Zorlee
Senior Member
Hi everyone!
I don't know if there have been threads like this before, but I thought it would be great to come together and talk about our practise schedules. How do we practise? And better yet - how can we practise better? How do we motivate ourselves, what do you do if you're not inspired, push through it or lay off the drums for a couple of days? These questions are all relevant, and I think it can be very helpful for a lot of us drummers to get some input on how to do what we do every day - practising! =)
I'll start with my practise schedule... Personally I just graduated from school, and I'm taking a year off from school, before I start to study at a university (probably a bachelor's degree in music). Therefore I have a lot of spare time, and I'm dedicating this year to drumming, and that means - a lot of practising.
I practise for 1,5 hour sessions, divided into two 45 min sessions.
My day is usually like this:
- 1 session (1,5 hours)
- 30 min break
- 1 session (1,5 hours)
- 1 hour break
- 1 session (1,5 hours)
- 30 min break
- 1 session (1,5 hours)
I start at 8 am, and I'm finished around 4 pm. I take the rest of the day off, chilling, working out, hanging with friends - just relaxing.
NOW - over to what I actually practise. You might look at this, and say - hey, this guy only cares about the hours of practise, but not the effect of the practise. Well, think again. I've only divided the day like this, because it's the best way for me to practise. This is very subjective, but I find that doing 45 min sessions is better than 30 mins and 1 hour sessions. 30 mins is too short for me - I really don't get the time to dig into the material. 1 hour, on the other hand, is too long. It starts to get boring, and my motivation starts to go downhill. Again, this is just based on my own experience.
I try to think 50% groove/feel/time practise, 40% technique and 10% theory/ear-training.
At least I try, because I don't want to fall into the "trap" of only practising one thing - and the trap is usually to ONLY practise technique, thus turning into a technical genius with NO feel/soul. I want groove, time and feel to be nr. 1, but I find that to be able to make things groove, you need good technique. And in the end, I have to set of some time, even though I don't like it, to practise that ear and the theory. I know it will help me, if I decide to study music, and compose music!
Today, for example I did the following:
- Warm-up
- 45 min Moeller (Technique)
- 45 min Beyond Bop Drumming (groove/feel/time)
- Break
- 45 min Finger Control (Technique)
- 45 min Dennis Chambers' grooves practise (groove/feel/time)
- Break
- 45 min Jazz ride technique (Technique)
- 45 min Contemporary jazz listening/transcribing/practising (groove/feel/time)
- Break
- 45 min Brushes (groove/feel/time)
- 45 min Ear-training (theory/ear-training)
It was a GOOD day!!
I write this, so that you might check this out. You may apply this 1,5 hour session thing to your own practise schedule, and see if you like it. You can practise for only 45 mins or as long as you want, it's up to you. I just practise for this amount of time, because I want to practise a lot this year. But if you're in school/working during the daytime, maybe try a 1,5 hour session divided into two 45 min sessions, and see if you like it? Or maybe two sessions, if you have the time to do so?
Also, if you try out my way of practising, then you MUST take breaks. You can't practise for 6 hours straight - that will kill everything - your motivation, drive, inspiration, passion and whatnot. I find that the breaks, and the "breathers" in between the sessions really help to make this practise schedule very good, and very efficient.
NOW - Post your own practise schedules! Post your own tips, tricks and whatnot! =)
I'm really looking forward to reading some good posts about how to develop our skills behind the kit, and how to grow as a musician!!
Yours sincerely,
Zorlee
I don't know if there have been threads like this before, but I thought it would be great to come together and talk about our practise schedules. How do we practise? And better yet - how can we practise better? How do we motivate ourselves, what do you do if you're not inspired, push through it or lay off the drums for a couple of days? These questions are all relevant, and I think it can be very helpful for a lot of us drummers to get some input on how to do what we do every day - practising! =)
I'll start with my practise schedule... Personally I just graduated from school, and I'm taking a year off from school, before I start to study at a university (probably a bachelor's degree in music). Therefore I have a lot of spare time, and I'm dedicating this year to drumming, and that means - a lot of practising.
I practise for 1,5 hour sessions, divided into two 45 min sessions.
My day is usually like this:
- 1 session (1,5 hours)
- 30 min break
- 1 session (1,5 hours)
- 1 hour break
- 1 session (1,5 hours)
- 30 min break
- 1 session (1,5 hours)
I start at 8 am, and I'm finished around 4 pm. I take the rest of the day off, chilling, working out, hanging with friends - just relaxing.
NOW - over to what I actually practise. You might look at this, and say - hey, this guy only cares about the hours of practise, but not the effect of the practise. Well, think again. I've only divided the day like this, because it's the best way for me to practise. This is very subjective, but I find that doing 45 min sessions is better than 30 mins and 1 hour sessions. 30 mins is too short for me - I really don't get the time to dig into the material. 1 hour, on the other hand, is too long. It starts to get boring, and my motivation starts to go downhill. Again, this is just based on my own experience.
I try to think 50% groove/feel/time practise, 40% technique and 10% theory/ear-training.
At least I try, because I don't want to fall into the "trap" of only practising one thing - and the trap is usually to ONLY practise technique, thus turning into a technical genius with NO feel/soul. I want groove, time and feel to be nr. 1, but I find that to be able to make things groove, you need good technique. And in the end, I have to set of some time, even though I don't like it, to practise that ear and the theory. I know it will help me, if I decide to study music, and compose music!
Today, for example I did the following:
- Warm-up
- 45 min Moeller (Technique)
- 45 min Beyond Bop Drumming (groove/feel/time)
- Break
- 45 min Finger Control (Technique)
- 45 min Dennis Chambers' grooves practise (groove/feel/time)
- Break
- 45 min Jazz ride technique (Technique)
- 45 min Contemporary jazz listening/transcribing/practising (groove/feel/time)
- Break
- 45 min Brushes (groove/feel/time)
- 45 min Ear-training (theory/ear-training)
It was a GOOD day!!
I write this, so that you might check this out. You may apply this 1,5 hour session thing to your own practise schedule, and see if you like it. You can practise for only 45 mins or as long as you want, it's up to you. I just practise for this amount of time, because I want to practise a lot this year. But if you're in school/working during the daytime, maybe try a 1,5 hour session divided into two 45 min sessions, and see if you like it? Or maybe two sessions, if you have the time to do so?
Also, if you try out my way of practising, then you MUST take breaks. You can't practise for 6 hours straight - that will kill everything - your motivation, drive, inspiration, passion and whatnot. I find that the breaks, and the "breathers" in between the sessions really help to make this practise schedule very good, and very efficient.
NOW - Post your own practise schedules! Post your own tips, tricks and whatnot! =)
I'm really looking forward to reading some good posts about how to develop our skills behind the kit, and how to grow as a musician!!
Yours sincerely,
Zorlee