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Find your weaknesses. Different drummers develop different strengths and weaknesses over time. Target these weaknesses and devote most of your practice time to improving them. Overcoming your weaknesses will greatly expand and improve the realm of your drumming. Below are some suggestions for improving typical weaknesses. For improving hand speed and accuracy: 1. The Stone "Killer" RRRRLLLL
RRRRRRRRLLLLLLLL
RRRRRRRRRRRRLLLLLLLLLLLL
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
Start this exercise slowly and then gradually build up speed. Then add accents on the first note in each four-note grouping. 2. The Six-stroke Roll Pyramid RLLRRL RLLRRL
RLL RLLRRL RLL RLLRRL
RLL RLL RLLRRL RLL RLL RLLRRL
This exercise should be played evenly,with no pauses in between the notes. Accent the first and last note in each six-note grouping,and accent the first note in each three-note grouping. Repeat. 3. A few groupings excerpted from The Drummer's Bible a) RLRRLRLL (single paradiddle) Repeat these exercises. For improving foot speed and precision: (mainly double bass) 4. Repeat exercise 1 with your feet instead of your hands. 5. The Six-stroke Roll Pyramid (double bass version) RLLRRL RLLRRL
RLR LRRLLR LRL RLLRRL
RLR LRL RLLRRL RLR LRL RLLRRL
This exercise should be played evenly, with no pauses in between notes. Accent the first note in each six-note grouping,and accent every note in each three-note grouping. 6. The Paradiddle Pyramid (double bass version) RLRR LRLL
RL RLRR LR LRLL
RL RL RLRR LR LR LRLL
This exercise should be played evenly. Accent the first note in each four-note grouping,and accent every note in each two-note grouping. Enjoy these exercises, be creative in moving the hand exercises around the drum set, and never stop drumming! HAVE FUN! me, myself, and drums
I have been working one this technique for strenghten my weak hand + it has given me delicate chops to!!.. I call it; "a single hand paradiddle with accent´s". Start slowly and build up the speed. Hold your maximum for 40 sec. and then go slowly down again (note: don´t make hypertension in your wrist and forearm!!). Take at break and then do it again: This is how it´s written out: < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L x 10 or; H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H x 10 It´s has been a GREEEEAT exicise for me, so I do hope it can help you to:-) Enjoy, fellow drummers.. Michael E.
Work hard, never give up on something you are working on, it is really important to keep working on things you have trouble with other than practicing things you already know how to do... Good luck! Travis
After playing the drums for 30 years (20 in bars), I decided it was time to find a good teacher. Some of these tricks and excercises I could've never learned on my own, and they have made an incredible differance in my playing!
r R l r R l r R l r R l r R l r R l r R l r R l r R l l L r l L r l L r l L r l L r ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ * * * * * * * * * * * * * * r R l r R l r R l r R l r R l r R l r R l l L r l L r l L r l L r l L r l L r ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ * * * * * * * * * * * * * r R l r R l r R l r R l r R l r R l r R l l L r l L r l L r l L r l L r l L r
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
r r R l r r R l r r R l r r R l l l L r l l L r l l L r l l L r
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
* * * * * * * *
r r R l r r R l r r R l r r R l l l L r l l L r l l L r l l L r
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
* * * * * * * *
r l r l r l r l r r l l r r l l r l r r l r l l r r r r l l l l l r l r l r l r l l r r l l r r l r l l r l r r l l l l r r r r gernal brace
I have found that the best way to become a better drummer is to practice the simple rudiments repetively until you don't have to think about what your doing. It's also important to streatch yourself past your playing capibilities and try new stuff, especially when playing live. Clear your thoughts an just get into the groove. Dont feel like you have to play the same thing night after night just rock out and you will be suprised at the things that unconsiously come out of your rhythms. Bill Kettering
My practice is based on two books : Dante agostini Vol2 and the cecarreli method I practice in that order : Stick control + gammes (1 hour) very slowly Cecarrelly method (for basic and advanced patterns, hihat work) (1 hour) My own pattern and/or song patterns (all the time left !) lucass
ghost notes help keep steady time. especially for straight ahead rock drumming. it's the notes in between that matter the most! Anon
