Do you have a feeling that you don't have to practice something that you have already mastered?

I'd like to manipulate the word master to mean in control of, not the ruler of. When I sit down to play, I may be the worst drummer in the world, but am still the master of my own drumming. The drums dont tell me what to do, who to follow, where to go. I tell them.

Will I ever master the drums? No.

Am I the master of my drums? Abso-freaking-lutely.
 
I dunno at what point you "master" something.

But in terms of my own practice........I find working on the things that I actually use is the best way to go.

Working on simple things....that's the real good stuff that a lot of drummers miss out on.

A single stroke roll can be played many, many different ways.

So I guess ultimately, I always practice the stuff that I think I've "mastered".

I have a long, long way to go to master the basic 3: single stroke roll, double stroke roll and the single paradiddle.
 
I will always consider myself "the eternal student" of drums. There is always something I can't do, need to brush up on, need to learn. I've felt increasingly humbled as I become older. I love the newer stars, too; Ronald Bruner, Thomas Lang, and Marco Minnemann, etc. Drumming is a life-long labor of love. It can be frustrating when I can't nail that new lick. Whatever. It's a life journey....
 
Mine is a simple system. Higher level skills need more practice to keep from getting rusty, while other, more basic skills stay sharp simply buy playing music or soloing regularly.
 
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I don't know if this relates, but Thomas Lang once said on the topic of learning new things, don't worry about forgetting the old things you've already mastered, meaning they will still be there and to continue learning new things. But things might go south if you cut down your playing/practicing time drastically or stopped altogether.
 
rhumbagirl said:
I don't know if this relates, but Thomas Lang once said on the topic of learning new things, don't worry about forgetting the old things you've already mastered, meaning they will still be there and to continue learning new things. But things might go south if you cut down your playing/practicing time drastically or stopped altogether.
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I've definitely experienced this since the pandemic began. With the family home most of the time I'm practicing far less than before and it shows. Fortunately the rust wears off with a few good practice sessions. For now.
 
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In general when practicing I try to work on things that I can't already do, but there are many things I come back to: timekeeping, certain phrasing, etc.

Also I tend to have phases where I'm working on something new, and phases when I'm just playing - but even 'just playing' has an element of practice in a way, as I'm usually sort of 'monitoring' how cleanly I'm playing, or how well I'm working with the song, etc. Usually I notice something in my playing that needs some work. It's never-ending! (That's also the fun of it)
 
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