Frustrated Beginner practice help

stickcharmer

Junior Member
I want to preface that I know it is very subjective, but here is my dilemma: I have been taking drum lessons for about 8 months (playing for 13 or 14 months). During this time, I have been learning the rudiments, coordination, grooves etc. and I'm starting to feel overwhelmed by all the info. I dont know whats most important to be working on anymore, which has led me to frustration. My instructor tells me to focus on the rudiments that involve more dynamics (flams, paradiddles) as opposed to single or double strokes because they open up the kit more. So here is the question: between all of the things I receive in my lessons, books, and DVD's how do I manage the time to practice all of this and what is more important to my progression? I threw in a quick rundown of my practice schedule for critique, and thanks for any help!

Every Day -
Rudiments (singles (hands/feet), doubles (hands/feet), flams, paradiddles (hands/feet), rolls around the kit) this usually takes about 20 minutes. Metronome work: I usually take a few simple grooves with fills or a small compilation to work on this. This takes about 20 minutes. Then I work on the last two or three lessons my instructor has given me. this is usually 30 minutes.

So when all is said and done, if you throw in a few 5 minute breaks, I'm putting in an hour and a half of work for 13-15 various things each day. This cant be that effective can it?
 
Everyone learns at a different pace so this may be more than enough for you and not enough for others. The key for a beginner is not to get frustrated looking for quick results. Keep things fresh. I know all the rudiments but rarely play them on a kit. You instructer is not incorrect in telling you that they open up the kit, its just different for everyone.
The most important thing is being happy with your playing and setting gols to achieve. Don't give up on lessons, but make sure you don't get bored either.
 
Is there a better method to practicing so as to absorb the material in the most efficient way both mentally and physically?
 
Don't beat yourself up!
It will all happen in due time.
You can't force yourself to learn a drumming technique.
You probably don't even realize the progress that you have made.
It happens so slowly that we often don't see the improvements.
Lighten up on yourself and learn while having fun!
 
Is there a better method to practicing so as to absorb the material in the most efficient way both mentally and physically?

Your practice routine sounds VERY academic! Good for you!

There are two avenues to consider when learning the drum set. The first is to become a "functioning" drummer in a band, a member of an ensemble. In this case, more practical skills like playing beats and fills, understanding time signatures and musical structures, and the traditions of different styles of music should come first.

The second avenue is that of the "uber-drummer", who, in addition to understanding his role as a musician and accompanist, attempts to advance the art of drumming. As you might expect, learning to play flam accents with your feet becomes reasonable to practice, as the drummer's role shifts from "band member" to "star of the show".

It sounds like your teacher is pretty hardcore about rudiments, and it's pretty much agreed that you'll learn lots of technique and finesse from these babies. However, in the course of average rock/jazz/funk/metal drumming, you won't play rudiments nearly as much as you will play beats, fills, licks, and phrases that don't fit neatly into a rudimental explanation. I suspect you are frustrated because you can't see why it's important to be working on these things that are so difficult.

Most everyone agrees that a good dose of rudimental training is very important to a student, but so is PLAYING MUSIC! Get into a band or situation where you LEARN SOME SONGS, and use your teacher to help you along the way. Working on "a few simple grooves with fills" is not the same as playing a specific song with it's own form, beats, fills, dynamics, etc. In my experience, the drummers that advance fastest are playing with other people along the way the whole time. Keep it simple at first, but then try something challenging.

One last thing: try not to let your own tastes and preferences keep you from playing music that you might not like. Keep an open mind, and don't hate on anyone else's music.
 
One last thing: try not to let your own tastes and preferences keep you from playing music that you might not like. Keep an open mind, and don't hate on anyone else's music.

