Trouble practicing every day

Syrith

Junior Member
Hey guys. I'm having a lot of trouble with practicing as much as I'd want to everyday and I think now, it's become extremely out of hand. Here's the thing, normally I do not practice as much as I'd want to (at least 2 hours), and some days I don't even practice at all. Every day is the same story. I'll get home or wake up at some point in time and think "Ok, today I'm going to this for this many hours" but after that I start doing other stuff like get on the computer or start talking to friends for way too long, then it just goes on too long until there's no time left in the day, I'll just keep telling myself "I'll do it in a minute". And that's exactly what happened today.

Basically I feel pretty screwed right now, like I'm trapped in very bad cycle haha. It's not that I don't want to play my instrument, every time I play I feel happy and I love the music it can make. It's just that there are SO MANY distractions that can come my way during the day that it gets overwhelming. And now I think it's gone far enough.

I'd REALLY appreciate it if anyone who's been in the same boat submit something, I've tried just starting out of nowhere and it never works. Any advice or a program to just get into the habit of practicing everyday or being more organized would be great
 
Interesting topic here!

It also happened to me, I am dreaming to become a great drummer but I did spend too much time on Call of Duty (lol). But then I was award an award at school for percussion that I felt that I didn't deserve. Since then, it was like my motivation to become better. I have been practicing like hand techniques, jazz, and latin. I made lots of videos so at the same time its fun.

It's really all about finding that inspiration. If you watch a drummer with a style you admire, you will say to yourself, "I want to be like that." Also my teacher told me, drumming becomes really fun once you learn it. THAT IS TRUE!!
 
well i haven't been playing for too long, maybe 6 months at most. and i was like that in the beginning, my drums didn't sound right to me, and i wasn't motivated to play. But what i did was, i found something to really inspire me. i watched a few videos, mainly Neil Peart's drum solo in R-30. I also tried going freestyle on any of the songs that i liked, that kept my interests. But mainly, you just have to have an entertaining practice routine. Maybe you're just getting bored of your routine so you might have to change it up.
just a few hours ago i was deterred from my set because my neighbor couldnt stand my passion to play. I was on my kit for 4 hours straight

i was exactly like you, probably younger. but still, i just force myself to play.
One of my main motivating factors is that i'm known for giving up, and my parents just bought me a $400+ hobby, and i cant give that up for the life of me.
 
I love just jamming, rehearsing and gigging but tapping away on a practice pad isn't too thrilling. I don't get a kick from exercise either. Once you get started it's ok. Getting started is the hard part.

Getting started is about motivation. You either want to do it or you force yourself to do it like eating your greens as a kid. If worst comes to worst, five minutes of really concentrated practice is better than nothing, and can be better than an hour of unfocused practice.

First step to getting started is setting a realistic goal. What is the next thing you want to do - work out a chop that you can't quite play? Tighten up a beat or chop that you don't play as cleanly as you'd like? Tighten up your timing?
 
Try to put together a simple plan that you can do in like 15-20 minutes (practice pad stuff, single stroke, double stroke rolls etc.)..

I find most of the time I get motivation from that to go down to the kit and play for as long as possible sometimes an hour or 2 sometimes 40 minutes.. Sometimes the 20 minutes on the pad is good and I have other stuff to do but Hey, atleast I did my 20 minute routine so I don't feel like I completely missed a day or 3 : )
 
Theoretically I would like to be able to play every day. . Butt it doesn't happen due to some of the reasons that you described above. A lot of my problems have to due with the fact that i work third shift. I normally get off work at 7AM and sleep until about 4PM. Buy the time I wake up and shower the rest of the people I live with are home and want to watch tv and such so out of respect for them i won't play even though they say it's okay to play. I find it much more enjoyable to have a little distance in between playing sessions.
 
This is really a thread about life and what choices we drummers make (or have made) that fill our schedules with everything that ISN'T drums.

If I could, I'd play every day, all day, and tour, and record, and write some more, and just keep the cycle of having professional playing make world go round. Unfortunately, circumstances...like most of us ended up being different from what our dreams held.

Life continues to roll on and we have to keep living. Just getting one day a week to put two hours on my drums is all I get nowadays. Almost the perpetual opposite of the dream. If I was going to get daily time on the kit, something(s) would have to be sacrificed...kids, dinner, other activities, etc.

I think a lot of durmmers (in bands) still hold on to the dream of quit your job and get to "do this" full time. I know I do....but the truth really is, I'm just like the OP, some time to commit to playing daily would mean less distractions and therefore some kind of playing-satisfaction.

Just a rant.
 
