Excellent advice, I started playing drums 6 yrs ago. And think for me the biggest improvement came from proper grip and relaxing behind the kit, I most work on singles, doubles, flams, paradidles, and rebound control with dynamics , I've since landed a drum position with a Blues/classic rock band at 75 yrs of age, I love this!! Thanks Stephan
@@markwilmeth3082 But he also had good singles and doubles, he had a great foundation then learned rudiments, he didn’t just learn rudiments then become good.
IMO, the greatest warm-ups are the "forearm crusher" and Rob Brown's trips into diddle switching between right and left. Forearm crusher is all 16ths, but switching between singles, doubles, and single paradiddles in a continuous stream, going right into the next rudiment when you get to the "4e&a" of the previous rudiment. Long way of saying, agreed! lol. With the addition of paradiddles. Happy drumming!
@@hombreenojado Yep! That's why I like combining those two exercises into one exercise. You're practicing the most important foundational tools as you work on technique, cleanliness, subdivisions, and speed. Have a great day!
21:05 "Get your grip together first, Son. If all your friends were doing crazy paradiddles around the kit would you do it, too?" Idk if you have kids, but you have an awesome Dad tone and voice.
What I've been doing lately is basically this, but with my eyes closed and listening very closely to the intensity. I've noticed my left hand hits much more rigidly than my right, so I practice having even power in both to get a very consistent sound. The more I do this, the better overall control I'm starting to get with my left hand. I'm not a beginner or an expert, but I find this helps me a LOT
This was a great piece of advice to hear as a beginner drummer. I was starting to get so overwhelmed with all the little building blocks that i was so focused on, and i was telling myself i wasnt ready to just try and play some songs without putting in the work and grinding out hours of drills and stuff. Thank you for this!
So True!!! I have a kit in my basement, but I spend most of my time practicing singles, doubles, and subdivision exercises on my pad! I love the pad. My teacher calls it yoga for the mind.
In order to practice with him, I slowed the speed to 0.5x at 13:27 and I could keep pace with him right from quarter notes uptil 32nd notes, by counting each note and playing along. Had been doing that since the last 3 days, but I tried increasing the speed to 0.75x today and could not count and play at septuplets (7s) [I guess since it's an odd time signature, at a slightly higher speed. I think so as I could count 32nd notes, which is faster than this]. Any advice? I guess at higher speeds, we anyhow would not be able to count the individual notes and our hand will move because of the muscle memory. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
I mean at high tempos, would my hand automatically time it perfectly for each sub division, if I start slow and progressively increase my speed and play along? I can obviously not count in my head at such high tempos but I know these professional drummers have their hands perfectly timed, as is the case with Stephen (as I could hear his perfect timing at slower speeds).
I also make up my own rudiments. For example, if I am playing in 5 or 7, the regular rudiments will not do much good, so I practice different accent patterns with and without flams in all subdivisions, like quintuplets and septuplets. This is much more practical and makes moving fluidly around the kit and being creative so much easier.
Dang. STOP TALKING about what not to play. 7 minutes and still nothing. That one thing I've noticed that is common in all your lessons. Which are very informative and fun. But the talking intro after intro... .
this makes me feel good about my own practice. I'm new to drums but have been playing guitar for a long time. I thought it was weird how so few starter drum videos brushed over grip, but my hands kept hurting and I eventually figured it out (very likely was also one of your videos). so when I practice on a pad, I focus on my grip a lot and I came to a similar exercise as your thing with subdivisions, but you used more than I thought of. One other exercise I like a lot is basically the same thing, but you mentally but the metronome beats on the "and", it has really helped me to feel the 8th note subdivision
You are very generous in your sharings. is not so common to see and hear people giving this kind of testimonial/advices so experiencial. thank you very much!
This video is beneficial to me. I learned to play by ear growing up in the 70's. I spent a lot of money on drum lessons, but unfortunately, a lot of good drummers aren't good teachers and I've learned the hard way. This is what I've been looking for and i know that in 30 day's I'll hear a improvement in my playing. Thanks!
I've only just started out on the drums at 56. Great advice there Steve and superb teaching. I'm learning coordination between hands and feet at the moment. It's so easy to try and run before you can walk at this. Liked and subscribed 👍
My man, I thank you a lot - all the way from South Africa... You are heaven sent man, you're not an angel with wings, but an angel with sticks. Salute!!
Relaxed grip is the foundation to the whole thing for me. You can only get so far without it. That's a pad exercise I do all the time. Singles cycling thru the subdivisions.
This is excellent advice and makes so much sense!! Focusing on the simple basic skills is essential to playing well quickly, and as you point out, most songs we'll play require a simple and solid beat. After all, the drummer is the time keeper for the band, so keep it simple. The ability to be consistently solid with simple basic beats is what will lead to effective complex patterns and orchestration throughout the kit. Thank you very much for this video which helps beginners breath a huge sigh of relief 😁🥁❣️
Actually… I believe that a good drummer actually gets the “feel” right, doesn’t rush… allows the space to be exactly what it is, and doesn’t lose the groove they are creating. If you’re a drummer that can’t get the feel right, or can’t keep the groove, you’ll ruin every single dance song by making it undanceable! If you make a dance song undanceable, you have officially failed as a drummer. That is the worst failure! Loved your dotted notes explanation. Too many drummer don’t understand the space between the notes, let alone respect it. Jumping the gun on any beat or being delayed…. Changes the beat, the feel, and the groove. A lot of drummers fail to have the discipline to actually learn that they…. Are the person that makes a song danceable or undanceable. If they don’t dance… work it… fix it… learn! Get it! Thanks for the videos!
