I remember reading somewhere that playing slowly is harder than doing it faster. I think that is what make us sometimes rush the timing.

Arnaldo

That's true, siu, because to a certain extent, it is also harder to pinpoint mistakes when playing faster. A slight unevenness during a fast song would not go unnoticed during a slow one.

i also heard that when ure playing...especially when ure playing with slow tempos..u have to love the spaces..they said its a good training to make your timing tight.....:)

That's a good way to look at it - never thought about it in quite that way - "loving the spaces". It's true though; if you rush your spaces, it doesn't matter how in-time your beats are - the song will still sound terrible.

Aayep, fundamentals. Try to give your student a score sheet so he can see how the drum notes, and which goes wheres, fall into the scheme of things on the tune?

No, but I hear that!!!!!!!!! One technique that worked for me with my dudes/gals was to use a metronome to whatever song I had them play, {Quick trick, although very basic, is to listen to a loud clock counting off seconds} and VISUALLY let them them see me clap my hands to that time-beat, gives a great visual refer to the beat going on for them to follow. One other thing , well, two, was to use some air drumming with sticks in hand so the student could sort of see where the sticks should go to which drums. The other was, substituting a hand-clap by me for a stick-slap on my leg for the beat, the technique was to give the student visual cues. {And, using the leg-beat was also to pre-train them a way to keep the beat when they were out, so they could come back in on the beat when the time came, think of breaks}.

Another part of the visual cue training were certain hand-signals that you taught the student to follow, simple signals like raising the hand to speed the beat back up to time, lowering the hand down to show them they were rushing the beat, using a twist of the lowered hand L or R to suggest they get louder or softer, using your own body to suggest they bring up one certain drum volume {e.g., stamp your foot hard to get them to pronounce the bass kick harder}. I never talked to any student while they were playing, I wanted them to coordinate what they were playing with the environment they were in {think of keying off your band-mates, live, for example}, and be alert to what's going on AROUND them, so they wouln't get wrapped up into just their own little world.

Added benefit to the student, is that they see YOU are into their playing, not just sitting around going, "sheesh"!!!!!!

Unsnip<

I hear and agree with that fully.

Yes, I agree with that totally. Sometimes we get so caught up in trying to be perfect, when playing the lick right can be so much easier. Once you are no longer playing it wrong, you can go about perfecting and tweaking the lick.

yeah, MJS, the slower the better for "newbies", it's not the speed, it's the beat holding and the comfort with running the kit. I'm going to expand on that last "comfort with kit" part.

After more consideration, I decided to add to this post. There are likely two instances, OUTSIDE of the true need for practice, {I'm completely with all you guys who talk practice!!!}, where a young student may fail or not "be there".

1} Coordination of the body {arms, legs, wrist, eyes, body posture on the stool, body relation to the kit so it's right for THEM, such as that}. Think of how much we tweak our own kits for just the right angles/reaches/pedal pressures, etc. I bet you guys/gals have set your kits, probably even made marks on your various stands/hardware, etc. so you could get the right spot for your specific, so you could tear-down-reset without much fussing. Toss a kid onto a set rigged for your own spec.'s, doesn't help much. Maybe they need to have the kit they practice on adjusted for them? And, one possible truth, maybe the student just cannot coordinate his/her body easily, if at all?

2} a GOOD SENSE, almost innate, it's really internal, {it can be trained in, but usually a drummer has it or they don't} of TIMING. That's already been mentioned. One exercise I used to do with kids was to have them watch a second hand on a clock and count it in their mind for two minutes. Then, I'd have them close their eyes, and internally count 60 seconds, if they were within around 3 seconds of one minute, they had some timing, {or at least are able to concentrate, :)} if they didn't~~~~~ Either a lot of training or a firm suggestion that they were going to have to get serious or they wouldn't be a successful drummer. {tactfully offered, of course}. There are those who have no sense of timing, or would have to rely on a bassist or rhythm guitar to keep them on-beat, and be able to manage through, but IMO that's NOT what a drummer should rely on. They should rely on YOU, not the other way around. {That's my opinion}.

One other good choice is to tell the kid to join his school band and get formal training for a few years, not everyone has the innate ability to play drums sans some formal training, or the ability to develop without the foundations formal training gives. That also gives the student the ability to see and hear what's going around him/her in a group setting while doing THEIR part,{I stated that in some other post}. Most young kids think a couple lessons make them a Bonham, Peart, Rich, etc. They usually lack the fortitude of the PPR rule. {Patience, Practice,Rudiments}. Or the training to even do the PPR. The rule really applies across all instruments.

We can't always be rock-stars just because we can hold onto a stick without dropping it. If you don't see them capable of at least two of the parts of that rule, then maybe drums really aren't the instrument for them, at least if they want to be good at it.

Anyway, those are my further thoughts.

"u have to love the spaces..they said its a good training to make your timing tight.....:)"

Bill Bruford once said that "Music is the space between the notes"





"don't practice until you get it right....practice until you DON'T get it wrong"



Keep in mind though, when practicing, you need to from the get-go be practicing correctly (grip, posture, timing, the correct beat, the right groove, etc, etc, etc). If you are not you are practicing incorrectly and training yourself to play wrong. That is why slow and steady with metronome and counting (OUT LOUD) works. There is of coarse variations on every theme, but the theme is still the same. To lay down a Snotty Groove or a Technical Drum Fill like you mean it.

I tell my students "Now go home and learn that beat like you blink and breathe". You don't have to think about it, it just happens.