Practicing Techniques The more you put in to something, the more you get out of it. The best way to excel quickly, is to set a schedule and stick to it.  Set a time and devote it to playing.  Once you  get started, don’t practice watching the clock for 30 minutes.  Focus on your instrument until you feel an improvement in your playing, and that natural “high” created by the endorphin flow that comes from the enjoying of what you are doing.  Visit the instrument for at least a few minutes as a daily ritual.  Of course, it is okay to practice more than just the time allotted  in your schedule, and take breaks if you plan on making it up. Mix up your practice time with fun time.  I like to warm up by playing whatever is on my mind, or whatever comes out of the drums naturally.  It is important to play just for the fun and enjoyment of playing as much as it is to practice the fundimentals.   Loosen up your body, and clear your thoughts of the days events.  This puts your mind in a good place to play freely, and primes your body to quickly respond to the neural signals that your brain is sending. After a warm-up session whether it be a freestyle, or review of previous concept,  get down to brass tacks.  Whether you are training your mind and limbs to work together using a new concept, hit a faster tempo, or perfect a new style of playing, repetition is the key.   Practice all of the parts of the exercise or song individually.  Learn each part slowly, and work it up to the desired speed before doing the same with the next pattern. Then practice putting the parts together, using different transitions and arrangements.  When you are comfortable doing this, then you can say you have mastered the understanding of the concept.   As you practice the physical aspect of the parts, bump the tempo a bit faster.  Speed up in tiers, holding a tempo for several repetitions, and then, on the beginning of the next repetition, increase the tempo just so that it is noticeably faster.  Hold that tempo long enough to lock into that tempo before speeding up again. Be sure to maintain the quality of your playing This is  much more important than speed.  It is also essential to maintaining the technique that you have developed at the slower to moderate tempos. Now, have fun with it.  Try utilizing other concepts that you have down, and blend them together to form new patterns, styles and arrangements.  This is where the “fun” factor comes in to play again.  Experiment and spend as much time here, as you did in the “learn, play, repeat” mode.  Put your own unique spin on the concept and develop your style trying different things out.  If it doesn’t work, try again or try something else.  Add in your own signature style and fills and push the concept to new heights. Stick Weilding Technique Technique is the vessel for your own creativity.  It is important to have a foundation in good technique in order to control the sticks into doing what you want them to. Weilding the drumsticks:  Matched grip A conversation on angles, height, and the bio-mechanics of how your body was designed and how you can apply it to playing the drums. Traditional Technique Tutorial Traditional grip and technique as used in marching and jazz styles.   The Matrix This is an exercise that I use to be able to navigate single, double, triple, and quadruple strokes in every combination, on either hand.