Whilst it seems that just about everyone can play guitar, the same cannot be said about drumming. In fact the reality is that getting started in drumming is not easy. To get the kit, which isn’t cheap, then to try and find a space to practice in without annoying others, these are challenges to those who wish to play drums. If however you are in the lucky group of people who are in a position to play, getting better is of course going to be at the top of your mind. Blue Man Group drummer Randy Wooten has been speaking about this recently, and these are the keys to improvement which he has discussed.
Practice
It may sound incredibly basic but the reality is that you simply will not get any better if you don’t continue to practice your drumming, over and over again. If you are not able to always practice with the full set, the look to get your hands on a small electric set which you can plug in to headphones. This will allow you to practice at all hours and make sure that you are always improving your skills.
Playing With Others
It doesn’t matter how much time you spend in your bedroom practicing your drumming skills, there is absolutely no way that you are going to improve unless you start to play with others. The beauty of being a drummer is that there are very rarely many drummers around, which means that you have so many opportunities to play with other people and other groups. When I was younger the drummer in the village played with around 4 bands, because he was the only one we had. This was invaluable practice for him and it made him so much better than he could ever have considered. Playing with others helps you to work in rhythm, and it is the best experience which you will get.
Playing Live
Take any opportunity that you can to play live, because this will make you nervous and will bring out the very best in you. Working under pressure means that you have to just get on with it, there are no redos and there is no stopping to apologize. When you play live you have to find the way to play through any mistakes and this will make you much more rounded as a drummer.
Trying New Techniques
Even if you wish to become a rock and roll drummer, there is absolutely nothing wrong with practicing new techniques such as jazz drumming or even blues. Any skill that you are able to pick up can then be used to make you better in the genre which you do actually wish to play. The key to drumming is about understanding your place in the song, working with the bass player to provide a solid rhythm from which the song can launch. The more you work on other techniques, the better that you will become all round.
This is how to improve your drumming skills.