Arm Strength?

[Fredr]

Hey all, we were working on a new song today at band practice. And I got this awesome beat going. But it involes constant 16th notes on the bell of the ride cymbal



My question is, should I start lifting weights? My arm got really tired very fast and I could barley play

I don't really care what I look like, I just wanna be able to play with a lot of stamina.

What do you think?

[Little Roober]

You don't really need to lift weights. Just keep playing that beat and go as fast as possible for as long as you can.

[xweasel]

Hey, you can be skinny like a twig and still go really fast with a hella lot of stamina! (look at Romain Goulon!)

[matthew62593]

I lift weights (not for drumming, but just for my health) and I can say it doesn't really do much for my stamina when it comes to playing. The stamina is just gonna come naturally as you continue to practice and do stuff that requires more energy.

Maybe cardio exercises would help, though (running, swimming, etc.). They should raise your endurance.

[32ndHeartBeat]

I'd be more worried about the strength of your sticks to play 16ths on the bell the whole way through lol
Check out Jojo Mayer, you see the stuff he's capable of playing and can you honestly tell me he looks like a bodybuilder? I think nay

[WARTH]

I do an aerobic workout 3 to 4 days a week. It only takes a halfhour, there's nothing gay about it and it makes me feel young [and strong]. As someone else said, stamina comes with practice. I'm 44 btw and I beleive age is just a number, a state of mind if you will.

[Quadcam79]

Fred what you need to do is work on rudiment exercises for stamina in your arm. I asked a similar question about constant fast 16thy notes not too long ago. Sine then I've been working on rudiments daily and I cant tell you how much it's helped already, you dodnt een really have to do much more than, start at a slow speed on the metronome say 60 bpm and work on single hand exercises like R R R R L L L L RRRRRRRR LLLLLLLL start with 1/4's than 8ths then 16ths.

work your speed up gradually, i guarantee you'll see a huge improvement in a short time.

[holycow77]

Just keep practicing the song over and over. There's a song I play with my band, and it used to absolutely kill me (it the last in a set of 11)... My right shoulder felt like it was gonna drop off at the end of it...

When we started rehearsing it, I'd have no strength left by about half way through and just die out in pain. It's been about 6 months, and know I can play through the set 3 times and still have some left after that song (the 33rd song). I've done nothing but practice it 3 times a week with the band.

I think that you'd have to be very careful with lifting weights... You could end up adding more weight to your arms, but not strength, which would be the equivalent of playing with lead drumsticks.

Also, make sure your ride cymbal is positioned in the best location possible.

[quikstang2]

There's nothing wrong with working on core strength (would help actually) for body positioning and being able to support your limbs. Working just your arms to play 16ths... might slow you down more than anything. Just practice playing 16ths and you should be good.

[Norske]

I agree with all of the above. I've been into weightlifting for almost 40 years, and it probably helps me a lot when I'm shlepping gear around, but has nothing to do with endurance. Keep practicing.

You had to learn to play different beats, different tempos, different kick beats, and all of that took time and practice until it became second nature and was easy for you. This is no different. It's a matter of developing muscle memory.....once you've been doing something repetitively for awhile it just gets easy.