7 tips to develop drumming speed.

An article by Richard    1 Comment

Speed comes with practice.

Forcing speed on your playing will tense up your muscles, which slows you down even more.

I have seen my students get frustrated with the progress they are making and they try to get speed by tensing up more!

The way to faster drumming is quite simple, here’s how:

1) Correct Technique – Learn the correct techniques required to play the drums,  incorrect techniques will slow you down, stagnate your speed growth and ultimately end up hurting you more.

2) Regular Practice – It is quite simple, isn’t it? Once you’ve learnt the correct techniques, start practicing! The more you practice, the better your drumming skills will become. This is important because, almost all the beginning drummers I’ve seen have never exercise the muscles that is needed to achieve the required speed. So, Practice, Practice Practice!

3) Relax during practice – Tension is a no – no in drumming, always mentally tell yourself to relax whenever you feel tensed up during practice.

4) Know that speed will come with time – Having the confidence to know that your drumming speed will improve is a very important step, this is because when you are aware that it will happen, you will be patient enough to practice and continually learn. Drumming is fun, never give up!

5) Get a coach to guide you along -It is always good to have someone more experienced to show you the way and guide you along. A coach can point out your mistakes, structure a good learning program for you, and show you some secret techniques that you may never get to learn if you are doing it alone.

6) Start slow - Drumming is not all about speed, it is more about groove and playing it right for the music. Remember, a drummer is a musician too. Speed may be your ultimate goal, but do not forget to enjoy the learning journey as well!

7) Play with “click” – Get a metronome, speed is quite useless if you cannot play in time, isn’t it? Practice slow with a metronome and increase the metronome speed as you gain more confidence each step.