Why should I practice things that I would never play on a gig?

I've been working on blushdas and hertas. I figure it can't herta even if I don't use it.
 
All the connective tissues that hold everything together age and don't repair as well so those tissues prone to weakness (post-translational modifications of connective tissue proteins, synthesis or pro-collagens and tropoelastin decline, etc.
@GetAgrippa would make a great jazz drummer. Does not follow form. Full of improvisation.
 
I get that, and it's completely valid. But you can see where I was going with my above reply.

definitely....I wasn't trying to be snarky or anything...
 
Subdivisions in particular do have a value for developing general control.

There is however a big question regaring exactly how you practice those things and that gets pretty complex and also very personal.

Personally, I have a very improvisational approach to music in general. This means I go for general facility and control, but after I got past a certain basic level I do tie it all together in a way that's based of phrasing and also just slowly adding things to my practical vocabulary.

Sometimes the uses for something aren't fully apparent until you're actualy able to do it. Then you can take a step back and view it on it's musical merits. What you get out of it isn't always what you initially expect. Working on some new concept may end up inspiring new music a new tune etc..

Looking at a book like New Breed and actually get what Gary Chester meant you to do or have a few lessons with Gary Chaffee when yo go through the Patterns stuff opens up a lot of stuff. Their approach is based in music, listening and creativity and their materials don't tell the full story. Different students vary greatly when it comes to what's needed to get them into that mindset, so some part in getting it needs to be a personal guided approach.
 
So, I'm going through my old teacher's book "drumming starts here" by Phil Solomon, now it's for beginners so it takes you through 1 notes, 1/2 notes, 1/4 notes, 1/8th, 1/16th on the snare drum, suggests you do a kick/hat 1, 3 and 2 4 respectively pattern (1), or a 1, 2, 3, 4 and a 2, 4 pattern (2) under it.
Basic shit.
Anyway, I am re-going through it, working on my feet, so I'm doing hats with the RH on 1, 2, 3, 4 as per his RF in "foot pattern 2" and LH snare on the 2, 4 as per LF.

The point is for a while I was ignoring all exercises that had a rest on the downbeat. Makes more sense on the snare, as per the books intent, but I wanna get my double kicks up to speed and skill, and lets face it - name a metal track that misses that down kick but starts on the off beat? No, you can't cos it sounds weak and shit.

Because of this, My left foot has suffered. My poly-rhythmic ability has suffered. My general "groove" has suffered.

So now I am literally spending hours going back and playing left leading feet with a click -xxx-xxx-xxx etc, and its time consuming and boring and makes me feel shit at drumming, and I wish I'd done 5 minutes of it each time, amidst the rest of the practice when I began but I was lazy and cut a corner and now I'm suffering.

Do I ever intend to play a gig where I miss the downbeat? Hell no.
Do I ever intend to write/play music in bizarre time signatures where I need the ability to skip the 1st note in four or some such? Absolutely. Can I do that, without being able to miss the down beat of a 4/4 pattern? No.
 
I've been working "left side" exercises a LOT in the last year or two. It's really opened up doors for me in fills and beats that I DO play at gigs. I'm finding new easy/creative ways to do things that I would never have if my left side, both hand and foot, wasn't awakened and developed with drills & exercises. Super fun!
 
I remember after years of being a self taught, bookless drummer, I took some lessons. An early exercise was learn the paradiddle inversions, then play them over four on the floor feet, then over samba feet. Challenging as all hell, had to go so... slow.... at first, but once it was all working my gig IQ shot up a mile and it opened up a whole new world of vocab and confidence for me. It's hard to explain. I have never and will never play that pattern on a gig, but I still warm up with it all the time.
 
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