new to the drums/practice routine

adurbin

Junior Member
Hello. First of all I'm new here (introduction thread below)

http://www.drummerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=79875

I'm not new to playing/creating music, as I have been a vocalist and guitar player for as long as I can remember. I just recently purchased my first set of drums. Now, I've been behind a drumset before in churches when I was a kid, and when taking breaks from band practices I would sometimes sneak behind the drummers kit and bang around. I can keep basic time signatures, and hit a few fills/rolls. I have tried to discipline my self to practicing for 1.5-2 hours per day (GREAT stress relief after work). The problem that I have found thus far is that when I try to make myself practice rudiments or parariddles, I become completely bored and tense, thus affecting my ability to focus or keep time. It's only when I'm playing along to the music that I love that I find myself loose and "in the groove", which allows me to stay in time and play better. Anyone else have this happen, and if so, how does one "make" them self play the boring stuff that will pay dividends in the future to one's playing ability?
 
I've only been playing since october...but only playing acoustic kit since december, I have very limited time to play, so I do 15 minutes of rudiments, and then go through a series of beats with the metronome, then play along to a song, ususally do this 4 6 times a week, I know it's not much, but I'm really starting to have fun, and it's starting to sound musical.
 
how does one "make" them self play the boring stuff that will pay dividends in the future to one's playing ability?

No easy answer. However, here are a couple of insights I've had in my 15 years of practicing/playing.

1.) As for motivating factors, make sure to get into a band or live playing situation. (As many as possible actually) This will help you take inventory of your strengths/weaknesses and give you an important CONTEXT in which to practice technique. Technique has never been something i've 'wanted' to work on. I just know that if I have better technique it will improve my sound, my stamina, and give me the freedom to express the musical ideas in my head. This allows me to HAVE MORE FUN when I play :) That's the goal!

2.) There is a difference between practice and play. Practice is the learning and /or refinement of new musical ideas. Playing is the more creative expression of what you already know. You need both to move ahead. If I only practiced, I'd find drumming to be a constant struggle, because learning something new is always hard. Over the long haul I'd probably lose motivation. On the other hand, if I only played, I might get bored because my vocabulary would be limited and new ideas would not surface.

So that's that, and unfortunately there is no perfect solution when it comes to balancing practice vs. play on a day to day basis. I do know that the more I play, the more I see the value of going "back to basics", working on technique/form/rudiments. One enriches the other.

Some practical tips on working on rudiments and technique:

1.) While it's true that rudiments are the building blocks of all drumming, some are more useful than others. For me, singles, doubles, and accents are at the top of the list. Spend time working on good form & accurate execution. Think of a golfer working on his/her swing: any improvement improves their whole game.

2.) Use a mirror. This allows your brain to process things more objectively and make visual adjustments, such as height and position discrepancies between your hands.

3.) Repetition and speed should only follow once you have good form and relaxation.

4.) Make it fun by practicing rudiments with another drummer. Go through drills, metronome progressions, exchange exercises, and critique each other over a cold beer. I did this in college with fellow percussionists, and still do it with a friend who is also a drum teacher.
 
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Thanks Matty! Everything you said makes perfect sense.
 
I break up my practice routine into sections, I'm not aloud to go to the next one until I complete the last. Some days I don't do the whole thing, but that's alright, because I set up the least important things last.

One thing I recommend is to have a steady warm up. It will make you loose and you'll learn to rely on it to get you ready to play on the set. I suggest something like the first page of Stick Control or Joe Morello's Stone Killer Exercise.

Although rudiments are important, don't force yourself to practice them like crazy, what I do is take 2 a day, play them leading with the Right hand, left hand, right foot, and left foot. The important thing is to use a metronome, so you can practice playing them on time. Then I take Page 5 of stick control and replace the R's with one rudiment and the L's with the other, this helps me playing them mixed in with other things. Then I try moving them around the set and try to create some things.

With drums you'll want to get yourself a couple books, I recommend Stick Control, Syncopation, and Master Studies. All three are books that go from the basics to advanced things, and you're able to play each exercise in many different ways, you'll never be done them.
 
I play to my favorite music for 15 minutes, rudiments for 30 minutes, then finish to 15 min wiht music again. Mostly stuff from the 1970s, cheesy rock from Boston, Sweet, fun mindless stuff. I look forward to 10-11 pm hour every night :)
 
There are a lot of good rudimental exercises that you can put to practical use straight away. Record a practice CD. Actually record two - one straight rock time and one jazz triplet feel. Make sure that the songs on there are across a range of tempos.

So - you are going to practice say paradiddles. Put on a track at a tempo you are comfortable with and play two bars of time (rhythm) and then a bar of paradiddles and then back to time. You can pretty much do this with any rudiment or other stick control exercise. Get it?

TMS
 
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