The first thing I do at the kit is play follow the leader. Whatever I do with the right hand I follow with the left. I do this slowly at first to warm up and then speed it up. This helps me move around the kit better and become more familiarized with what each hand can do best. I then mix it up to get a good beat going. This helps both hands to move around freely and hit the heads and cymbals perfectly. This works good my 11 piece kit (including cymbals) but for you guys and gals with more than that it could be difficult since you have a broader spread. Jeff Pieper
Grip&Speed&Power: This might sound weird, but it helped me a lot: Practise with bottles! Grab bottles that are thinner at the top (glass, not plastic, grin). Hold them like you would use them to hammer a nail. Let your hands hang down loose, about 45 degrees to your forearms, palm down. Hold the bottles so they build a 90° angle. Don´t bend your wrists up and down!. Try to move the bottoms of the bottles as far out to the left or right as you can with each stroke, by only using a twist of your forearm. Relax thumb and forefinger, and rather hold the bottles with your backfingers. Besides of training your muscles this way you naturally learn a grip you need for Moeller technique, which is positioning the fulcrum to the back fingers instead of thump and forefinger, while the stick kinda freely slides up and down between loose thumb and stretched forefinger ("little finger hold"). Play with bottles on pillows (BOP)! Have fun on your way to Carnegie Hall! Ruthard
For "real" indepenance" practice feet separate! I made myself a list of at least 25 different basic patterns for bassdrum and hihat, gave them names (such as Samba, Country, Rock, Tumpao, Bajai, Left Foot Clave, Doublebass etc.) I practise all those patterns "feet only": one after each other, 4 bars each, just like the Rudimental Ritual by Alan Dawson: I call it my "Personal Feet Ritual". I practise it over and over again without using the hands!. If you want this exercise, as PDF, pass me a line. Meanwhile I can play the "Rudimental Ritual" over each of those patterns, or do anything with my hands, e.g eat a cheesburger, or play anything gradually opened and closed while the feet keep consistant time.. Im prety aware that this is not "music". It is just "Training". Ruthard
Don't forget to stretch out and warm-up before practicing or playing a gig. There's always time for conditioning your hands and your body in order not to strain them. Monfreex
A great thing to do while you practice is to position a mirror to the side of you so that you can make sure you have the right technique all the time. It's also just fun to watch yourself! Jordan
i find the best practice tecnique is to sit down, dont think about it just sit down and start to play. the only down side is that you dont get the experience of the 26 american rudiments, wich are very important to your style and your tecnique. you should have them down before you just sit and play. andrew keele
If you are reading this then i can guarantee that you are sitting at some sort of computer. Also, me bein sherlock n all, know that you probably have a qwerty keyboard infront of you. well this is a great way of building independance between all four limbs: whilst you're typing something, play rudiments with your feet; anyhing from "l,r,l,r..." to paradiddles. mix it up and make it complicating. since you use eight fingers and a thumb to type this will excersice, and probably irritate, your brain into a precise drumming machine. Life has a rhythm of its own, listen... Simon Haines
I have found that practicing a variety of concepts and skills keeps my practice routine fresh. Examples of areas to work on in a typical week: Independence excercises (to a metronome and or a drum machine program or CD)., reading skills ( Such as working out of the New Breed Book), playing to charts (Such as Dave Weckl's charts and play along CD's., Rudimental work , and applying the Sticking patterns in Stick Control to the drumset (also using an ostinato foot pattern such as a Baion pattern to the stick control book, Work on Fat back patterns, jazz patterns and some serious time spent with Dave Garibaldi's "Future Sounds".The variety of the challeges presented will give me material to work on for years to come. I also reccommend that you record yourself. You will be amazed at how your drumming has improved over time. It will motivate you to keep on shedding. I also would not be at the point where I am now without the help of a fantastic teacher. A knowledgable instructor is the best way for me to stay motivated and to open my eyes to so many possibilities out there. My instructor's name is Fran Merante and you should definitely check out his website at www.cidrumming.com. I hope that it will provide everyone with some insight. Mark B.
