photo credit: Jiuck

You can learn anything as long as you want to, a teacher can only teach when you are ready to learn.

Drumming is a skill, an art, it requires learning to know, and practice to master.

If you find a teacher who is truly passionate to share and teach, you are one step ahead.

photo credit: AngelalalaChan

I just uploaded a new rudiments exercise.

Remember to play the exercises slowly and in time, use a metronome whenever possible.

Watch the stickings, repeat each exercise 4 – 8 times.

Only gradually increase your speed when you feel comfortable and ready and that your strokes are even.

Download Here.

Nothing is more important than being on time for lessons, usually your lessons are 30 mins to an hour long, so do not waste precious time by being late. Time, in this case is money because you paid for lessons.

2) Listen attentively

Your drum instructor is also your coach, besides sharing with you their experiences, they are also there to point out your mistakes and help correct it, so listen attentively instead of banging on the drums. You will learn alot more this way.

3) Ask questions

If you have any questions regarding your drumming techniques or drums information, feel free to ask, any great drum instructor will be more than willing to share with you!

4) See and follow

Imitation is a great way to learn fast, watch your drum instructor and let your drum instructor guide you with the various sticking and hand foot co-ordination exercises, follow and learn.

5) Read up as much as you can

If you are truly interested in drums, read widely about it! Get drum magazines, go visit a library, search the internet, watch drum videos on youtube.com, whatever. The more you know, the more you will want to know about drums and drumming!

6) Be excited about class

You can be sure that your drum instructor will be more willing to share more with you and teach you more techniques if you show huge interest in your lessons! So…

7) Don’t be shy

Go ahead and enjoy your drum lessons! Being bashful in drum class is quite useless as you will learn alot more if you are more willing to be inventive and experimental during class!

Make as much mistakes as possible

Better make mistakes in class than on stage isn’t it? Don’t feel bad when you make a mistake during lessons, you are there to learn anyway, so feel free to make mistakes and let your drum instructor correct you and lead you into refining your techniques and foundation.

9) Join a band

You are a drummer, why not find an opportunity to join a band? It will help you overcome your stage fright if you have any, besides, actual drum performance with a band will help you brush up your drum techniques as well as your drum smart!

10) Practice whenever you can

Do I need to explain this anymore? Practice makes perfect, so make time, don’t just find time, make time to practice! You will improve by leap and bound with each practice. Practice your rudiments, hand foot co-ordination and sight-reading.

First position:
First, open your palms.
then close your palms into a clenched fist

Second position:
Join the tip of your thumb with the tip of your forefinger,
close your palms with the remainder three fingers into a fist.

Two simple actions only, now follow this co-ordination.
L = Left Hand
R = Right Hand

1. LRLR LRLR LRLR LRLR X 5 times
   
2. RLRL RLRL RLRL RLRL X 5 times
   
3. RRLL RRLL RRLL RRLL X 5 times
   
4. LLRR LLRR LLRR LLRR X 5 times
   
5. RLRR LRLL RLRR LRLL X 5 times

Do this above exercise for three sets, first without the drumsticks, then with the drumsticks.

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.