All the great drummers played for....

I think to be a 'great' drummer takes a little extra.

Maybe it's talent, maybe it's just pure dedication. If you want to be a good drummer, then yeah, spend hours behind the kit.

Read what jay said again, I think he's got it right.

But then there's Buddy Rich, who claimed to not practice...

Some of the pro's I think I have a level of talent that sets them apart from the rest of the pack, Yes practice is needed, a LOT of practice but there is an inate talent that guys like gadd, coliauita, Buddy, etc posess that we may not be able to quite attain too. Some people seem to be born with a level of talent that sets them apart, drumming, math, sports, etc. It still has to be honed, but yes people seem to have different Limits.

But as Jay and others said said, we do need to practice, having the dedication to spend 3, 4, 5 etc hours a day behind the kit, getting up early to work out on a practice pad, keeping sticks in your car to play on the dash at red lights, lol. I used to get to school 2 hours early and play on the set. Then at home up to 5 hours at night depending on basketball or other sports. And I'm not that good.
 
Some guys are naturals, sounded great the first time they picked up sticks.

For the rest of us mere mortals, if you want to be good enough to be considered "pro," not to mention "great," you will have to spend several years of 6-8 hours a day practicing. After that it's whatever you need to learn new music, develop as a player, or simply maintain the chops.

This is an observation from a conservatory-trained professional of over 30 years.

There is no shortcut. Unless you simply have talent to burn, either find a way to do this level of practicing or look for another line of work.
 
There are always exceptions, such as Buddy may have been (although he was known for rehearsing his band VERY hard, and he gigged non-stop, so even though he wasn't PRACTICING, he was PLAYING). However, in general, yes, you need to work your butt off for hours a day, most if not every day, for years, to be one of the greats. I have talked to or read about hundreds of drummers, and Buddy is the only one I know of who didn't do that to get good. I remember reading an article recently, an interview with Bozzio, that said that when he was with Zappa, he would wake up, practice for two or three hours, then jam with Zappa for four or five hours every day, except for when they gigged.

And that's the other thing that I always thought was unfair before going pro. When you play professionally, you have time. There aren't the distractions of a regular job, etc, so you can spend more time playing in a day...plus, you gig more than other guys, so you have all that time, too.

In the end, I think it comes down to choices. I can't tell you the number of times that, in high school, I turned down dates, hanging out with friends, going to movies, etc, because I hadn't gotten my 8 hours of practice in for that day. It wasn't always, but it happened, a lot. And I took a lot of crap for it, and missed out on some hotties for it, and got in trouble at school sometimes for pretending I had percussion sectionals during a class so I could leave and practice on my own. I also got up early every morning to go in and practice with some jazz guys, and skipped every lunch to do the same thing, and stayed after school to jam with some rock guys. I'm not one of the greats. I'm not famous. Yet. But I am a professional, living my dream.
 
all the great drummers played hours behind the kit daily right?
just wondering if it is possible making it up to that level without hours behind the kit every day, like some of you my goal is to be well known in the music industry.
I don't believe Buddy Rich was one for Practice. But . . . he was Buddy Rich.
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__________________
Most respect the badge, but all fear the drum.
 
Just this morning I started reading an article in one of the recent issues of Drumhead about "Super Drummers." Mangini, Lang, Minneman, and quite a few others were interviewed, and the article was written based on the similar things that they all said. One point was practicing. EVERY one of the guys interviewed, when trying to get to the professional level, practiced multiple hours every day. Mangini said that he doesn't even consider it practice unless you spend 2 to 5 hours drumming, then take a break for a good meal, then do another 2 to 5 hours of drumming. It has something to do with how we retain information, etc. The interesting thing is that there were a few quotes from those guys saying that they don't practice any more...but in all cases, they still spend time behind the kit, just not to the extent that they used to, so they don't even consider it practicing.

It really changes the definition of "practice" when you look at it like that instead of "half an hour every day" like they tell you in fourth grade.
 
all the great drummers played hours behind the kit daily right?
just wondering if it is possible making it up to that level without hours behind the kit every day, like some of you my goal is to be well known in the music industry.

