Arky
Platinum Member
Thinking about myself asking other drummers of the bpm's they can do with specific techniques/rudiments/patterns in various threads every now and then, it just struck me to create a separate thread on this.
I'm perfectly aware of some relations like speed being the by-product of control and that speed is a mere parameter and without music, just exercise. And to practice slow etc. - that's not what I'm going for in this thread. I'm just curious to learn what some people can do so I would know what is humanly possible, and this might serve as more inspiration for practice or simply to exchange some info regarding the flashier stuff (which might be easy patterns but brought up to terrific speed). I'm not intending this to be a show-off thread but just so I'd have an idea in terms of bpm. Because I've learned that even a number of pro drummers simply don't care of bpm's and were unable to give me bpm values from the top of their heads.
I'm also perfectly aware (on my own experience) that "maximum speed" doesn't necessarily have to correlate to "workable speed". Judging from my experience on the (el.) guitar I guess that the better the drummer (those who do focus on technique/speed), the less of a difference there is between their comfy and max speed. Personally my gap between those tempo ranges is substantial, depending on the technique/pattern.
No, speed isn't everything, and yes, any drummer shouldn't spend all the time on technical stuff etc. - I hope this is clear and that people won't comment on such well-known common sense stuff too much _on this thread_.
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As a starter, here's some bpm's of myself. I think it's also helpful to not only give the bpm's but also give some brief info on the technique or whether this feels ultra hard or what duration can be maintained with this and that pattern.
Paradiddle: max = 250 bpm/16th notes (HQ RealFeel pad), both matched and trad grip. 8 bars. I think I hit the same speed with the left hand leading, also. Both matched and trad (with most stuff my max speed would be with matched grip, trad being a bit slower). Comfy range for paradiddle (the basic variation) would be anything below 200 bpm. I've started working on the other paradiddle variations just recently, those are way harder for me.
Max speed single strokes: 280 bpm 16th (=8th notes per hand), for about 5 seconds. Same max speed with right and left hand ATM. American grip, a combination of wrists and fingers because at max speed I can't apply only one technique in its pure form - when pushing my hands will find their own way. I do pay close attention to technique when playing in my more comfy tempo zones though.
Feet, heel up/double pedal: 240 bpm/16th notes for about 6-8 bars (dw2002 double pedal, and HQ RealFeel kick practice pad w/ a towel on top of the rubber, and playing barefoot).
(More bpm with doubles/heel-toe but haven't done any max speed tests w/ doubles for a while. Did 270 bpm/16th notes for 3 minutes but that was months ago.) Super comfy speed range for doubles is anything up to about 180 bpm. Starts to feel harder from about 220-230 bpm.
Heel-toe/doubles endurance: 240 bpm/16th notes, for 6.38 minutes (months ago).
Heel-up endurance: 40 minutes @ 200 bpm.
I'm into drums for 1.75 years now, have a lot of time for practice (a good deal of which is actually having some "real" work to do which involves the hands only so the feet are free to practice on the double pedal or hihat at that time). Haven't got a full kit (yet) and no real plans what to do with what I "can" (which isn't much) - I'm drumming for fun and because I'm enjoying the physical/motoric challenge. (Coming from the guitar which I've been playing for 21 years now, with a focus on technique also. I'm way faster in drumming though, haha, at least if not counting in techniques like tapping.)
I'm perfectly aware of some relations like speed being the by-product of control and that speed is a mere parameter and without music, just exercise. And to practice slow etc. - that's not what I'm going for in this thread. I'm just curious to learn what some people can do so I would know what is humanly possible, and this might serve as more inspiration for practice or simply to exchange some info regarding the flashier stuff (which might be easy patterns but brought up to terrific speed). I'm not intending this to be a show-off thread but just so I'd have an idea in terms of bpm. Because I've learned that even a number of pro drummers simply don't care of bpm's and were unable to give me bpm values from the top of their heads.
I'm also perfectly aware (on my own experience) that "maximum speed" doesn't necessarily have to correlate to "workable speed". Judging from my experience on the (el.) guitar I guess that the better the drummer (those who do focus on technique/speed), the less of a difference there is between their comfy and max speed. Personally my gap between those tempo ranges is substantial, depending on the technique/pattern.
No, speed isn't everything, and yes, any drummer shouldn't spend all the time on technical stuff etc. - I hope this is clear and that people won't comment on such well-known common sense stuff too much _on this thread_.
---------------
As a starter, here's some bpm's of myself. I think it's also helpful to not only give the bpm's but also give some brief info on the technique or whether this feels ultra hard or what duration can be maintained with this and that pattern.
Paradiddle: max = 250 bpm/16th notes (HQ RealFeel pad), both matched and trad grip. 8 bars. I think I hit the same speed with the left hand leading, also. Both matched and trad (with most stuff my max speed would be with matched grip, trad being a bit slower). Comfy range for paradiddle (the basic variation) would be anything below 200 bpm. I've started working on the other paradiddle variations just recently, those are way harder for me.
Max speed single strokes: 280 bpm 16th (=8th notes per hand), for about 5 seconds. Same max speed with right and left hand ATM. American grip, a combination of wrists and fingers because at max speed I can't apply only one technique in its pure form - when pushing my hands will find their own way. I do pay close attention to technique when playing in my more comfy tempo zones though.
Feet, heel up/double pedal: 240 bpm/16th notes for about 6-8 bars (dw2002 double pedal, and HQ RealFeel kick practice pad w/ a towel on top of the rubber, and playing barefoot).
(More bpm with doubles/heel-toe but haven't done any max speed tests w/ doubles for a while. Did 270 bpm/16th notes for 3 minutes but that was months ago.) Super comfy speed range for doubles is anything up to about 180 bpm. Starts to feel harder from about 220-230 bpm.
Heel-toe/doubles endurance: 240 bpm/16th notes, for 6.38 minutes (months ago).
Heel-up endurance: 40 minutes @ 200 bpm.
I'm into drums for 1.75 years now, have a lot of time for practice (a good deal of which is actually having some "real" work to do which involves the hands only so the feet are free to practice on the double pedal or hihat at that time). Haven't got a full kit (yet) and no real plans what to do with what I "can" (which isn't much) - I'm drumming for fun and because I'm enjoying the physical/motoric challenge. (Coming from the guitar which I've been playing for 21 years now, with a focus on technique also. I'm way faster in drumming though, haha, at least if not counting in techniques like tapping.)