I had a similar thing on DW a few months back. I really didn't feel like playing and with the pressure of being in a band i just felt like giving up. You see and hear all the amazing musicianship of the people on records and at big shows and you just think "are these people even human?" and it does make you feel pretty inadequate. But i've pretty much realized that i don't need to be really great on the drums and i'd rather just be not very good but really enjoy it then have all the fun forced out of it by regimented regimes and excersizes of practice for hours every day.

What it comes down to though is where you want to be with drumming, do you want to be really great drummer and be in a really great band and do recordings and everything? Or is it just a hobby that you enjoy doing? If it's the former, i reccomend you find the best time of day to do the practicing and keep it on schedule. I find this is very useful. I think it's also a good idea to not do it every day, but take a day off every week so you don't feel under as much pressure. Just make sure it's the same day off so that every day doesn't become a day off lolz. Also if you feel like you can't take any more then also take a day off or 2, just to get your head clear. Don't worry too much about holidays but maybe take a practice pad to keep you going whilst you're there.

Otherwise feel free to disregard this advice, i'm not a pro drummer or anything, just saying what i think might help. I know it's not a good idea. Sorry. I feel very silly now.
 
There is an old saying that goes something like "tell me what you spend your time doing, and I'll tell you what matters to you."

The stuff that you are talking about distracting you from drumming isn't the normal, unavoidable stuff, like how some guys have to work 40 hours a week, spend time with their kids, etc. It's stuff like the computer, or talking to friends. Stuff that you put before drumming, that you choose to do over drumming. You just have to decide how important being a good drummer is to you. If it's very important, you spend less time with that stuff. I can't tell you how many friends I lost to pursue my music career, not by being a jerk, but simply by neglecting them all the time to go practice or play shows. It's a tough choice, but one that, if you are very serious about your music, you will make. There's no real "trick" to it, because again, it's not a balancing act of the stuff you have to do...it's simply making the choice to play, and sticking to it, even if it means not talking to your friends that day, or whatever. Turn the phone off, turn the computer off, and go play. Or, decide that you are just a casual drummer, accept it, and don't beat yourself up for not practicing, because it doesn't matter that much to you.
 
You are beating yourself up. It sounds like your approach is: "I will practice 2 hours.....or I just won't practice". Start by lowering the bar of the time you expect yourself to practice. Start with 15 MINUTES, Dude! Ease into the session and it will NATURALLY get to the 30 min, 60 min, or even 120 minutes you think you need because you love it! Are you in a band? Does the band rehearse?

I love to practice myself but.........reality is that I have a full time career, travel every week 2 (maybe 3) days (I take my sticks!!!) and my band rehearses 2 times per week and we gig. When I get home weekday evenings I practice for 20 to 30 minutes. It sounds like you may be young.......age 22 or less?? Others that distract you WILL NOT be paying your bills in the future and probably will not be in your band.

You decide. I believe you can do it.
 
get a pair of hansen futz practice pedals and work on your feet while your @ your comp.. and have a few practice pads around the house (work on chops while watching tv or whatever) and doing it that way .. you'll be breaking up your practice and possibly even playing more (overall time) than forcing yourself to play 2+ hours straight. 5-10 minutes here and there adds up. sitting @ a computer for an hour and having your feet going the whole time is a lot, watching a movie and working through stick control on a practice pad the whole time also adds up
 
Everyone goes through something like that from time to time. Here's what i'd recommend you to do:

1 - Stop putting pressure on yourself to play everyday. You're starting to make yourself not enjoy it.

2 - In fact, take a break from playing completely for a couple of days and come back to it fresh.

3 - Stop calling it 'practicing' (which can sound like a chore) and start calling it 'doing something totally cool that I love'. That'll help you look forward to it. Seriously, this helps.

4 - Try to give yourself something enjoyable to learn. If you do have to knuckledown and master that list of rudiments, play them along to some great tunes! When you sit at the kit...smile!

5 - Try to practice in a room WITHOUT distractions. NO phone, NO computer, NO tv, etc. Or, just switch all of these things off.

6 - Start every session by playing something you really enjoy for 5 mins to get you into it.

7 - Set yourself small and achieveable goals like 'increase my single stroke roll by 20bmp'. If you set your goals too big like 'master all the rudiments in a month' you won't stand a chance, you'll put too much pressure on yourself, and you'll lose your motivation.

8 - To help keep you motivated, write your small goal down and put it where you can see it from your kit. Image how disapointed you'll feel in yourself if you don't put in the effort to achieve it. Then, image how great you'll feel when you put in some effort and make it happen!

That's all i can think of right now, hope they help you out!
 
