Fatherly Advice from a Well-seasoned Drummer

These are the ideas and habits that I’ve found give me the biggest bang for my practicing buck. I apply them regularly to maintain flexibility, limb awareness and independence ... and to try to stay in shape.

 “Practice is intelligent repetition” - John Beck

Keep Moving, Part 1
It takes a lot of practice to make a meaningful amount of progress. So build practicing into your daily schedule any way you can. Many drummers keep a practice pad handy and do sticking exercises while watching TV, for example. And remember that all movement is good.

Keep moving, Part 2
You should always be moving forward, moving on to new and more challenging material. Avoid dwelling on things you do well and are already comfortable with.

Play Drums
Practice pads, practice sets and electronic kits are great, but they are not drums. Practice on live drums whenever you can so you become familiar with the sounds, the feel, and the effort required.

Protect Your Ears
Our ears were not designed to handle the noise levels of modern life, let alone a set of drums in a small room. To avoid permanent hearing damage -- and worse -- limit your noise exposure to recommended levels. Also allow lots of time between noise-making sessions. Consider using hearing protection whenever you play.

Concentration Is Key
Research shows that purposeful focus is the key ingredient in mastering a skill, so it’s important to eliminate distractions. We can borrow this tip from Zen: Clear your mind; focus on one thing and one thing only.

Slow Down
Practice at the 'right' speed. You should be able to play an exercise correctly while being able to attend to every aspect. This usually means slow it down. It helps if you also slow down your mind.

Speed Up
The timeless advice -- to play fast you must practice slowly -- remains true. We can only play what we can control, and control is built though slow practice. But once you're comfortable at a certain speed, go ahead and raise the tempo. There are even things you should practice as fast as possible. But do keep working on that control.

Do Enough
Anything less than 8 bars won't deliver much. I find that a full minute is (for me) an excellent amount of time to maintain an intense focus. At walking speed, that comes out to about 32 bars of 4/4 time.

Keep it Simple
Complexity is created by combining simple things. Develop a good library of solid basic moves, which you can then combine in countless ways.

Use All Your Limbs
Old-time drummers liked to play four-to-the-bar on the bass drum, with the hi-hat always on 2 and 4. More modern styles call for different foot work. The result is often an unexploited hi-hat foot. Your practice routine should involve something for every voice.

Don't Use All Your Limbs
Trying to force your body to play new patterns with all four limbs can lead to all kinds of problems and bad habits on top of the inevitable frustration. It can be more productive to eliminate distractions caused by other limbs so you can focus on the core of the exercise.

Lend A Helping Hand
Sometimes adding a ‘helper’ to the mix can solve a problem. For example, adding the hi-hat foot on every beat might help with co-ordinating a tricky pattern.

Play Music, Not Exercises
Adopt a musical mind-set. Always ask “How will I use this? Where will it fit?” Play along to tracks to see how the material works with music ... or not.

It’s Not A Race, Nor A Competition
A good way to avoid this trap is to work toward expressing yourself on the drum set.

If It’s Not Useful, Why Spend Time On It
Almost true. While all practice is beneficial, spending a lot of time on something that has no future in your music is a poor investment. Better to spend that time on something you're more likely to use.

Take Care Of Your Body
Setting up your drums ergonomically will reduce the strains you'll be placing on your body. This will also make the set more playable and easier to get around. Proper technique will make playing easier while reducing the chance of injury.

Keep An Open Mind
Study great drummers and you'll be exposed to a lot of great music and a lot of great musicians. You never know where inspiration, skills and ideas will come from.

Stop, Look And Listen
To your playing, your equipment, your music, your body -- they're all trying to tell you things.

Practice With A Metronome
The metronome is for focused practice, not background ambience. When practicing with a metronome, concentrate on the clicks, and the best way to do that is to get away from the drums. I recommend using the metronome when working on a practice pad.

Work Toward Playing Like You
The players we most admire are the ones who play like themselves. These artists use their instruments to express their own voice rather than parroting someone else's.

There Is No One True Way
There are no magic bullets, no secret techniques. Progress has always come through regular, concentrated practice and study, and understanding your goals.

Have Fun
Any fitness guru will tell you that it's easier to stick to a workout schedule if you enjoy it. Same with everything: You simply keep at it and learn better if it's something you enjoy.