Many of these guys who practice 10-12 hours a day, don't focus on things that you need to know to become a professional drummer. The most important thing to do is play with people, Ringo or Buddy did just that, and that was the key to their success.

It is not how long you play, but what you concentrate on when you are practicing. I see drummers all the time who spend long hours playing but can't 'play' a note. Having a good routine that you can work through once or twice a day is best. Concentrate on grooves, fills, independence, styles, reading, and technique. Play along with and study recordings. If you have extra time, play through your routine again. Don't go onto something new. The routine will continue to set up a solid basis for progress in your playing.

(Abe, do you recognize this as the Sam Ulano method?)
 
(Abe, do you recognize this as the Sam Ulano method?)

The madman from dah Bronx! Yeah sure, one of the first one to focus on focus : ). Even though he was a stickler for rudimental basics , his teachings had a more holistic approach in his later years.

What a guy!

PS- did you know that he gave free lessons to anybody who walked in to the old MANNY's. ( I was one of them ).. you just had to walk up to the counter and ask him, and he'd jump up on the pad on the counter, and show you stuff.
 
The madman from dah Bronx! Yeah sure, one of the first one to focus on focus : ). Even though he was a stickler for rudimental basics , his teachings had a more holistic approach in his later years.

What a guy!

PS- did you know that he gave free lessons to anybody who walked in to the old MANNY's. ( I was one of them ).. you just had to walk up to the counter and ask him, and he'd jump up on the pad on the counter, and show you stuff.

The 'Old' Manny's? That's too funny. Rumor has it that Ash is going to close Manny's after the holidays. I don't know if they will move Ash to the Manny's location; but that would seem to make sense, esp since I heard that they are losing the lease on the old Ash locations across the street. But I'm not one to spread rumors. :p
 
all the great drummers played hours behind the kit daily right?
just wondering if it is possible making it up to that level without hours behind the kit every day, like some of you my goal is to be well known in the music industry.

It depends on how you define "great." Virgil Donati is a great drummer, no doubt about it, but over the past 40 years, Ringo Starr has been much more influential and famous, even though many people (like me) think his playing is simple and unimaginative. You can become great without being highly technically proficient; the most popular music is usually not very technically demanding for musicians to play.

If you hook up with the right band, you might not even have very good technical skills but you could be a "great" drummer.
 
One has to remember that one of the biggest factors about becoming well known and famous is being at the right place at the right time. If the best drummer in the world doesn't hook up with the right people at the right time, get the right breaks, and play the right type of music, he or she may never be famous and well known. There are many variables at play when it comes to fame. I'm not the greatest drummer in the world. I'm average. As I began to play at higher levels I have found it harder and harder to find musicians that are at my level to grow with. This can slow your development substantially. Luck plays a big role.
 
all the great drummers played hours behind the kit daily right?
just wondering if it is possible making it up to that level without hours behind the kit every day, like some of you my goal is to be well known in the music industry.

One must work hard at it. Things don't come easily.

Sunday was my one day off. I spent it practicing on a drum pad for ten hours. And I'm nearly 30 years into it. If you cannot get to a kit you can work in other ways, such as on the pad.
 
remember that most practice is done in your head...
just because you cant physically play all day doesnt mean you cant learn.

i do at least 20x more studying of music than actual playing.
critical listening and the analysis of music is IMO the most important part of expanding your musical knowledge and understanding.
Agreed 100%.
For me, when I started playing at the age of 12, I couldn't stop. The rest of my life has pretty much been about drums. But I think that a balanced combination of what tbmills said and lots of practice will get you there.
 
To be a good drummer, you don't have to practice "for hours". You have to practice as much as you need to.

It also depends on how successful you want to be in the industry. If you just want to have your 15 minutes of fame with a flavor-of-the-year rock band, then 20 minutes a day should do it. But if you want to have a career in music, well, it's going to take a little more than that.
 
remember that most practice is done in your head...
just because you cant physically play all day doesnt mean you cant learn.

All right, I totally agree my friend.

