How to Master Drum Rudiments

Becoming a great drummer requires lengthy daily practice sessions that aren’t always very exciting. Practicing and eventually mastering simple drum rudiments is an important and ongoing step. For some productive and effective practicing habits, follow these steps when working on your rudiments.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• Drum sticks
• Snare drum
• Practice pad
• Pillow
• Ruler
• Rudiment book
• Coffee table
• Books for raising coffee table

1. First, find a good drum rudiment book. There are many different titles, and while some are better than others, almost all of them include the basic information you need to learn and practice the basic rudiments. If you’re having trouble deciding, ask your drum teacher or a percussionist at your local music store to make a recommendation.
2. After gathering the book and all of your other supplies, take some time to read the book carefully while sitting in front of your snare drum. Play around with each rudiment so that you can understand the basic sticking and principles.
3. Once you’re somewhat familiar with each of the essential rudiments, start practicing on either the snare drum or the practice pad, switching back and forth every so often. The elements of your performance you want to pay closest attention to are your sticking, stick height and speed.
4. To focus on your sticking, concentrate hard on the way you hold your sticks. Sit or stand with proper posture while practicing. Be absolutely sure that you’re using the proper sticking for each hand that is described in your rudiment book. If you catch yourself using improper sticking, slow down until you can correctly and consistently perform the rudiments as they appear in the book.
5. Stick height is not addressed in every rudiment book, but is thoroughly discussed in the better ones. In most cases, stick height can be estimated. But to be sure, use your ruler to measure from the drum head and see about how high you need to be raising your sticks for specific rudiments. If you’re having difficulty with this step, place your drum or practice pad on the floor underneath a coffee table. Use books to raise either your practice pad or the coffee table so that you have the appropriate amount of space in between. Then practice your rudiments, focusing on stopping your stick height just before the underside of the table.
6. Practicing for speed is simple. Start slow and gradually increase your speed. If you work hard at this, you will be able to play very quickly in a matter of weeks. To encourage the ideal combination of speed and stick control, try practicing your rudiments on a pillow instead of a drum. This takes away stick bounce, forcing you to make more deliberate movements and work harder to increase your speed.

Tips & Warnings

• Try different sizes and styles of sticks until you find one that is comfortable for you.
• Consider buying or renting drum videos to help you with your rudiments if you don’t have a knowledgeable drum teacher.