Background: I have been a drummer-only player since I was about 10 (and I am far beyond that now) and in all those years, I have only EVER used the trad grip. I have been away from drums and a drumset for almost 40 years and want to get back, not for any reason other than my own enjoyment. I am impressed by your video series and would like to know if you have one/any related to trad grip...I do not want to relearn how to hold my sticks at my advanced age!
Thank you for referencing how to practice with a metronome! That was one thing that keeps tripping me up and now I think I have it. Each beat at 65 is a quarter note...4 hits on the pad. 1/8th notes are 8 hits on the pad for 4 beeps of the metronome. Hope that's right lol
All good points fore the most part about what makes a good drummer, but to deny that rudiments are not needed is like telling someone you can spell words and make sentences but don't worry about learning the alphabet. Rudiments are like a drummers alphabet, I don't think about rudiments that I am playing when I play with them, they are just so embedded in my framework and muscle memory they just come out anywhere anytime in my phrasing. I did come from short lived marching background and now I play in all genres, more than I can remember. I have a huge big band and Jazz background, and I also play metal and obviously all the standard classic rock songs that everyone and their mothers knows. With that being said, Marching and learning rudiments was probably the most invaluable journey I took in my career. Out of all the things do now, I have to say most of my speed, dynamics, timing and most importanly Control came from Rudiments. Ironically when you finally get to what to practice at 12 minutes your practice suggestions are basically what drumlines, and marching bands do forever with variations in warm ups and warm up cadences. Really the same principles to some degree.
Akane Hirose of Band Maid often remarks on how important practicing the basics, including lots of work on singles is to her progress. If someone that good practices the basics daily I think we all should.
I practice 2-4h a day and I wouldn't call myself a good drummer bcs I compare me to Aquiles Prieser and I can say its a hard way. Everybody should know that you don't have to bee good on the drums to have fun drums are a fun instrument as long as you have fun everything is ok.
Stephen...it's all very crazy for me personally. I literally just sent $55 out on PayPal to get a lesson on hand technique and unfortunately that fell through. As far as I can tell, IT'S ONE BIG THING AND IT'S SIMPLE BUT COMPLICATED! Most people (me included) learned to play Palms Down, From The Wrist, Hands at 4:40 on a Clock. Now we realize...that's not right! I don't even understand how people play thumbs up? That causes me multiple problems! First, the butt of my drum sticks would be where my stomach is. Second, my wrist doesn't bend that way. 3rd, my fingers are just too clumsy even after hours of messing with French grip on the practice pad. I can see other drummers doing it...I JUST CAN'T REPLICATE THAT MOTION! 😤🥁🔥🚫
I just play to have fun, I've only played drums in Rock Band 3. I was at least smart enough to get my e-drums by buying other people's broken dreams on eBay instead of buying retail.
So, practice slow and focus on ideas that work on playing musically for songs. But, then play fast on a pad using 5's, 7's, 16th note triplets, and 32nd notes. Right. Also, jazz and fusion are in NO WAY rudimental based. Not any more than any other genre of "modern" music. The only type of music that is rudiment based, is rudimental music. Marching/corps/parade/fife&drum are the only styles of music that are specifically rudiment based. The ABSOLUTE best thing you can do to learn how to play for the song that you didn't talk about: listen to songs. Listening is one of the best practice techniques for learning how to approach things musically. Don't think about drums, think about what the music is asking for. Then apply that to your instrument, whatever instrument that may be. Does it need propulsion, does it need to be slumped down and groove behind the beat, does it need intricacy, does it only need a heart beat, is it missing melodic aspects, can you do something to bring out an aspect of the lyrics? LISTEN TO LYRICS. You want to play in a band and play for the song? Don't bring out 5's, 7's, 16th note triplets, and 32nd notes(unless you're in a RTF/Weather Report/Elektric Band situation or trying to audition for Snarky Puppy) Think like a musician who plays drums. Don't think like a drummer. P.S. I've seen Mark play tons of times. I don't think I've ever seen him play "chops". He plays intricately very often. But, that isn't chops. He's not spitting out memorized lines. He is playing for the song, musically. That music happens to require playing intricately with speed. But everything he is playing has a musical element to it that makes the performance of the song better.
man....you spend waaaay to much time preaching to people about how they ought to behave.....i can guarantee none of these people clicked on this video initially to listen to you rant...
3 minutes in and the same points repeated 2 or 3 times...GET ON WITH IT MAN! 6 minutes, still nothing...YAAAWN. 9 minutes, BLAH BLAH BLAH...Still nothing. This channel sucks.
I respectfully disagree. You shouldn’t sit behind a kit until you have mastered the rudiments on a snare drum. You are setting people up for failure or a least causing them to hit a “playing ceiling”. Send this video to Steve gadd , Travis barker, Dennis chambers, Greg bissonette, etc…and see what they say. This video is horrible advice in my opinion. I sure hope your doctor or electrician didn’t decide to skip the fundamentals.
I bought a practice pad at age 55 during summer 2020 and started learning rudiments just to see if this was something I could really do. They helped me understand my limitations pretty quickly but also let me had a little fun which made me want more. A few months later I got a used Tama set. Your videos really help me focus on the right thing as opposed to others that pretty much make me feel slow and inadequate. Keep up the fantastic work.
I'm trying to fast track my drumming. Been going hard for a couple months. This channel is a go to for my practise. Don't know how this channel isn't even more popular. It's helping soooo much
It's because Stephen teaches the "boring" (for which read "genuinely useful") stuff that's not Instagram friendly, "totally blow your friends away" super chops... personally I've taken loads of advice from this channel and a couple of others who also put a heavy emphasis on practicing the fundamentals as the key to sounding good.
I'm just at the beginner stages, but we share the same mentality of making sure the foundation is solid before moving forward. I appreciate your content because you continually stress this. Great stuff!
