch the practice pads (I didn't really know what to do with them at the time) or even pick up my sticks, just gave myself time to grieve and save for soundproofing materials + labor costs.

I thought that I'd forget how to play drums... I didn't. But because I felt like I was starting over again, I took a look at what I was doing, what I wanted, what I needed to work on and how to practice. As opposed to sitting at the kit, dicking around randomly for an hour and then feeling proud of myself.

I've been working really hard since the day I started over, and now I'm glad that I had that little holiday. I hope I never have to do it again but to me it sparked a new phase in my drumming life and I'm a better drummer for it.

There are plenty of drummers who do this kinda thing btw... Tomas Haake said in an old interview that during meshuggah's writing phase, he went for months without playing, then when the time came to record and tour he got back on the kit. Not something I'd do but it's cool to know, inspiring. I also think it's a cool thing to forget all your habits once in a while.
 
What do you guys think?

I think you could had done some practice on a pad or something with a pair of sticks, just to keep the flow and the muscles memory going during your time away from the kit, you'll feel less frustrated now...

It's normal to be "rusty" at the kit after long breaks, it will come back, be patient, and yes, use a metronome and play along with your favourite songs, the "bad habits" should disappear fairly quickly, the fact you're aware of them is half the battle, good luck :)
 
Yep. Just shake the rust off and get back to it. That's all you can really do. I've never taken a whole year away from drums but there are times when I've been unable to play for months. It takes a couple or a few weeks to get back the fluidity and smoothness of groove, but it never really goes away completely.

I can say the same about guitar.
 
Sometimes I feel like this after a couple of weeks off.

I won't parrot what's been said but will say that on even a shorter break, I can tell when my 'stuff' is not working.

For me, I have to put in the extra time on technique: Hands and feet. If I can keep up a solid week or two of disciplined time spent on technique, concentrating on slow basics and trying to get a good feel and sound, I come back.

I'm not a metal guy but I remember either Chris Adler or Jason Bittner talking about playing DB patterns with a metronome, slowly moving up the tempo over LONG periods of practicing. You might need to start there. Slowest BPM you can handle, observing technique, and little by little going faster (Metronome!!!)

Put the time in and you'll be right as rain.

Jim
 
Just keep at er' man, it'll all come back.

I broke my wrist recently and although it didn't effect me too much, i'm recovered now and I still am gaining strength and speed back, it's not as bad since it's my left wrist and i'm a right hand drummer but I mean if you really love drums just keep playing!
 
Miles gave it away, lost his touch and came back. I fell down a flight of stairs and broke my back. I lost loads and couldn't walk for ages. I kept at the pad, practiced walking and finally returned after seven years in the dark. I also suffer severe arthritis and chronic pain. I am a full time professional drummer. I am NOBODY. If I can do it, you can do it..

Drumming at its finest..and I have never heard you play.

<<otto takes of his hat and bows deeply to wy>>
 
Many of us here have had long breaks and lost a lot. Obviously, the longer the break, the more you have to practice to get your chops, timing and touch back.

I had many years off and after more than 4 years I still can't do a lot of things I used to play, but I don't play anywhere near as much as I did back then - one or two gigs plus rehearsal plus pad time every week. Now it's one rehearsal a week, a rare gig plus noodling, home recording and playing along with tracks.
 
Yeah well I guess it's back to the basics then!

Not so bad now that I think about it.
I'll may even reinvent my drumming a little like some of you say :)

I've been just playing simple beats consistently for 5 minutes straight, then change beat for 5 minutes, then change back, etc. just to get my muscle memory back.

It's definitely just the intricate stuff i've lost touch of, like abrupt double-stroke rolls and any rhythm with more than 3 bass drum beats in a row :|
 
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