Bad habits and what you struggle with now.

Tbonez

Member
Lets discuss what our bad habits are that have been built over the years and the other things we are currently struggling with...

For me:

Bad habits:
Not holding the stick at the best fulcrum point. My sticks slide down until Im holding them at the end. I've used sandpaper to roughed up my practice sticks at the optimum fulcrum. When my hand slides down I know because the stick feeling changes. I hope it corrects my many years of poor stick placement and hence my poor speed and stick control.

I still have poor foot position when playing slide technique. In practice I can easily play the slide but when Im playing I find that my foot position is often in a poor starting position to initiate the slide. I practice hours on hours to have a repeatable process...Still working on it

Burring the batter head...Still do it. I've done everything from taking the spring off of the pedal to working on rebound. I still bury the batter and nothing seems to help..


Currently working on:
Rudiments and stick speed. When I was younger all I wanted to do was play drums. Now Im realizing how valuable rudiments and stick control are to being a better drum player.
 
Lets discuss what our bad habits are that have been built over the years and the other things we are currently struggling with...

For me:

Bad habits:
Not holding the stick at the best fulcrum point. My sticks slide down until Im holding them at the end. I've used sandpaper to roughed up my practice sticks at the optimum fulcrum. When my hand slides down I know because the stick feeling changes. I hope it corrects my many years of poor stick placement and hence my poor speed and stick control.

I don't think this is necessarily a bad habit

I think different leverage for different approaches and attack/touch is important to be comfortable with

when really cracking a back beat I love to dip back to the butt of the stick.... and maybe when playing lightly on the ride cymbal I may pull up toward the middle of the stick .... all adjustments that are made completely naturally
all of this is extremely common

check out how far back Keith Carlock, Stave Gadd, and Tony Williams hold the stick

it is all about being comfortable and developing what is comfortable to you

I believe holding the stick in one spot at all times is limiting and something that people spend way too much time trying to achieve when they will benefit from the exact opposite
 
Burying the beater doesn't have to be a bad thing either MAny people do it And my bass drum is tuned accordingly
 
Agreed. Burying the beater is one sound. Bouncing the beater is another. There are times you give the drum its full voice, and there are times when you hit-and-stick.

My bad habits? I don't practice anywhere NEAR enough or effectively. :( Then I get to the gig and wonder why my limbs won't do what my brain is certain is possible.
 
If you can wait until you are old as I am, all of your bad habits won't matter anymore.
And you will just have fun drumming for as many (few) years as you have left.

Last night I played some Who music and I channeled the spirit of Keith Moon. Keith and I had a blast, bad habits and all...........


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I have a 26 year bad habit of stomp and bury. Anyone got any tips on how to break the habit?

Yeah... Just do it! Took me no longer than a few months, after 7 years of burying, to completely switch to bouncing the beater without having to think about it at all. This change allowed me to (unconsciously!) develop a much better foot technique, involving way more ankle motion than earlier. It also allows you to tune the bassdrum without having to worry about not being able to bury the beater comfortably.

Sure, burying the beater is another type of sound... But is it a good sound? We rarely choke the other drums with the sticks, apart from the stuff that for instance, Dave Weckl does to alter the sound.
 
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