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Practice

Writer's picture: John GeorgesJohn Georges
I absolutely love to practice!
I absolutely love to practice!

If I ever get stuck on a desert island, I hope I have my Ludwig concert stand and my Eames Green Monster snare drum.


Before each lesson, I ask every student, "How was your week?" "Did practicing go well?"

Practicing is so complex. It encompasses many aspects of ourselves, and that said, we may be underappreciating or underutilizing certain abilities.

What most people do:

"I have 6 new things I need to learn, and my teacher told me I need to practice 1-2 hours a day so that's what I do." I start at the beginning of one piece and play until I make a mistake, then I start over trying not to make that mistake again." "When I get bored or frustrated, I move on to the next assignment." Rinse and repeat for 1-2 hours a day.'

Well...if you do this, it's a good idea to upgrade your practice.

As an example, playing a new drum beat, all the way through a song is only ONE part of practicing, and honestly a much later goal. (You are practicing performing when you do that.)

Here is a better method you can try.

Start with no instrument:

1) Find recordings of the song ( or the piece of music).


2 ) Learn the beat. Begin to understand the piece you are playing with, deeply from beginning to end.

2) Learn about the era and composer to better understand the style. (If you are studying with me, we go over that.)

3) Before you start playing, have an idea of what you want it to sound and feel like. Physically and emotionally. Use your ear, imagination, teacher examples, and reference recordings.

4) Find the tricky spots and start to think of which techniques you would use to solve them.

Pick up your sticks and head for the drum set!

5) Once you can hear the sound you want to produce, start teaching yourself how to produce that sound. This is where the practice begins. You are now your best teacher.

6) Play the new beat at a slow tempo. Don't force it - it will naturally happen on its own. (The slow tempo is the tempo you can easily play).

7) When trouble arises, take the beat out of context. As an example, play the eighth note cymbal part first with one hand. Add the snare drum with the other hand. Get that locked in. After that, add the bass drum, one note at a time .

8) Work on your rhythm, tuning, and tonal quality, the emotions in the music you are playing with, the technical issues, and the overall flow.

9) Do it again. Yes, that's what I said, do it again.


Engaging with the music intellectually and emotionally before physically playing is crucial for developing a deeper connection to the piece. This method helps solidify concepts in your memory and enhances your performance.


Learning about the composer and the era provides context, which enriches interpretation. Understanding the historical background can inform stylistic choices and enhance expressiveness.


Imagining the desired sound and feel of a piece before playing helps establish clear goals. This mental preparation aids in producing a more nuanced performance.

Focus on technique identifying tricky spots and developing strategies to tackle them is essential. This targeted practice is more effective than playing through the piece repetitively.


If you are playing a piece of music, addressing problems in isolated sections and then reintegrating them into the whole piece is a powerful strategy. This method builds confidence and fluency.

Combining technical aspects with emotional expression and overall flow fosters a balanced approach to performance.


This structured method can lead to more meaningful practice sessions and ultimately improve both technique and musicality. Consistently applying these principles is likely to yield positive results over time.

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