I definitely have an open mind with all types of music when it comes to learning to be a good drummer as does my instructor. We've covered Jonny Cash, the Beegees, Timberlake, and many rock forms. I dig all this stuff, but there is sooo much I feel like Im trying to cram to many things in one day. Perhaps I should break up the rudiments to two per day rather than 6 or 8 and begin focusing on the grooves, fills and songs that make it all fun. Thanks for all the insight.
 
i still take lessons, even though i'm pretty advanced. what i do is spend most of my time focusing on whatever my teacher and i have been working on lately. i'll practice that first in my routine and i'll spend most of my time with that. when i'm done with the current lesson i'll move on to reviewing other things i've worked on in the past, and then i always set aside some time in my routine for playing along to recorded songs. i believe it's important to always practice playing actual songs, with our without other musicians.
 
one thing I have REALLY suffered from is not playing to songs that much. I guess I figured the coordination will lend its self to those things at some point... I must get at it then. any suggestions on some good swing style music for a beginner? I seem to have less experience with that style and my playing shows it.
 
For me the most important thing to practice is dynamics, limb independence and different musical styles. When I practice rudiments on my kit I always try to mix it up so I'm not just hitting the snare - I'll practice the rudiments all around the kit in every way I can possibly imagine and usually during the same time I try to do different patterns on my feet - so I might do flam paradiddles with my hands and doubles with my feet (or whatever), it's sort of a two birds with one stone approach. When I want to practice straight up rudiments or sticking exercises (al la Stick Control) then I typically practice that on my pad while watching TV, so I can hang out with my wife and still get some practice in (luckily she tolerates it very well).
 
one thing I have REALLY suffered from is not playing to songs that much. I guess I figured the coordination will lend its self to those things at some point... I must get at it then. any suggestions on some good swing style music for a beginner? I seem to have less experience with that style and my playing shows it.

Groove Essentials 1 & 2 are a good starting point.
 
Is there a better method to practicing so as to absorb the material in the most efficient way both mentally and physically?

Slow, calm, relaxed, focussed. When any sort of distracting thought like "this is boring, I'd rather play "X", that blonde at the show the other night was cute...(etc.)" comes into your mind, take a deep breath, drop all physical tension you can and -- most importantly -- shepherd your attention back to the task at hand. Depth of attention is the key to absorbing material, not repetition alone.

Not "what". How.
 
After a lesson I make it a point of practicing how I'm going to apply something to the kit within the context of a song. Shuffles were a gas because I'd already been writing uptempo tunes in 2/4 and 6/8 with my new band. I'd already been shuffling but wasn't aware of it.

In education they call this "practical application". Rudiments are all well and good but they're just marching bits until they're applied to the kit. We all learn differently and taste/learning are subjective as you said but I'll share what works for me and you can take from it what you want.

Because I'm in college I'm very aware of HOW I learn. I need to grasp a new concept completely before I can rattle it off. I'll ask a lot of questions until I completely grasp this new concept. Once I have it I want to know how this new concept can be applied practically, to a song or a groove in this case. I hear drummers associate a certain feel, style or sound with a certain drummer. "It has a sort of Steward Copland sound to it". Well new techniques are the same way. If I work a new trick into a song right away then I'm more likely to retain it and use it for future grooves.

Hope that helps.
 
Groove Essentials 1 & 2 are a good starting point.

Groove Essentials is amazing stuff, very well written. It may be a bit advanced in some places, though. I've found that some of my students are intimidated by it. Diving straight into what is basically a studio session with great players can be demoralizing for a beginner!

Stickcharmer, two things:

1. Go find a blues band, or any any band that plays music that swings. Meet some people, shake some hands, AND learn some music! If you live anywhere near a major city, chances are good that there are some "jam nights" to be found a local bars and clubs near you.

2. Go find a teaching studio that offers ensemble instruction, where you play every week with other students, under the supervision of a rehearsal director or band leader. If none exists, you might even hire a music teacher to come to your house and supervise a jam session with some friends!

The act of playing music with other people, more than any other thing, will help you to answer your questions about what is important, and what is not so important, leading you to effectively use your practice time.
 
