Other than practice- quickest way to improve?

Yea I was. I never heard of Dr. Harold Hill and his Think System. I guess I look the fool now.

He's the lead character in "The Music Man" Knows nothing about music, yet around the turn of the 20th century tries to hoodwink the good people of Gary, Indiana into buying band instruments. Great show. Lots of good music. Played it twice. Screen debut for Ron Howard.
 
Thanks for the tips everyone. I'm actually a music major in college right now studying jazz with guitar as my primary instrument so I have a good amount of time on my hands to practice (which I make full use of). I've been trying to do around 3 hours of guitar, 2-3 hours on drums, 0.5-1 hour on piano and some singing thrown in for good measure a day. Depending on how busy I am sometimes I reach this, but I practice everyday at least a little bit. I'm taking lessons from a great drummer who's toured the world, works professionally, extremely versatile, etc. He's a great drummer and also a really good teacher. He's had me working on many different styles everything from funk to jazz and afro-cuban stuff. I haven't been taking drums seriously until about 5 months ago and now that I'm regularly practicing I'm making great progress.

I play at blues jams about twice a month and I also jam with some friends from time to time. I want to join an actual band, but I'm not entirely sure if I'm ready yet. Since drums are arguably the most important member of the band I don't want to make a band sound bad. I do have pretty solid time from working with a metronome religiously and I think I have a good sense of groove (others have told me these things as well). I just don't have monster chops or great independence (although I'm relatively independent.)

Since I'm studying jazz in school I'm spending most of my time working on jazz drumming currently. I like jazz, but my goal isn't to become a monster jazz player (on any instrument really) I just know that studying jazz on any instrument adds so much to your musicality and I'm sure drums are no exception to that.
 
Thanks for the tips everyone. I'm actually a music major in college right now studying jazz with guitar as my primary instrument so I have a good amount of time on my hands to practice (which I make full use of). I've been trying to do around 3 hours of guitar, 2-3 hours on drums, 0.5-1 hour on piano and some singing thrown in for good measure a day.

Well OK. Gee, I'm glad we could help.
I think 7 hours a day of practice and your drum teacher should get you where you want to go.


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One thing that people often overlook, especially if you're an adult learning a new instrument, is to HAVE FUN! It sounds so obvious, but I see so many adults approaching it the same way they would approach work. They "suck it up" and practice sh!t that brings them no joy. This is the easiest way to lose interest. Kids, on the other hand, are impulsive, so when they learn something, they are basically just pleasure seeking. They "play," in the literal sense of the word.

With that in mind, add structure to your sessions and set goals. For example, I LOVE playing the practice pad and soloing on the kit. And within my pad session, I LOVE speed drills. So, I basically use that knowledge and apply a routine "on top of" the things I actually enjoy that also improve upon the things that I want to improve upon. I set goals, and I track progress.

Now to your question. I would recommend seeking things out that you actually enjoy or things that you find interesting, like I mentioned earlier. Build your bank of "fun stuff." Listen to tunes and watch videos.. when you find something that you like make a mental note to learn that thing. Then, take that to your practice sessions. Don't forget to listen and watch to all kinds of different styles and genres... build a broad spectrum early on, and then you'll have tons of stuff to draw upon when you need fun material to practice.

Good luck!
 
All posters are giving very good advice here.

I learned kind of like you learned guitar. My Dad (who was also my drum teacher) told me that the rudiments were the key to played the drums. But learning and practicing the rudiments on a pad was boring. So here is what I did when I was 8 years old:

I got a list of the 26 rudiments (there were only 26 in 1958). Then I put on my favorite music (rock and roll) and I played one rudiment on the drum set all of the way through one song. Also playing the bass drum and hi hat. I moved to the next song and rudiment and did the same thing. Every day I did this for each of the 26 rudiments.


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That's brilliant, Jim. What a great idea. Thanks for posting this.

GeeDeeEmm
 
I'll 2nd (3rd) recording yourself and listening back, as well as playing live with others. It's amazing how bad you will almost always sound when listening to yourself, and how all those rudiment and book practices get thrown out the window when you're not playing to a click but instead trying to work with a guitarist who is rushing.

Also, IMO, playing along to recorded music is probably the *worst* thing you can do. It's not at all like playing with real people, and has very little in the way of residual value like regular practice will. In my experience people who just always play along to tracks are usually the slowest learners.
 
Other than actually putting up walls, foundation and roof, what's the quickest way to build a house myself? I really want to live in a cool house that I built myself, but building a house sounds like too much work, and also sounds like it might take time. Furthermore, I'd have to actually learn from this whole damned house building project. I'd likely make mistakes and have moments of triumph, plus everything in between.

Wait! I know! Maybe if I watch a few youtube videos on house building, plus I ask nicely on a forum how I might build a whole house without learning how, and without spending the time or commitment, it will suddenly click for me! Think of all the great houses I'll build then!
 
Get out there and perform in front of an audience. This puts you under a different kind of pressure, and motivates you do your best. You'll learn from mistakes, and you'll discover your strengths and weaknesses.

Then go home and practice all the weaknesses.
 
Other than actually putting up walls, foundation and roof, what's the quickest way to build a house myself?

So harsh.

I read the question as "In addition to practice - quickest way to improve?"
 
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