You must remember that everything doesnt have to be super fast and complicated; drums often sound excellent in a song when kept simple. Try practicing just quarters on the snare, slowly "fluffing" it; adding sixteenths on the hats, halves on the kick; etc. Also, practice your coordinated independance (that is; working all limbs seperatly, but still together), as that is crucial to playing this great instrument. The great cheese lord
Play with people who are better than you and you will find yourself improving a lot quicker....oh yeah and learn the gladstone method in order to play super fast and remain relaxed.... danny
I've been playing since the age of 4. I've been fortunate enough to have had many different private instructors. I've played in so many different situations, there are too many to count....from Drum Corps, to Symphonic, to Ethnic, to Swiss Basil Drumming, to Jazz, to Death Metal(not one of my favs). As far as practicing tips on a drum kit is concerned...I've found that a VIDEO CAMERA is one of the best ways to SEE what you're doin wrong. Posture is so important in drumming. Plus you get to see what cymbals, drums, toys, noise makers you have connected to your kit you're having the most trouble with. Usually in the aspect of just being able to REACH it with ease. It makes no sense to have your equipment so far out that you have to stretch to reach it. Think about it....you're sittin on a stool that is in one position. The only direction you can move your body fluently is in a circular pattern from left to right, or vice versa(for you lefties). So go with it. Sittin on your stool...with sticks in hand, reach your arms out straight in front of you, sticks pointing straight ahead. Rotate from left to right passing over your kit. Take notice of what instruments do and do NOT pass UNDER your sticks. You should never have to fully extend your arm to reach something. The circular pattern is the natural movement of your body behind the kit, so...as I said before video tape yourself...preferably from the side. If you don't have one....borrow one for an evening or you can even rent them for next to nothing these days. You'd be amazed at what you'll see. For me...one thing that i did notice, is that i could stand to lose a couple pounds! One more tip that I could throw out to ya....as far as a 'practice tip'...have a good attitude towards it. If you go in thinking:"man...I can't get the groove to work"....or.."I saw this one guy play the other day...and man, I suck!", you're setting yourself up for failure. Take your time....start things slow...and work up to speed. And one more thing...USE A METRONOME AT ALL COSTS! You should not be caught with out it. You'll be glad you did when you're getting hired to cut some drum tracks for someone and are comfortable to playing with a 'click' in your ear. don't be afraid of the click. Be ONE with the click. Basically...if you can't hear the click while you're playing....you're right on it! If you can hear it....then you're not on it. I have tons of other practice tips to share...but....my fingers hurt from typing. Please email me if anybody has a question. I hope that I've helped someone out! Okey Parsons
Warm Up this is what I usually do before I practice. If you can count to eight, you can do this exercise. l = left hand r = right hand. Single Stroke - Start Slow on Snare lr Repeat this exercise using the Kit, play each line on a different drum with both hands Then each drum with each hand. Using the above technique, try doubles, triplets Now finish up with a single stroke roll. ** Repeat the above with your bass drums or bass drum and high hat Practice the Kit practice riding with your weak hand on the high hat or tom. Use your "power hand" to explore the set Then play normally and try to incorporate what youve previously learned. Have fun steve
My practice tip, is geared for the individual who has a limited time span to practice and wants to get the most out of that time.