Even doe real practice is one of the keys, you can be listening to a song in the bus, and think about the figures the drummer does, or move your feet as if you actually were sitting in the drumset.
Your mind could/should be ALL THE TIME "playing"
If you wanna be great, you need to set up your mind and give your body the necessary practice that it needs to develop the brain-body relation, so as to make your body memorize all the moves, etc.
When Im not playing I am reading information, watching someone play, listening to music, thinking about technique, writting or reading in DRUMMERWORLD.COM ,
I mean, if you really wanna be great, your life should be DRUMS=24/7 even if you are not all day sitting in the drumset.
IT IS POSSIBLE, IF YOU REALLY KNOW YOU WANT THAT.
 
I'm always torn when it comes to "hours" behind the kit.
I don't think your main focus should be on how long you practise. What you practise is everything, and I think everyone agrees. At the same time I feel that if you really want to develop your skills, you have to use a lot of time behind the drumkit - there's no shortcut!
You have to sacrifice other things, you can't have everything. If you really love drums, and you really want to improve, maybe just watch 30 mins of TV instead of 3 hours a day, or set the alarmclock 1 hour before you usually wake up, to practise.
Personally I've usually always said to myself that I am going to practise for example 3 hours today. Many people will say "WOAH! Stop there, you're focusing on the wrong thing! It's all about what you practise, not for how long", but no, I'm not focusing on the wrong thing. I'm just saying so, so that I'm personally aware of the time I've set for practising, and of course I have a schedule and know what to practise to improve. But to say that you practise for example 3 hours a day isn't a bad thing, even though MANY will say that you should never focus on how long you practise.
I say - Know what and how to practise, and be aware of how long you practise. This way, you might find out that you need + 1 hour, to incorporate a couple of new exercises, and then you might have to quit playing your Xbox 1 hour earlier than usual.

This is just my opinion...
 
One has to remember that one of the biggest factors about becoming well known and famous is being at the right place at the right time. If the best drummer in the world doesn't hook up with the right people at the right time, get the right breaks, and play the right type of music, he or she may never be famous and well known. There are many variables at play when it comes to fame. ...

Right.

I was listening to AC/DC the other day and thinking, "Man, there is nothing about what that guy (Phil Rudd) is doing that I couldn't do, except making millions of dollars playing with a world famous rock band!" No disrespect meant to Phil, btw. But a lot of what he did was really simple.

If it takes 8 hours a day of practice to be great, I must forever relinquish my hope of being a "great drummer." The demands of real life will not permit me that. I hate it when a day goes by that I don't touch my kit, but it happens all too often. It's not a lack of desire; if I didn't have to worry about a job and family, etc., I'd live at my kit and have servants bring me food. Practice is never a burden for me and time seems to FLY when I do find some to spend at the kit. But it just doesn't happen much.

I have my moments of greatness, though. There's just never any proof afterward.
 
Talent, skill , dedication and a lot of luck.


I also heard Buddy didn't practice because he didn't have time due to his constant gigging.

You gig all the time you will get good,


Great, well that is purely a matter of opinion.

also complex does not equal great and simple does not equel bad.

There is a reason simple drummers work all the time ;-)
 
You gig all the time you will get good

Well, nothing can take the place of playing every night because you have to, because thats what feeds you and pays your rent. It's how it was when I was a kid. Six nights a week, week after week, and you had to make the band leader happy. If you didn't he could just get someone else. What a way to learn!
I don't know how people do it now. It's a shame that all that's gone. But you have to make of these times what you will, so practicing alone, by yourself, is better than nothing. However, play whenever and wherever you can, and as often as you can, because it's from the playing, not the practicing, that you become a good musician, a good drummer.
That's my opinion based upon my experience.
 
I agree with tbmills in the aspect that there is definately a lot of learning to be done outside of the kit. I for one have only played for about 5 months now, and for a period of about 2 weeks I was unable to play my drums. I was afraid that I would be really rusty when I began playing again, but during the 2 weeks everyday every song i listened to I analyzed the drumming and just made myself better mentally, so when I was finnally able to play again my chops were rusty for about 10 min. but I actually felt improved mentally.
 
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