Practicing

How do all you guys go about practicing? Lately, I've been setting standards so high for myself in terms of how many hours I get in. My attention span seems to defeat me all the time though. Steve, what was (is) your practice routine like?

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funny, i just had a terrible practice session yesterday. no discipline. thankfully that is a rare occurance. if it gives you perspective i'll share my shit with you. practicing is this equation to me: inspiration(viewing something musical or otherwise-interviews w. other drummers, something i heard on c.d.,drum videoes,this forum etc..)+ goals(trad.grip mastery, playing cleaner{control}+ kik control/dbl.kik,any form of speed{aruond the kit,relationship between hands and feet} + exercises from dom famularo's book 'motions+emotions'+ any addtional exercises from modern drummer/drum magazine+ grroves{right now i'm playing along to a lot of drum'n'bass}+ 'listening history lesson'-which means i will pick a jazz drummer and listen to some of their recordings and make mental notes and try some of their things out on the kit = my practice session. generally , with a 30 min. warm up with a practice pad, practicing is usually 6 hr occurance. thruout that i'll have a doobie/smoke break,a drink(non-alcahol}break, and check messages. i try to spend 30 min on each facet. sometimes it is 5 min. on each facet. sometimes i'll get stumped on something and free form solo just to get it out! i think we can all relate to that. after doing a lot of reading on many different drummers; all my heroes had 1 thing in common- they were voracious learners/practicers(i know this is not a word!}. there was a time when i couldn't/wouldn't practice because i was on tour so much; playing live really was practice enough. plus on top of that, my inmature ego(at that time) convinced myself that i was shit hot(not!). so now i am driven/obbsessed to learn /improve my playing so i can work more and satisfy my ego(which is in fact my enemy!);i'm never really satisfied. and the above regimen is just at my practice space! i am married and i live in an apartment. so at home i practice on a pad(1 hr. to a click), i'll sit infront of the tv or computer with sticks+pad, i'll watch drum edct. videos w. sticks+pad. i always carry a pad+sticks EVERYWHERE. i have a pad/sticks @ my "pay the rent job". literally the only thing i read are drum related publications{on the bus,before bed,breakfast reading. i never used to be so into practicing in my life. but aquiring an excellent teacher (thanx ray garroway!) really inspired me to excel, and i feel the benefits from the work i put in; cuz' often times the art of drumming is mental; and i realize i have to get my muscles to memorize all the things that i work on. i have read some things out of modern drummer,and this book" the jazz drummers time" and my famularo book that relly inspired me to get a practice routine worked out. u can e-mail me at [email protected] if you are curious about my inspiration points. i love the drums; and i want to contribute to the art in any way possible.

Wow. I certainly can't top that. =)

I havent been doing that much practicing lately but when I do I usually focus on very few things, but spend a lot of time on them. There are certain things I wanna be able to play and I simply go through the steps I need to to get it happening. First I break it down mentally so that I fully understand it. Then I try playing it. Then I figure out the trouble spot (particular part of the sticking, or an independence issue) and then I'll slowly kill that. Then I go back to playing the whole thing until it's fluint, then I incorporate into a groove or I insert fills if its a groove that I'm practicing.
Basically any addition to your playing needs to be at a certain level before you can responsibly start playing it in a musical context. I make sure it's at that level, meaning that I "own it" sort to speak before moving on to something else.
Nowadays I'm not so much practicing specific things as much as I'm making sure that the stuff I'm playing now feels good and is solid time-wise.
As far as how much time, thats dictated by when the goal is met. If it takes an hour to achieve what I want, then I'll practice for an hour.
Please keep in mind that for me practicing is a different beast then just sitting down and shedding for a while. This too is "practicing" (the same stuff you already know how to do) but I consider practicing working something that I really dont know how to do yet.
It's all a very personal thing and what works for one may not work for another and so I feel almost silly sharing all of this. I can only hope you get something out of it.

Of course, there's always my video....heh.

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www.houseofdrumming.com


[Note: This message has been edited by Steve Holmes]

I truly appreciate the time you guys put into responding to my concern. I found both of your responses insightful and wise.