I have other tips, if you would like, I would be happy to share Tom Brice
Just practice all day and all night and may in a couple of decades you'll be half as good as me. Lars Ulrich
Turn on your favorite song, listen to it and focus deep until you can hear the drum beat. Listen to the boom...boom of the bass drum and the bang..bang of the snare then once you've heard the song once or twice, as long as it takes, picture yourself sitting on the throne of a 8-piece drum set or if you have one sit on the throne and picture a crowd and the music start to pick up, get ready then as soon as the drum starts play with it. This might take a couple of tries to get it right infact I know it will. Or the other tip I can give,I don't want you to give away too much of my magic,is to tap on your legs or the steering wheel just don't get carried away and hit so hard that it makes the horn beep. But you get what I mean like just start hitting the table or something as if it's a drum you know what works really well,Your friends head!HeeHee Thats all I'm gonna give yah,Remember that you've just been taught by the best in the buisness....Peace out!!! B-RAD the drummer BARRY
I Find the best way to practice is to be creative and learn through books. Im 17 and have many many books and learn from each. Have lessons and youll be laughin'. Rudiments are great to practice and i've found my hands move in different places much quicker. Learn to control your hands and dont get too ahead of yourself. Ryan from Australia
Double strokes or long rolls. i will teach you how to do a clean long roll. First grip you stick tight, not to tight that you're choking the stick. do the double stroke for a hour or two, then your ready for the bounce. now let the stick more room to bounce in. hit the snare or pad, it works better on your bed or pillow, like i said, hit the stick on you pad, you'll notice the bounce, but when that bounce comes up, close your hand. And if it sound like a double, you got. All you got to do now is practice doing it. unknown
The trouble with metronomes is they don't teach "feel." Drummers like Gadd, Billy Higgins, Roy Haynes, etc., were able to sound great with different musicians because they could adapt to the feel of each artist they played for. Better than practicing rudiments on a pad with a metronone is to turn on your radio or favorite CD and practice your singles, doubles, etc., to any song that comes up. You'll be practicing rudiments, but with various tempos, and more importantly, various feels. Subdivide your patterns to fit the tune. Learning metronomic time is no gaurantee you'll groove. You have to play sympathetically to the tune and the musicians you're playing with. Also, solo with a song in your head, instead of trying to sound like a lawn mower! Bill S.
To strenghten your ear, play along to a record, playing one bar behind the drummer,playing excatly what they are. This may sound odd, but i have found it helps your focus, and if your like me, can't read music, it helps learn songs that you have to learn quickly for pick up gigs. dan menke
you can do each drill or example 20 times at a slow tempo at first. I suggest using a metronome, if 20 is too much then take 5 off. Eventually you can go a little faster and maybe add more times each. This is when you are comfortable with the excersises. Chris Lacaille
ahoy there! i'm 17 and i've been playing drums for 4 years and have played in a couple of bands. i consider myself a reasonably solid drummer, but not brilliant by any means. one thing that has come to my attention lately is a thing called "over playing" (refering to when you're playing with other musicians). yes, there is such a thing! as you gain more and more knowledge with your drumming you'll want to include more technique with your band etc. this is fine, be creative by all means, but don't over do it. record your band on a dodgey tape deck and listen to it back to yourself when you're alone. you'll quite possibly find there's a lot of little stuff that doesn't need to be there, often distorting cool guitar and bass licks, or some good vocals. hitting a crash 4000 times a bar, for example, is something i've been good at. it feels nice at the time, but doesn't sound good in hindsight. also, playing heaps of simple little fills the whole way through a verse/chorus/bridge etc. can sometimes take away from that huge fill you've devised at the end of it. so yeah, i believe just a little discipline behind the kit will make you sound more professional, and the music nicer to listen to. just a thought. thanks for listening to me ramble on. p.s. extreme metal and jazz fusion players can be exempted from this mostly, but sometimes even the most technical stuff needs breathing space.
above all with the stretching and warming up and counting, MAKE sure you play from your heart. If you aren't laying it like you mean it whats the point of playing at all? Randy J Morton of Endless Grind
Im sure many drummers out there do this. Im not big in reading music and following it, i just go with it, but to learn a new role find a drummer in a pro band that does it and put the cd on and drum to the song through headphones. Anthony
The sounds you here on stage, TV, or in studio are EQ's. Not tuning! adam [Ed: This is a great point; we should all remember it. I get SO MANY emails asking me how to get a particular sound that someone has heard on an album. The first thing I always say is, "You're not hearing the drums as they sound in the room, you're hearing the drums through EQs, Gates, Compressors, and other processing machines." So, don't get too frustrated if your kit doesn't sound like Vinney's. Go to Vinney's house and play his kit: you'll be VERY surprised how much it sounds like YOUR kit!]
