Looking for advice

[dajoemaster]

So I have been kind of lazy with my practicing, which I know is really bad. I am wondering what I could do for some motivation. Also I live in apartments and I have to have drum mutes on my drum set which they do a good job at what they are supposed to do, however I like to hear the full power of my drum kit which I can't do. Is there any advice for that as well? Anything will help, thanks.

[rik]

Hi there...i find keeping a practise diary helps.making a note of your daily work..

Most importantly sit down and decide what you need to work on and set a goal helping you towards that..

rik.

[David Floegel]

Hey man,

I think I know your problem..

Motiviation is always a topic, especially when you have to put drummutes on your drumset..

What rik said is a good point!
working out what you need to practice and what you want to practice.
then try not to only practice the stuff one way but try to experiment with it.. cool things can happen :)

maybe my tutorial on practicing with fun helps you a bit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoEi7qZJX_k

In this video I only talk about paradiddles but the idea is the same.. orchestration around the drumkit.
It helped me a lot not to loose motivation and more important concentration when it comes to practicing :)

good luck
david

[Anduin]

Inspiration is a tricky thing. Something can be inspiring one day and boring the next.

I find that instructional videos in general are inspiring. Some more than others, of course, but even the more lame videos have something somewhere that will make me want to go practice.

Same goes for books. A new book, even if it’s sort of a rehash of other things, as many of them are, will have a different angle on the technique/genre/whatever.

And then there’s playing with other people. After a rehearsal/jam, you’ll probably think of something that you played that maybe you could do better or in a different way, and that gives you direction in your practicing.

As for mutes, I use them most of the time too. Yes, they kill the drum tone, but at least I can sit down and play pretty much whenever I want, so the tradeoff is worth it.

[McNeil Pro Drumming]

Doing regular concentrated listening to music recordings as well as trying to transcribe the drum parts note for note is great.

I play full time so I obviously can't say that I don't sit down and play at all, however I've made huge improvements over the last 4 years in my musicallity and tune repertoire by doing mostly listening, transcribing/charting and gigging. I hardly do any traditional practicing at this point as I live in an apartment as well.

So, maybe focus more on charting tunes and doing more concentrated listening. Hope that helps. Cheers