Whew...never tried playing 5s or 7s before. Tricky...but this is a good exercise to do. And kinda mind blowing to reiterate focusing on the basics and grip on a practice pad. It really does pay off! Full disclosure, I took lessons with Stephen and he helped me fix a lot of bad habits I had which opened me up to much better playing. Listen to him for he is wise!
Stephen...thank you for putting this drum channel together! I took drum lessons when I was 11, and I became fairly good. Gave it up, but played on a set or two at folks houses here and there. 15 years ago I bought a set, used it on and off for 3 years then sold it. Fast forward to now. I just picked up a used Yamaha Rydeen drum set, and I plan on getting back to the basics and eventually buying better cymbals and heads. My point? I wanted a new hobby and I'm excited to jump back in. I'll watch your videos and I've subscribed for your updates. You do a great job teaching. The Franchise King®, Joel Libava
Thanks so much for this and all your technique videos. I recently started playing drums but have a decades long history with other instruments and I just find I always grow faster if I work on technique and fundamentals first. So many drumming vids on YT are like “master this crazy lick!” but these vids are so much more helpful for me as a beginner. Thanks!
Steve, you always have that nice, relaxed delivery of valuable info. Me, at 69 years old, returning to playing drums after a hiatus of 50 Years, I play recreationally for personal pleasure and hobby. Retired due to physical disabilities from spinal issues including stenosis which affects my lower back and neck and my legs, I play to My Music........ CCR, PETTY, CLAPTON, MELLENCAMP, CARS, ANIMALS, BEATLES, STONES, HOLLIES, MELISSA E., KINKS, even lots of Linda Ronstandt ( play her music, she was really the first Diva), EAGLES, and more.....Steve's advice is so appreciated. I never did really play by reading music, played By Ear exclusively from 1966 after taking 6 to 8 lessons .
This is great, glad I found it - playing for 10 years since age 50, know plenty of songs, played with bands but never really felt "competent". Now I have gone back to basics and learning proper technique, starting to get it. what I love about Stephen's videos, is he talk's around the lesson giving all the "why's", verbalizing all the frustrations, mistakes and how to overcome. I learn more listening to the whole videos rather than just practicing "wrong".
Congratulations, Stephen! I'm not sure I could have managed 25 minutes saying grip is important. That folks, is all there is. By the way, you are pretty adept at those things you don't have to learn before you understand that holding the sticks correctly makes a difference.
My drum teacher had a similar approach. First thing - make sure your grip is correct. Second thing - count out loud when you're learning, even if it sounds silly. Third thing - you *have* to play with other musicians.
There is a big difference between being a drummer and being a musician who plays the drums. Properly learning all the rudiments is all about learning how to play and just as importantly learning how to listen to become a musician.
I actually did this exact exercise on bass for about 3 years, just for 3-5 minutes at the start of every practice session (probably 5 days a week or so). Then I'd play anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours learning a song or dicking around, but I can definitively say that those 3-5 minutes did more to improving my rhythm and technique on bass than anything else. Now I'm trying to pick up drums and I'm very excited to apply this exercise!
I've been playing/teaching for over 30 years. The truth is that playing super impressive chops usually only impresses other drummers (and yourself). I think it's more important to play in-time, with proper dynamics, and to match your drum sound to the songs/bands you're playing with. If you want to throw in a few tricks/fills along the way, that's great, but the core of what you play should be a solid groove, that allows the song/band to sound right to the listeners.
Great job instructing buddy. Love your sticking technique!! Actual on drum instructions begin around 11:40. Listen closely to entire video students. He speaks wisdom on being a musician as well as a great & dependable person. Drum on. D
How often do we hear “ I wish I knew then what I know now “. This advice may be a bit wordy but provides a hugely skilled bridge between the ‘then’ and ‘now’. I found it worth listening to the concepts behind the words. We are one contributor to the total sound……keeping time, cranking up to the punch line then quietly backing other band members when it is their turn shine. Well done Stephen
I have 3 "go to" channels for drum lessons; this one, the 80/20 drummer and Rob "Beatdown" Brown. All three emphasize the importance of developing clean playing, timing and sub divisions over trying to develop insane chops . Fantastic advice and certainly something that has helped my drumming take massive leaps forward
saw this videos just now, and it really helped but now i cant seem to download the pdf, i think its no longer there cz the link keeps leading to the same page
Thanks Stephen. I recently started working on the rudiments and I wasn't feeling it for some of the reasons your mentioned. I've got your guide and I'm going to try it out for a few months.
Thanks for sharing this sir I constantly focus on Rudiments and those have helped a lot in learning and creating chops but to be very Frank it doesn't help as good Musician or in playing songs . It's better to keep as simple as possible . Thank you so much for sharing your Perspective on this ❤️❤️LOVE From INDIA
Thank you! Thank you so much for clarifying this. Been wracking my head trying to do the paras (cause that's what everyone tells you) and getting only more and more frustrated. You're the first one to cover the basics, like hand sticking and single stroke. Not all of us aspire to become the next Neal Peart and even if we were, starting with the paradiddles sure isn't the way to get going. You are a wise man with common sense. I'm following your directions from now on. All the other videos I have bookmarked can wait (or be ignored). Sent an email in order to download the material you posted here, waiting eagerly for the reply from you. And to think it only took me close to 2 years to finally find someone that knows how to teach drums. Cheers.
Excellent video Stephen clearly the grip issue is key as you've pointed out this in my experience facilitates how we tackle any songs on the drums . Priceless advice cheers
I learned playing by ear to my favorite drummers' music (Travis Barker, Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, etc), which definitely makes me feel very confident playing rock, punk, etc. What I'm awful at is playing fast and fancy while staying relaxed, which I think is holding me back big time. Even doing rudiments, I catch myself feeling so stiff, which I feel is holding me back a bit. My rudiments kinda fall apart the faster I go. Gotta git gud in 2024. And honestly, I think grip is probably my area of opportunity.
