LISTEN NOW Drum Tips and Resources from Bardsman
Practice Makes Perfect
There are a lot of drum tips at your disposal, especially with the internet at our fingertips! This page is meant to give you some tips and a solid place to start putting your time when getting into the drum life. Select a button above to get started!
DRUM TIP #1 - Practicing
Your practice routine will determine your drumming dreams. How’s that for alliteration? Set up a regular time to practice most days of the week, if you can. Consistent and constant practice will do more for your progress as a musician than sporadic, long practice sessions. Structure these practices so they push you to improve your skills. If you are in doubt, here are some of my practice structuring tips to get you started:
34% of Practice Time on Warming Up
Drummers need to warm-up their muscles in order to play effectively and without injuring themselves. I like to compare the simplicity of warming up to letters of the alphabet – the smallest way to build and start communicating. This warm-up time is integral in building muscle, technique, consistency, and improving form. I recommend spending about 1/3 of your practice on this. (When I was playing in a drum line, we usually warmed up for almost half of our daily practice time).
33% of Practice Time on Exercises
Exercises teach you muscle memory and flow. If warm-ups are our basic letters for communicating, exercises become the WORDs you build with your alphabet (capabilities). Pull drum beats, fills or rudiments straight from performance pieces you are working on (flams, swiss-triplets, etc) and work them on loop, across drums, at different tempos – whatever! Don’t be random – be relevant with what exercises you decide to spend another 1/3 of your practice time on.
33% of Practice Time on Performance Pieces
This is ultimately why you play the drums, right? To play & perform music! This is the story that we can build with the letters (warming up) and words (exercises) we’ve already added to our palette. While performance pieces likely seem the focus of our drumming, they are impossible without dedication to the previous 2 Phases. Everything you practice in your warm-ups and exercises can and should be used to help you perform. Structure Phases 1 and 2 with relevant playing so that when you get to Phase 3, you already know the rudiments or the beats. You just need to put them together and feel the music.
Make Time to Play for Fun!
But, we’re all 100%ed out, aren’t we? Not so! If the last 3 Phases felt like work, this one shouldn’t. Every time you sit down to practice, you need to have fun! Or else you would likely not be drumming in the first place. This is your reward, your motivation to sit down and play every day! Make time to play for fun or else you might burn yourself out or lose focus. Treat yo’self.
A Few Ideas
- It is better to practice 5 minutes every day than to practice 30 or 60 minutes just once a week.
- To simplify, break your practice sessions into three equal chunks of time: Warm Ups, Exercises, and Performance.
- Always try to end your practice with something that is just fun for you to play – you deserve a reward and need to keep in mind the reason you play drums!
- Don’t make excuses for not practicing – no matter how true they may be, they will NEVER help you play the drums! If it’s important and relevant, you’ll make time.
DRUM TIP #2 - Warm Ups
As a drummer, your warm-up is integral to your everyday practice. Due to the physical nature of drumming, you need to ease those muscles into playing. Not only does this protect you, but it improves performance and builds necessary physical and mental strength. Here are my personal go-to warm-ups when I practice:
Lukewarm Tips
- Warm-ups should focus on Good Form, Consistency, and Precision (don’t let speed get in the way of quality!
- Start off at a comfortable tempo where you can perfect your stroke, form and timing – then progressively speed things up to build speed and muscle while maintaining good form
- Experiment with dynamics and accents throughout each of these warm-ups
- Play these warm-ups across your drum set on the cymbals, drums and pedals
DRUM TIP #3 - Books & Media
There are a ton of resources out there for musicians of all kinds. It can be intimidating to sift through it all and find what is most applicable! However, it’s important to find resources that fit our needs and connect with us, immersing us more in the language and world of drumming. Here are just a few of the basic books and podcasts I recommend checking out for starters and intermediate players:
Beginning – Intermediate Players
The book “Fundamental Studies for Snare Drum” is a quick go to for me, especially if you are learning to read sheet music, play simple pieces, or jamming along with a partner. This book offers flexible “paragraphs”, or long exercises” to help you learn basic and intermediate rudiments and common patterns. Get it here.
Intermediate – Advanced Players
The “Rudimental Cookbook” is my go-to manual for challenging rudiments and performance pieces. It scales well but quickly. This book is a must have for practicing rudiments and learning how to apply them throughout musical pieces. It’s also got a few very powerful exercises for your regular practice routine. Get it here.
Beginning – Advanced Players
“Stick Control” is a fantastic book for learning your alphabet and words. It contains just about every iteration of a pattern or rudiment you may run into, often in 4 bar phrases for quick repetition. This book can help you overcome the most specific drumming hurdles, hence why I highly recommend it. Get it here.
“Modern drummer” is your podcast if you want to hear a couple of dudes talk about gear and many famous drummers. This is a great podcast to get you thinking drums, especially in comparing sounds between different drums and sets. Check it out here.
These fellas are hilarous. “The Drumeo Podcast” is a great resource for learning about all things drums. From practice ideas, how to make money, to what to look for in a teacher and more, these guys will help you think more about your life drumming. Check it out here.
Some Hot Thoughts
- All of these book and podcast recommendations are meant for YOU, whether you play drum set or snare drum on a drum line. They contain essentials for all types of drummers.
- By learning from these books. listening to drum related podcasts or watching videos of your favorite drummers on YouTube, you will become immersed in drum thinking. This can motivate and inspire you while helping you expand your mind and try new things with your music and drumming.
