You’ve probably heard that “practice makes perfect”, and maybe you’ve heard the version, “perfect practice makes perfect”. But how do we practice perfectly? We can use exercises. Similar to the rudiments for learning to [...]]]>

Drummers,  Overcome Any Challenge,

Play Anything You Can Think Of

with “The Ultimate Drum Set Challenge” Video Series

You’ve probably heard that “practice makes perfect”, and maybe you’ve heard the version, “perfect practice makes perfect”. But how do we practice perfectly? We can use exercises. Similar to the rudiments for learning to play snare drum, the exercises I have in mind focus on drum set play, using all 4 limbs while moving our arms quickly and with accurate strikes. Exercises build strength, endurance, and speed. By working on the best exercises, for each challenge we find, we will improve our playing surprisingly faster and with much less struggle. And just as important, working new exercises helps us come up with new ideas when playing beats and fills, and when performing solos.

I’m Steve Blank and I’ve been drumming professionally and teaching for quite a long time. I’m here today to introduce you to my latest drumming videos.

I’ll be demonstrating how to break down anything that is challenging you, and work the best exercises to turn the challenge or weakness into a strength. And an even greater benefit is that when we eliminate a weakness we are then able to drum at a whole new level…

When we play, we must “play down” to the level or our weaknesses. We must avoid certain things that we feel are a bit of a stretch for us. I, myself, don’t like that feeling. We might think “Some day I’ll work on that and get it down…”. Well, I hope today is that day!

I believe that no matter what level of playing you are at, from beginner to pro, there is something valuable in these videos. If you teach drums, I hope you see how your students can benefit from them also. These exercises will work along with any style of music, and with any type of drum training.

So, how does this exercise stuff work? To start with there are 3 main focuses, each with their own set of benefits.

The first focus is Balance – to Balance our limbs so they respond independently, while working together. This can really improve our ability with drum beats and solos.

The second focus is Flexibility – to have the Flexibility to move around a drum set smoothly and quickly. This will improve our ability to play fills and also solos.

The third focus is to combine balance and flexibility in the same exercises. Combined exercises are the most difficult, interesting, helpful, and fun to play! When we perform or achieve something that we know is very difficult, we then know that everything else is easy. So, when we get better at a difficult exercise, we begin to believe that we can play anything. With this type of belief we will advance our drumming at the very fastest rate possible. Actually, this works with anything in life we want to accomplish.

I’ve known a lot of drummers. When I look at the things that challenge us I see 7 main groups. Each video will focus on a different challenge:

1. Weak Limb
2. Rolls and doubles
3. Speed – hands, arms, feet
4. New Beats
5. New Fills
6. New Footwork
7. New Solos

While watching these videos, certain exercises or variations will stand out for you. These are the ones to work on. My hope is that after you have some success with an exercise or 2, you will re-visit these videos to see which exercises stand out for you to work on next. Of course, creating your own variations is also a good idea.

We can learn even faster if we record all our playing and review it soon after playing, within a few days if possible. Video is best because we can see and hear everything – what we like and don’t like. We re-live the playing in our mind while still being able to watch and listen. We help develop our personal style during these reviews.

While I demonstrate the variations, I will also be making references to the Ultimate Drum Exercise. This one exercise will completely change how you view drum challenges in the future, and eliminate some of them just by learning to play it once. But we need to learn all the pieces that make up the Ultimate Drum Exercise to really get the maximum long-term benefits.

For the investment of a small amount of time, you are about to learn how to overcome any drumming challenge. Signin on the right so I can let you know when the next video is ready.

Happy Drumming!

Steve