There’s a lot to learn if you want to be a great drummer and you can’t be a great drummer if you don’t practice. Sometimes practicing things like rudiments and exercises can get a little boring, but it doesn’t have to be that way.
Take a look at this video that explains what I’m talking about
Go Home and Practice Drumming with the Metronome!
Here’s a typical scenario. Your teacher gave you the assignment to practice your 5 stroke rolls with a metronome. This is a great idea that your teacher had because he/she wants you to be able to play in time and wants you to develop a solid 5 stroke roll too.
You’re excited that you had a great lesson and you’re inspired to go home and practice with the metronome so that you can be the great drummer that you want to be. But, you get home; get out your practice pad; turn on the metronome and start to work on your 5 stroke rolls just like your teach asked you to, and you get bored. You put the sticks down; turn of the metronome and turn on the TV.
Why Not Try this Fun Way to Practice Your Drumming?
Here’s a great way to make your practicing less of a chore and not boring at all. Find some music on your iPod that has a steady beat and practice your 5 stroke rolls while listening to your favorite song instead of the metronome. You really are playing with a metronome because music is usually recorded with a click track which is a metronome.
You are playing along with your favorite band that is playing along with their metronome so you are also playing with the metronome. You can find a fast song if you want to practice something fast or a slow song if you want to practice slower.
Always Make Music
Playing with music is very important because playing with music is what playing drums is all about anyway. You will find that you will play more musically, develop the ability to play musical phrases, and learn how to groove.
Metronome practice is important, so I’m not saying to completely abandon it, but mix things up a bit when you practice. Play along with the metronome then find some music that you really enjoy that’s at an appropriate tempo for what you’re working on and play music with music.
Hello. I’d like to ask … How long do I have to keep my hands in motion when I practise rudiments??? 2)whenever I practise them I always feel pain on my biceps and back is it normal??
Thanks for your questions.
If I understand your first question you are asking about how long to continuously practice your rudiments. You should only practice for as long as you can comfortably play and only practice for as long as you can concentrate effectively. Practicing beyond your comfort level can result in pain which isn’t cool at all. and practicing without concentrating on what it is you are doing isn’t very productive. This, of course ties into your second question about pain in your back and biceps. It is normal that you might feel a bit of fatigue after a good practice, but you should never practice to the point where things start to hurt you. Pain in the biceps suggests to me that you are definitely too stiff and need to work to relax when you play. Play slower and make sure everything is as loose as possible. Same goes for your back. Tension from your hands will travel to your back and visa versa. Check your posture when you play to make sure you are not bent over or something and what ever you do you need to stop playing and shake out any stiffness when ever you feel pain. I advise stretching exercise, too. But, when you feel pain that’s your body trying to tell you that your playing too tense. Remember that speed comes from softness and not from trying to squeeze out more speed with tension.
Hope this helps!
I have been practicing some rudiments for a very long time now but am not still seeing the results
Hi Lawrence, and thanks for your comment/question.
Practicing rudiments or anything in music just takes time and we sometimes don’t see huge leaps in our progression, but instead the progression is gradual. You might not think you are getting better when you actually are.
I don’t know you or what your practice routine involves, but I have students who tell me that they have practiced, but the results say something else. When this happens I get them to write down what the practice and for how long in a ‘practice log’ so that they may discover that what they think is long practice time really isn’t all that much.
Its better to practice for a little while every day than to do really long sessions only a couple of times per week. Remember that “Consistency Beats Intensity”.
Here’s another tip: work only a few rudiments per week and only add another one when you really start to progress with the first ones.
Work in two ways; 1- Go from slow to fast to slow on each rudiment that you know, but don’t go any faster than you can go without feeling tension. and 2- work with a metronome and gradually increase the metronome speed. For instance, do all your rudiments today at 60bpm and then tomorrow bump the metronome to 62bpm. You will certainly start to see results if you set real and realistic goals.
Don’t expect to be a supper star over night. Take your time and work consistently.
Hope this helps.
Thanks for finally talking about >How to Practice Snare Drum
Rudiments without Getting Bored <Liked it!
The only joke here is my pseudonym. I would really like some feedback on my situation.
I attended my first adult ed musical ensemble class with my ukulele. I discovered the ensemble is intended to be a chamber orchestra. The instructor thought I might try a percussion part. I thought, “Why not?”
After a few hours on the web, I now know why not.
Now I ask, “Where do I start?” So far, I am thinking of buying a pair of sticks and possibly a cheap practice pad and Youtube videos of rudiments. I hope I can get into the band room perhaps 20 minutes earlier than anyone else to see what I can do with actual instruments, etc. at least until the instructor also realizes why not.
It might be fun.
What an interesting question. If you read music then you will be able to play the rhythms of your part even though you might not be able to play anything that’s too technical like a roll in a snare drum. If you don’t know how to read music then that would be be your biggest obstacle to overcome to play in a chamber ensemble.
When I think of chamber ensemble repertoire I imagine that you would be asked to play timpani for the most part but not knowing what the repertoire is I can’t elaborate.
Depending on the repertoire you may not have to have a lot of technical drumming chops to play something.
Have fun!