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It seems that most of the drummers we look up to don't really practice so to speak. Don' get me wrong they played their asses off to get where they are today but it seems that they don't think of it as practicing. I know when I sit down all I'm thinking about is playing because its fun not because I want to get better. Getting better comes with time and te right mindset along with the agendas which help are skills.
From what I've read Dennis Chambers hasn' practiced since age 19 when he went on the road with Parliament. Vinnie supposedly does three or four sessions a day and still goes home and plays becasuse he likes to. Dave Weckl hit it HARDCORE in college: something like 10 hours a day. Steve Smith said he gets up and plays every morning for like three hours. Buddy Rich probably didn't practice by the time all the articles aout him were written becase he had been palying for probably like 40 or 50 years. I believe that he didn't practice later in his life and I don't really believe he did early either. (Did anyone know that he broke both of wrists at different times early in his childhood. Around age 9 or 10. Does anyone think its possible for his muscles to grow back a little diferent. Maybe that accounted for his wrists. I know that a regrown muscle cell comes back a little diffent.)
By way of China, it seems that none of these guys ever thought of their playing as practicing. They were just having fun because it was fun as hell. A lot of drumming comes from the mind. Peace.

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i think your right on the money pete! but i have to say that those guys you mensioned got a lot of there practicing done by playing in diferent musical situations eg. vinnie says he learnt double bass on the road with zappa because they rehearsed 8 hour days.

Buddy "the traps wonder", i think got his influences right there at the traps. constantly being influenced at that age every day has to do something to a kid. but there is no way to explain his phenominal speed. Jo jo believs buddy's secret to a fast left hand is because he was able to completely isolate the fingers from the wrist.

i think there is alot to be gained by trying to objectively viewing practice, recording yourself, achieving goals set, keeping a practice diary. It always comes down to what works best for u though i think.

qwert

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I've started practicing recently to come up with some new ideas and basically get my time together. I've been recording alot and notice that I'm always on top of the beat. Never behind. I never really drag. In the past i've studied brazilian drumming and tried to keep ontop of the beat to make it feel right. I spent alot of time on it and now I think that conscious decision to stay on top has infiltrated my time. Also, I grew up playing alot of jazz and I tend to tip on top as well except for shuffles.
Does anyone have any suggestions on how not to rush?
Also, I'll play a track and 3min. into it I'll find a glitch. If I don't play with a click track I'll respond to the music i.e.(vocals). I get emotional and move the tempo where the vocalists energy is?
How do you track when you're playing with a vocalist that doesn't have good time?
Help!!!!!
Blake

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use a good drum machine, and adjust the swing function.take the vocalist out of your headphone mix while tracking. or program your click reference to quarter notes. or program an 8th note pattern with a shaker sound.that programming w. the shaker voice should give you a more swing vibe. playing on top is no crime.look at carter beauford.........much love beats

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Your replies have certainly opened my eyes Beats/Steve. My approach to practicing has sometimes been one of stagnation and frustration, and when you read someone elses set routine, speaking for myself i realise more routine/self motivation/PATIENCE are required. I am not a very fast learner, also totally self taught, and it takes me sometime for even the simplest things to click, therefore i tend to get very impatient and go through my usual stuff i already know procastinating that i am indeed good enough already (how wrong i am!). Music/drumming is very much the biggest thing in my life and i am coming to realise i am not giving it my full potential, especially in the learning new skills department. As a matter of interest does anyone have any idea just how far cats like Vinnie/Dave/Dennis have gone as regards to their practicing routine? I have read somewhere the great Mr Rich never practiced.... that i find hard to believe, as well being led to believe Dennis is totally self taught. Like Steve says, What is good for one may not be good for another. My eyes have been opened, its my mind that needs training, not my practicing. Sorry for the waffling. Respect & Peace.

Practising with a drum machine/metronome is a must. I'm currently working on Weckl's current techniques. They've made a radical difference in my playing. I'm seeing improvements for the first time in several years. Check out the first two of Dave's last three videos. Some of it may seem kind of simplistic and intuitive at first but once you dig into it you find some very cool stuff happening with your chops. I'm doing things I've only dreamed about before.

Best to all.

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