The new breed practice routine

[vol14]

hi all!

So I really want to start practicing the book new breed but i have a really hard time deciding how to practice.
I came up with this routine and I will practice this routine every day. it might be a little hard to fallow but I’ll try to explain the best way I can. Please tell me what you think about it and please tell me about your routine as well.

So ill start by

1. Setting my metronome on 60BPM and then I’ll play all the 39 systems in the book without the melody. I will spend 10 minutes on every system every day and I will play the systems until they all feel good.

2. When I can play all the systems with ease at 60BPM, then ill repeat the process but this time I’m going to sing the quarter note pulse while i play all the 39 systems again. I will play and sing all the systems 10min every day until they all feel good.

3. The next step is to add the melody to the systems i will yet again play all the 39 systems but now with melody 1. The metronome is still on 60BPM and i will spend 10min on every system.

4. When i can play the systems with the melody i will work on singing all parts that meant to be sung on the 39 systems.

5. So when i can play and sing all the 39 systems with melody 1 then it’s time to move on to the next melody (melody 2) and repeat the whole process until i can play all the systems with all the melodies perfect. Then I will increase the metronome speed by 1BPM and play it all again.


Okay so this method will take about seven hours of practice every day, but it think this would be the fastest and most effective way to master The new breed. I am sorry if my explaining was bad please ask questions if that was the case. Tell me what you think about it! Thanks!!

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[rickthedrummer]

hi all!

So I really want to start practicing the book new breed but i have a really hard time deciding how to practice.
I came up with this routine and I will practice this routine every day. it might be a little hard to fallow but I’ll try to explain the best way I can. Please tell me what you think about it and please tell me about your routine as well.

So ill start by

1. Setting my metronome on 60BPM and then I’ll play all the 39 systems in the book without the melody. I will spend 10 minutes on every system every day and I will play the systems until they all feel good.

2. When I can play all the systems with ease at 60BPM, then ill repeat the process but this time I’m going to sing the quarter note pulse while i play all the 39 systems again. I will play and sing all the systems 10min every day until they all feel good.

3. The next step is to add the melody to the systems i will yet again play all the 39 systems but now with melody 1. The metronome is still on 60BPM and i will spend 10min on every system.

4. When i can play the systems with the melody i will work on singing all parts that meant to be sung on the 39 systems.

5. So when i can play and sing all the 39 systems with melody 1 then it’s time to move on to the next melody (melody 2) and repeat the whole process until i can play all the systems with all the melodies perfect. Then I will increase the metronome speed by 1BPM and play it all again.


Okay so this method will take about seven hours of practice every day, but it think this would be the fastest and most effective way to master The new breed. I am sorry if my explaining was bad please ask questions if that was the case. Tell me what you think about it! Thanks!!

1 question. What is the "New Breed"?

[markthechuck]

7 hours of practice a day!! that's be well too much for me.

[Texdrumr]

Good luck with it, vol14. That's quite a commitment, but one that I'm sure will be very rewarding down the road.

Tex

[Drumbledore]

That's quite a commitment to practice, it's certainly a hard book to get through. Sounds like you've got a practice routine worked out for it though. What other books have you been working from?

[atomcorr2]

7 hours a day is way too much , youll burn yourself out in no time . plus youll have no life outside of playing drums. everyone here wants to be as good as they can ,but 7 hours a day is too much . i know nothing about you , but how do you have 7 hours a day to invest in this ? also i hope you dont have neighbors that have to listen to you for 7 hours a day. if you do im sure youll be talking to the police often. work more on the quality of your practice , not the quantity ....

[markthechuck]

work more on the quality of your practice , not the quantity ....

^^^^^This^^^^^

what about playing along to your favorite songs and stuff?

[rickthedrummer]

I agree with atomcorr2 100%.

You will, in all probability, burn yourself out within a year.

[drummer]

hi all!

So I really want to start practicing the book new breed but i have a really hard time deciding how to practice.
I came up with this routine and I will practice this routine every day. it might be a little hard to fallow but I’ll try to explain the best way I can. Please tell me what you think about it and please tell me about your routine as well.

So ill start by

1. Setting my metronome on 60BPM and then I’ll play all the 39 systems in the book without the melody. I will spend 10 minutes on every system every day and I will play the systems until they all feel good.

