On Your Gear!
Frustrated Behind The Kit?
I know when you’re drumming and learning, it can be frustrating when you don’t know how to keep a steady beat on drums. I want to give some advice as to how to help you.
Multiple Ways To Up Your Drumming
There are a few different things that we can do to keep a steady beat and they constitute these ideals.
- Practice at different speeds, especially the slower speeds (Practice endurance exercises and with a metronome especially with increasing the speed)
- Isolate each individual limb to ensure each drum part is spot on
- Have a jam session with other musicians as much as possible (or practice to drum less tracks)
- Record yourself so you can really examine how you look to see if there’s anything you’re missing
The Ultimate Keys To Opening Up Your Chops
As a professional drummer, I can tell you that a sense of rhythm can be controlled through these concepts. Let’s look into why these are such important things.
Detailed answer: Delete this part right here – delete this part right here…
1. Practice at different speeds
First things first, we play at all speeds (even the uncomfortably slow ones). The best way to learn the drums is to work on your internal clock, all the time.
The more practice sessions you spend purposely developing a steady rhythm with a click track, the better. A great way to master any drum beats, fills, techniques, etc. is to practice at speeds that make you want to fall asleep they’re so slow.
Practice every subdivision (32nd notes, 32nd note triplets, sixteenth notes, sixteenth note triplets, eighth note, eighth note triplets, quarter notes, triplets, etc.). Single strokes are always great to practice, both with and without a metronome.
Building up these other parts of your drumming are going to help increase your stick control, musical ear, and skill levels all around, which includes your sense of keeping time.
As you become more comfortable, increase the speed and only when it FEELS right!
Metronome clicks are important and you should still spend a lot of time there, but spending time practicing increasing/decreasing the speed with the internal clock you’re developing is equally important (I’d argue).
Just like all musician develop a musical ear, drummers develop more of the sense of rhythm, while developing the ever-looming (kidding, it’s lovely) internal clock.
2. Isolate each individual limb to ensure each drum part is spot on
Something else to help your steady tempo growth is training each individual limb. I want to mention quickly that practicing keeping time with your hi-hat is really the best place to branch out from just using 3 limbs in drumming.
This is your shaping tool for how to keep a steady beat on drums. Keep working. Practice those left foot parts alone, as well as with right hand and left hand and kick parts all isolated.
Whether you are behind the drum set practicing new beats or fills, you can really learn a lot about what each arm or leg is doing in the context of the whole drum part.
This will only make you that much better of a player and all the great drummers that have ever existed use this same thought process at least on some scale.
The good news is, as you start to join any of those limbs together (i.e. practicing a right hand snare drum part and a kick part or practicing a left hand tom part and a left-foot hi-hat part), you’ll develop even more fluidity and develop even more of a steady tempo.
3. Have a jam session with other musicians as much as possible (or practice to drum less tracks)
A jam session is one of the best ways to solidify any drum part you may be trying to learn and/or come up with.
When you are stepping into the ‘real world application’ with that drum groove, you are putting it to work and serving the nature and structure of the jam/song/tune (you get the point). Sometimes drumming may not come as steady for you until you can find the place where it makes sense.
Often, I’ve practiced something for a long while and don’t fully become accepting of it until I deploy it out in a tasty jam.
I can work the kinks out in real time and really find the straight lines where it aligns with the chemistry of the song.
Alternatively, you can pull up drum less tracks on Spotify and Youtube and play along to those. I use the ones with clicks most of the time, but there are options for ones without the click.
Just go on one of these platforms and search, “Drumless tracks xxx BPM”. Substitute xxx for whatever tempo you plan on practicing with.
Find different ways to use what you’re practicing and your internal sense of time will grow.
4. Record yourself so you can really examine how you look to see if there’s anything you’re missing
Whether you are on the practice pad or the full kit, it’s always important to record yourself and use a mirror.
This will give you a better understanding of how you look and overall help you become a better musician.
Catching bad habits (such as slouching or uneven stick heights) sooner are crucial to increasing your skill levels behind the drums.
If you plan on taking drum lessons, this is actually something that they will probably end up making you do.
What if you can’t keep a steady beat because your slouching, which in turn affects your breathing, which is why you are rushing the song (or not playing fast enough)?
You can’t expect to break through new drumming heights if you don’t understand every intricacy of yourself as a drummer.
Believe me, I thought it was a little odd at first, but it’s helped me catch flaws in my drumming and the ongoing positive effects is why I will continue to record myself.
I also always use a mirror in all my practice sessions and I find myself resorting back to bad habits. It’s perfect to catch you in the act. I’d recommend using a mirror for learning/practicing all percussion instruments.
Recording yourself allows you go back and grade yourself, but a mirror will offer the real-time analysis of how you’re playing. Both have their benefits and should be used in conjunction.
Time To Get Some Practice In
So, there are plenty of ways you can go about learning how to keep a steady beat on the drums. This list isn’t the only one, but I hope that the tips here can help you because getting better feels like the greatest thing (and you can do it, I believe in you)!
I’m always picking myself apart behind the drums and it’s a big reason as to why I’m able to get any better. Don’t be satisfied, but be thankful.
Go Forth And Strengthen Your Internal Clock
I’d love to hear about your journey to drums and your experiences. What kind of things have helped you with your drumming? Do you use mirrors and are Sun Chips also your favorite chips?
Want FREE drum hacks to help your drum chops foundation and get you on the right track?
Get those by clicking here.
Until next time!
-Evan C.