Metronome Practice NEED HELP!

Hi everyone I’m fairly new to drumming and self-taught. I’ve recently been focusing on getting my techniques down to where I’m happy with, (ect Finger technique wrist technique) The method I’ve been using for single strokes is I’ll start at 60BPM work through the sub divisions 8th notes 16th notes for a minute or so then bump it up to 65BPM.
Feel like I’m getting abit obsessed with the metronome I keep second guessing myself instead of progressing I’m back where I’ve started at 60, never really feel like I’m getting anywhere. Should I stay at 60 for a few days then increase the speed or not?
Problem I’ve been finding is there’s so many teachers saying different things increase or don’t increase the metronome it’s difficult to know what to do as a beginner. I’m really enjoying drumming and won’t stop. I’m sure there’s plenty of others in my shoes I’ll be grateful if someone could help cheers Dan
 
Speed does not come over night. Playing at a tempo for a few minutes until it's comfortable then bumping up the speed won't get you useful speed. You need to find your limit then stay there. Can you do 16th singles comfortably for 10 minutes non stop? Are they clean? If your answer to either/both of these is no, slow it down until you can answer yes to both of them. Once you are comfortable, bump it up a few BPM.

I'm a metal drummer. To give you an idea of how long it takes to build speed, I've been playing for 28 years, and currently my max comfort zone is 100BPM 32nd singles. Yes it's fast, but I can still squeeze out a little more if I keep at it. There aren't many metal drummers on this site, but they will all tell you basically the same thing.

Get a teacher. You will improve quicker than learning by yourself, and a teacher can iron out any technique issues you might not know you have. They can also answer any questions on the spot.
 
Are you willing to take and share a video?
Whether to bump up the speed is a factor of how relaxed you are at current speeds and if you're technique is nice.
My advice for increasing speed is master the free stroke, then take on the stick control book using the free stroke at different volumes/dynamic levels.
There's of course more beyond that, but the free stroke is critical to speed. When the free stroke is done properly you never pull up on the drum stick. You throw it down and you guide the rebound back in to playing position. Getting rid of the unnecessary and inefficient backstroke is the trick.
 
Some teachers may say different things, but a method is based on the student's level and what's trying to be accomplished irght now.

General advice will be based on a teacher's experience which may be broad or narrow depending on the type of student he or she is used to teaching,

It's good that you as a new drummer understand the importace of working on fundamentals and make time for it. Dpending on a lot of different factors, there may be some room for evaluation how to best spend your practice time, though. I don't know anything about you, so all I can talk about is your actual question.

Unless it's really imporant to you I probably wouldn't focus much on speed at all. Main focus should in most cases be based on practical musical knowledge and conditioning. Holding down a beat for one 3 minute song is one thing, holding it down for 4 sets every night something entirely different.

Speed will always come back to quality, conditioning and your ears.

There is no size fits all. There are only a lot of ways to do things. An experienced teacher will be helpful in finding out what you should be working on and understanding if you're doing things correctly. Even if it's not a perfect fit and things are done that some of us might disagree with a few lessons will at least give more insight.

Inside certain traditions and enviroments there are corerct ways to do things, but outside of that there's only what's right for you.


With a bit more information about you we might be able to get more specific.

A vid and some general information on what you want to achieve as a drummer would be helpful.
 
It helps to try multiple approaches (hence the varying advice). Try different things and don't get stuck in a rut where all you're doing is repeating the same thing over and over, ad nauseam. Play more slowly, with exaggerated motion? Play short blasts as quickly as you can? Practice at a comfortable speed and try to make it sound like music? All of the above. And then some.
 
If you're self taught, you can try every approach there is until something works for you. Or you could get a good teacher who could analyze what you're doing and suggest something specific to your needs. A good teacher might save you a lot of time and frustration.
 
Hi everyone I’m fairly new to drumming and self-taught. I’ve recently been focusing on getting my techniques down to where I’m happy with, (ect Finger technique wrist technique) The method I’ve been using for single strokes is I’ll start at 60BPM work through the sub divisions 8th notes 16th notes for a minute or so then bump it up to 65BPM.
Feel like I’m getting abit obsessed with the metronome I keep second guessing myself instead of progressing I’m back where I’ve started at 60, never really feel like I’m getting anywhere. Should I stay at 60 for a few days then increase the speed or not?
Problem I’ve been finding is there’s so many teachers saying different things increase or don’t increase the metronome it’s difficult to know what to do as a beginner. I’m really enjoying drumming and won’t stop. I’m sure there’s plenty of others in my shoes I’ll be grateful if someone could help cheers Dan


It is OK to focuss on gaining speed BUT ONLY if you have other more important areas covered, but ANYWAY, if you wrote it correctly, playing 16s or 8s at 1/4=65 BPM does not sound like you are trying to gain speed...

Can you read? Play double stroke rolls in 32nds and stuff like that in a reading context...(not just alone)?
How long you´ve been playing, video?


All the best!
 
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I have seen multiple teaching resources say not to stay at just one tempo longer than 20 minutes. Make it slower or faster, change it up. I think that this helps me.
 
I honestly never get the obsession for speed and being able to play completely clean 16th single strokes at like quarter note 200-240 BPM for half an hour..

Why on earth would you spend a huge amount of time on something that you basically within 99% of all music will never need..?

Since some people always like to namedrop..

