How long til you made progress with Jojo's Secret Weapon's techniques?

gusty

Platinum Member
I got this DVD a few days ago and am going to be taking it slowly, starting off with building up my fingers. I'm patient - I'm just curious how long it took others to start making progress with any of the techniques in the dvd. Any favourite techniques from it/techniques that have been particularly helpful?
 
you get out ~ whatever you put in..
meaning HOW Much Practice you put in will have different results...
you practice 10 minutes a day - it will look it..
you practice 2 hrs. a day ~ you will be a better drummer than you used to be :)

(there are NO shortcuts.)
 
you get out ~ whatever you put in..
meaning HOW Much Practice you put in will have different results...
you practice 10 minutes a day - it will look it..
you practice 2 hrs. a day ~ you will be a better drummer than you used to be :)

(there are NO shortcuts.)

I know, I wasn't asking how long I should be practicing, just how long it took everyone else :) it's such an awesome dvd, I want to talk with people about it, see how they're going, what they did with it etc.
 
I bought it and I love it. I like watching it. I haven't tried anything in it at all. I do like the street beat segments. One day I may try some of those things ;)
 
I've had the dvd for many months now and I find that while there are some things i can already do that he demonstrates, there are some things I can't, but i'm working on them slowly. One of the hang-ups that I had to overcome was attempting to do the routines "exactly" as JoJo is performing them. I had to realize that it's ok to perform them in such away that is more "natural" for my hands as opposed to copying his. Since then, the routines have opened up more for me.
 
I choose to work on one method at a time. Since I had never worked on finger technique, I decided to focus on it for awhile. My fingers are much stronger a year later, but certainly not as strong as my wrists (which I have used exclusively since I started playing 6 years ago). Now, I have a choice of techniques to employ to achieve different sounds and feels.

I practice on pads for about 30 minutes 6 days a week.

-sheldon
 
There's loads of value that I never even realised in the fingers - I've only been practicing since Saturday and already I have some sort of control at a medium tempo, and I've noticed how it can make shuffle grooves (or swing 16th note grooves) that little bit easier. Should be interesting to see how it goes after a few months of steady practice!
 
I'm curious too, so thanks for asking. I bought this DVD a couple weeks ago. I've been focusing mainly on finger techniques to do doubles and other rudiments and I can honestly saw in 2 weeks time my speed and has had a big improvement, but I have a long way to go still! don't get me wrong It's a big improvement for me :)

Also my first couple of days I saw with my left hand the stick bouncing around all over the place, this too has improved drastically, more accuracy and control. This is from practicing maybe 5-6 days a week for about 30min or more (usually when watching tv).

It's a long road but a fun road to be on!
 
After watching the 1st disc, it took me maybe 6 to 12 months before I could find the courage to watch the 2nd disc.
 
After watching the 1st disc, it took me maybe 6 to 12 months before I could find the courage to watch the 2nd disc.

Haha :p I also stopped at the end of the first disc, but watched the next day, and the 2nd disc is just mind blowing.
 
Newbie question here...

I also own the Secret Weapons DVD. I don't own an accusitc set. I own an e-kit, with the hard rubber bouncy pads (yamaha DTXplorer).

I also work out my fingers and I did notice an increase in control mainly, like someone here said... In the beginning the stick was bouncing all over the place, now it's more controlled and hitting roughly the same area every time.

However, when I think of this technique, I wonder how it works on a real drum set, specially on the toms and floor tom, without much bounce.

When you guys practice this finger control technique, how does it work on surfaces with less bounce than the snare or practice pad?
 
Haroldo... Good and very practical question. "Does finger control (as JoJo is demonstrating it), work as well on the drum set with a little less rebound." JoJo goes through techniques that also emphasize that you should be able to perform the same things with no rebounds and then demos the techniques on his thigh and palm of his hand. Actually, for me, i have always played a real tight batter head on the snare for the two-fold reason of 1. To get the max rebound. And 2. Because the tight head is more articulate and demands that my performance level be more accurate. So with a really tight snare head, yes, I can perform the same way as on a pad. A practice pad that is too lively (super gum rubber) is no good for me because it does not mimic a snare drum head. Way too much rebound. So I personally prefer the HQ Real Feel pads as being more closely resembling a snare head. I do find that i have to slide over a little closer to the edge of the snare head to get a better rebound.

Kelly
 
There's certainly good information in that DVD, but remember that there's a big difference between getting the information and correctly applying/practicing it. Getting a good teacher is a very good idea if you really want to progress well & quickly.
 
There's certainly good information in that DVD, but remember that there's a big difference between getting the information and correctly applying/practicing it. Getting a good teacher is a very good idea if you really want to progress well & quickly.

Yeah for sure. I've just started my first year of study at the Brisbane Conservatorium, I can see me using the DVD to complement the more musical based private lessons.
 
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