2. When I can play all the systems with ease at 60BPM, then ill repeat the process but this time I’m going to sing the quarter note pulse while i play all the 39 systems again. I will play and sing all the systems 10min every day until they all feel good.

3. The next step is to add the melody to the systems i will yet again play all the 39 systems but now with melody 1. The metronome is still on 60BPM and i will spend 10min on every system.

4. When i can play the systems with the melody i will work on singing all parts that meant to be sung on the 39 systems.

5. So when i can play and sing all the 39 systems with melody 1 then it’s time to move on to the next melody (melody 2) and repeat the whole process until i can play all the systems with all the melodies perfect. Then I will increase the metronome speed by 1BPM and play it all again.


Okay so this method will take about seven hours of practice every day, but it think this would be the fastest and most effective way to master The new breed. I am sorry if my explaining was bad please ask questions if that was the case. Tell me what you think about it! Thanks!!

I think it sounds like a great plan! Those that plan, visualize and execute are almost always successful. You have a great work ethic and I commend you.

I agree with a couple of the comments about being careful not to overdo it. Burnout is in fact something that happens to some people so indeed, the quality of your practice will be more important than the quantity. That said, focused, lengthy and effective practice is a fast train to the top and you'll have no regrets once you've arrived.

[bassist learning drums]

1 question. What is the "New Breed"?

Good Book. I find it very challenging. I really do not think that practicing 7 hours a day will be that beneficial. Maybe work a few "systems" at a time.

Rick, if you can do a little Gary Chester research. There is also a New Breed 2 book

[Markadiddle]

Bassist Learning Drums - You need to delete the link to amazon. It's against forum rules.

[Bish]

Welcome to Drum Chat, vol14.

I hope your results exceed your expectations.

Should we only expect to see you post after every 7 hours?

[Nechre]

Man, with this kind of practice routine, I'd be a machine. That would be awesome...

[sjshooter]

Who has seven hours a day?

[rickthedrummer]

Who has seven hours a day?

I do, but I don't spend them playing my drums.

[wolvie56]

Good luck and welcome to the forum, vol14.

[doubledrums]

OP, how has this routine come along for you? Still sticking to it?

I am currently working through this book as well. I do a System a week. I play 2 pages of the reading exercises a day. All at 60 bpm, which is where the metronome stays at. Singing everything of course. You must realize that this book will take time to get through, and even then you're never really done with it. I am at System 22 now. Once I've completed all the 39 systems, I'm going to go back to System 1 and play the Advanced Reading exercises with the 39 systems. Then and only then, I'll go to the Advanced systems, working with the 'easy' reading exercises, then the advanced reading exercises. After that I plan to work the 39 systems and the 12 advanced systems first with Syncopation, then Modern Reading Text. And then, I will probably check out The New Breed II!

All of this will probably take at least 4 years, if that. But I'm learning to love the process. I think I will benefit more if the exercises are played at a slow tempo like 60bpm. Singing and feeling the notes at this tempo is wonderful and will do me good, I'm sure. I might even go down to 50 or 40bpm tomorrow.

My advice is, take it slow. 7 hours a day just on this book isn't great time management.

[inthpktplayer]

OP, how has this routine come along for you? Still sticking to it?

He can't respond. He kept up with his practice commitment until late December and is now in the fetal position in the corner of a dark room.

[doubledrums]

He can't respond. He kept up with his practice commitment until late December and is now in the fetal position in the corner of a dark room.

Haha You may be right!!!

Seriously though, I went through a similar experience. When I first got the book in 2005, I was so overwhelmed by the amount of material it contained. I started practicing System 1... and stopped there. Then I picked it up again in 2009 and got to the second page of the first 39 systems, then stopped again. I picked it up again last year, with a different mindset and have been consistently practicing through the book since. Just doing 2 pages of reading per day, and it's steady progress thankfully.

[JohnnySticks]

A professional percussionist for a major orchestra I know told me he practiced 8 hours a day on days there was no concert or rehearsal, and 4 hours a day when there was. But he was doing drums, cymbals, auxiliary percussion and mallets so he could work an hour on the xylophone, an hour on the snare drum, a half hour on tambourine, an hour on bells etc and keep it fresh. Plus I think that rehearsal also meant listening to and learning the pieces, because knowing where all the cymbal crashes are in Beethoven's 9th is a lot harder than learning the average pop song.

