How to Practice Drums Effectively: Tips From a Psychologist
Why is it difficult to practice well? And how can you design an effective drum practice routine?
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A man who wants to be practicing drums but is procrastinating
As drummers we know that having a consistent and effective practice routine is the key to making progress.
We all want to get better timing, speed, consistency and learn new beats: ultimately to get gigs and start having fun.
Practice is even vital to just maintain your current level.
But we can probably all relate to feeling frustrated when our practice sessions don’t get us to where we want to be, or we know that we could have practiced more effectively.
I’m a psychologist (or “Behavioural Scientist” technically) as well as a drummer.
Dr Peter Hovard is a UK-based behavioural scientist and drummer.
I spend a lot of time researching and testing ways that we can help people to achieve things that are good for them.
And I spend a lot of time considering how drummers, can use these ideas to help make their drumming practice more effective.
In this article I’ll share some ideas that are backed by psychology research and practical behavioural science, as well as things that just work for me, to help you make your drum practice more productive.
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Why is it difficult to keep up your daily drum practice routine?
Psychologists refer to a concept called the ‘intention-behaviour gap’(1): often we have good intentions but aren’t able to follow through with them.
Think, for example, about your New Year’s resolutions. You may have a plan to eat healthily, drink less alcohol or do more exercise, but the chances are you are back in your old habits by March.
Even when we have the motivation to do something, often it doesn’t mean that we will be successful.
The same can happen with your drum practice.
You might have the best intention to practice but find it difficult to keep up the right habits.
There are lots of reasons this can happen. Let’s take a look at some of the most common:
You’re not motivated at the right time
Maybe you are generally motivated to improve your drumming, but your real urge to practice doesn’t come at the right time.
This could mean not wanting to drop other things you could be doing with your time.
Or it could even mean you’re choosing easier or more fun, but less productive, types of practice (think bashing through a Led Zeppelin record instead of practicing rudiments).
2. You don’t have the right environment for drumming
Often you may be motivated to practice but either you don’t have access to a drum kit. Or perhaps you live in an apartment or with housemates so you can’t play loudly.
In these situations, try one of the techniques we recommend for practice drums when you can’t get to a drum kit in the short video below.
It’s certainly worthwhile to invest in a good practice pad to make sure you are able to practice something even without a drum set.
3. You are human and don’t have perfect self-control
Self control is very shaky for most of us.
There’s a famous set of studies in which children were left in a room with a plate of marshmallows. They were told if they waited and didn’t eat the marshmallows they would shortly be given double the amount.
Of course, the children couldn’t wait: they sacrificed a bigger reward to get a smaller reward now(2).
The same can be said for your drumming practice routine. Many of us are not great at staying on track and avoiding more immediately rewarding things (like watching TV or heading to the pub) when our practice gets challenging.
If you want to learn more about self-control and how to manage it I highly recommend this book by the creator of the Marshmallow Study.
This has a wealth of information that you can apply to your drum practice routine, but also to your wider life as well.
4. The challenge feels too big
Sometimes we know that we want to achieve something but when it comes down to taking the steps to get there, the challenge just feels too big and daunting.
This can damage your motivation, especially if you don’t know how to get to where you want to be. This will resonate with many drummers.
With drumming we have to train our bodies to move in ways they’re not used to, as well as learning musical theory, studying specific beats, techniques and fills and so on.
It can be difficult to know where to start. When we think the challenge is too big it can lead to poor practicing or even not practicing.
That’s why many behavioural scientists advocate a ‘think small’ approach (3): tackling small steps to achieve big changes. Behavioural scientists discuss how you can use this approach in the book: Think Small: Surprisingly simple ways to reach big goals.
5. You don’t have a specific plan
Sometimes drummers know that they want to achieve a big target: maybe joining a certain band, or being able to play a certain beat at high tempo. But often we don’t have specific plans for how we’re going to achieve it.
We might not know where to start, what information to seek out, which teachers or online resources to use and so on. Specific plans are important.
Sometimes we have plans but forget them because they’re not written down somewhere obvious.
6. You get Distracted
You might have strong motivation, and good plans, you settle in to practicing, but you get distracted. Perhaps competing priorities put an end to a productive practice or stop it from being productive in the first place.
Maybe your partner or kids are asking you questions, somebody messages you, or you think of something else you’re supposed to be doing.
Even when we have the best intentions and plans distractions can make practicing less productive than it should be.
You could try Nir Eyal’s book Indistractable for help with avoiding this pitfall… the clue’s in the name really, but Eyal is a renowned author and has great advice for staying on task that you can apply to drum practice and other areas of your life.
Techniques for effective drum practice
Here are some research-backed and practical things drummers can do to make their practice as effective as possible:
Make sure you are clear about why you’re really practicing: what are you ultimately trying to achieve or feel by practicing. Write it down. Understanding this will help you to stay motivated.
Make a specific plan in advance for when, where and what you’re going to practice.
Make commitments to practicing certain things (to yourself or in public).
Make sure your steps are achievable in the short to medium term.
Take breaks.
Keep an eye on your progress.
Reward yourself.
Make sure your practice environment is suitable.
Make sure you are having fun, and enjoying the gear you are using.
Let’s take a look at some of these techniques in more detail.
How to set drum practice goals and stick to them
Behavioural scientists have studied techniques to help us be more productive. Here are some techniques you can use for your drum practice:
1. Set goals
Think about what you want to achieve in the medium and long term. It’s good to have a clear sense of where you want to get to eventually: what type of drummer do you want to be?
But also make sure you have challenging but achievable goals for the next 6 months to one year. For example, do you want to be able to play along to a particular record? Or be able to fit in at that jam session you’ve been eyeing up? Or become a first-call session drummer in your area?
