Dorset Percussion

practice makes perfect

Regular practice is the only way that you can improve as a drummer.

By practice we mean that you go over the techniques and pieces we have learnt in lessons, concentrate on the stuff you find hard and repeat it lots until you find it easier to do.

Often you will have to slow things down at first – don’t worry, everyone has to do this.

At each drum lesson you will be given work to practice.

We cannot do the work for you, it is up to you to work regularly by yourself at home.

Take a read of the guide below, hopefully it will give you some ideas as to how to practice.

when & how much?

• Starters & Grade One students should be doing 10 minutes a day.

• For each year you’ve been learning, add an extra 10 minutes to that.

• Personal practice is the only way you’ll improve as a musician .

• Practising every day for a short time is much more important than trying to cram your whole week’s work into one Sunday – your brain will learn more from doing a task every day rather than once a week.

• If you miss a day, then it won’t harm your playing but you might find that you have gone back progress wise when you next sit down to practice.

• Try and have a set time when you do your practice. For drums, it’s often good to work in the afternoon – most of your neighbours will still be out at work!

warm up first:

Practically everybody wants to skip the warm-up. But warming up helps you switch on your brain and co-ordination skills.

• Warm up using technical exercises like scales (on tuned perc) or rudiments (on drums).

• Once you have done your scales or rudiments, then start practising something easy first – again this helps switch on your brain

• Try and concentrate on how you control the instrument, breathing, posture, and grip and relax. Often when you are playing harder music, this is the type of thing that you will forget so if you start nice and relaxed for each practice session, your technique will improve.

playing

• When practicing a piece – work out which bits you find hard, and concentrate on those.

• Work out where the hard bits are for you

• Try and concentrate on the hard bits

• Try hearing the hard bits in your head first

• Slow them down – repeat short chunks of the music

• If after slowing something down, you still can’t play it, don’t get upset – it happens to everyone. Practice something else, and then try again in a few minutes or even tomorrow. If you still can’t get it, ask for help from your teacher.

repetition & muscle memory

Repetition of really hard sections helps a lot. You are basically training your brain and body to move in a certain way. David Beckham practices free kicks for hours each day. Some would say he’s already pretty good at free kicks! But he repeats the exercise over and over again to make his mind remember exactly what moves he have to perform to kick a perfect free kick. Beckham is trying to get to the stage where the kick is automatic, like breathing or walking – that way, when he gets nervous he won’t get too distracted and his mind can take over.

• Play individual bars with a metronome – slow things down – put in a loop (repeat lots) and concentrate on getting one pattern right at a time.

• Make sure you’re practicing the correct notes when you slow things down – otherwise you’ll be learning how to play the passage badly!

• Then play the whole section

Divide and Rule

If you have something really hard to play, simplify it first – take it apart, then build it back up

• On the kit play a ride, snare and bass groove with added left foot hi hats

• Take out hands – play just feet (hi hat and bass drum)

• Take out feet – play just hands

• Take out left foot

• Put it back all together. Again, try it slowly first, then build up

Using a metronome

Use a metronome when you practice

• Metronomes really do help you keep in time, especially when you slow sections down.

• If you haven’t got one yet, they are relatively cheap nowadays – go for one with a headphone jack so you can hear it above your playing.

balanced practice

Always try and keep your practice routine balanced. Ideally you should be doing:

• Warm Up with rudiments

• An easier piece

• A more challenging piece

• Some reading practice (pick a piece you don’t know and try and play it)

• Improvisation work – making up stuff

• Playing along to a recording
  

cool down

Cooling down after practice is just as important as warming up

• Try doing rudiments again or working on something easy

• A good method for kit is to play along to a song that you find straightforward
  

Practicing without a kit

• If you do not have a kit then you can use your lap, or practice by setting out some cushions/pillows and using these. If your school allows, you may also practice on the school kit – but you need to ask permission first and treat the kit as though it were your own. They cost a lot of money to repair or replace so please look after the school kits.

• Practice Pads are also very useful and very cheap as well.

• Also, once you get used to reading, you will be able to practice by just looking at a piece of music, and trying to hear it inside your head. This type of practice is just as important as actually physically hitting the drums. It’s also really useful when you’re traveling – just take your music with you and practice in the car, plane or train by reading the notes.

• We generally find that students who do have a kit at home learn a lot faster. So if you feel that you are progressing well, please start to think about getting a drum kit for home practice.

• If you have space or noise problems at home there are also several options that will help. Pads can be put on a normal kit to silence it (called “Sound-Off” Pads). An electronic kit is not only much smaller than a regular model, but can also be used with headphones. Whilst you can also get hold of special kits that are flat and can store away underneath a bed (Arbiter Flats or Traps Kits) or an entire practice kit with pads made of rubber that again is silent and can be folded away easily.