How to Become Faster on the Drums

Rock drummers like The Who's Zak Starkey use speed in their playing.

Being a skilled drummer involves playing at fast speeds. This comes in handy for a variety of genres and playing situations, such as drum solos where speed is a way to show off your skill. However, it is not enough just to play fast. Rather, skilled drummers play fast parts cleanly, instead of a muddled mess. This is possible through repeated practice and smart technique.

Things You'll Need

• Drumsticks
• Snare drum
• Metronome

Instructions

1. Shake out your wrists. Grab both drumsticks in one hand and then shake your wrist from side to side. Repeat with the other hand. Get your body loose and relaxed.

2. Play lightly on the snare drum, alternating which stick hits the drum. Do not play blazing fast right away. Start slow. Play rudiments and other basic exercises to warm up. Track athletes do not get off the bus and immediately start sprinting, full speed, down the track. Neither should you on the drums.

3. Turn on a metronome to a comfortable tempo, such as 60 beats per minute. Play 16th notes. Stay relaxed as you play. Play this for a minute or two.

4. Bump up the tempo on the metronome by five counts. Play 16th notes again.

5. Continue to bump up the tempo on the metronome every few minutes. When you get to a tempo that is challenging to play, play at this tempo for longer. Continue to stay relaxed as you play. It is natural for drummers to tense up when they are pushing to play fast, but this works against you, tiring you out and making it harder to play fast.

6. Relax when you get tired. Shake out your wrists again. If you have reached a tempo you can not play cleanly, do not fret. This is the tempo you will soon master with continual practice. Write down this tempo.

7. Repeat this practice routine for about 30 minutes to an hour everyday or as close to that as you can do. Do not wear yourself out. If you are not used to regular practice it will take time to build up stamina. If your wrists are tired, take a day or more off. Do not risk damage just to get what you hope are quick results.

Tips & Warnings

• The snare drum is a good drum on which to build your speed. As you get better, start moving around the other drums if you are a drum set player. For example, do one count of 16th notes on the snare drum, one count of 16th notes on the first rack tom, one count of 16th notes on the second rack tom and then one final count of 16th notes on the floor tom. This fills an entire 4/4 measure of music. Repeat this as the metronome clicks, trying different combinations if you like.

References

• Steve Dow Drums: Drumming Speed Development Article #2 of 2

Resources

• Drummer World