First, form a band. There's nothing that fuels creativity better than having another one, two, or three minds working together on a song. Plus, your skills will increase dramatically over time. Second, LISTEN. Listen to your favorite bands or songs. Or even something that just happens to catch your ear on the radio. Listen to the drummer. He's usually not terribly busy. What makes the song stand out is a creative approach to a groove. Listen for silence. Adding silence where it's not expected is very powerful. In the event that you hear the drummer using a wild fill or insane beat imagine what it would look like. If at all possible go to a show and watch him/her playing. WATCH your favorite drummers. See how they do it. All of these tips are simple. Use them and you'll see vast improvement in your own drumming. Keefe Justice
When you read music (staff or tab) and you are thinking "I wonder how that sounds?" (especially when reading those 16th-note-fills that have some of the notes omitted), don't just play what you think is correct if your'e not shure about it. If you don't know someone who can show you, download the free demo-version of "FruityLoops" (http://www.fruityloops.com) which will make you able to hear exatly how that rhythm or fill should sound. Well, at least the time values, unless you also add the dynamics (which is a little more complicated than making the rythm). The first time you open it, you might want to find the "Realistic" drum kit, instead of the standard techno-drums. Listen and tap along! Erik
I always practice two things: One, focusing on my stick control. I always have 2 hours a day practicing Stone's Stick Control (I always practice pg. 1-5) for 1 hour and the remaining 1 hour for Drum Rudiments just to keep my hands in shape and top form. If you want, you can also do that to your feet. And two, the remaining hours of your day just playing the drum set. For example, my practice lists in playing the drumset are divided in many ways, like:
Any complaints, help, suggestions just mail me. Thanks. Kin Selda
When I was growing up,I played in rock & roll bands, but my favorite music way jazz. For some reason I thought It would be good practice to learn a bunch of other styles. I'd turn on the radio turning the dial all the way to the left and start playing every song no matter what type of music it was until I got all the way to the end of the dial on the right side. It was great for learning all sorts of styles. I would absolutely try and sound exactly like the drummer/s I was listening to. The tempo, the dynamics, everything. When I played jazz, I pictured myself on tour with a band. when I played a symphonic piece, I pictured myself playing snare drum in a 90 piece orchestra. Everything counted...and NOBODY I knew did this. This has been a great help my whole life as a drummer. People always say, " You have a great feel, and how come you can play all the styles?" Well now you know! Tony Presti
if you want to have a good foundation for drumming from either playing on a snare drum to rolling on high hats, then you must set your drum down and learn to play your rudiments on a pillow. this allows you to have complete control of what you are playing. Ofcourse, it sounds odd but i garantee once you have learnd to achieve to play on a pillow, you will have outstanding control. omar garcia
Alright, this tip is for all of you black metal double bass bastards out there. If you want to play with the speed of Nick Baker from cradle of filth/dimmu, you must stay relaxed and comfortable. Your pedal spring tension should be very tight and your foot board should be set at a higher elevation for more direct power.Your drum throne should be knee height. Also, your beater should be positioned 3.5 inches away from the bass drum with your feet resting on the pedals. Start your practice by doing slow single strokes heel up, playing uncomplicated hand patterns over it. Try not to tense your leg or thigh muscles. The weight of your foot should be the only factor making the stroke. For more power raise your legs higher when making the stroke. Gradually speed it up. when you are pleased with your speed, after a month or so of training everyday, break it up. 2 in the hand ,4 in the feet fill are good. Quick triplets and quads are also good to practice. still, you should practice everyday for at least 15 minutes. If you dont have a drumset, just practice heel up on a carpeted floor bare foot. Hope this helps. Tristan
As you said tomas, most drummer don't practice rudiments when they are behind the kit, and sadly,I'm part of that group. But I like to practice beats and fills mostly,I like to mess around with odd-timings, ethnical rythms and stuff like that. Since I play in a deathmetal band, I need to have fast fingers so as to play the blast beats, so this is where the rudiments come in. I said "I need this so I'll have to this", and so as to play rudiments with boring myself to death, I incorporate them in beats or fills, which, in itself is quite a challenge. So my tip is to invent your own way of practing by playing your exercises in any beat. You'll see how you open up your creative drumming. Andrew Mifsud
