Embarking on the journey of learning to play the drums is filled with excitement and fulfilment. However, like any new skill, there may be some challenges along the way. Challenges are a common part of the journey for many drummers. Whether it's the challenge of coordinating your hands and feet, the feeling of stagnation, or the overwhelming complexities of drumming, it's easy to become frustrated and lose your enthusiasm. Thankfully, there are proven strategies for conquering frustration and maintaining motivation on your drumming journey.
Before learning how to overcome drumming frustration, you must understand its causes. Setting unrealistic goals is a factor. It's normal to compare yourself to pro drummers or expect fast progress. However, learning any skill takes time and effort. Lack of patience and persistence can also cause frustration. Remember that setbacks are part of learning and progress doesn't always go straight. Finally, learning from mistakes can help. Mistakes should be used for personal growth rather than discouragement.
Poor technique can also frustrate drummers. A solid drumming foundation helps progress and achieve the desired sound. Grip, posture, and coordination should be practiced to avoid frustration. Limitations on practice routines can also cause frustration. Regularly practicing the same exercises or songs without new challenges can lead to boredom and stagnation. To stay motivated and avoid frustration, vary and spice up your practice sessions.
Everyone has been in a flow state at some point. Whether through music, running, writing, reading, or any other activity.
This diagram explains the concept clearly. If a task is too difficult, it causes anxiety; if it is too easy, it causes boredom. The channel in the middle represents where your challenge and ability intersect.
Operating within this channel produces flow. A state of consciousness in which brain activity is reduced due to intense concentration on the task at hand. The end result is a sense that the task is effortlessly flowing from our bodies and minds, hence the term flow to describe the feeling.
Learn more about the Melodics approach to staying committed to your music journey and speeding up your progress.
Having patience and staying persistent are crucial qualities to cultivate when learning the drums. It's important to keep in mind that progress doesn't happen overnight and requires consistent effort and practice to become proficient. Stay positive and keep going, even if progress is slow or mistakes are made. Instead, see them as milestones on your path to progress. Make sure to allocate specific time each day for practice and approach it with a positive attitude. Embrace the process and savour the journey, understanding that each practice session brings you closer to your goals.
Setting specific goals for each drum practice session can greatly enhance your progress and overall experience. Setting clear objectives can be a great way to stay focused and motivated, whether you're trying to master a new drum pattern, improve your speed, or tackle a challenging song. Divide your goals into smaller, achievable tasks to avoid feeling overwhelmed. Find joy in the small victories as you journey towards your goals, keeping yourself motivated and monitoring your progress.
Additionally, it's worth exploring various practice techniques to ensure your sessions remain stimulating and fruitful. Try out different exercises, rudiments, and styles to expand your skill set and avoid getting bored. Discover a variety of resources like online tutorials, drumming books, and instructional videos to expand your knowledge and skills. Always keep in mind that embracing diversity in your practice not only enhances your drumming skills, but also ignites and sustains your love for music.
We’re strong believers in the principles of a learning method called Deliberate Practice. It’s the process of slowing things down, zooming-in with focus, and deliberately building a great result step-by-step.
These ideas draw heavily from the research of Anders Ericsson and Daniel Coyle. Although they’re often applied to sport and athletic training, they work just as well for building muscle memory and developing musical skills.
Here’s how you can apply it to learning the drums:
Pick a lesson and listen to it as a whole. It’s important to get familiar with the music you’ll be performing. Use preview mode and then orientate yourself to the finger placements.
Divide the song into small steps or components. Practice and memorise these separately. Then, link them together in progressively larger groupings. You’ll notice that through the use of steps in each lesson, we do a lot of the chunking for you. As the grades increase and the steps become more difficult, it's useful to divide them up even further. This is achieved using practice mode and setting loops.
Play with time. First slowing the action down and then speeding it up. Slowing down helps you to focus more closely on errors, creating a higher degree of precision. Use features in practice mode such as auto-bpm or wait-mode to build up your muscle memory and reflexes. Be patient with yourself, this can take a while!
Pick a part of the song you want to master. Reach for it, then evaluate the gap between your target and the goal and start again. You can track your progress each session and see how you’re going. Detecting mistakes is essential for making progress. This error-focused element of deliberate practice makes it a struggle. This process of ‘brain stretching’ is likely to be frustrating but does lead to growth.
Keep practising like this every day. This is the crucial part that so many people forget! Even a small amount such as 5 minutes of deliberate and focused practice every day. This will lead to better results than large, infrequent practice sessions that don’t have a structure or focus.
Last but not least, celebrating milesones and progress is an essential part of staying motivated in drumming. Recognize and celebrate your achievements, no matter how small they may seem. Whether it's successfully playing a challenging drum fill or mastering a new drumming technique, take the time to acknowledge your progress. Treat yourself to a small reward or share your accomplishments with others. This can boost your confidence, ignite your passion for drumming, and propel you forward on your journey.
Moreover, when celebrating milestones in your drumming journey, consider creating a practice journal to track your progress. Documenting your achievements, no matter how minor, can provide a visual representation of how far you've come. Reflecting on past successes can also serve as a source of inspiration during times of self-doubt or frustration. Additionally, sharing your milestones with a supportive community of fellow drummers can foster a sense of camaraderie and encouragement, further fueling your motivation to improve.
Frustration is a natural part of learning the drums. However, by understanding the root causes of frustration, setting realistic expectations, developing patience and persistence, employing effective strategies during practice sessions, seeking guidance from mentors or teachers, and celebrating milestones and progress, you can overcome frustration and stay motivated on your drumming journey. Remember, mastering the drums takes time, but with dedication and the right mindset, you can overcome any obstacle that comes your way. Keep pushing forward, and soon enough, you'll be rocking out with confidence. Happy drumming!
With Melodics, you’ll learn by playing. Our highly interactive app takes drummers through lessons beat by beat, giving them specific feedback on how they're doing.
Melodics is the only drum lesson app that tracks performance & progress, giving you specific feedback on how to improve. It’s a highly interactive drumming experience: Either plug in your electronic drum set or turn on your device’s microphone near your acoustic drum set and start playing. Melodics will then provide guidance on how to play songs & techniques with specific feedback on how to level up.
NEW LESSON DROP!
NEW LESSON DROP!
Come Together
As made famous by The Beatles
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