practice tips
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1,000 Ways to Practice a Single Page, Part 3: Incorporating Flams
Last month we applied a set of written rhythms to the drumset by accenting the figures within continual 16th notes and experimenting with different stickings. This month we’ll stick to the snare and work with flams. Here’s the rhythm. TO…
Rockin’ at a Snail’s Pace - Variations for Slower Tempos
Playing slow tempos can be one of the most difficult things to master. As the distance from one beat to the next increases, the ability to accurately feel the time can decrease. When playing slower rock grooves, it often helps…
DISCIPLINE - Small Changes for Massive Progress
MD Pro Panelist Benny Greb suggests that some minor adjustments in habit—and maybe a tweak in your attitude toward practice— can result in unexpectedly large dividends for your playing. TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE TO ACCESS LOG IN
Swing Style 101 - Part 3: The Most Common Song Forms
To finish out the series, we’re going to prepare you for when it comes time to play some jazz tunes on the bandstand, by discussing the most standard forms used in this style. Understanding these forms is the key to…
Bass Drum Development - 4 Focused Exercises for Building Raw Speed
One of the most common questions I get asked in clinics is, “How did you develop your foot speed?” And that is often followed by, “What pedal do you use?” I can promise you this: Bass drum speed has almost…
Closed Roll Studies - Exercises for Developing Control of Multiple Rebounds
The closed roll, aka buzz roll, is a mystery to many drummers, and for good reason. This type of roll attempts to imitate the long tone that other instruments, like trumpet or violin, create by sustaining a single pitch. TO…
Ghost Notes 101 with Jim Riley
One thing that separates the novice drummer from the professional is the ability to play grooves that have dimension. Ghost notes are a great way to achieve this, but first you need to understand, on an elemental level, how to…
Practi-Patterns - A Dozen of the Most Common Kick/Snare Figures
One of the best things you can do in your drumming study is work on practical techniques, stickings, grooves, and fills that can be applied in real-life situations on the bandstand and in the studio. After playing a wide variety…
Raw Speed Bass Drum Workout with Mike Johnston
This bass drum workout is all about developing your raw speed. Raw speed is very different from pattern speed. Pattern speed requires your brain to keep track of a specific sequence of rights, lefts, and kicks, and you have to…
Groove Construction - Part 11: Perceiving the Click as Triplets
In this ear-training workshop, we’ll work on hearing a metronome on different partials of 8th-note triplets. Working on these exercises will improve your ability to internalize different rhythms before you start playing them. Plus, these exercises will definitely improve your…
Stickings That Rock - Part2: Exploring an Additional Hand Pattern
In this lesson we’ll focus on another sticking that I acquired while working through George Lawrence Stone’s classic book Stick Control. The rhythm in the right hand is rooted in the first part of a 3:2 clave rhythm. (Think of…
1,000 Ways to Practice a Single Page - Part 2: More Rhythmic Interpretations
In Part 1 of this series, we began exploring different approaches to utilize and practice a single page of rhythm. We started on the snare with 16th-note subdivisions while accenting the rhythms on the page. In this lesson we’ll take…
Threes and Fives - Fills With Odd Groupings
I’ve always found it fun and interesting to explore the possibilities available when using common subdivisions such as 8ths, 16ths, or 8th-note triplets. For example, we can play a double-stroke roll or paradiddle sticking within 8th-note triplets to create a…
Swiss Rudiments - Basel Drumming, Part 4
In this lesson we’ll take a look at a song from Camp Duty Update, my most recent book about the history of rudiments and their European roots. The melody of the tune “The Slow Scotch” was used in nineteenth-century military…
