No time! I’ve simply got not enough drum practice time on my hands. Man, that sucks. 🙁
Sounds familiar?
If so, this article is made for you:
You’ll learn how you can make out the most of a short time reserved for your drum practice.
Ready? Let’s go! 🙂
The most important thing is a GOAL
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If you’ve got only little time to practice the drums, you should really be focused on what you’re learning.
The best to do is:
Set one or two specific goals for each day you’re about to practice.
What do you want to learn or become better at?
This is your goal.
Now, break down this goal in little steps you can take even with little time to spare.
You want to learn a cool drum beat, for example?
Break down the parts you have to learn.
This could be
- the pattern of the hi-hat or the bass drum
- its rhythmical structure or
- the feeling of it.
Whatever it is: Keep each goal accessible and easy to reach within the time you can practice the drums.
Add some music into your drum practice time
Making music equals drumming. So even with little time to practice, don’t forget to add some of your favorite songs to your drum routines.
The best thing is: You can combine an exercise and a cool song easily.
Simply practice your exercise until you feel secure about it. Then, play it to the song.
This might take some days of little drum practice time, but it’s definitely worth it. Remember:
It’s not what you play. It’s HOW you play it.
Don’t overdo it!
One of the biggest problems a drum beginner probably has is this: There’s simply SO much to learn.
If you’ve got little time to practice, this certainly feels overwhelming. So please don’t overdo things!
I know it feels tempting, but: Learn one drumming skill at a time. Then, add another one to it.
Gone over a longer period of time, small steps add up too. And sure:
It’s no big deal to have little time. (I mean, we all know that, right?)
But it’s a big deal to waste it. Speaking of:
Get help before your drum practice time slips away
Why do you take drum lessons? Because the teacher shows you how you can learn this lovely bunch of instruments the most effective way.
Also, there’s another huge reason for taking music lessons: They are a real time saver.
As I said, there is so much to learn about drumming.
- Where should you start?
- What makes the most sense to learn next?
- And how can you tackle this annoying difficulty now?
Your drum teacher will help you out. Also, he or she will provide you with tips and ideas of what your short drum practice time should consist of.
Because let’s be real: Every drummer is different. I simply can’t tell you what’s the best for you. That’s because I don’t know you or your personal drumming goals.
Another Question: How many hours a week should you practice drumming?
So you’ve got little to no drum practice time. As I said, that’s ok. There are more important things in life than drumming.
And yes, a drum teacher is saying this.
On the other hand, you might be wondering how many hours a week you should practice drumming?
If you ask me, I’d say:
At least 70 minutes per week. (Which equals 10 minutes a day. 20 minutes would be better, but 10 hours would be too. ;-)) So let’s stick with 10 minutes daily for drum beginners.
I know, this sounds like nothing. But add it up over a year.
Even if you’re “just” practicing 10 minutes on 250 days a year, your total drum practice time is
2500 minutes OR 41.66666 hours a year.
Jep, that’s almost 42 hours of constant drumming per year. Imagine what you are able to learn during this time.
A LOT!
Even if you have to cut down to 5 minutes a day, you still get almost a full day of drumming per year. And that’s a thing for sure!
So never underestimate your drum practice time being not enough.
Instead,
- set goals to learn what you want and have to learn,
- get help from a drum teacher (huge time-saver!)
- and regularly add music to your practice routine.
This will make a huge difference in your drumming. Trust me, I’ve been drumming for a while now. 🙂
Cheers,
PS: How much time do you spend on practicing the drums each day?
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