Terrible advice. If you think learning rudiments is a waste of time, then you're just limiting yourself. Practising rudiments has made me better drummer all round.
Good one! The basic ideas here I got from Robert Fripp sourced ideas when I was briefly part of a Guitar Craft circle in 2007. The First Primary exercise is part of my 20% on guitar, sometimes the whole thing. With drums you hit the skin on the head! What's the source of number? Nothingness, first you listen. Then 1, the single, the grip when it's sticks, hand to stick is the basic thing. If a guitar is made from shoddy individual components the final product will be crap, same with practice on any instrument including voice. I've been following your exercises for practice pad for just a few days and already I have results that are getting me past a plateau I've been on for years. Tai Ji balls are in my mix of tools so my fingers already have the strength, and the dexterity from guitar and flute. The key data points you provided clued me into finer details of perception that have broken my previous speed barriers and stick control and dynamics really fast since I already have the basic coordination down. Still my incorrect awareness of how I was holding the stick kept me from getting any better.
Sorry but I have to correct one thing ( that doesn't matter that much). But the 80/20 rule is ABSOLUTE BOLLOCKS! It is no scientific principle or has any factual basis! The 80/20-realtion was found by ONE scientist in a SPECIFIC study for his field( can't remember now, what it was) and after publishing his findings this pattern just was adapted by people( NO scientiests, in no way, shape or form in any study or anything). It was adopted by people that do live coaching, prep talks, all that kinda stuff and they just adopted it for their schtick!!! I think almost everybody on the internet has heard it so often and surely was under the impression that it is some kind of magical rule by nature - it could not be further from the truth! The guy who first put it out in his paper said he hates that it caught this traction and is used constantly by so many people without any basis in reality! I was under this impression for years, and just learned this a few months ago! I think it is worth spreading the word, because it shows that we all should be much more aware of how much falsehoods are being sold as facts and truths. I love your vids, am subbed and in no way want to critize you! Just wanted to put this out there, also for you and all other subs :)
I think that could be dangerous to say that you could be practicing the wrong way from the beginning. I think it would be more educationnal if you say that maybe some people are not practising the BEST way. Because a lot of skills in druming takes a lot of time to gain, and if you create a doubt on the mind of a beginner, that maybe he is practising for nothing, this doubt will never disappear and will lead to demotivation. Keep on training. Practicing is always a good thing to do no matter what. Just take some step back sometime to analyse how you could be better.
Sorry but I´m here just for the rudiments as you say. You did take over 2 mins to say the same thing and that goy me a bit worried, yet after explaining how important playing correctly was, you say they are not important! I think you need to re think this video. As most people want less talk and more practice as it were.
I do Tommy Igoes routine every day . 10 mins though as I’m addicted . I work on other stuff- rebound strokes , accents , then I practice. The rudimentary routine you can do in 20 mins . Of course playing is the most important & rudiments are as relevant today as anyone wants to make them . Turning up etc that’s common sense.
The rudments are essencial in drums likewise are keyacords for pianists. What we have to learn are: sigle stroke, double stroke, paradiddle, flam and drugs. Therefore, all 40 rudments are combinations of singles, doubles, paradidles, flams and drugs
Yes, knowing the proper grip technique is very important before attempting to learn the rudiment! Otherwise, one could end up developing bad technique which takes much longer time to unlearn-- not to mention physical injuries like blisters, and developing carpal tunnel syndrome that can be irreversible.
I practice the same as bassman, subdivision of tempo, alternate even and odd, and i use with different musical feeling , rock, funk, house, folk etc.. inside me, as theater role a real true feeling as i ancher in memory of powerfull situation , in each technical base , finger, pick and slap.
Thanks for this video! Got my first practice pad and was just going through videos about what to learn, then I got stuck on the thought that I should learn the rudiments before I could move on to learn other things or just play in general.
Excellent advice, I started playing drums 6 yrs ago. And think for me the biggest improvement came from proper grip and relaxing behind the kit, I most work on singles, doubles, flams, paradidles, and rebound control with dynamics , I've since landed a drum position with a Blues/classic rock band at 75 yrs of age, I love this!! Thanks Stephan
@3rd Ear it's never to late my friend, life is great when you have music in your blood, Rock on!!
@@dnevnici_bubnjara I'm 62 and I think I'm going to try!
One of the greatest drummers in the world was Niel Peart and he knew his rudiments and used them in his songs!!!!
@@markwilmeth3082 But he also had good singles and doubles, he had a great foundation then learned rudiments, he didn’t just learn rudiments then become good.
Hell yeah! I’m 52 and getting an e-Kit for Christmas! Excited to start this journey!
The rudiments essentially consists of combinations of the same strokes; singles, doubles and the flam. I work on those. Lol.
I think you're right.I do exactly the same Hombre.
IMO, the greatest warm-ups are the "forearm crusher" and Rob Brown's trips into diddle switching between right and left. Forearm crusher is all 16ths, but switching between singles, doubles, and single paradiddles in a continuous stream, going right into the next rudiment when you get to the "4e&a" of the previous rudiment. Long way of saying, agreed! lol. With the addition of paradiddles. Happy drumming!
@@blakenunndrums And if you're working paradiddles you're covering singles and doubles.
@@hombreenojado Yep! That's why I like combining those two exercises into one exercise. You're practicing the most important foundational tools as you work on technique, cleanliness, subdivisions, and speed. Have a great day!
Buzz rolls, Singles, doubles, triples, flams, and drags
21:05 "Get your grip together first, Son. If all your friends were doing crazy paradiddles around the kit would you do it, too?"
Idk if you have kids, but you have an awesome Dad tone and voice.