Ive been playin for a fairly short time but sound like ive been paying for the longest. Theirs no real secret to dumming you basically learn what you want to. my biggest tip to all the drummers today is not to tie your self down to just one style of drumming. as a drummer you dont want to limit yourself on what you could learn their is a whole world of drumming ot their that you could master. but dont just get out their and try to tackle it all at once, take a brath and give it time and eventually it will come to you(whatever your tying to learn). also dot get dicouraged by the negitive people around you. TAKE YOUR TIME, DO IT RIGHT, PLAY, AND HAVEFUN David (D-ray)
Get yourself a "bass-shaker". For those who don´t know what that is: It´s in fact a basspeaker without sound. All it does, after you mounted it to your drumseat, is creating those bassvibrations you need to feel the power of loud music in your stomache and your balls, even if you practise with headphones on an electronic set, or if you practise on pillows, using the sofa as a bassdrum. I could fill a book on what this thing does to to improve the creativity, and adds more fun to dry practising, cause it gives you a physical live-gig-feeling. So far this is only a "tip": Try it or forget it. Ruthard
don't be a drummer, be a percussionist.The reason why I say "percussionist" is because it has to end with -ist or its not a musical occupation (take guitarist,bassist,violinist,pianist, for example) In other words don't limit yourself to a standard kit (snare,tom,kick,cymbals). Expand your horizons. Pick up the djembe, the timbales, hand percussion, and other forms of tap percussion. The point is this: Be a percussionist. Be rhythmically omniscient Javi
HEY! this is a wonderfull tip-TRY IT! ok, first i found a website that gave a tip on wearing ankle weights, then i see a web site that totally bashes web sites... if your into double-bass or you just play really hard rock single-try this.get a pair of 3 pound ankle weights at a fitness store or somewhere. wear them ALL THE TIME! even at home or at school or walking around the house. that was the first step. step two is to "train" at home by running in place for about 20-25 minutes every night, this greatly builds up leg muscles. wearing them all the time makes your legs used to them and slowly over time you wont even notice them anymore. wearing them all the time will strengthen leg muscles, create a more powerfull punch when you kick the bass drum, and sometimes give you more control. it even made me faster. *remember to wear the weights at practices to-slowly get acustomed to wearing them everytime you play...i still to this day wear ankle weights ALL THE TIME. TRY IT! cory
to avoid boredom practice in short bursts log onto steve gadd web site or listen to music that inspires you keep things interesting david barker
All i have to say is... when i first started drumming, only a couple years ago.. i sucked.. and i sucked bad... I had no confidence had no clue what i was doing, and i thought that i would always, no matter what i did, i would continue to suck. When i hit high school... i didn't make drumline... well.. obviously... its because i sucked, but i then started talkin to some of the people on the drumline and they started working with me, they told me what i was doing wrong... and then at the end of my ninth grade year... i had improved so much.. i had landed a spot on our high school drumline, playing the snare ... i never thought it would happen.. and it did because: 1. No matter what you do, if you suck, if you are the best drummer ever... keep a good attitude... when you have a good attitude... and you are willing to learn and consume advise... you are automaticaly 10x better. 2. every chance you get practice.. i suggest practicing double beat... eight on a hand... some accent to tap patterns... I would suggest going to the vic firth web site and do all the exercises provided on that site. 3. When ever your down.. and are tired practicing.. all ways think of what you will be in the future if you keep practicing.. Gallagher
like many, others after playing for 21/2 years now, i had a weak side which was the lack of speed on my left hand. to improve this i came up with my own exersice which was to hit the toms starting with the right tom going towards my left, always starting with my left hand. i was surprised to to find out how slow i was. but after goin over and over this exersice for over two weeks i started seeing results and now i have almost as much speed in my left hand than in my right. israel trevino
Play along with your favorite cd songs and listen to what the drummer is playin. You can always learn something new from them. After you know how to play what they are doing, listen to the other instruments in the band and come up with your own rythms for it. The drummer may not be playing a rythm that goes well with the other music, he could just be playing a rythm (I've done it when I can't come up with something else). It helps you to make up your own rythms, fills, ect. Try listening to a double bass song even if you don't play double bass. I can't tell you how many times I've figured out how to play a song with double bass without using a double bass. Cd's are a great way to learn no matter how long you've been playing. I was playing for less than a year before I started playing with cd's, and in compettitions I get compliments for how I can keep a steady rythm on the hi-hat. I couldn't do that before I used cd's to practice. It works trust me. Anon