There's some really good motivational replies throughout this thread. Following the sound advice like, limit your expectations to more reasonable and achieveable goals, will do wonders. As will picking one or two specific tasks that you'd like to get down and concentrating on them as opposed to randomly sitting at the kit just plugging away at anything and everything.

However, I must admit that when I read your OP, I did think that the "distractions" you talk about are easily avoided. I think Chattr has said it well in the post I've highlighted below.

The stuff that you are talking about distracting you from drumming isn't the normal, unavoidable stuff, like how some guys have to work 40 hours a week, spend time with their kids, etc. It's stuff like the computer, or talking to friends. Stuff that you put before drumming, that you choose to do over drumming. You just have to decide how important being a good drummer is to you.

You are not talking about your job, your family, your mortgage or other 'life' commitments getting in the way here mate. You're basically saying you'd rather spend time on the computer or talking or just generally hanging out, than practising your drums. Now there's nothing wrong with that at all, but there has to be a trade off somewhere. You're not magically gonna improve your drumming by playing video games or any other thing that keeps your off the kit or practice pad. Pure and simple.

You indeed do need to figure out what's more important to you. I've always been of the mindset that "if you really want to, you'll find a way". Allocate however long you wish to practice for and turn everything and everyone else off for that time period.

Good luck man.
 
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my motivation is the guarantee that if i work as hard as i can then i will be the best that i can be at it, if you want to be the best but don't show it your just fooling your self.

wanting to just have fun is ok to which wouldn't call for as much, but the fact your
concerned about your lack of practice im guessing you want to be the best you
can be.
 
Thank you all for the advice (especially Total-Drums for your check list)! This is a very helpful community.

I think the best thing to do would be to slow down and start at 15 minutes, then increase that by 15 more each day. Is that good or should it be less or more than that? My main goal is to slowly edge myself into making a HABIT out of playing right when I get home
 
I think the best thing to do would be to slow down and start at 15 minutes, then increase that by 15 more each day. Is that good or should it be less or more than that? My main goal is to slowly edge myself into making a HABIT out of playing right when I get home

Whether it be 15 mins or 5 hours......just make sure that whatever time you allocate to practising, you actually spend practising. Get rid of the distractions and follow your lesson plan (whatever you decide that to be).

From what I could tell, it's not your practice duration that is an issue....it's allowing distractions to creep in.
 
Thank you all for the advice (especially Total-Drums for your check list)! This is a very helpful community.

I think the best thing to do would be to slow down and start at 15 minutes, then increase that by 15 more each day. Is that good or should it be less or more than that? My main goal is to slowly edge myself into making a HABIT out of playing right when I get home

A few suggestions: First of all, when you are trying to acquire a new habbit, you can't expect to keep increasing every single day. Start with a set amount of time for a week, then increase the next week, etc. Each day will be too quick of a ramping up, and make you more likely to fail.

Secondly, I recommend that you start at a half hour, even if you only increase by incriments of 15 minutes. There is a pretty standard "rule" that even the youngest student needs to practice 30 minutes a day to get anywhere...something about how our muscle memory works.

Thirdly, and most importantly, good luck with all of this!
 
Personally I think there's either an underlying wish to or there isn't to a degree, to me I could sit and play drums hour after hour and "having to go to work" is something that is a complete inconvenience because it interrupts when I could be practicing,
I get really pee'd off sometimes if I know the wifes says she's going out for 2 hrs and then comes back early because I'd sat and thought wippee 2 hrs to practice and some "my time" and then she's back in an hour later and comes and starts talking to me which could be a welcome distraction but instead almost becomes a nuisance not because I don't want to talk to her but it's taking away from precious practice time.
If it feels like hard work and you'd rather be doing other things then it sounds as though you're not that interested and it's not a desire but you feel you should be practicing and it's guilt for whatever reason rather than the want to do it driving you.
Why not give it a break for a while and see if you go back to it because you want to, I had a 20 year break, then started playing for 10 / 20 mins a day for 4 years and now do a minimum 1 to 2 hrs a day but wish I had time to do more.
Have a look at what you're practicing as well, I know on a daily basis I'm improving and learning to apply the things I'm practicing into my everyday playing and I think that's one of the things that's giving me the greatest motivation at the moment.
 
I thought post 12 summed it up really well.

I tend to get sidetracked by online computer games as well. What I have done is set my practice pad up next to my computer with sticks within reach, and a music stand with the exercises I am working on.. This often is enough to get me off the game and onto the pad. I can also watch youtube videos and movies while working on my drills. The timer on the vids comes in handy as well!
 
It's extremely difficult to get your full practice in everyday on the kit. I do practice rudiments and syncopation everyday on the pad though. The little things help more than you think.
 
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