How to Practice the Drums

Sticking to a few guidelines will make your drum practice sessions much more productive and fun. Your drumming will advance and you'll notice a major improvement. Always watch your hand position and set aside time--any amount of time--to practice. Follow these steps to practice the drums.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Keep an eye on the positions of your hands. No matter which position you choose, make sure when you're practicing that your hands stay in the correct position.

2. Concentrate on sticking to make your movements smoother. Practice with the phrase "one stick up, one stick down" in your mind.

3. Return both sticks to the same height. This applies no matter how high or low you hold the sticks. Most drummers tend to raise their dominant hand higher than the other. Keep the sticks at the same height so they hit at the same interval.

4. Play off the drum instead of playing down into the drum. Draw or pull the sound off the drum by quickly bringing the stick away from the head of the drum after hitting it. This will make the drum more responsive and resonant.

5. Practice and learn the rudiments as much as possible. Even if you only have a few minutes a week, aim for learning one each week. If so, you'll get all 26 rudiments down pat in six months.

6. Keep a metronome with you when you practice. Vary the speed from the slowest to the fastest. Over time, your meter and time will get better.

7. Use the same size drum stick when you're practicing as you do when you're playing a gig. Play around sometimes with different weight and size sticks to improve your reflexes and strength.

Tips & Warnings

• If you can't fit in a full practice session, try for just 10 or 15 minutes. It'll keep your drumming in shape.
• As you practice, strive for perfection. Be your own worse critic.
• Change up your routine focusing on a different thing each time--independence, hands, rudiments, reading and so on.

Resources

• Tips for playing the drums