ProTips for Drummers

Using Your Time Efficiently
Paying Attention

I've just finished some performances and teaching in Antigonish and Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. It's been great. One thing I talked with students about, especially at Saint Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, was how to practice. It's been my experience that this very important subject is not discussed enough between teacher and student. Students want to know about the methods used to most effiiciently use your time to become the best you can be.

Watch your body as it goes through the motions of learning a new groove, fill, or rhythm. Actually watch how your limbs interact, or fail to interact. By noting the interaction you can best see where you may be having problems with coordination. I've learned to appreciate the beautiful way the body works together to make the rhythms of drumming and music. Take your time to make sure that everything "lines up" correctly. Watch the way your right hand works with your right foot, etc. Take your time!

Train yourself to listen intently to what you are trying to create. Listen for the minute differences in note values that can make or break the groove. Don't let mistakes in note values slip by. If you listen to what you are playing there is a better chance for the rhythms to mesh smoothly, giving you the feeling you are looking for.

Murray Spivack and Richard Wilson, two of my teachers, always stressed the importance of listening to the sticks on the practice pad. Is the sound equal? Do both sticks make the same sound on the pad? This trained me to use this principle when I practiced and played drumset.

Feel what you are practicing. Is there tension in your body when you attempt a certain movement around the drums? Why is that there? Are your drums set up in a way to maximize a relaxed approach? (A relaxed approach does not have to mean a soft attack. You can be relaxed and really SLAM!) Take the time to really feel where there is tension, so you can then attack the problem efficiently, reducing tension and enabling a great feel! If you are learning a particualr groove, determine where the tension lies within the groove. Practice this part of the phrase slowly and methodically, until the tension melts away.

If you can do two of these three things while you practice, you are PAYING ATTENTION, the most important thing you can do.

Do you have any drumming and/or musical subject you'd like to know more about? Please write to me and I'll do my best to address your requests!