What I've been doing lately is basically this, but with my eyes closed and listening very closely to the intensity. I've noticed my left hand hits much more rigidly than my right, so I practice having even power in both to get a very consistent sound.
The more I do this, the better overall control I'm starting to get with my left hand. I'm not a beginner or an expert, but I find this helps me a LOT
Great video so far! These are the things I never shut up about with my students.
Usually I don't like talk too much but this here is really such a good explaining
This was a great piece of advice to hear as a beginner drummer. I was starting to get so overwhelmed with all the little building blocks that i was so focused on, and i was telling myself i wasnt ready to just try and play some songs without putting in the work and grinding out hours of drills and stuff. Thank you for this!
So True!!! I have a kit in my basement, but I spend most of my time practicing singles, doubles, and subdivision exercises on my pad! I love the pad. My teacher calls it yoga for the mind.
In order to practice with him, I slowed the speed to 0.5x at 13:27 and I could keep pace with him right from quarter notes uptil 32nd notes, by counting each note and playing along. Had been doing that since the last 3 days, but I tried increasing the speed to 0.75x today and could not count and play at septuplets (7s) [I guess since it's an odd time signature, at a slightly higher speed. I think so as I could count 32nd notes, which is faster than this].
Any advice? I guess at higher speeds, we anyhow would not be able to count the individual notes and our hand will move because of the muscle memory. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
I mean at high tempos, would my hand automatically time it perfectly for each sub division, if I start slow and progressively increase my speed and play along? I can obviously not count in my head at such high tempos but I know these professional drummers have their hands perfectly timed, as is the case with Stephen (as I could hear his perfect timing at slower speeds).
I also make up my own rudiments. For example, if I am playing in 5 or 7, the regular rudiments will not do much good, so I practice different accent patterns with and without flams in all subdivisions, like quintuplets and septuplets. This is much more practical and makes moving fluidly around the kit and being creative so much easier.
Dang. STOP TALKING about what not to play. 7 minutes and still nothing. That one thing I've noticed that is common in all your lessons. Which are very informative and fun. But the talking intro after intro... .
this makes me feel good about my own practice. I'm new to drums but have been playing guitar for a long time. I thought it was weird how so few starter drum videos brushed over grip, but my hands kept hurting and I eventually figured it out (very likely was also one of your videos). so when I practice on a pad, I focus on my grip a lot and I came to a similar exercise as your thing with subdivisions, but you used more than I thought of. One other exercise I like a lot is basically the same thing, but you mentally but the metronome beats on the "and", it has really helped me to feel the 8th note subdivision
You are very generous in your sharings. is not so common to see and hear people giving this kind of testimonial/advices so experiencial. thank you very much!
This video is beneficial to me. I learned to play by ear growing up in the 70's. I spent a lot of money on drum lessons, but unfortunately, a lot of good drummers aren't good teachers and I've learned the hard way. This is what I've been looking for and i know that in 30 day's I'll hear a improvement in my playing. Thanks!
I've only just started out on the drums at 56. Great advice there Steve and superb teaching. I'm learning coordination between hands and feet at the moment. It's so easy to try and run before you can walk at this. Liked and subscribed 👍
My man, I thank you a lot - all the way from South Africa... You are heaven sent man, you're not an angel with wings, but an angel with sticks. Salute!!
Relaxed grip is the foundation to the whole thing for me. You can only get so far without it. That's a pad exercise I do all the time. Singles cycling thru the subdivisions.
This is excellent advice and makes so much sense!! Focusing on the simple basic skills is essential to playing well quickly, and as you point out, most songs we'll play require a simple and solid beat. After all, the drummer is the time keeper for the band, so keep it simple. The ability to be consistently solid with simple basic beats is what will lead to effective complex patterns and orchestration throughout the kit. Thank you very much for this video which helps beginners breath a huge sigh of relief 😁🥁❣️
Really helpful video! Constructive and Clear ! Thanks for putting this together
Great video! Really like your style of teaching and the content you teach. Off to download your PDF and get practicing 😁
Fabulous! I think the same for piano, practice what you are going to play
Actually… I believe that a good drummer actually gets the “feel” right, doesn’t rush… allows the space to be exactly what it is, and doesn’t lose the groove they are creating. If you’re a drummer that can’t get the feel right, or can’t keep the groove, you’ll ruin every single dance song by making it undanceable! If you make a dance song undanceable, you have officially failed as a drummer. That is the worst failure! Loved your dotted notes explanation. Too many drummer don’t understand the space between the notes, let alone respect it. Jumping the gun on any beat or being delayed…. Changes the beat, the feel, and the groove. A lot of drummers fail to have the discipline to actually learn that they…. Are the person that makes a song danceable or undanceable. If they don’t dance… work it… fix it… learn! Get it! Thanks for the videos!
Background: I have been a drummer-only player since I was about 10 (and I am far beyond that now) and in all those years, I have only EVER used the trad grip. I have been away from drums and a drumset for almost 40 years and want to get back, not for any reason other than my own enjoyment. I am impressed by your video series and would like to know if you have one/any related to trad grip...I do not want to relearn how to hold my sticks at my advanced age!
When i was younger,in the 1980's i started to practice rudiments without even knowing how to hold the sticks properly!I didn't know what fulcrum was!
Awesome video, every drummer should watch this.
This is great! Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Super helpful.
Thank you for referencing how to practice with a metronome! That was one thing that keeps tripping me up and now I think I have it. Each beat at 65 is a quarter note...4 hits on the pad. 1/8th notes are 8 hits on the pad for 4 beeps of the metronome. Hope that's right lol
Very great video 👍🏽
Thanks for your thoughtful insight, i'll definitely do something with my mindset behind the drums from now
Great advice
All good points fore the most part about what makes a good drummer, but to deny that rudiments are not needed is like telling someone you can spell words and make sentences but don't worry about learning the alphabet.
