better tecknique on pillows, than praktise pad !

S

simmers

Junior Member
Hei.
for some reason i have better control over tecknique when i practise on stuff with less rebound,than i do when i practise on my drumpad !
Why is this? and what can i do too transfer the same controll too the drumpad ?
 
To develop finger control you need a pad (or something) with rebound. Practicing on a pillow is good for developing wrist chops, but will do nothing for the all important fingers.
 
Bill is exactly right. The correct answer is part pillow (IMO 15-20%) and the rest on a pad.

It's not an either/or. Both pillow and pad assist with different things.

You're doing better with a pillow because as Skitch implies your grip is most likely too tight. Work on getting loose. The pillow is great and I work with it all the time, but getting too attached will do you more harm than good.
 
I bought a Moongel pad yesterday and consider it a great variation to my 2 existing practice pads (both RealFeel, different size). On the other pads, I usually put a towel on top to reduce rebounds which obviously becomes obsolete when using the Moongel which is specifically designed to have almost no rebound (I find playing doubles on the Moongel pad is pretty hard, but that's judging from 2 hours experience on the Moongel). I'm too lazy to use pillows any more (I don't have a dedicated 'drum pillow').

I'd also vary sticks (length/weight). I got used to playing (exercising with) a heavy stick but yesterday also bought a pair of marching sticks. There's quite some difference, I'm curious to see what progress they will bring to my (beginner) playing.

UPDATE (08/17/2011)
I just bought JoJo Mayer's DVD - JoJo warns not to practice on pillows too much. I guess there's an analogy to stick weight - I use different sticks for practice (the lightest are JoJo Mayer signatures, with The Thomas Lang sig sticks in between, and the heaviest are marching sticks) and use the heavier ones for 'workout' and the lighter sticks for 'speed tests'. I use the Moongel pad in ca. 30 % of my practice playing. Just find out which combination works best for you.
 
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I think practicing on pillows is great.. really strengthens your muscles, fingers included. If you can do double strokes (or something close to) on a pillow, then once you get on a drum you'll tear it up. A happy medium for me is just my thigh. When I was younger I would constantly practice on my thighs, watching TV, on a long drive, etc. Not smart if you're a leg model (bruises), but very effective.

I can see the potential of practicing on pillows too much, I suppose. But don't undermine what it can do for your technique. My old teacher, Paul Wertico, used to say how he played on only pillows for the first 3 years he was a drummer until he could get a set.. I think you can see the payoff in his technique. Very fluent, strong and unique.. Check out this video, particularly at about :50 seconds in..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJubxa66ekc
 
Pillow are fine if done right. Most people do it wrong evidenced by the prevalence of dented drumheads.
 
A compromise is a foam rubber stuffed seat cushion: a little bit of bounce but enough hardness to work on rebound. It’s also soft enough that strokes don’t damage “older drummer” joints!
 
A pillow's great for developing strength and stamina, but it doesn't do too much for precision. When I feel like my technique is getting sloppy, I use the hard-rubber side of my old RealFeel. It's much better for perfecting drags and pinpointing each strike.
 
philrudd said:
A pillow's great for developing strength and stamina, but it doesn't do too much for precision. When I feel like my technique is getting sloppy, I use the hard-rubber side of my old RealFeel. It's much better for perfecting drags and pinpointing each strike.
Click to expand...

I just throw a snare-side head over the pillow.
 
You have built your wrists and need to build the fingers would be my guess.

I practice on about 3 different pads, one has no rebound, one has a bit, one has a lot. I change it often, use couch cushions etc.


Don't grip the sticks too tight, and stay relaxed. It is similar to a floor tom and a snare not being the same.


switch to the pad for a few weeks or a harder surface and work on keeping the fingers engaged.
 
mrfingers said:
A compromise is a foam rubber stuffed seat cushion: a little bit of bounce but enough hardness to work on rebound. It’s also soft enough that strokes don’t damage “older drummer” joints!
Click to expand...


I can relate to the joints damage- each time I've tried (carefully and not very intensely) to use a pillow it ends up causing me some joint discomfort the next day or so, so I've abandoned any pillow type practice.

Instead, I purchased a Prologix Blue Lightening pad which is inbetween a pillow and a rubber pad (several of which I still rotate into practice as well, along with my Aquarian Super Pad). The Prologix is not only the quietest, but seems to have just the right balance for deadening the rebound will still allowing enough articulation to work on fingers and light control strokes.
 
I recommend to use a pillow to have a decent sleep in order to be rested while practicing drums and to use a floortom for such exercises, from at least 16 inch i would say..
 
Push pull stroke said:
I just throw a snare-side head over the pillow.
Click to expand...

Hmm...sounds weird. On first impression, sounds like the worst of both worlds: not as squishy as a pillow, not as firm as a practice pad. But I'll have to give it a shot.

So you just take an old snare head and drop it on the pillow? Nothing to stabilize the head or anything?
 
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