How much you practicing?

[matricks]

Ok, and i am gonna try this topic again, last time no one wanted to divulge this information... secrets, secrets [img]wink.gif[/img]


It started with this:
I kept a detailed practice log about two years ago, and i kept it for exactly a year. I noted everything i worked on, in complete detail with notes and all the sort... what exercises from what books, tempos, variations, how it felt, amount of minutes, etc.

Now, i decided to go back (with all my spare time... which is too much apparently [img]rolleyes.gif[/img] ) and add up all the times and actually plot them on a graph... all 365 days to see my tendencies, i.e. if i throw down an 8 hour day, will i therefore be burned out and not hit the practice for 3 days following?

I found some interesting things when i saw it all in black and white, saw a year's worth of hard work and laziness right before my eyes. No matter how many 8 hours days i put in and no matter how many days off i took, i still averaged the same amount of practice time, month after month, all year long. Three hours a day was the average, and that is three hours of solid, no-noodling practice. That just seems to be my upper limit... no matter how hard i try; that just seems to be where the balance is at... any more and i become burned, lose motivation and slack a bit, any less and i go crazy and over compensate, therefore bringing the average up again.

Now, after looking at that, i am wondering how much, and of what, is everyone else doing? What about 'back in the day'? I am posting this question just so i can maybe be inspired from hearing what other people do, maybe get a realistic view of what others are doing; gauge whether i need to strive to do more or whether i need to chill a tad bit sometimes... [img]confused.gif[/img]

Anyways, just seeing what people wanna offer up as to what their routine is like, hopefully pass on some insight and motivation to others by sharing [img]wink.gif[/img]

Let's see if it works this time [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[jonthibault]

I just got a sound-off for my bass drum and I moved into a house, so I play for an hour a day. Lately I've been working on a Steve Smith jazz thing (the independence/interdependence thing he does on his video--the phrases of 3s and 2) and assorted grooves. I'm also working on some latin stuff--the mambo, salsa and cha-cha--which I've always been weak on.

I do everything to a click, a Roland DR550.

[moosetication]

Well, I'm no pro by a long chalk. I got back into drumming after a modest (28 year) hiatus, two years ago, at the age of 45. It's my mid-life crisis and psychotherapy - well, I had neither the stamina, the nerve nor the cash to take a mistress.

I have two kits - one acoustic, one e-drums.

The acoustic is in the garage. I'm in a built-up area, so it has mesh heads and silencers on the cymbals. On that kit right now I'm mostly interested in geography: motion, space, time, position, accuracy. Eliminating stick crosses and rim clatters, getting consistent rimshots. The aim here is to ensure that the execution when I play out (which I do on this kit) is as good as it can be, because I don't stretch those "muscles" when playing on the Es.

The Es are in the music room indoors. There I'm interested in music and musical technique; playing exercises (to click) like Stone or Chapin or Riley, or playing to backing tracks (like the Turn it Up series, or the Rhythm magazine cover CDs) or to regular CDs. At the moment I'm concentrating on swing and comping.

Overall, I manage about an hour a day on weekdays and two at the weekends, with more spent on the Es than the As. I play for enjoyment, so I'm not fussed if it's less. The aim always is to come out doing something better than when I went in, no matter how small.

[tgw_mobile]

Hi Matricks,

Good question. I'm pretty new on this forum, but have posted one of my actual exercises in the past couple of days. I am happy to describe my practice approach. Firstly I should explain that though I've played for many years I've been involved in other things - design, writing - and only in the past couple of years have I really focused on drumming again. Some friends think I am nuts to go for it again at my age - 33, when I had a comfortable living before... well i don't. I love drums! I now support myself by working in a bookshop and practice on average eight hours a day.

I'm with Jojo Mayer when he says 'practice for results'.

Here is my routine (morning to night):

I start around 11:00. I do the 'sun salutation' (which Steve Hass is also a fan of, a yoga exercise) and some wrist / arm stretching stuff for a few mins.

