Practicing

What is the old saying...life is like a piano,.., what you get out of it depends upon how you play it...?

Being successful at drumming relies largely upon what you get accomplished during your practice sessions. Practice doesn't make perfect...perfect practice makes perfect. Practice just makes consistency. If you are sloppy in your practice habits you can expect to get sloppy results in your playing. Remember, everyone has an equal chance to be mediocre..;-)

Think about it, if you do anything repetitively you will, by default, get somewhat better at it. The key is to work "smart" as well as hard. Hand a drumstick to a monkey and he will figure out some purpose for it - although it may not be the intended purpose,

Setting up a "plan" for practicing is essential. Your private teacher (if you have one) can help by giving you specific assignments from week to week. Your practicing should cover four basic areas:

• Technique
• Reading
• Musicality
• Repertoire
  

Find something in the way of material that exercises all three every practice session. Try to balance your time between the four, although you will likely shift percentages from session to session depending upon which is giving you the most challenge at the time.

In subsequent posts in this section, I will post sample practice charts and recommended books/exercises for you to consider on your journey. Now go grab some sticks and make some noise!