Drum Practice

Make the most out of your drum practice with these tips and techniques. You can also find Drum Sheet Music and exercises to help you practice in my section on How to Play the Drums.

How Long To Practice

One often overlooked factor of practicing is time. How long should you practice? Most drummers would agree that an hour is a good length. However, studies show that you are better off to break up that hour into two 30 minute sessions. You brain is still learning and processing information for up to 30 minutes afterwards, so by breaking it up, you’re likely to retain more. But…

…many pro drummers have said in interviews that the first thirty mins. of practice is simply warming up. Any time after that is when you actually start learning. Personally, with a wife and two small children, if I get a chance to sit down and practice, I’m going to jam for as long as I can.

The way you practice depends on what you are trying to learn. For example, there are a couple different ways of practicing your drum rudiments. One is used for learning control, while one focuses on building speed. See my lesson on how to play Drum Rudiments.

If you want to practice building your drumset speed, you’ll find tips and tricks on my Fast Drumming page. You’ll learn the pillow method which is great for increasing speed. There is also a special stick hold you can use to help build your drumming muscles. You can learn that method on my Free Online Drum Lessons page. Be sure to your muscles are not tensing up when you practice. RELAXED MUSCLES ARE FASTER AND MORE POWERFUL. Remember, you can use any of these practice tips with my Beginner Drum Lessons, but the most important tip is that you ACTUALLY PRACTICE!



Learn More Drum Practice Techniques.