I’ve been teaching online drum lessons over the past 10 years, and I’ve always been adamant that I will answer my own emails. To this day, that is still the same (I’m not lying, try me: jared@drumeo.com). I love connecting with my online students and helping their drumming in any way I can. I’ve manually responded to tens of thousands of messages from my online students and there always seems to be common themes that come up.

The biggest theme I’ve noticed is that most people don’t know how to practice. I’m not sure why students are having problems with this, but I definitely want to find ways I can help. Part of me thinks that I am partially responsible. With Drumeo, we provide so much information, it’s likely people don’t even know where to start. If you started watching Drumeo lessons today it would take you more than 100 days to complete all the videos if you watched 24 hours a day. (I don’t recommend this haha!)

This massive amount of information can be deceiving because students think they have to watch it all. But that’s not the reason we have so many different lessons. The reason we have so many different lessons is because there are so many different drummers who all want to learn something different. We want to help everyone!

So in this article, I want to share with you my five tips for practicing the drums and cutting through the information overload:

1) Always Go Into A Practice Routine With A Plan

I have known this for years, but it was re-enforced recently when I attended one of Benny Greb’s Master Sessions. I think Benny is an amazing drummer, but that didn’t just come to him without hard practice. I actually think he’s just damn good at practicing and being super efficient with his time, which turned him into an incredible drummer.

So before you sit down at your drums, plan out exactly what you are going to do. If you want to just play around for a bit, then at least plan that (not what you’re going to do, but the fact that you’re just going to experiment for awhile).

The point of this isn’t to make your practice routine ultra rigid, and you can still be spontaneous if you’re feeling inspired, but you need to be more intentional with what you want to accomplish with your time spent behind the kit.

2) Get Your Lesson Plan From A Professional Teacher

This isn’t some hidden pitch for Drumeo. Obviously I think Drumeo is amazing, that’s why I work my ass off every day to make the best drum lessons in the world. You can get your lesson plan from anyone who is qualified. Go get a private lesson with a local instructor, take a Skype lesson with a drummer online, or maybe you could even get some Drumeo lessons.

3) Have A Balance Of Technique And Musicality

I go through phases where I become obsessed with certain things. Like when I practiced finger technique non-stop for years, or sat in a room slowly practicing the Moeller motions for days and days. I would literally not hang out with my friends so I could stay at home and practice my rudiments. I know, I know, a bit boring but I am happy I did it – well, most of it.

One big mistake I made, and still sometimes make to this day, is that I don’t balance my practice enough between technique and musicality. What point is having good technique if you have nowhere to apply it? So for me, I need to be very intentional about playing music and becoming a better musician.

Practicing technique won’t make you a better musician. Playing music will make you a better musician. Technique is easy and fun to practice because it’s quantifiable, but it’s not the end all be all with drumming. No musical director cares how fast you can play, or how good your medium full stroke roll is. So try to balance your practice between technique and musicality. (if you need more help with this just email me: jared@drumeo.com)

4) Publicly Commit To Something Hard To Do

Tell your friends, wife, brother, sister, band-mates, dry cleaners, pastor, and whoever else you can think of that you are going to do something. Ask them to hold you accountable if you want. I did this once, and I had to learn the hardest thing I’ve ever learned. (it was a Virgil Donati exercises where he plays a single paradiddle between his right hand and right foot, then a double paradiddle between his left hand and left foot).

It was crazy hard, but I’m glad I did it. You don’t have to choose something as hard as I did, but it’s really motivating to pick something and go for it. Not only is it motivating for you, but you’ll be surprised that it might give someone else a kick in the butt to be more productive!

5) Practice Drums Every Day

Of all the tips, this is the most important (maybe that means it should be number one, but oh well, let’s leave it at number five so only the hardcore Drumeos who read the whole article get the best tip!)

Whether you are active listening to music, tapping on your legs, or just playing on the practice pad – do something every day. Even if it’s just 10 minutes each time, it’s better than nothing.

There are no excuses for not practicing. Don’t get into the mind-set that the ‘stars have to be aligned’ for you to practice on the kit. Just do something.

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I hope these tips helped you out! My goal for every lesson on Drumeo is to provide you some value, and inspire you to run to your kit and practice