Drumming Rudiments Technique Help?

I don't want to create bad habits in my drumming Be nice to know how people practice there technique and making progress with their drumming?

Bill Bachman has a site (drumworkout.com) that offers a course called the "Extreme Hands Makeover". It takes a month or two to make it through. This standalone course is well worth a two month sub, and it's worth repeating the course each time you hit an impasse/plateau and want to improve your hands.

I highly recommend it.
 
I learned it all at once in balance. Technique, rudiments etc. Just focus each day's practice session on the area you need to improve.

Playing music you like to listen to as a metronome also keeps the session enjoyable. Doubles are boring and 10 minutes of metronome clicks feel like an hour, throw some of your favorite songs on and play in time with that. Helps to relax too, everyone gets all stiff.

Once I had the rudiment down, I used to throw on Hip/hop or if I wanted to push my speed, some junk like blink-182 helped. Also helps with your mind while you play, no one ever performed with a metronome click alone ... so much more to it all, focus on dynamics as the music crescendos or tapers, play harder or lighter, try out each of your instructors techniques. No reason you can't be musical while practicing basics.

I do this with my drumline. We use a met while we are learning and analyzing, and then I have a playlist full of cool groove songs that I run trough the PA system, and we play along to that when concepts are down, and we are just repping for strength


I love turning on the click and running rudiments on the pad. I'm not alone in this. Sometimes 2 hours only feels like 10 minutes. It can be enjoyable if you allow it.

Anyone who plays to backing tracks is performing with a click. Its not unusual at all.

yep...I can play for hours with just the met alone...it never bothers me. I also put subdivisions on, and sometimes try to mess with where I am placing the pulse beat versus the rudiment.

I am definitely in the minority who enjoys the met...
 
I always thought technique related to posture and hand position. How one holds the sticks and the range of motion used to play. I consider the speed that one plays and the level of difficulty to relate to ability rather than technique. Of course, poor technique will negatively effect your abiity to advance. I have had various teachers over the years and some taught technique and some did not. There are different approaches to technique and hand position. But the ultimate result you are looking for is a technique that allows you to cause the stick to move in an even, straight and controlled fashion. If your technigue causes the stick to slice at an angle while playing, then you need to adjust things.
 
People are quite different.

If you have na interest in something that requires a lot of technical work and you understand the relation you'll probably be more motivated.

May teachers struggle with getting their yong students to get started with a technical routine. I really don't. The simple explanation is that I never do anything with my studetns without explaining why I do it. Some may think a lot of this stuff is self explanatory, but to the average kid in 2020 it's really not. It actually never was even though some like to pretend it was. Many things are not automatic to everyone and the teacher who wishes to succeed must understand this.
 
People are quite different.

If you have na interest in something that requires a lot of technical work and you understand the relation you'll probably be more motivated.

May teachers struggle with getting their yong students to get started with a technical routine. I really don't. The simple explanation is that I never do anything with my studetns without explaining why I do it. Some may think a lot of this stuff is self explanatory, but to the average kid in 2020 it's really not. It actually never was even though some like to pretend it was. Many things are not automatic to everyone and the teacher who wishes to succeed must understand this.

yep...I ALWAYS give them an end goal, and usually show a video or two of someone using said technique at a high level <-- that is what inspired me back in the say, but since it was before the Tube, I actually had to go see it live...which honestly is much more inspiring
 
At the risk of sounding like advertising (moderators, feel free to slap my wrist if I'm going over the line and I'll remove), we're launching an iOS metronome app soon that gives you loads of feedback, including a speed builder setting that jogs the tempo up once you reach a certain level of accuracy. The built in exercises are based on Stick Control. Currently in beta testing, more info at www.beatbalance.co.

It's not for everyone, but it might help you to answer your original question.
 
