Playing the drums is something you simply can't compare to anything else. It may be your hobby, your profession, or something that you keep meaning to take up. But whichever way you look at it, playing the drums is different. It's making music in a way unlike any other. It's a collection of vastly different sounds put together in one voice. It's a physical activity in many ways, with a drummer using all 4 limbs at times to create music. However, like everything else, practice makes perfect. If you truly want to master the drum kit, if you want to play as well as the likes of Buddy Rich, John Bonham, Keith Moon, Neil Peart (to name a few), then you have to make playing the drums a commitment. If you put time and effort into learning the craft, then you will be rewarded with things you never thought you could pull off!
Make the time
Making the time to practice is the first step to becoming a great drummer. Like I said earlier, playing the drums is a commitment, and that commitment will enable you to learn the things you want to, to become more skilled in your craft, and it could even be the difference between playing the drums as a hobby or a profession.
Set out a set time each day or each week to practice. Make it reasonably easy to stick to, as no one can stick to a 12-hour-a-day practice routine, and you will only get disheartened if you try. Make a short list of the things you would like to get better at - for example; paradiddles, bass drum technique, jazz time - and break up your routine into sections to accommodate each of these targets.
Keep the time
Being able to keep time is absolutely essential to being a drummer. Some people may be born with perfect timing, but unfortunately it's not that easy for the majority of us. Building your "human metronome" is the single most important skill you can work on - it enables you to learn different things, it enables you to play crazy more complex grooves and fills, it makes you more employable as a drummer, and quite simply - it makes you sound good! Playing to your favourite songs is also a good way of doing this, as the recording will (mostly) be in time.
Spread the time
If you can, split the your practice time into two halves - dedicate one half to playing on the kit, and one half to playing on a practice pad. It may seem boring at first glance, but practicing on a pad is a fantastic way of learning rudiments and building up your hand speed and muscle memory. Not only does a practice pad provide less distraction than a kit (we've all been there - practicing rudiments on the snare drum when, all of a sudden, we spy a crash cymbal out of the corner of our eye, and BOOM!! there goes the practice... ), but you can also take a practice pad with you wherever you go! (Although school, work, and while you are driving may not be advisable!)
Count the time
When you are learning a new beat or a new fill, a helpful tip is to count time as you are playing. This not only helps you to understand whereabouts you are in the fill or beat, but also helps you to further develop your human metronome. Counting 1 2 3 4, 1+2+3+4+, or 1e+a2e+a3e+a4e+a are the most common ways of counting.
Have a GREAT time
The most important tip of all is to have fun while you are playing the drums. Why else would you want to play unless you are having fun? If you find practicing to a metronome or using a pad boring, then sit back and think why you are doing it. Is it to get better at playing the drums? Is it to sound amazing? Or is it because you "have to"? Fun is the key to learning anything successfully, because if you don't enjoy what you are doing, then you won't reap the benefits.
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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Charley_J_Herbert
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