One simple thing you can do. I can sum it up in one word...
Ready??
Practice.
Hey guys I've been trying to find someone who can answer this question for me.. So here it goes.. I want to be an amazing drummer (just being honest) I see drummers like Luke Holland who's only a few years older than me and he is pretty good! (but he plays sloppy) I want to know what is it that he's doing and what I can do to get to a professional level where he is at and above... Also, I only mention him because right now I've been trying to study him... any advice or tips would be awesome guys!
Pretty much!
But seriously, how do you master any musical instrument? If there was a magical formula, we'd all be playing like Buddy Rich. I'm not trying to be a smart-arse, I'm just telling it like it is. Practice is the key to any musical instrument, be it a guitar, the flute, an oboe, a violin, drums, etc.
Am I wrong?
Practice, practice, practice. Then when you think your done. Practice some more. Looks as if this guy is endorsed by more than one company. Which probably means that he doesn't have normal job responsibilities and lives off of his endorsements. Which would allow him to be able to spend 8 hours + a day behind the drum set. Plus he probably started when he was ten with top notch teachers, maybe. Plus there will ALWAYS be somebody better than you no matter how good you are. The more you practice, the better a person gets, at anything. Don't let the fact that just because he's around your age, that you should be at his level. There are a whole bunch of other factors at play usually. Don't let it get you down.
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You might play along with and learn all his recordings. Play along with recordings of other favorite drummers also. Learn the drum parts thoroughly.
Get out in front of an audience. Learn how the musician business works. Learn how to get gigs, how to live in a van for a month, how to wash your clothes while traveling, how to balance a checkbook and manage your money. Learn about recording. Meet other musicians and people in the entertainment business. The way to do it is to do it.
What others here have said. Practice. Put in the time. It's the only way.
The only thing I would add is to diversify. Listen to ALL types of music and don't be afraid to try your hand at any genre, even if you don't think you like it. It will make you a well rounded musician. Same goes for learning other instruments. The best writers read everything they can. Listening to music is the same...practice for the mind.
-Brian
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Play the SONG......not the DRUMS!!!
"I think that feeling is a lot more important than technique. It's all very well doing a triple paradiddle - but who's going to know you've done it? If you play technically you sound like everybody else. It's being original that counts." ~ John Bonham
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Any body know how to get to carnegie hall. Practice, Practice and more practice.
What you practice is just as important as how often you practice.
Also you must accept the realities of the high rises and fast falls of music. A guy from my hood back home took up drums and practiced, practiced, practiced. He became a killer drummer and looked like he was going to go places, playing in some really hot bands around Toronto and recording and all the rest. I just saw him my last time back to the old home town. He plays drums in a seedy dive bar for beer and tips.
You just never know. It takes tons of practice but like life in general, it's mostly just dumb luck!
all the best...
I'm going to add the bad news. Practicing is the only way to get great, but not everyone is capable of being great. Most people can achieve some level of competence with tons of practice but not everyone can be great. I know that I do not have the 'IT' needed to be great, that no matter how much I try I could, if I applied myself, only ever be very good. I could be a competent working drummer but never more than that. And that comes from being around some great players and seeing what level they are at and seeing that the gap is too big. That's not the talent I was given but I've taken what I have and have used it to make myself and other people happy and that's my niche. I'm fine with that.
I say this not to throw water on your dreams but to just be honest. Since you don't know if you are one of the people who can be great the only thing to do is try, and believe you can be one. Lots of great things things have been done by people who believed in themselves. I hope you've got the 'IT."
And let me add this. The great musicians I speak of practiced for 8 hours a day. If they had a performance that day they cut it down to 4. And this was AFTER they were already great and accomplished and being paid.
Life's too short to play the same solo twice. Improvise!
Stay humble and learn as much as you can. Learning to read a little bit, especially when you're getting a handle of the rudiments to start off with, will do you good. A writer is only as good as the words they know.
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Welcome to Drum Chat Drummerboy13b!
The short answer to "practice WHAT????" is that you need to be practicing rudiments. This is where you get the killer chops. Also practice rythms of all difference genres, and do them until you can do them in your sleep. When things become natural to youm you can feel the music and respond.
Again, welcome!
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I like what PB said about when things feel natural to you. Like a lot of things, when it feels second nature, that's when you usually have it down real good and you don't have to think about it quite as much.
Drum Rudiments
Thank You guys!! all of that really helped! I know that theres alot more at play than just practice, that just raw talent, connections, luck.. etc play a large roll in it. But I do believe in pushing myself beyond what I think I can reach and taking it from there!
Drummerboy13, it's good to push yourself beyond your comfort zone. If you don't reach for the stars, you'll never get there.
Quoting gonefishin: Just have some bacon with ya when you go pick her up..........youre an instant chick magnet.
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Exactly. Good luck.
And what to practice? Everything. You will need a very big toolbox. Rudiments Chops. Grooves. Stamina. Feel. Many different genres. Musical knowledge. Do a little of each, each day.
Life's too short to play the same solo twice. Improvise!
I waited 18 responses to jump in with what I thought was the obvious answer. That is what is good about forums - different perspectives.
If you don't have a good teacher, get a good teacher. Ask around and do your research. Don't just go to the closest, cheapest.
There is no great musician that had a great teacher that looked back and thought "hey I would have learned faster without a teacher".
practice
eat some food
practice
sleep
practice
use the loo
practice
eat food
practice
rinse repeat
Just keeping asking questions on the internet, eventually the secret will appear. Who is Luke Holland?
click to see my kit re-veneer/finish
http://www.drumchat.com/showthread.p...168#post379168
Maybe it's just the age but he kinda reminds me of this young guy I bought
the Paiste splash from (off Craigslist) on his far right like 5 years ago or so.
I checked out a video of Luke Holland, it has a Drum Channel backdrop. Sloppy? I think not! This kid is relaxed and loose as all hell, sloppy he is not. If you have not checked him out, (the video had half a million views) check it out. Benny Greb came to mind with some very coordinated stick flips. I would venture to say, 96% of all drummers will never get that good in a lifetime! myself included! and this kid might be twenty?
click to see my kit re-veneer/finish
http://www.drumchat.com/showthread.p...168#post379168
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