Rudiments are like a drummers alphabet, I don't think about rudiments that I am playing when I play with them, they are just so embedded in my framework and muscle memory they just come out anywhere anytime in my phrasing. I did come from short lived marching background and now I play in all genres, more than I can remember. I have a huge big band and Jazz background, and I also play metal and obviously all the standard classic rock songs that everyone and their mothers knows.
With that being said, Marching and learning rudiments was probably the most invaluable journey I took in my career. Out of all the things do now, I have to say most of my speed, dynamics, timing and most importanly Control came from Rudiments.
Ironically when you finally get to what to practice at 12 minutes your practice suggestions are basically what drumlines, and marching bands do forever with variations in warm ups and warm up cadences. Really the same principles to some degree.
thanks a lot for your videos man, awesome content!
Akane Hirose of Band Maid often remarks on how important practicing the basics, including lots of work on singles is to her progress.
If someone that good practices the basics daily I think we all should.
I practice 2-4h a day and I wouldn't call myself a good drummer bcs I compare me to Aquiles Prieser and I can say its a hard way. Everybody should know that you don't have to bee good on the drums to have fun drums are a fun instrument as long as you have fun everything is ok.
Stephen...it's all very crazy for me personally. I literally just sent $55 out on PayPal to get a lesson on hand technique and unfortunately that fell through. As far as I can tell, IT'S ONE BIG THING AND IT'S SIMPLE BUT COMPLICATED! Most people (me included) learned to play Palms Down, From The Wrist, Hands at 4:40 on a Clock. Now we realize...that's not right! I don't even understand how people play thumbs up? That causes me multiple problems! First, the butt of my drum sticks would be where my stomach is. Second, my wrist doesn't bend that way. 3rd, my fingers are just too clumsy even after hours of messing with French grip on the practice pad. I can see other drummers doing it...I JUST CAN'T REPLICATE THAT MOTION! 😤🥁🔥🚫
I want to learn play solo actiontricks on the kit, and with that I mean all kind of rhythmes
The early ghost notes are kicking my ass
I also think your idea of a good drummer is vanilla. Zach Hill makes magic not music.
also, the QUALITY of the sounds relies upon technique.
I just play to have fun, I've only played drums in Rock Band 3. I was at least smart enough to get my e-drums by buying other people's broken dreams on eBay instead of buying retail.
Ok, I'm getting lost on the 5s and 7s ?
New to me
So, practice slow and focus on ideas that work on playing musically for songs. But, then play fast on a pad using 5's, 7's, 16th note triplets, and 32nd notes. Right.
Also, jazz and fusion are in NO WAY rudimental based. Not any more than any other genre of "modern" music. The only type of music that is rudiment based, is rudimental music. Marching/corps/parade/fife&drum are the only styles of music that are specifically rudiment based.
The ABSOLUTE best thing you can do to learn how to play for the song that you didn't talk about: listen to songs. Listening is one of the best practice techniques for learning how to approach things musically. Don't think about drums, think about what the music is asking for. Then apply that to your instrument, whatever instrument that may be. Does it need propulsion, does it need to be slumped down and groove behind the beat, does it need intricacy, does it only need a heart beat, is it missing melodic aspects, can you do something to bring out an aspect of the lyrics? LISTEN TO LYRICS.
You want to play in a band and play for the song? Don't bring out 5's, 7's, 16th note triplets, and 32nd notes(unless you're in a RTF/Weather Report/Elektric Band situation or trying to audition for Snarky Puppy) Think like a musician who plays drums. Don't think like a drummer.
P.S. I've seen Mark play tons of times. I don't think I've ever seen him play "chops". He plays intricately very often. But, that isn't chops. He's not spitting out memorized lines. He is playing for the song, musically. That music happens to require playing intricately with speed. But everything he is playing has a musical element to it that makes the performance of the song better.
😂
Seven minutes in and this guy hasn't said anything. What the hell dude. Get to the point.
You should consider spending less time talking about what you want to show people to do and spend more time actually doing it
man....you spend waaaay to much time preaching to people about how they ought to behave.....i can guarantee none of these people clicked on this video initially to listen to you rant...
I could have done 45 minutes of practice by the time you ever hit the skins. Way too much talking bud.
All bladdy taking talking talking there is hardly any demonstration. Boring.
7 minutes of talking before you get to the point. I skip your lesson.
Hopefully helpful for your channel.
3 minutes in and the same points repeated 2 or 3 times...GET ON WITH IT MAN! 6 minutes, still nothing...YAAAWN. 9 minutes, BLAH BLAH BLAH...Still nothing. This channel sucks.
I respectfully disagree. You shouldn’t sit behind a kit until you have mastered the rudiments on a snare drum. You are setting people up for failure or a least causing them to hit a “playing ceiling”. Send this video to Steve gadd , Travis barker, Dennis chambers, Greg bissonette, etc…and see what they say. This video is horrible advice in my opinion. I sure hope your doctor or electrician didn’t decide to skip the fundamentals.
I bought a practice pad at age 55 during summer 2020 and started learning rudiments just to see if this was something I could really do. They helped me understand my limitations pretty quickly but also let me had a little fun which made me want more. A few months later I got a used Tama set. Your videos really help me focus on the right thing as opposed to others that pretty much make me feel slow and inadequate. Keep up the fantastic work.
He answers the question in the title at 7:43 - singles. Practice singles.
MVP
Also skip to 20:36. Good summary.
Thank you! Too much intro!
@@Frank1979Zappayes even better!
I'm trying to fast track my drumming. Been going hard for a couple months. This channel is a go to for my practise. Don't know how this channel isn't even more popular. It's helping soooo much
I agree. This channel and another gentleman’s channel are my go to’s.
