Time Management

Hey Guys,

January of this year, when the fact that if i really wanted to become a professional drummer, i had to practice my ass off and really commit to the instrument really hit me, i started setting out practice schedules and charting out (if you want to call it that).

Anyways, as I started to get serious with practicing, i discovered my first time management problem. Ok, you could say that, having an active social life and having school and home work and also having to practice drums is quite a lot.

Let me just give you an example

I would get home at 4:30pm from school, practice till 6:30pm which is a reasonable time to stop so that neighbours don't complain.

Then thats it for my practice time weekly, but then for weekends, i usually go out every friday night, get home late in the morning and then end up sleeping through half of saturday, i then go out normally for a movie on saturday afternoon/night, get home like 12am or 1am, sleep till quite late on sunday, and then im left on sunday with loads of homework. I also have a girlfriend of 4 year who supports me however i obviously have to commit sometime to her aswell to make our relationship work as with any [img]biggrin.gif[/img]

Basically i can only practice 2 hours a day during the week due to neighbours, but i could practice a lot more during the weekend, maybe 4-6 hours. I am up for it and i really want to become a professional drummer but i go crazy if i don't go out with my friends so there's a clash.

There's the posibility that i go out only 2 fridays a month, leave the other 2 for practicing on friday and saturday.

Also this summer, i got schedule set up to be involved with playing for 9 hours a day, including 3 hours a day for transcription time.

Now this basically takes up all of my day, but i have a friend here for half of july which i only see twice a year. The alternative here is not to do this EVERYDAY and leave wednesday and saturday's free (allowing me to go out on friday nights)

What are your guys views or thoughts on this topic?

Any specific advice for me, based around what i said?

I mean i definetely feel the motivation and the want and EVERYTHING! but maybe i don't really because then i would choose to stay home and practice instead of going out and socialising or whatever, but does that really make me not be able to become good enough to become a pro? Afterall, we are all humans and as Vinnie says,

"No man is an Island, specially not a drummer!"

Maybe giving up social life for 8-10 years is a price all great drummers have to pay for being great? or am i just being stupid!?

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ June 27, 2005 06:24 AM: Message edited by: S.P ]</font>

Man, I wish I had your amount of time! When you get married, have a day job, a mortgage, and a car payment, your time gets severely limited. I always wish that I would have practiced more so I wouldn't have to work this day job. I still play and practice a bit, but I could move much quicker if I had more time.

Try only doing the social thing w/your friends on either Friday OR Saturday. Just one weekend day for going out and leave the other to practice. If you need most of the next day to recooperate from the night before, you may need to limit what you do when partying. Remember, time goes by quickly, take advantage of all that you've got! Figure out what your goals are. Having a social life may not give you the skills to get the gig you want, practicing will. But, on the other hand, don't spend all your time in the practice room. You have to get out and play with other people.

Some of the best advice I got from Gregg Bissonette: You don't have to be the best drummer to get the gig, but you must show up on time, be pleasant to hang out with, and give the person hiring you the drumming they need to lift their playing to another level. (I kind of paraphrased it, but you get the jist of it.)

Good luck!

Mike

Hi S.P.

I would buy a practice kit from Remo, the one Thomas Lang is using, so you can practice as long as you want during the week. Social life is important too but try to maintain the two hours a day in the weekends too, at least. Hey, 1am is not that late!!! Get up early you lazy [img]wink.gif[/img] During the week before school and in the weekends too.
I think Billy Cobham said that you must not think in time but you have to enjoy it. I think some things will turn out less important for you than other things. Finally it will solve your time management problem. Besides, efficient practicing helps too, don't play 2 hours all the stuff you already know. [img]graemlins/smarty.gif[/img] [img]wink.gif[/img]

If you get 2 hours, 4 times a week for "drumkit" practice, consider yourself lucky. So why can't you practice on pads (hand and foot), after 6:30? Why can't you get some snare solo etude books and work on your reading and interpretation on a pad?

BTW, how do you spend your drumkit time?

thats great advice so far, it puts it into a different perspective looking at it from other "less fortunate" people in terms of practice time

Thanks so much,

BTW i believe it was when Vinnie asked Cobham (whilst vinnie was still young) how many hours a day he should practice, Cobham told him that its not about the hours, just practice as long as your having fun doing!

