practice tips
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Hiding in Plain Sight - Musically Applying Odd Rhythms
Unless you’re playing in a technical prog-metal band, you may find it difficult to apply odd rhythmic ideas to songs without getting deathly glares from your bandmates. Although I wouldn’t suggest that you start cramming polyrhythms and septuplets into pop…
Three Birds With One Stone - Optimize Your Practice Time
Time is tight for many of us. If we had unlimited time to shed, we’d probably spend hours behind the kit. But the reality is that life’s twists and turns can keep us busy. Therefore, I try to practice things…
The Circuit - An Ambidextrous Routine for Ultimate Control
This month we’ll check out a challenging coordination study. The goal of this routine is to become comfortable playing any pattern leading with either side of the body. TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE TO ACCESS LOG IN
Rhythmic Conversions - Part 5: Brazilian Grooves and the Half-Note Triplet
In this lesson we’ll superimpose a new tempo over an existing pulse using a half-note-triplet subdivision. We’ll then manipulate the subdivision to create Brazilian grooves in the new tempo. I recommend that you practice these patterns with a metronome and…
1,000 Ways to Practice a Single Page - Part 5: Challenging Rudimental Approaches
The longer I play the drums, the more I appreciate and value the time I can spend on only a snare or pad. Let’s dive into a few concepts to improve our overall technique. Here’s the rhythm we’ll be interpreting…
Swing Interpretations - Modern Groove Applications
There's an interesting relationship between two-note (binary) and three-note (ternary) subdivisions that can help you develop better vocabulary and feel on the drumset. To understand this relationship, play an 8th-note triplet with your right hand while playing a straight 8th-note…
1,000 Ways to Practice a Single Page - Part 4: Orchestrated Flams on the Drumset
Last month we learned how to interpret a single page of rhythms using flams. In this lesson we’ll apply this concept to the drumset. We’ll practice a few common ways to orchestrate flams on the kit before diving into some…
George Marsh's Inner Drumming
You’re not going to work on any of the standard drum rudiments in this book. The notation is unfamiliar, and awareness of the energy flow within your body is a key component of the method. But Inner Drumming is a…
Groove Construction, Part 12: 16th-Note Metronome Training
In this lesson we’ll work on perceiving a metronome on various 16th-note partials. These exercises will improve your ability to hear different rhythms before you start playing them, and they’ll certainly improve your timing. TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE…