Hi Everyone,


I'm a pretty new drummer. Over Christmas I really want to perfect my technique playing rudiments singles/doubles/paradidles etc. I'm not interested necessarily in speed but just improving my overall technique. I know speed comes with slow practice I get that so there's no need to rush right. I was taking lessons once a week but due to covid at the moment it's been a struggle. The problem is I've been finding is when seeing other instructors explaining the rudiments they're all explaining them differently which leaves me confused thinking what's the correct technique.
My question is just say I'm practicing single stroke rolls at different subdivisions with a metronome set at 50BPM. How does someone know when to move on with the tempo because I'm always second guessing myself thinking is that good enough. I want to feel like I'm making progress with my drumming not staying in the same place. I don't want to create bad habits in my drumming Be nice to know how people practice there technique and making progress with their drumming?

Cheers guys hope someone could help

Merry Christmas

Hi there, I love that you said that you're "not interested in speed." I say this because if you work on smooth natural mechanics that sound good, you'll end up with speed anyway since you're out of your own way.

You also said that "speed comes from slow practice." This is commonly talked
about (If you want to play fast, practice slow), but I'd say it's usually incorrect. My version is, "If you want to play fast then practice as fast as you can perfectly and comfortably using the net faster tempo's technique and stay there for 20 minutes or more." Sometimes your fastest technique where you can play it perfectly and comfortably will be quite slow, but that's OK. You'll get faster faster doing it this way.
 
Hi there, I love that you said that you're "not interested in speed." I say this because if you work on smooth natural mechanics that sound good, you'll end up with speed anyway since you're out of your own way.

You also said that "speed comes from slow practice." This is commonly talked
about (If you want to play fast, practice slow), but I'd say it's usually incorrect
. My version is, "If you want to play fast then practice as fast as you can perfectly and comfortably using the net faster tempo's technique and stay there for 20 minutes or more." Sometimes your fastest technique where you can play it perfectly and comfortably will be quite slow, but that's OK. You'll get faster faster doing it this way.

the master has spoken!!!!

and this is SUCH a misconstrued concept in all instrumental areas.

mid tempo with great technique, and then slowly upping that tempo to push and strengthen technique is soooo much more beneficial. I think that you can practice too slow, and then you lose the continuity/feeling of the patterns that you are playing <---your brain conceptualizes the pattern differently if there is too much space...you actually go to a different technique. I sometimes get into "disagreements" with my head director at school about this...he heard the saying "always slow down to get better", and takes it to the letter of the law...I see the kids starting to check out quite often as the season goes...and they actually lose the concept sometimes...
 
I think that you can practice too slow, and then you lose the continuity/feeling of the patterns that you are playing
Totally. The patterns take on a different feel when played fast, almost like a rolling feel. They also sound different. If you dont practice it at speed, you cant play it at speed. Things become different. Breathing comes into play. Techniques must change as you said. Stick heights must be modified. Fulcrums must be shifted. There is way more to it than just learning the pattern slow.

Sure, learn the pattern slow to get the sticking, but once you get it speed it up. And when you realize it isnt just as simple as it seems, practice it at speed.
 
Let me add 1 more useful tip: step back from your pad/ drum, extend your arms and play your rudiments. Note the difference...none of your toms will be as close as your snare and you’ll have to expect to play a lot of patterns at arms length.
 
Let me add 1 more useful tip: step back from your pad/ drum, extend your arms and play your rudiments. Note the difference...none of your toms will be as close as your snare and you’ll have to expect to play a lot of patterns at arms length.

Yup - doing so will also ensure you aren't getting used to one surface. Multi-surface practice helps one to learn how to use rebound versus depending on a single response.
 
Totally. The patterns take on a different feel when played fast, almost like a rolling feel. They also sound different. If you dont practice it at speed, you cant play it at speed. Things become different. Breathing comes into play. Techniques must change as you said. Stick heights must be modified. Fulcrums must be shifted. There is way more to it than just learning the pattern slow.

Sure, learn the pattern slow to get the sticking, but once you get it speed it up. And when you realize it isnt just as simple as it seems, practice it at speed.

yep...personally, I never learn slower than 80bpm...anything slower than that becomes too separated.
 
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