Thats also great, and very true advice from Gregg B! He's awesome!

My time is divided up like this for a typical 2 hour practice

5 Minutes to warm up
20 minutes stick control
45 minutes reading
20 minutes practicing licks and exercises
30 Letting my ideas out, playing along to tracks etc

I could play after 6:30 (on a pad i mean), but i'm in school so h.w comes with that, plus exercising everyday (i try) so if i practiced longer i wouldn't be able to get do that too

Although next year i'm going to have many free periods which i will try and use to finish ALL h.w and also during lunch times so i can have all the time to practice!

<font color="#a62a2a"><font size="1">[ June 27, 2005 10:00 AM: Message edited by: S.P ]</font></font>

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ June 27, 2005 10:01 AM: Message edited by: S.P ]</font>

sacrifices have to be made. of course a balance is important but if your that obsessed with seeing your friends or partying EVERY weekend then the you have made the decision to give the drumming the back seat.

the sleeping thing made me laugh - just get the f**k up! no excuses. thats ridiculous.

2 hrs on weekdays is enough as long as none of it is wasted playing. 2 solid hours is cool.

however, you either love it enough or you dont. thats what separates some athletes or sports people apart - the good's and the GREATS. andre agassi runs up sand dunes until he is physically sick. tim henman was probably reading the paper....

practice on pads til midnight on weekdays then - why stop at 6:30? u only need drums for certain things like touch, maybe time, mechanics etc. so much stuff can be done on pads - technique, inderpendance, any new pattern your trying to get down. spent those wasted hrs on pads you;d be cookin'. bass drum pad and 1 or 2 hand pads and ur sorted.

Haha, yeah i am actually a frickin lazy bastards, but honestly! there are some days that i just don't feel like practicing at all! And i will have to give up some weekends out, I think the alternate weekends thing sounds good, bit of both to keep me sane, Henry's suggestion was also good and i may add in an extra hour at night time to work on my Matt Savage Rudimental book which is great! Its like my second stick control, also if im not busy during lunch times, im going to ask if i can use the music room practice rooms to practice at lunch ! I've just started lately realising that I have to make some sacrifices for drumming, and that i have to make some drastic changes, which are not easy!

Keep posting! I like everyones ideas and enjoy reading everyone's opinions and thoughts!


I need to save some time for homework, but if i do all my work during frees or lunch times i can have all the time at home. And if i dont have any work, i can have the time free at lunch to practice too!

Hey louie! you've recently left secondary havent you? You must have been practicing like mad! What did ur routine involve, just like an example of your typical weekday

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ June 27, 2005 10:19 AM: Message edited by: S.P ]</font>

im a lazy bastard too! i sometimes moan that i'm lazy but never moan about lack of time - thats often rubbish whoever you are. all that practicing 8-14 hrs a day is rubbish anyway - the bulk of it is messing and playing anyway so never worry about hrs like that. although if i could do that i would - the more the better but thats seriously tough.

yeah i left to go to berklee - no practice there - so came home and have done lots up until a few months ago where it was a lot less.

there is lots of stuff i hate - like working from books does my head in sometimes. i always separate the pads and drums - so i play alot on my lang practice kit - great tool meaning i can play at ANY time pretty much. it has enough parts to replicate bass, snare, ride and a few other bits if necessary - so for a lot of stuff - why play drums, its noisy and annoying to other people!!

so technique, independence etc is almost always on pads. lots of doubles and one handed wrist excersises with accents (groups of 2's, 3's, 4's) - lots of hand and foot exercises like RFRFRFRF and LFLFLFLF and LLFFLLFF RRFFRRFF. i often put cds on and do one specific ex until the tune is up - and everything is hurting.

then on the drums i practice time, phrasing to a click, reading with tracks etc, mechanics and sound.

might sound a lot but if i do 3-4 hrs per day thats pretty good. i have "played" all day before but not really practiced hard for 8 hrs.

but track your progress - it can be inspiring to see how you progress quickly if u do it right. 98% of the technique stuff is very easy and you progress quickly - its the mental stuff that takes a lot of effort and time - like time, phrasing, touch, swing etc etc.

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ June 27, 2005 11:23 AM: Message edited by: palmerlouie ]</font>