How To Practice Your Drums - Drum Lessons

To some drummers, the most boring aspect of drumming is practicing. The truth is though, every drummer (whether you are a beginner or not) needs to practice regularly. To get the most out of your time you will need to know how to practice drums effectively. If you spend a half hour practicing the drums, you want to make sure that you are getting the most from your practice time. So many times I see drummers who practice 2 – 3 times a week but improve so little. This is because they are not practicing effectively. With these tips, you will be able to maximize the speed, power and control from your drumsticks. This article is designed to show you how to practice drums more effectively and more efficiently! Remember to warm up before you start to practice!

**Before you dive into your “jam session” you need to realize that practicing and playing are two totally different things. Jamming to your favorite songs on your MP3 player is not practicing, although it will help you. Try to separate these two tasks by giving yourself time to practice and time to jam. When you do this you will immediately notice an improvement in your playing.

How To Warm Up On The Drums

StretchingPracticing the drums is a warm up right? Well this is not entirely true. Even before you practice it is good to warm up. When you play drums without any warm up, you are not playing to your full potential. Take an athlete for example; they always warm up before playing a game and practicing. When you have your practice session you want to use your full potential so you can improve on that. Most drummers will start a practice session, and by the end of it they will be only warmed up, not having improved much at all. So before each practice, take 10 – 15 min on a practice pad to warm up your wrists. Play basic rudiments, like the single stroke and double stroke roll.

Practice Pad Drum KitMake sure you practice the drums with a metronome! I cannot stress this enough. Playing with a metronome will keep you on time, and force you to keep up with the tempo. When people practice without a metronome, they tend to slow down when they get tired, practicing with a metronome will force you to keep up with things. This goes for when you are practicing on the practice pad and when you are practicing with your drum set. Another great use for the metronome is the ability to record your progress. In order to practice more effectively, start recording your progress by jotting down the tempo that you can play certain rudiments and beats at. This way you will know where you can always play a little faster each time.

Most drummers will practice on the drum set – which is not a bad thing at all. However, you need to also practice on the practice pad. The ratio of practice pad to drum set practice should be at least 50/50. This is very crucial for effective practicing. Most concepts on the drums start with wrist development and stick control. So make sure you are practicing your drum rudiments and stick control on a practice pad regularly.

To summarize all of this, make sure you start out by creating a practice schedule that you can follow easy. Try and separate jam time with practice time. Remember to warm up before each practice to get the maximum effort out of your practice sessions. Also, remember to practice on your practice pad as much as you do on the drum set. Practice regularly and practice often. These few steps will save you time and strain when you go to practice. You will find immediately that you are getting a lot more from your practice sessions then ever before!