ErickC wrote: Fri Jan 21, 2022 11:20 pm I have tried so hard to do rudiments so many times but I get so, so bored.

Same for me. I've improved my left hand speed a bit by doing double stroke exercises but that's about it.

I do want to learn and improve but I'm not sure marching band exercises are for me.

I totally agree. Being told to woodshed a rudiment book or watching an hour of a guy tapping on a practice pad is more than just boring. It’s uninspiring and without any sort of instruction on where this is going or how to apply it, it’s bad teaching.

penningtron wrote: Sat Jan 22, 2022 6:53 am

ErickC wrote: Fri Jan 21, 2022 11:20 pm I have tried so hard to do rudiments so many times but I get so, so bored.

Same for me. I've improved my left hand speed a bit by doing double stroke exercises but that's about it.

I do want to learn and improve but I'm not sure marching band exercises are for me.

Count me in on this. I aspire to incorporate subtlety, control, and stamina, but honestly can't be arsed. Been playing since I was a kid, and all of my bad habits are cemented so I make them work for me - or at least that's what I tell myself. Honestly, I need the dynamism of a group of players to keep me interested. I'm not a drummer's drummer and usually feel awkward and embarrassed around intense drummers (looking at you four o' clocker - tone it down a notch).

I learned all the rudiments when I was 10, and could still rattle them off at light speed despite not having played in a couple years. Muscle memory from when you're a kid is a hell of a thing. But eeeehhhhh, so so boring. And I dunno how much practical application there is for a lot of rudiments, I never found myself playing drag ratamacues on the kit, although certainly the flam is a very useful thing.

I'd say just play along to stuff that's different from what you normally play. Put on a dub record. Or a Police record, Stewart's fills get even weirder when you try to play them yourself. Put on a van halen record and try and groove as hard as Al does. Back in Black, same thing.

I relate to much of the above, i.e. the rudiments debacle. I am an enthusiastic fan of the book "A Funky Primer". It brings me back to when you're first starting out trying to play quarter notes on the hat with a couple eighths on the kick or snare and it melts your brain. You read these relatively simple beats and realize you don't habitually task your four limbs in that particular way.

Some of the book's beats are directly applicable to rock music, others just unlock some other form of independence that you didn't know you were missing that might free up creativity while trying to come up with the perfect part.

If I were still officially drumming for a band I'd dust that thing off this weekend.

MoreSpaceEcho wrote: Sat Jan 22, 2022 9:28 am Stewart's fills get even weirder when you try to play them yourself.

Someday I will learn 'Roxanne', I have the sheet music for it, but it's not easy!

losthighway wrote: Sat Jan 22, 2022 10:05 am It brings me back to when you're first starting out trying to play quarter notes on the hat with a couple eighths on the kick or snare and it melts your brain.

OMG yes. Should be easy! Isn't!

Likewise the first time I tried to play a reggae beat with the kick on 2+4. Completely backwards. Very easy once you get the hang of it, but at first it was tough.

Thanks, FMBD. It does remind me that my own focus is worst when I first start something, but often if I stick with it, it will become increasingly mentally engaging, sometimes obsessively so. “Getting over the hump” so to speak. I alluded to this in the “Problems getting going” thread.

Even so, going back to banging out exercises on a practice pad isn’t itself inspiring to me, unless there were some kind of practical application.

Cool topic. I'm really enjoying reading the different approaches people have to practice. I've always been somewhat studious when learning instruments as it was the way I was taught from a young age. I'm stating the obvious but it depends on the music you'd like to play. I don't really see the point of relentlessly working on the pad every day if you aspire to play music that doesn't require a high degree of technical chops. Rudiments in particular have a way of taking the joy out of playing, although their study is essential for some styles.

My approach is to use the pad a lot but I have specific things I want to achieve in my playing.

Dom Famularo's Weaker Side book is a year-long daily exercise book that focuses on strengthening your weaker hand or foot. It's laborious and tiring but I'm 6 months in and it does get results. It takes dedication though.

Jim Chapin's Advanced Techniques book is very jazz-centric but is wonderful for developing limb independence and speed. It's also very musical and later editions even come with cds to allow you to play the exercises along with a bass player.

Joe Morello's Stone Killer exercise from his Master Studies book is something I'd recommend to every drummer to do every day. It only takes about 10 mins depending on tempo and is totally simple. It's easy to find online.

A little follow up here: I printed out the 40 rudiments from the Vic Firth site and have been going through with a metronome at getting baseline tempos. The speeds vary wildly based on my familiarity with the exercise, whether it’s starting with my dominant hand, and how I’m subdividing it on the metronome.

Been shooting for tempos where I play it clean and can repeat a dozen times or so without fucking it up. With rolls I don’t go faster that the bounces can articulate.

Some of this shit is embarrassingly slow, but at least I know what to work on. If I’m going on pure speed, I will always lose, so tempo itself isn’t a success mark of mine.