Faster Still!!!

When a young drummer asks about the best way to develop speed, the usual answer is “practice slowly”. And no, that's not an oxymoron. Your ability to play fast is 100% determined by the amount of control you have over your limbs. And the best way to develop control is through … wait for it … slow, regular, mindful practice.

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Slow practice gives your brain time to attend to everything that’s going on with your limbs. On top of that, you can't always hear what you're playing if it goes by too quickly. Your attention is not compromised because you're not pouring all your effort into your muscles. Your limbs are constantly giving you feedback, and slow practice gives you time to focus on every movement and every note.

Yes, all true! However, this plan totally misses a very important component of playing fast. You see, you get better at what you practice, but, if you only practice slowly, then you haven't actually worked on playing fast. You need to practice at faster and faster tempos, which is much easier once you've developed sufficient control over you limbs, muscles, and thinking.

“Speed is the result of great technique” - Heidi Joubert

Slow practice has other benefits. You'll notice an improvement in articulation in addition to speed. You also are getting practice at maintaining a slow tempo.

Also keep in mind that you can't play faster than your slowest limb. Usually this is your non-natural side. So sticking exercises would be limited by your weaker hand whereas a four-way exercise might be limited by the hi-hat foot. No surprise there. So listen to your limbs giving you guidance.

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G.L Stone on Control and Speed 

“Progressive Steps Towards Stick Control”
1. Precision - gained through slow motion study and practice.
2. Endurance - though endless repetition of figures at normal tempos.
3. Speed - and even this practiced below capacity, and not until warmed up.

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So the long-range plan is to increase the tempo as you gain control. Play the exercise slowly to gain control and as you feel more comfortable, move the metronome up a notch or two.

For a simple program for speed development, have a look at my speed practice program: http://drumyoda.blogspot.com/2013/02/faster-faster.html