Briefly about me:
Playing drums started as a hobby for me, but in time it has become an increasingly important part of my daily routine. Browsing through websites and working with different music bands added to my knowledge and experience, but the lack of organisation in my approach invariably caused problems that I could find no concrete solutions to. As most drummers do, I wondered how, how much and what to practice. The abundance of information made it difficult for me to figure out which ones were suitable for me. And just as most drummers do, I too fell into the alluring temptation of videos on the right technique, on »grooving« and, of course, time playing. Since no immediate results were achieved in the shortest possible time, giving up,
Others on the work:
“Private tutorials are completely different from self‐teaching at home. I did not come very far with the latter. The great advantage of one‐on‐one teaching is that the tutor can fully focus on the student and can easier detect mistakes, unperceived by myself (basic posture, technique etc.). The learning process is much faster than in an institution, at a higher level and better adjusted to my needs and wishes. Going through a technical exercise with a tutor is easier, more relaxed, and precision can be achieved sooner. The lessons are usually scheduled at two hours once or twice a week, or as mutually arranged. The first hour is dedicated to the technical aspect of drumming (hand and foot technique, playing along metronome, basic rudiments), the second involves playing the drum set, working on coordination, new beats, introducing new types of music and solving problems while playing a specific style of music.
“Definitely recommend it as an innovative approach to learning.” (Jure)
stagnation or, at best, barely noticeable progress was the usual outcome. The time at my disposal seemed to be shrinking with years, and I started to look for ways of how to optimize my practice time. The most important inspiration came to me at the drumming camp in Grožnjan, where I had the opportunity to meet some of the best drummers in the world. It was at that time that I came up with a programme of exercises, which completely changed my approach and still helps on my way to the set goals.
I am confident that anybody can find these exercises an engaging challenge and use them to come closer or even exceed the desired goals.
As for the tutor himself, I can describe him as flexible, relaxed, professional and keen on offering alternative solutions to a problem, knowing how to motivate me when I have a problem and am stuck with it. In the second hour of the tutorial I usually try to transfer the technique learnt in the first hour to the drums and create proper dynamics. The tutor then gradually raises the level of practice and sometimes turns it (for example an exercise in coordination) into an overall party, while keeping it all within the beat of the metronome. Such an approach makes the drumming practice, be it hand or foot techniques, learning rudiments or coordination, a relaxed form of fun, pushing you towards your goals, rather than a tedious job, even when performed by yourself at home.”
(Kristian)
About programme:
The programme is not based on learning different playing techniques because I believe that enough useful material can be found on the YouTube or in books. However, a correct technique and posture is essential to prevent injuries. Therefore I recommend spending time learning the basics. The programme consists of a
warm up routine and four categories. Each contains exercises that help a drummer organizing his or her practice time. Exercises in categories 1 and 2 can also be practised as “dry” workouts, meaning with only your hands and feet. Others are meant for practice pads and a drum set, which is also the main objective.
Before you begin practising, I would like to point out a few important guidelines from Marc Dicciani`s »Cross‐training« method. It is important to have them in mind at all times
1. It`s important to listen in order to hear what sounds right and what doesn`t.
2. Practice pad can be a valuable tool for certain playing aspects.
3. Plan your practice routine carefully and stick to it.
4. Practise every day.
5. Concentrate and focus while you practice.
6. Practice should be both fun and frustrating.
7. Patience and time are the two key elements to achieving your goals.
8. If you feel discouraged, remember why you started.
The most frequently asked questions by drummers are: HOW, HOW MUCH and WHAT should I practice? First you need to set a goal for yourself. Once you have done that, my advice is to use those guidelines as an answer to the question of how to approach practising and playing. Now that you have this in mind you can concentrate on the next important question, how much should I practice? Of course people have different goals, skills, abilities, interests, etc., so it depends on each individual, how much time he or she is willing to spend practicing. The
easiest answer is as much as it takes to reach your goal. For those with limited time the optimal solution is to divide the practise time in four categories. So if you have one hour a day, you should spend 15 minutes for each exercise in the programme and so on. Repeat it then till you master it. Remember, repetition is the mother of learning, the father of action and the architect of accomplishment. The last question is what should I practice? It depends on your goal and priorities, but all these exercises will help you to get the best out of your practice.
FIRST AID
IMPORTANT: »Perfect practice makes perfect.« (Tommy Igoe)
Better 1 hour a day of focused practice, then 3 hours of random playing.