The best piece of advice I can give for any drummer, beginner or advanced, is to study latin and afro-cuban rythyms. The independance, dexterity and strength you will learn from these amazing beats and rythyms will help with any style of drumming that you prefer. I used to be a rock drummer, thats it, cuz thats all I knew. As soon as I began to learn these new patterns, my tastes not only changed, but "rock" drumming became alot more fun as I could now incorporate alot of the new chops I had learned from the latin and afro-cuban drumming styles. The polyrythmic beats that you will hear are so infectious, and so much fun to play, which is most important. I know that playing a basic 4/4 rock beat can get pretty boring after a while, and if you are wondering how to spice things up, then definatley check out these styles. Remember to practice these styles VERY slowly at first and with a metronome. They will sound ridiculously boring at first, but once you can rip into a samba at 120bpm, your face will light up like you just won the frickin lottery! Just a little of my two cents on who I think are great drummers to watch and listen to. Mike Portnoy of Dream Theatre is a tank behinde the kit. This guy is so musically talented not only with drums, but with music in general, you cant help but be mezmerized when you watch and hear himn play. I suggest to any and all drummers to go out and buy his double video set called "Mike Portnoy - Liquid Drum Theatre" You will get a "behinde the kit" view of all of his chops and styles as he plays through many songs from Dream Theatre and the Liquid Tension Experiment. Listen how he accents and copies the crazy rythms that Tony Levin plays on bass, or anything the other musicians are doing. After watching this I guarantee you will run to your kit and want to learn how the hell he did all of that. Also, check out Chad Sexton of 311. Not very "in your face" but he's a great example of how a good drummer with knowledge of latin and afro cuban grooves can make funk, rock and alternative music sound like stuff you never would have thought of. Music is Life, drop me a line if u wanna talk drums! Peace. Brandon Lazenby
If you are a marching percussionist, here are some great warmups and sites to visit. Be sure to warmup each day before playing any pieces. 1. Eight On A Hand rrrrrrrr llllllll rrrrrrr lllllll rrrrr
lllll rrrr llll rrr lll rr ll r l Some helpful sites:
Good luck, and keep practicing! Mark! Time, Mark!
Play in a Band! I did and i improved no end!Plus it is great fun, and you improve everything.You come up with all these great ideas and relax! OriginalWadle
First, you want to do an exercise that will strengthen your wrist. Step1: palms always should always be directly away from you and make an ^(forming a upside-down V) with your stick. Step 2: hold arms above your head but do not lock your elbows. Step 3: look up. Step 4: move wrists up in down like you where going to drum on the ceiling. This will strengthen up your wrists and improve your speed.--drummers rule nate
1. 30 minutes warm-up: A. stick control a. single strokes B. Bass drum control a. single strokes: eights, quarters,
sixteens C. Hi-Hat control a. quarters 2. time-keeping a. playing along with metronome, all
tempos 3. concepts on independence 4. waterloo-tackling stuff that are hard to play mike dj
Make out a plan, a routine which you will follow every day. Also, pick a technique which needs working on and stick at it for a while, 30mins maybe but no rules! build up the speed with the metronome and it`ll soon become second nature to you.
One thing I always have problems is getting focus and concentrating in ONE EXERCICE only. I get sidetracked a lot and star playing things that are enjoyable and nice to hear in stead of the boring and lame melodies of the, Rudiments, Paradilles, Chops, Repetitions, Drills etc. So what I did is to actually plan my Practices day by day. For example: Monday only Double Pedals, many hours of everything that it has to do with Double Pedals, Rhythms, Drills, Independence, Speed etc. The next Day, all rudiments. Back to the bases, Same as Double Pedals, everything that it has to do with the basis of Rudiments, Speed, Cleaning the doubles and the Flams etc. Wednesday I will explore new rhythms and actually play Drums! Have fun and learn. Thursday I will do a lot of reading and practice my writing by actually writing my own exercises for the day. And so for and so on. Of course, I dedicate one or two days of the week to put everything together and practice a little of everything. Checking my progress with a metronome, by recording my chops and listening and also by the looseness, speed and the most important, how comfortable I am with the new exercises that I acquired. The only problem with this method is that some time you may need one thing more that others, then you should be able to recognize this and change your plan accordingly. Practice, practice, practice?.and ?Enjoy it! Good luck Julio Ledezma
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