It's because Stephen teaches the "boring" (for which read "genuinely useful") stuff that's not Instagram friendly, "totally blow your friends away" super chops... personally I've taken loads of advice from this channel and a couple of others who also put a heavy emphasis on practicing the fundamentals as the key to sounding good.
I'm just at the beginner stages, but we share the same mentality of making sure the foundation is solid before moving forward. I appreciate your content because you continually stress this. Great stuff!
I was always amazed reading interviews with great drummers who said they never learned the rudiments.
This video starts at 12 minutes.
Whew...never tried playing 5s or 7s before. Tricky...but this is a good exercise to do. And kinda mind blowing to reiterate focusing on the basics and grip on a practice pad. It really does pay off!
Full disclosure, I took lessons with Stephen and he helped me fix a lot of bad habits I had which opened me up to much better playing. Listen to him for he is wise!
Stephen...thank you for putting this drum channel together! I took drum lessons when I was 11, and I became fairly good. Gave it up, but played on a set or two at folks houses here and there. 15 years ago I bought a set, used it on and off for 3 years then sold it. Fast forward to now. I just picked up a used Yamaha Rydeen drum set, and I plan on getting back to the basics and eventually buying better cymbals and heads. My point? I wanted a new hobby and I'm excited to jump back in. I'll watch your videos and I've subscribed for your updates. You do a great job teaching. The Franchise King®, Joel Libava
Thanks so much for this and all your technique videos. I recently started playing drums but have a decades long history with other instruments and I just find I always grow faster if I work on technique and fundamentals first. So many drumming vids on YT are like “master this crazy lick!” but these vids are so much more helpful for me as a beginner. Thanks!
Steve, you always have that nice, relaxed delivery of valuable info. Me, at 69 years old, returning to playing drums after a hiatus of 50 Years, I play recreationally for personal pleasure and hobby. Retired due to physical disabilities from spinal issues including stenosis which affects my lower back and neck and my legs, I play to My Music........ CCR, PETTY, CLAPTON, MELLENCAMP, CARS, ANIMALS, BEATLES, STONES, HOLLIES, MELISSA E., KINKS, even lots of Linda Ronstandt ( play her music, she was really the first Diva), EAGLES, and more.....Steve's advice is so appreciated. I never did really play by reading music, played By Ear exclusively from 1966 after taking 6 to 8 lessons .
This is great, glad I found it - playing for 10 years since age 50, know plenty of songs, played with bands but never really felt "competent". Now I have gone back to basics and learning proper technique, starting to get it. what I love about Stephen's videos, is he talk's around the lesson giving all the "why's", verbalizing all the frustrations, mistakes and how to overcome. I learn more listening to the whole videos rather than just practicing "wrong".
Congratulations, Stephen!
I'm not sure I could have managed 25 minutes saying grip is important.
That folks, is all there is.
By the way, you are pretty adept at those things you don't have to learn before you understand that holding the sticks correctly makes a difference.
My drum teacher had a similar approach. First thing - make sure your grip is correct. Second thing - count out loud when you're learning, even if it sounds silly. Third thing - you *have* to play with other musicians.
7.5 minutes into video I gave up on watching because you wouldn't stop talking. No idea if you ever start actually teaching anything.
There is a big difference between being a drummer and being a musician who plays the drums. Properly learning all the rudiments is all about learning how to play and just as importantly learning how to listen to become a musician.
I actually did this exact exercise on bass for about 3 years, just for 3-5 minutes at the start of every practice session (probably 5 days a week or so). Then I'd play anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours learning a song or dicking around, but I can definitively say that those 3-5 minutes did more to improving my rhythm and technique on bass than anything else. Now I'm trying to pick up drums and I'm very excited to apply this exercise!
I've been playing/teaching for over 30 years. The truth is that playing super impressive chops usually only impresses other drummers (and yourself). I think it's more important to play in-time, with proper dynamics, and to match your drum sound to the songs/bands you're playing with. If you want to throw in a few tricks/fills along the way, that's great, but the core of what you play should be a solid groove, that allows the song/band to sound right to the listeners.
As always, truly non-glamorous advice in the best possible sense. That Guiliana reference IS inspiring. Thank you Stephen!
Great job instructing buddy. Love your sticking technique!!
Actual on drum instructions begin around
11:40.
Listen closely to entire video students. He speaks wisdom on being a musician as well as a great & dependable person. Drum on. D
How often do we hear “ I wish I knew then what I know now “. This advice may be a bit wordy but provides a hugely skilled bridge between the ‘then’ and ‘now’. I found it worth listening to the concepts behind the words. We are one contributor to the total sound……keeping time, cranking up to the punch line then quietly backing other band members when it is their turn shine. Well done Stephen
I have 3 "go to" channels for drum lessons; this one, the 80/20 drummer and Rob "Beatdown" Brown. All three emphasize the importance of developing clean playing, timing and sub divisions over trying to develop insane chops . Fantastic advice and certainly something that has helped my drumming take massive leaps forward
saw this videos just now, and it really helped but now i cant seem to download the pdf, i think its no longer there cz the link keeps leading to the same page
please help @stephen
Thanks Stephen. I recently started working on the rudiments and I wasn't feeling it for some of the reasons your mentioned. I've got your guide and I'm going to try it out for a few months.
The way you kept underscoring the point hit home. I appreciate it the point of view coming from someone with your cachet.
Great advice bro thankyou
So true Stephen! Back to basics so we can play with a relaxed smooth groove. Keep up the great work! 🥁❤
Too much talking before the actual lesson, but useful info once he got to the point.
Thanks for sharing this sir I constantly focus on Rudiments and those have helped a lot in learning and creating chops but to be very Frank it doesn't help as good Musician or in playing songs . It's better to keep as simple as possible . Thank you so much for sharing your Perspective on this ❤️❤️LOVE From INDIA
Thank you!