Programme
The programme consists of the preliminary routine and the following categories:
* Warm up exercises or »muscle burners«
1. Pyramid schemess
2. Exercises for drums
3. Basic exercises with eighth‐notes, eighth‐note triplets and sixteenth‐notes
4. Practical use of previous exercises on drums
* WARM UP EXERCISES OR »MUSCLE BURNERS«
Most drummers use different warm up exercises before the show or a clinic. It is important to get the blood flow going to prevent later injuries. It is possible to warm up using a pair of sticks and a practice pad or by tapping with your feet and hands or also by playing on the drum set. The first two options are the most suitable, easy to use and effective in their purpose. In the following tutorial you will be introduced to some challenging exercises that will prove to be
Let`s get started!
1. The first exercise is good for developing those muscles in your hands that help you with up strokes and down strokes. Put your hands in the position as shown on the left picture. Now try to clap for one minute straight in sixteenth‐notes at 80 beats per minute (BPM). Make sure to always open up your palms as much as possible and to
helpful later on. You will quickly realize why I named these exercises "muscle burners". They really warm up your muscles and also improve your endurance, because they stretch your comfort zone. It is necessary to overcome the obstacles that we drummers have when playing drums. If you execute them properly and regularly, you will see improvement in arms and legs. You can get rid of the weaknesses and make them your strengths.
maintain a solid clap. It is also important to hold your elbows completely together all the time. After a few seconds you should feel a burn in your muscles. Try to stretch your comfort zone and really push to the end. Challenge yourself by slowly raising the tempo.
2. The second exercise is for developing muscles in your feet, specifically the tibialis anterior muscle in the front side. Put your legs in a neutral position as shown in the left picture and try to tap eighth‐notes for 1 minute straight at 80 BPM. Make sure to always bring your toes up as much
3. The third exercise is aimed at strengthening fingers. I call it "flashing lights" exercise and it consists of flexing and extending fingers, as shown in pictures below. The tempo remains
4. The fourth and the final lesson involves drum sticks. The position of hands and wrists with the sticks in horizontal position, parallel to the base level, is shown in the left picture. What
as possible and lift them up as quickly as possible. Try to maintain a solid tap all the time and be careful to avoid flamming. Both feet have to strike the floor at the same time. Again, try to stretch your comfort zone and push it to the end. Challange yourself by raising the tempo up.
the same (eighth‐notes at 80 BPM) and it lasts one minute. It is important to make a tight fist and then extend the fingers as much as possible
matters the most in this exercise, is the precision of execution. Wrists should be lifted and dropped as much as possible, at all times. Also ensure that the wrist movement is fluent.
Reminder: Repeat the whole circle again and continue on with next set of exercises
I. PYRAMID SCHEMESS
Pyramid schemess are among the best exercises you can do to develop both sides equally. They are easy to comprehend and very useful for precision of execution. The name pyramid obviously comes from the shape it has. The lower you go down the pyramid, the wider it gets. It is »built« of single strokes, double
strokes, triple strokes and so on, all the way to nine strokes. You can also stretch it beyond that and add ten strokes, eleven strokes, etc. I included pyramid schemes also because they have all the necessary elements for later sets of exercises.
Example 1
The first pyramid is the easiest one. It starts with two alternating strokes between right hand and left hand (right‐left ‐ further on R, L). For example R‐L, R‐L, followed by R‐R, L‐L, R‐R, L‐L and so on to the end R‐R‐R‐R‐R‐R‐R‐R‐R, L‐L‐L‐L‐
‐
‐L‐L‐L, R‐R‐R‐R‐R‐R‐R‐R‐R, L‐L‐L‐L‐L‐L‐L‐L‐L. Then reverse the circle and go from nine strokes per hand to
one stroke per hand at the beginning. Practise this system using not only your hands, but also your feet at the same time. When counting eight notes, you will notice that some strokes are on the beat and some off the beat (syncopated).
Clue: Also practise this exercise starting with left side first
Example 2
The pyramid scheme continues with combinations. Right hand performs only single strokes or the right ostinatos (repetitive phrases); the other hand goes through the entire system from one to nine strokes. a)
b)
c)
d) 4x RIGHT, 1 ‐ 9 LEFT g) 7x RIGHT, 1 ‐ 9 LEFT
e) 5x RIGHT, 1 ‐ 9 LEFT h) 8x RIGHT, 1 ‐ 9 LEFT
f) 6x RIGHT, 1 ‐ 9 LEFT i) 9x RIGHT, 1 ‐ 9 LEFT
Next pyramid scheme starts with left ostinatos (repetitive phrases). a)
c)
d) 1 ‐ 9 RIGHT, 4x LEFT g) 1 ‐ 9 RIGHT, 7x LEFT e) 1 ‐ 9 RIGHT, 5x LEFT h) 1 ‐ 9 RIGHT, 8x LEFT f) 1 ‐ 9 RIGHT, 6x LEFT i) 1 ‐ 9 RIGHT, 9x LEFT
Example 4
In the next set of exercises, connect the left side of the parallelogram with the right side, as shown in the picture. It is a bit more challenging than the previous pyramid, so it is even more important to count.
