First post. I've perused the site and forums for years, but hadn't registered until now.
Some background first; I had always wanted to play the drums, but didn't have the opportunity until I was in the ARMY and bought my first kit back in the mid-late 80s when I was 20 or so. We didn't have the internet back then and I couldn't afford a teacher so I am entirely self taught and I never held the sticks properly back then, but I was naturally very fast so even though it was mostly arm with some wrist movements, I could still play pretty damn quick.
I didn't play for 25 years while we raised kids and worked far too much, though they occasionally got pulled out for the kids to bang on. My youngest graduated in 2018 and about 6 months before she did I found I had a lot more time for my own shenanigans and pulled them back out (same kit, well - mostly) with those 25 year old heads. Surprisingly, they didn't sound horrible after some tuning and even more surprising I was able to play half decent, but more importantly, I had the internet and realized my stick technique was in need of correction and I had never really worked on rudiments, independence, etc.
The last 5ish years I have played 2-3 times a week on average (that was probably only possible because I worked from home), 1.5-2 hours usually. The first 30 or so minutes is focused on left hand development, Stick Control exercises, foot/hi hat/BD exercises and any specific groove I'm trying to learn. I stretch before I start and the first 10 minutes is just warm up, the first 3 is primarily on the snare with my feet going between the bass pedals and hats, then work my way around the kit doing rudiments, fills and grooves. then I spend 45 minutes to an hour working on songs and finally finish up with 3-4 minutes working on the 1/2 time shuffle (specifically with Fool in the rain in mind, but I'd like to play Rosanna at some point). On top of that, nearly everyday I spend 20-30 minutes on the pad, again left development, rudiments and Stick Control type exercises.
Now to the frustration.
It has taken for-dadgummed-ever for my left to come along and the last 7-8 months or so I cannot play a song straight through without a mistake of some kind, it is rarely the same mistake so there's really no specific thing to work on beyond hand development and independence. I've been playing these songs quite a while (Zepplin, Billy Squire, Def Leppard, etc - every now and then I play 46 and 2 or Tom Sawyer to see how much closer I am to keeping up) and I have played them through without error (except 46 and 2 and Tom Sawyer
), though it didn't "flow" and it was a bit wooden and tight.
At this point I look forward to playing when I get time, but within 30 minutes I'm angry and frustrated and I suspect I haven't played more than an hour in 2-3 months and I've gone 1-2 weeks without playing at all (still do exercises on the pad though) because I'm so frustrated and liable to start smashing stuff - best to throw the sticks and walk out of the room, and I've actually caught myself making excuses to my wife for why I'm not playing when I have the opportunity too (she's well aware of my frustration).
I am generally in good shape, I workout 4-5 times a week, not hardcore, mostly core and keeping myself fit, but both hands still cramp all the time, especially the left.
I'm not sure where to go from here, I thought it was just something I was going through due to the stress and workload from work but I dont think it's that at all now. This is one of the few things I get to do that I actually love to do, but I haven't loved it in months regardless of how badly I want to play.
If anyone has suggestions I'd appreciate it, though I got laid off recently so lessons isn't an option right now.
Some background first; I had always wanted to play the drums, but didn't have the opportunity until I was in the ARMY and bought my first kit back in the mid-late 80s when I was 20 or so. We didn't have the internet back then and I couldn't afford a teacher so I am entirely self taught and I never held the sticks properly back then, but I was naturally very fast so even though it was mostly arm with some wrist movements, I could still play pretty damn quick.
I didn't play for 25 years while we raised kids and worked far too much, though they occasionally got pulled out for the kids to bang on. My youngest graduated in 2018 and about 6 months before she did I found I had a lot more time for my own shenanigans and pulled them back out (same kit, well - mostly) with those 25 year old heads. Surprisingly, they didn't sound horrible after some tuning and even more surprising I was able to play half decent, but more importantly, I had the internet and realized my stick technique was in need of correction and I had never really worked on rudiments, independence, etc.
The last 5ish years I have played 2-3 times a week on average (that was probably only possible because I worked from home), 1.5-2 hours usually. The first 30 or so minutes is focused on left hand development, Stick Control exercises, foot/hi hat/BD exercises and any specific groove I'm trying to learn. I stretch before I start and the first 10 minutes is just warm up, the first 3 is primarily on the snare with my feet going between the bass pedals and hats, then work my way around the kit doing rudiments, fills and grooves. then I spend 45 minutes to an hour working on songs and finally finish up with 3-4 minutes working on the 1/2 time shuffle (specifically with Fool in the rain in mind, but I'd like to play Rosanna at some point). On top of that, nearly everyday I spend 20-30 minutes on the pad, again left development, rudiments and Stick Control type exercises.
Now to the frustration.
It has taken for-dadgummed-ever for my left to come along and the last 7-8 months or so I cannot play a song straight through without a mistake of some kind, it is rarely the same mistake so there's really no specific thing to work on beyond hand development and independence. I've been playing these songs quite a while (Zepplin, Billy Squire, Def Leppard, etc - every now and then I play 46 and 2 or Tom Sawyer to see how much closer I am to keeping up) and I have played them through without error (except 46 and 2 and Tom Sawyer
), though it didn't "flow" and it was a bit wooden and tight.At this point I look forward to playing when I get time, but within 30 minutes I'm angry and frustrated and I suspect I haven't played more than an hour in 2-3 months and I've gone 1-2 weeks without playing at all (still do exercises on the pad though) because I'm so frustrated and liable to start smashing stuff - best to throw the sticks and walk out of the room, and I've actually caught myself making excuses to my wife for why I'm not playing when I have the opportunity too (she's well aware of my frustration).
I am generally in good shape, I workout 4-5 times a week, not hardcore, mostly core and keeping myself fit, but both hands still cramp all the time, especially the left.
I'm not sure where to go from here, I thought it was just something I was going through due to the stress and workload from work but I dont think it's that at all now. This is one of the few things I get to do that I actually love to do, but I haven't loved it in months regardless of how badly I want to play.
If anyone has suggestions I'd appreciate it, though I got laid off recently so lessons isn't an option right now.