Of course he was paid six figures to to it, too.

[SpazApproved]

I do a good 2-3 hours on a good day.. and if I worked hard enough that equals one hell of a burn... 7 hours is a job... no thanks.

[Ricardo]

These days, when I am cramming for a gig, or trying to learn new material, I can get in 2 to 2.5 hours max until I no longer have good focus.............

If I don't have good focus, then I am not learning anything...........just jamming.

Some days when I am less motivated, my focus will not even last that long and I will cut a session shorter.

If you can maintain your focus for 7 hours, then go for it.

Otherwise, you will find yourself spinning your wheels on some days.

[slinglander]

So, Vol14, how's it coming with playing the whole kit (&kaboodle)?
Worthwhile? Playing to any songs?

[doubledrums]

Blast from the past! I wonder what ever happened to OP? ��

As for me, 11(!) years later, I'm happy to report that I've completed the basic 39 systems + Basic Reading pages! I'm currently working on both the Advanced and Composite systems + Advanced Reading pages... I have 12 more systems to go till I finish both the Advanced and Composite systems + Advanced Reading pages.

Then it's onto The New Breed II which is currently on its way to me as I write this.

As I work through The New Breed II, at a much slower pace this time I'll probably go back to The New Breed I and practice all of the 39 systems with the Advanced reading pages, then go back and practice the Advanced and Composite systems with all of the Basic reading pages as well. And then I'll probably practice the Basic/Advanced and Composite systems with the reading pages from Syncopation and Modern Reading Text in 4/4.

For anyone wondering, I only just recently (past few months) got back into The New Breed I after abandoning it back in 2015 (so crazy that was 10 years ago!) I had made some progress with the first 39 systems, up to System 26 I think... so I picked up right where I left off. It was a lot of work. The key word here is patience. Yes, I practiced everything like the book tells you to do, including all of the singing for each limb and click pulse. My metronome was set to 60 bpm for the most part, except for the systems that I found to be pretty easy, usually it's where the hands are playing the melody... then I'd bump up the metronome to 80 bpm, maybe 90 bpm max. I truly feel that these systems were meant to be practiced at slow to medium tempos to get the full benefits. Plus, it's pretty difficult to sing 1/16th notes straight for multiple measures because you do have to breathe as well! More importantly, I found it best to practice at something slow like 60 bpm because you don't really make mistakes at that tempo. Accuracy was and is the most important thing to me. 60 bpm is tedious, most people won't have the patience for that but I know it's worth it in the long run.

To keep track of everything, I have a checklist in Apple Notes of all of the Systems and reading exercises and I put a little ☑ once I've completed the exercises. I can't tell you how satisfying it is to be able to place a check mark after practicing ��

Some observations:

1. I don't know why it is, but left hand leading systems under Advanced and Composite were actually easier for me to play for some strange reason, as a right handed person I don't get it either!

2. When you get up to the Advanced and Composite systems it's actually easier to start from Advanced Reading Exercise 10 and work your way down to Exercise 1. At least this is what I experienced anyway. I think because in Exercise 10 you're playing mostly 1/16th notes and you're getting your limb used to the subdivisions. As you move down to Exercise 1 you get more rests (you're play less and less of the subdivisions) so it actually gets easier IMO.

3. For some of the really difficult systems I had to slow all the way down to 40 bpm. Surprisingly though, I'd end up back at 60 once I completed all of the reading pages for that system. It actually does get easier as the hours go by.

I'd be happy to answer any questions anyone has in regards to my journey through this book so far! I consider completing the first 39 systems a huge milestone for me, I didn't think I'd make it this far and now I'm on my way to completing all of the pages in the book as written (not using other reading pages from other books).

[drummer]

Wow, your patience and discipline is commendable! Great job! I never worked through the New Breed book (just an exercise here or there) but have the utmost respect for those that do.

You may or may not get a substantive reply to your wonderful post. This forum isn't as popular as it used to be. But I wanted to acknowledge your efforts and for sharing your experience with us here in Drum Chat.
Thank you!