Intermediate Drum Lessons

Somewhere, I read this quote about intermediate drum lessons: “After establishing a solid foundation, it is time to venture out into the eclectic world of drumming and rhythm.” I actually agree with what the author has stated, but what does that actually mean?

I would describe a solid foundation for drums like this: Able to play a variety of beats in 4/4 time at slow-to-medium pace. Familiar with basic snare drum rudiments. Starting to incorporate some simple drum fills. Reading basic drum notation. Knowing what the various bits and pieces of a drum set are called. Familiarizing oneself with songs that feature basic drum beats. Experimenting with the metronome.

After all these requirements are met, the private drum lesson student is ready to move on. Expanding the drum beat and drum fill vocabulary is one of the first points on the agenda. This means, for example, adding 16th note “offbeats” on the snare drum and/or bass drum to spice up beats and make them more interesting. In the world of snare drum rudiments it is time to add more complex exercises involving flams and also press-and-buzz rolls. Introducing drum “colors” into the playing is also fun and rewarding – open hi hats, sidestick/rimshots, cymbal stops etc. are examples of cool new sounds the student can learn in a private drum lesson.

The Metronome Is Our Friend!

Many drummers have a kind of love/hate relationship with the metronome and I feel the earlier it is introduced, the better. Especially at the intermediate level, using the “click”, as it is often called in the recording studio, is a great tool. You can, for instance, learn a new beat and then, when you are familiar with it, play it with the metronome and establish a tempo at which the drum beat is comfortable to play at. Let’s take 70 bpm (beats per minute) as an example.  Then, next time you practice the drum beat, bumop the temp up to 72 or 74, and higher again next time you practice. In a few weeks your speed and accuracy will go through the roof!

Why is this important? It keeps practicing fun and presents the drum student with a way of measuring progress. So often the student (and all of us) do not notice if we improve and might even think we hit a plateau. Measuring speed is one important way of seeing progress. Also – many times students want to learn songs they like, which is a great idea and keeps learning fun. Having said that, I have found that many of the songs that students want to learn are at a fast tempo. They are not complex, just fast. Breaking down the beats, playing them slowly and then, with the help of the metronome, slowly speeding them up over the course of a couple of weeks often is a great way of getting up to speed and learning one’s favorite drum tracks.

 

Recording Drums

Lastly, this is also a good time for the drum student to start experimenting with recording his or her efforts. It is good to hear oneself play to really assess ability more accurately. Being able to lay down a drum track with a metronome is another skill, which is more and more needed in the digital age, when many producers and engineers “comp” (compile) drum tracks from different takes. We will get into drum recording more in detail in the future, but let me just say that it is important for the intermediate private drum student to really get comfy with the metronome for so many reasons!

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