Thank you so much for clarifying this. Been wracking my head trying to do the paras (cause that's what everyone tells you) and getting only more and more frustrated. You're the first one to cover the basics, like hand sticking and single stroke. Not all of us aspire to become the next Neal Peart and even if we were, starting with the paradiddles sure isn't the way to get going. You are a wise man with common sense. I'm following your directions from now on. All the other videos I have bookmarked can wait (or be ignored). Sent an email in order to download the material you posted here, waiting eagerly for the reply from you. And to think it only took me close to 2 years to finally find someone that knows how to teach drums. Cheers.
Excellent video Stephen clearly the grip issue is key as you've pointed out this in my experience facilitates how we tackle any songs on the drums . Priceless advice cheers
If all you strive to be is a click track for a band, listen to this guy. If you strive to be great. Learn your damn rudiments
Your tangent about the social skills portion, is 110 percent spot on. Be a good person first, a good drummer second.
Thank you very much for your guides and pdf files. Much appreciated that those are free!
Great Video! Thank you!
I learned playing by ear to my favorite drummers' music (Travis Barker, Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, etc), which definitely makes me feel very confident playing rock, punk, etc. What I'm awful at is playing fast and fancy while staying relaxed, which I think is holding me back big time. Even doing rudiments, I catch myself feeling so stiff, which I feel is holding me back a bit. My rudiments kinda fall apart the faster I go. Gotta git gud in 2024. And honestly, I think grip is probably my area of opportunity.
Terrible advice. If you think learning rudiments is a waste of time, then you're just limiting yourself.
Practising rudiments has made me better drummer all round.
thanks for this great lesson, Stephen 😊
What kind of practice pad do you have?
Good one! The basic ideas here I got from Robert Fripp sourced ideas when I was briefly part of a Guitar Craft circle in 2007. The First Primary exercise is part of my 20% on guitar, sometimes the whole thing. With drums you hit the skin on the head! What's the source of number? Nothingness, first you listen. Then 1, the single, the grip when it's sticks, hand to stick is the basic thing. If a guitar is made from shoddy individual components the final product will be crap, same with practice on any instrument including voice. I've been following your exercises for practice pad for just a few days and already I have results that are getting me past a plateau I've been on for years. Tai Ji balls are in my mix of tools so my fingers already have the strength, and the dexterity from guitar and flute. The key data points you provided clued me into finer details of perception that have broken my previous speed barriers and stick control and dynamics really fast since I already have the basic coordination down. Still my incorrect awareness of how I was holding the stick kept me from getting any better.
Sorry but I have to correct one thing ( that doesn't matter that much). But the 80/20 rule is ABSOLUTE BOLLOCKS! It is no scientific principle or has any factual basis! The 80/20-realtion was found by ONE scientist in a SPECIFIC study for his field( can't remember now, what it was) and after publishing his findings this pattern just was adapted by people( NO scientiests, in no way, shape or form in any study or anything). It was adopted by people that do live coaching, prep talks, all that kinda stuff and they just adopted it for their schtick!!!
I think almost everybody on the internet has heard it so often and surely was under the impression that it is some kind of magical rule by nature - it could not be further from the truth! The guy who first put it out in his paper said he hates that it caught this traction and is used constantly by so many people without any basis in reality!
I was under this impression for years, and just learned this a few months ago! I think it is worth spreading the word, because it shows that we all should be much more aware of how much falsehoods are being sold as facts and truths. I love your vids, am subbed and in no way want to critize you! Just wanted to put this out there, also for you and all other subs :)
I think that could be dangerous to say that you could be practicing the wrong way from the beginning. I think it would be more educationnal if you say that maybe some people are not practising the BEST way. Because a lot of skills in druming takes a lot of time to gain, and if you create a doubt on the mind of a beginner, that maybe he is practising for nothing, this doubt will never disappear and will lead to demotivation.
Keep on training. Practicing is always a good thing to do no matter what. Just take some step back sometime to analyse how you could be better.
I can only do like 15-40 I cannot get the first ones lol
Agh
Sorry but I´m here just for the rudiments as you say. You did take over 2 mins to say the same thing and that goy me a bit worried, yet after explaining how important playing correctly was, you say they are not important! I think you need to re think this video. As most people want less talk and more practice as it were.
Do people really learn the rudiments? 🤔
I do Tommy Igoes routine every day . 10 mins though as I’m addicted . I work on other stuff- rebound strokes , accents , then I practice. The rudimentary routine you can do in 20 mins . Of course playing is the most important & rudiments are as relevant today as anyone wants to make them .
Turning up etc that’s common sense.
The rudments are essencial in drums likewise are keyacords for pianists. What we have to learn are: sigle stroke, double stroke, paradiddle, flam and drugs. Therefore, all 40 rudments are combinations of singles, doubles, paradidles, flams and drugs
Yes, knowing the proper grip technique is very important before attempting to learn the rudiment! Otherwise, one could end up developing bad technique which takes much longer time to unlearn-- not to mention physical injuries like blisters, and developing carpal tunnel syndrome that can be irreversible.
I practice the same as bassman, subdivision of tempo, alternate even and odd, and i use with different musical feeling , rock, funk, house, folk etc.. inside me, as theater role a real true feeling as i ancher in memory of powerfull situation , in each technical base , finger, pick and slap.
Thanks for this video! Got my first practice pad and was just going through videos about what to learn, then I got stuck on the thought that I should learn the rudiments before I could move on to learn other things or just play in general.
You are probably as close to being a new breed as anyone!
"You can do this" is a great opener. thanks Steve.
11:40 examples of basic practice
Your average concert goer doesn't notice the drummer unless they're really good or really bad. JS.
Great video, thanks for the advice - good stuff.
I’m a classical percussionist struggling and looking around to learn push pull technique