Groove Essentials is amazing stuff, very well written. It may be a bit advanced in some places, though. I've found that some of my students are intimidated by it. Diving straight into what is basically a studio session with great players can be demoralizing for a beginner!

I bought GE1 about a month after I started and I was fine with it, but I wasn't expecting it to be beginner material. Within 10mins I learned to just outright ignore the "fast" songs :)

The first few "rock" pages shouldn't be too bad for a beginner, and the rest gives you something to work towards. The first few "funk" pages are fun too, but I had to work on those for a bit at first.

But yea, if you're a straight-up beginner then hold off on GE2.

It was a lot less demoralizing then trying to play along with drumless tracks of real songs. Many of the easier, "slow" GE tracks don't feel much different than playing with a metronome. It's instrumental and most have a REALLY strong pulse. Real songs (the ones I was doing anyway) were a lot tougher: bass was buried in the mix, following the [my] natural inclination to follow the vocals, verse/chorus changes, fills, etc.
 
Every Day -
Rudiments (singles (hands/feet), doubles (hands/feet), flams, paradiddles (hands/feet), rolls around the kit) this usually takes about 20 minutes. Metronome work: I usually take a few simple grooves with fills or a small compilation to work on this. This takes about 20 minutes. Then I work on the last two or three lessons my instructor has given me. this is usually 30 minutes.
I few changes I would recommend:
Drop the "grooving to a metronome part", and replace it with learning a song. Build that repertoire, one song at a time.
Play everything to a metronome, or a recording.
Keep in mind that most bands aren't usually looking for the guy who can play the opening of YYZ, they are looking for the guy who can both start and stop Mony Mony.

Good luck!
 
I bought GE1 about a month after I started and I was fine with it, but I wasn't expecting it to be beginner material. Within 10mins I learned to just outright ignore the "fast" songs :)

The first few "rock" pages shouldn't be too bad for a beginner, and the rest gives you something to work towards. The first few "funk" pages are fun too, but I had to work on those for a bit at first.

But yea, if you're a straight-up beginner then hold off on GE2.

It was a lot less demoralizing then trying to play along with drumless tracks of real songs. Many of the easier, "slow" GE tracks don't feel much different than playing with a metronome. It's instrumental and most have a REALLY strong pulse. Real songs (the ones I was doing anyway) were a lot tougher: bass was buried in the mix, following the [my] natural inclination to follow the vocals, verse/chorus changes, fills, etc.

In GE2 Tommy says that he expect you to have done GE1 before jumping in to GE2 so it's not meant to be done before you can master the first 47 grooves :p
 
To begin, its a good sign you're so passionate about improving your playing!

But also, you might just need to chill out for a bit to see where it all fits in musically. If it were me, I'd want a short break from lessons, maybe a couple of weeks or a month, to just get on top of what you've been given.

brentcn's reply is also spot on. You need to play with some other people, don't worry about what style of music it is, but Dynamics in terms of listening and fitting the requirements of the music cannot be 'practiced' any other way. And in the end, that's what makes the great drummers the great drummers they are. The rudiments and other skills are just a means to an end.

Also though, try jamming along to a song on headphones rather than a metronome sometimes. Its much more interesting and you'll learn the styles of different drummers while you're at it.
 
Sorry to hiack the thread but I saw Groove Essentials being mentioned and I had a question for the purchasers of it: would the DVD or the book/CD be a stronger resource?

Naturally, I would assume the DVD, but I am open to suggestions.

Thanks
 
Sorry to hiack the thread but I saw Groove Essentials being mentioned and I had a question for the purchasers of it: would the DVD or the book/CD be a stronger resource?

Naturally, I would assume the DVD, but I am open to suggestions.

Thanks

Well if you combine both would be the best imo.
 
Well if you combine both would be the best imo.

Well, the thought crossed my mind, but both packages come with a poster with a "detailed breakdown" of all the grooves. So I wasnt sure if it would be redundant.
 
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