1.5 hrs on hands, start with full strokes, moeller accent exercises, stone killer stuff, fill-ins... I lead with Left on everything (i am righty) I play trad grip *exclusively* (I can play matched - did for 10 yrs but am not wasting time now by going for both)

Next up is feet... about 1.5 hrs:

Heel-up/heel down exercises, stone killer with feet (double pedal), all kinds of 'progressive' studies to build strength, especially in right foot. doubles, paradiddles.. all the stick control stuff.

Break

Next up is co-ord

(see my posted exercise for one of my current studies)
I am currently working through triplet linear co-ord stuff (Weckl's next step 'big' exercise), with all left lead. LRF, LFR, FLR, and combinations with singles LFLFLF and doubles LLFFLLFFLL... i also spend about 20 mins on improv over a shuffle 24 bar sequence (i use v-drums)... basically seeing where i fall over... working out weak spots and targeting them for extra work.

Next up is Gary Chester New Breed II.. (about 2 hrs, 3 if it is tough) I try to work through one pattern with all melodies every day, I sing all the parts as well. I think that is one of the gratest discoveries I have made... it connects the emotional with the physical... sing the quarter, melody, RH, LD etc... try and really feel how leach limbs interacts with each other.

Break

Next is Polyrhythms, beat-displacment and phrasing. Alot of Vinnie type stuff: Chaffee type groupings (5's,7's,9's) played over bar-line. I find that this stuff really helps basic grooving as well. As Vinnie once said "One hand feeds the other." V True.

I also do some transcribing and listening... I am a big fan of Brazilian music, so currently I am listening to lots and lots of Brazilian smusic.

Thats the rough outline.

Besides that I have a PC set-up with the V-drums so I use Excel (even though I hate Mico$oft) to log all my practice. This includes goals, current BPM, new ideas and even albums to get, books to get etc.... I update this after each practice session.

I also use Sibelius software for writing out exercises and help with poly and meter stuff...

The V-drums are also great because you can record yourself (as MIDI) and play it back immediately - and slow it down!!. I like to use technology to serve me and the are lots of possibilities with software (one example: a quarter note that accelerates from say 60 to 160 and back down over x minutes)... great for discipline and practice.

I also count out loud when doing certain exercises. I will repeat something 100 times a day (if it is tricky) and count 1 2 3 4, 2 3 4 5... 99 2 3 4, 100 2 3 4...

hope that gives you some insight.
This is what I am working on right now. I have a longer term plan which covers the next 2 years... so this is really just a snap-shot.

Happy to share,

Maybe you can inspire me with your ideas.
Also, if you want more details on any of my exercises I'm happy to fire some your way.

Cheers,

Tim.

ps: I do occasionally have 'wobbles' but generally I've kept to this schedule pretty closely for the past 6-7 months, i still see improvement everyday so why stop ; )

[tgw_mobile]

Hey Moosetication,

Just read your response to Matricks here. I think its brilliant that you have got back into such a great thing as drumming after quite a period away. Feels great, doesn't it?

Good luck with it!

Tim.

[matricks]

Thanks guys for the responses... alot better than last time i tried this! [img]biggrin.gif[/img]

... hey Tim, how do you get 8 hours a day AND work? Wow!

[tgw_mobile]

Hi Matricks,

I know the bookshop owner, it's a cafe too... I just do a couple of hours a day.. I dont need money I need good technique!

T.

[five eight]

That's a respectable practice regimen! During your breaks, Tim, do you ever suffer a heart attack? [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[tgw_mobile]

5/8... only when working in 5/16 [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[matricks]

How much of the 8 hours would you say is extreme-focused practice? I can't imagine being focused for 8 hours a day, months on end [img]confused.gif[/img]

Would you say that some of time is muscle memory, zone out practice on the pad stuff? As i said, i can't be focused for much longer than a consistent average of 3 hours a day... focused as in on the verge of losing my mind due to mental stress... i can't fathom eight hours of that. That would be like being an air traffic controller. [img]eek.gif[/img]