Porcaro said that his arm was about to fall off when playing those one handed 16ths in I Keep Forgettin' for about 3 minutes, which is about quarter note 95-96 BPM..

Anyone here thinks that Porcaro after that started practicing to be able to play 32th single strokes at that tempo for 20 minutes clean..?

Anyone here thinks that Porcaro was a crap drummer, because he couldnt..?

I have no problem at all playing one handed 16ths at that tempo in a 3-4 minute song context, because a song also has breaks, fills, etc, but i doubt i can play 32th single strokes at that tempo for even half a minute completely clean..

But why would i spend hours and hours to achieve that..?

There are many fantastic and musical drummers with enormous speed abilities, but there are also many (in my opinion) crap and completely non musical drummers with enormous speed abilities..

Speed is just speed and if you are a maniac who only wants to be fast, then practice to be fast, but only speed says nothing at all about your musical qualities..
 
Porcaro said that his arm was about to fall off when playing those one handed 16ths in I Keep Forgettin' for about 3 minutes, which is about quarter note 95-96 BPM..

Oldskoolsoul,

I agree with your post, just a question, do you mean this version?:


I just tryed it out playing and doubt Porcaro (and myself included) could have a problem with it. you need much more speed to play a fast bossa in a traditional way. And yes, I´ve seen the clinic video you posted too.

Nice playing and song oh by the way.

Greetings!

 
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But why would i spend hours and hours to achieve that..?

Depends on your goals and what music you want to play. Neither of which were mentioned by the OP, only when to increase the speed.
There are many fantastic and musical drummers with enormous speed abilities, but there are also many (in my opinion) crap and completely non musical drummers with enormous speed abilities..

Truth. Can't argue with this.

Speed is just speed and if you are a maniac who only wants to be fast, then practice to be fast, but only speed says nothing at all about your musical qualities..

WFD contestants. Some people just want to be the fastest. I'm not disagreeing with you at all.
 
I honestly never get the obsession for speed and being able to play completely clean 16th single strokes at like quarter note 200-240 BPM for half an hour..

Why on earth would you spend a huge amount of time on something that you basically within 99% of all music will never need..?

Since some people always like to namedrop..

Porcaro said that his arm was about to fall off when playing those one handed 16ths in I Keep Forgettin' for about 3 minutes, which is about quarter note 95-96 BPM..

Anyone here thinks that Porcaro after that started practicing to be able to play 32th single strokes at that tempo for 20 minutes clean..?

Anyone here thinks that Porcaro was a crap drummer, because he couldnt..?

I have no problem at all playing one handed 16ths at that tempo in a 3-4 minute song context, because a song also has breaks, fills, etc, but i doubt i can play 32th single strokes at that tempo for even half a minute completely clean..

But why would i spend hours and hours to achieve that..?

There are many fantastic and musical drummers with enormous speed abilities, but there are also many (in my opinion) crap and completely non musical drummers with enormous speed abilities..

Speed is just speed and if you are a maniac who only wants to be fast, then practice to be fast, but only speed says nothing at all about your musical qualities..


Better to be able to play fast and not need it, rather than need it and not be able to.

And the real answer is, it depends. If you play in a cover rock band, top 40 style music, or many other types of groove based stuff this would be a 100% waste of time. If you are playing grid, death metal, this becomes almost a necessity. I often find myself playing a blast beat for 20-30 seconds at VERY high speeds. sometimes longer if my feet jump to double time during it. Sure, it might get broken up by a fill here and there, but the endurance is a very key part of this style of music.

It's the same as someone saying, oh, I play money beats all day so I don't need to learn rudiments. For that guy, I'd agree, but for anyone who wants to be able to lay down a decent solo, chops, etc, I'd recommend learning them.

I'd say 10 minutes is the money spot to be able to play 70% of my max speed... then 5 minutes for 80, maybe 2 minutes for 90... I don't consider playing a burst for 10 seconds anything because it really doesn't translate into playing well when guys are twitching out notes. 30 minutes is over the top, but hey, if you have the time go for it.


I do find working on singles has helped everything else in my playing.
 
Start 60 and then reduce the speed of the metronome. Playing slower is much, much more difficult.

This is false. Playing slower is still easier than playing a speed you haven't achieved yet.
 
You have to be willing to put in the time; remember, you are building a foundation for your drumming. I usually do my double and single stroke rolls in front of the T.V. (my family just loves watching T.V. with me.). I start the metronome out at the tempo I can sustain alternating between 1 bar eight note SS roll 2 bars 16th note SS roll. Once I warm up then I creep the metronome up to the high end (these tempos are different from day to day). I know that I will rarely if ever need to play a sustained quarter=200 sixteenth note single stroke roll, but the slower/normal tempos feel very crisp when I have a high top end
 
I honestly never get the obsession for speed...

I once joined a band that had a lot of songs between 208 and 224. The band wasn't going to play the songs more slowly because I wasn't comfortable playing that quickly. I had to woodshed until I could play single stroke rolls (4's, not triplets) loudly and clearly around the toms. It was either that, or they'd be looking for a different drummer.

At least I only had to play short bursts. Some of the metal guys need to play rolls at those tempos and hang on to them for a while. Personally, I can't see it. Sounds like a recipe for some type of repetitive motion injury, to me.
 
I can easily play something like Keep Forgetting today, but with a practice concept that went over quite a wide array of things it definetly took some years.

It's worth noting that Jeff suffered from a pretty bad case of arthritis already since the mid 70s.
 
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