Write them down somewhere you see often: maybe stuck to the fridge, to keep reminding yourself of where you’re heading.
What your goals are will be very individual, and it’s ultimately only you who needs to answer to them. So make sure they are clear to you, and you are excited about getting there.
2. Plan clear and manageable steps
Setting long term goals is vital, but can seem daunting and doesn’t necessarily tell you what to do next.
Making specific plans that break that big goal down into smaller parts is a great way to keep you focused and motivated. Think about what you want to achieve over the next four weeks and plan your practice sessions to make it happen. Writing it down makes it all the more the organised and easier to remember.
For example you might say: ‘today I’ll practice rudiments at 120 bpm for 20 minutes, then I’ll practice developing solos by combining them for 30 minutes, then I’ll practice my shuffle for 30 minutes.’
Or it might be ‘this week I’ll go to the Monday night jam session, play on at least one tune and introduce myself to at least one new person.’
Whatever your plans are make sure they’re aligned to your goals and are specific: the more specific the better. If you can nail down what time on which day you’ll do these things, that’s even better.
This helps you to picture how you’ll achieve things and triggers you to act at the right time.
3. Make a (public) commitment
Behavioural science shows that we’re more likely to Follow through with our plans if we make them public. There are a few reasons for this. By telling other people about our plans we create accountability.
We don’t like to look like we’ve failed to achieve things we’ve set out to do, so telling others what we want to achieve gives that extra layer of motivation. We also don’t like to be inconsistent with ourselves.
By saying out loud what we want to achieve we strengthen our sense of identity and and our sense of wanting to be consistent with that.
Don’t forget, other people can also support you in ways you might not expect. By telling someone what you want to achieve they may well be able to help. Perhaps they have ideas, or can just offer encouragement.
This doesn’t mean you need to tell everybody you meet. Perhaps just someone you trust and whose opinions you value, to give you that extra motivational boost.
4. Monitor your progress
It’s essential to monitor your progress against what you set out to achieve. This will help you to understand if you either need to rethink your goals, or whether you can be pleased with yourself.
Make sure this is aligned to your specific targets. Wanted to play paradiddles at 140 BPM within two weeks? How is that going? Are they sounding consistent and even? Do you feel comfortable doing it? Great, time to set the bar a little higher.
5. Reward yourself
Finally make sure you reward yourself. Improving on the drums isn’t easy. It takes dedication and physical effort. So make sure you acknowledge when you are achieving things.
Some people like to reward themselves literally: perhaps put aside some money that you get when you’ve hit a target that you set.
I personally like to play through a record I love at the end of a practice, if I feel like I’ve worked hard and stayed on task.
But beyond this you can even just congratulate yourself on a job well-done.
It’s essential that you feel good about practice, that it continues to feel worth your while and that you feel you are achieving things. When you do this you’ll keep yourself motivated, inspired and ready for more.
Practicing vs warming up
How do you know if what you’re working on is really pushing you forward? It’s important to distinguish between practice to make progress, practice to maintain your skill, or just warming up.
Practicing for progress
Practicing on the drums involves working on specific skills or techniques to improve your overall playing ability. This can include practicing rudiments, working on specific beats or fills, learning new songs, or practicing with a metronome. Practicing usually involves a focused approach and may be done for a set amount of time each day to achieve specific goals.
It’s important to measure specific targets so you know if you’re making progress.
A good measure of whether you’re really practicing is being honest with yourself about whether what you’re playing is difficult. If it is, but it’s a technique that will be useful in your playing then you’re probably on track. Keep going over many practice sessions until it becomes natural.
Practicing for maintenance
On the other hand you may be practicing to maintain your existing skills. There’s nothing wrong with this, but it’s important to do so consciously.
A good measure of whether this is the type of practicing you’re doing is if your playing is just on the edge of your comfort zone. If you stopped practicing this technique at this tempo would it be sloppier or even unachievable within a couple of weeks? If so you’re probably maintenance practicing.
Warming up
Warming up on the drums is important. It can be a short session designed to prepare your body and mind for playing. Warming up helps to prevent injuries and increase your flexibility, speed, and accuracy. It typically involves playing simple exercises or grooves at a slow tempo to gradually increase your speed and dexterity. A warm-up session may only take a few minutes and is usually done before a practice or performance session.
A good measure of whether you’re really warming up rather than truly practicing is whether you are playing without much difficulty within one session. To be clear, you can warm up with challenging exercises, but if this isn’t pushing your playing to new heights over time then it’s probably not truly practicing for progress.
Being aware of your practice productivity
Warming up, practicing for maintenance and practicing for progress are all important parts of your routine. But it’s important to be conscious of which you are targeting at any given time. If you are looking for progress make sure you are stretching yourself. Don’t waste drum practices by never moving beyond the warm up phase: give yourself a challenge that you can go on to apply to your playing in a musical way, and measure your progress towards making it clean and consistent. You’ll see progress with focus.
Want to know more about behavioural science? This book is a good place to start:
References:
Faries MD. Why We Don't "Just Do It": Understanding the Intention-Behavior Gap in Lifestyle Medicine. Am J Lifestyle Med. 2016 Jun 22;10(5):322-329.
Found here.
Walter Mischel, Ozlem Ayduk, Marc G. Berman, B. J. Casey, Ian H. Gotlib, John Jonides, Ethan Kross, Theresa Teslovich, Nicole L. Wilson, Vivian Zayas, Yuichi Shoda, ‘Willpower’ over the life span: decomposing self-regulation, Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, Volume 6, Issue 2, April 2011, Pages 252–256.
Found here.
Think Small from https://www.bi.team/blogs/think-small-to-reach-big-a-new-book-by-owain-service-rory-gallagher/
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