Honestly there are no short cuts.. best advice i got is. play it at the highest temp you can play it PERFECT.. if it's not perfect slow down til it is perfect. And practice practice practice.. If you get it perfect and practice, the speed will come.I play snare drum in my high school’s marching band.
I have pretty decent speed when I don’t have to think about what i’m playing, but pattern speed is really what is getting to me right now (specifically paradiddles.)
Any tips?
This is "muscle memory", or fully formed neurological pathways in the brain.I have pretty decent speed when I don’t have to think about what i’m playing
These pathways are not fully formed yet. If thinking about what you are doing is hindering you, you need to do it more until you can do it without thought. Only then can you build speed and endurance.pattern speed is really what is getting to me right now (specifically paradiddles.)
Again, I concur. When I was teaching my son a few things on drums that were just outside his abilities, I'd drill him hard for 10 minutes and then take a break to do other stuff or just talk. I always told him that the mind still works on the "problem" after the drumming stops. So coming back 20 minutes later to the same lesson, there was a definite jump in comprehension as well as execution and relaxation.BTW... here is a trick that i wish i had known many years ago.. i used to practice rudiments for hours at a time on 1 rudiment.. at some point i switched to doing like 1 pattern for 10 mins.. then other things.. come back to that first pattern 20 mins later and it's like it solidified more in my brain and was MUCH easier.. do that a few times and it's locked in. This worked so much better than just hammering away on 1 thing for long periods.
Again, I concur. When I was teaching my son a few things on drums that were just outside his abilities, I'd drill him hard for 10 minutes and then take a break to do other stuff or just talk. I always told him that the mind still works on the "problem" after the drumming stops. So coming back 20 minutes later to the same lesson, there was a definite jump in comprehension as well as execution and relaxation.
Having someone tell me a trick pales in comparison to figuring that trick out for myself. Takes a lot longer though.yeah.. i played for like 6 years before i figured that out... I would be WAY better by now if i had known
well.. not to hijack this thread more but When i started playing i noticed that patterns i would do the night before and struggle with, the next day i would sit down and go right through them... i should have figured it out back then.. but i r dumbHaving someone tell me a trick pales in comparison to figuring that trick out for myself. Takes a lot longer though.
6 years isn't that shabby. It took me a lot longer than 6 years
I play snare drum in my high school’s marching band.
I have pretty decent speed when I don’t have to think about what i’m playing, but pattern speed is really what is getting to me right now (specifically paradiddles.)
Any tips?
A variation on that trick is to work a difficult exercise or new technique for a very short time, but multiple times throughout the day. Play through it once at breakfast, once at your 10am break, again at lunch, etc...all the way up and through the evening. It will feel as though you hardly spent any time at all with those 3-5 minute spurts, but at the end of the day it'll be a solid half hour spent on that one thing.BTW... here is a trick that i wish i had known many years ago.. i used to practice rudiments for hours at a time on 1 rudiment.. at some point i switched to doing like 1 pattern for 10 mins.. then other things.. come back to that first pattern 20 mins later and it's like it solidified more in my brain and was MUCH easier.. do that a few times and it's locked in. This worked so much better than just hammering away on 1 thing for long periods.
well.. shit like that should come in the "Drummers first day" handbook better late than never for meA variation on that trick is to work a difficult exercise or new technique for a very short time, but multiple times throughout the day. Play through it once at breakfast, once at your 10am break, again at lunch, etc...all the way up and through the evening. It will feel as though you hardly spent any time at all with those 3-5 minute spurts, but at the end of the day it'll be a solid half hour spent on that one thing.
The benefit is because you've confronted your brain again and again to the coordination or the foreign movement of the new technique, it really hardwires itself a lot faster in your muscle memory.
And once you get something to where it becomes instinctive and natural to play, getting it up to speed can be relatively easy.
I'm going to go against the grain here. I would advise to go past the speed that you can do it perfectly, and make some mistakes.
I've been reading a lot about how learning occurs in the brain, particularly physical skills learning. The best approach would be to make mistakes, lots of them, but still getting it right a few times. Those few times trigger some chemicals that signal to your brain that he has to take care of it during your sleep.
That, and focusing on one thing, and even deeper, on one aspect of that thing, makes learning possible.
So in short, you want to get better at paradiddles? Focus on one particular aspect, like stick heights, or sound, or the rebound of the doubles. It doesn't matter what, as long as you focus. Then practice paradiddles, focusing on the chosen particular aspect, at a speed where you make mistakes, but you also get it right sometimes. Stay there for a while, at least 15 minutes. It will be frustrating. In fact, if you become frustrated then you are in fact learning. Try to reframe that frustration into excitement, because tomorrow you will be better!
After the 15-20 minutes (set a timer so you can focus on the exercise) just close your eyes and rest. You're done for today!
Trust me, try this for a little while and you will see results.