I love to see the excitement in a child when they decide they want to do something new...like taking up drumming. I have a young son myself and he loves drumming. I taught him a whole summer of lessons and now he thinks he knows it all! Ha! But, there are a few things that I was able to set him up with so he had the right tools to start learning.

I'm going to go over everything your child would need to get started in drums or percussion. This would cover drum sets, sticks, lessons, books, pads, metronomes, etc. I am specifically writing this for my own new students but I know this will help other parents too. This article covers kids from ages 5-10. If they are older, take a look at my other article that covers ages 10 to adult: Definitive Drum Practice Guide from Beginner to Advanced - Part 1 - Scheduling and Gear. 

What Age Should they Start?

I always say that the age of five is probably the youngest a child could start learning drums. Of course, that depends on how much they are able to focus. Some kids at 5 years old can't focus at all while some can focus for at least 20-30 minutes. This is a relatively normal attention span with how most kids develop. My son didn't try lessons until he was 6 and it was a struggle for him to focus longer than 10 minutes. It would be safe to say that any child 8 years old and up would be ready to start learning drums.

Should They Get Lessons?

I have an opinion about “lessons vs. self-taught” that I would like to explain so I can help you decide on whether they should get lessons or not.

When you self-teach, in any subject or discipline, it only takes you longer to reach your goals if you do it without the direction of a teacher that has already reached similar goals. I understand that everyone learns a bit differently, but as long as you have a good teacher, they will always find a solution faster than you can. Otherwise you're just taking shots in the dark to try to figure out techniques, licks, etc.

Bottom line is, good teachers will always help you reach your goals faster. At a younger age (younger than 12), it is almost imperative to get them lessons. There aren't a lot of children that would be able to learn drumming without some direction to start with.

What You Need to Buy

Drumset, Practice Pad, or Percussion Kit?

This is the big question here. How far do you think they will go? Do they seem dedicated enough to invest in a drum set? That is going to have to be the question you ask yourself. Obviously there are drum sets of all sizes and colors. But you don’t need to start out by spending $800 on a drum set. You could start out with a beginner's drum set, practice pad, or percussion kit. This would get them started practicing techniques like single stroke or double stroke rolls. Even learning to hit a drum properly can be tricky at first. In this section, I will cover all types of options ranging from cost effective to higher end. One thing to remember, when you start buying adult sized, medium quality kits, they don't come with cymbals, pedals, or thrones (drum seats). Decent cymbals are almost always sold separately from drum sets and can range anywhere from $200-$500 for one cymbal!

Drumset

I bought my son this Gammon Drum set when he started showing a lot of interest. For the price, it's great. The cymbals could be better but I still thought it was worth the price. The drums sound pretty good and they are tunable. The cymbals could be upgraded at a later time if the student continues to stay interested. Cymbals can be expensive so buying them later can help get your child started while keeping the cost down. This set comes in a few different color choices as well.

If you wanted to step up the quality in the drum set, you could take a look at this Ludwig Questlove Pocket Set. Buying a name brand will help a lot with resale value if they happen to lose interest. I will say with this kit as well, the cymbals still aren't much to be desired. However, this kit can be grown into and upgraded a bit easier than the previous kit, and it will last longer too. There are a few colors to choose from on this kit as well!

If you want to support your child's interest in drums, and keep your neighbors in good standing with you, you might want to look at an electronic drum set. These can be virtually silent when played but heard in headphones or controlled by volume through speakers. It has a built in metronome and other practice tools right in the module and a bunch of sounds sounds to play with. I do have to mention that nothing can replace the sound and feel of a real acoustic drum set. Learning on a electronic drum set can be good for a while but eventually, they will need to learn techniques that are difficult to replicate on an electronic drum set.

This Alesis Turbo kit is very affordable and comes with everything you need including sticks and headphones. The sticks might be a bit too long for a smaller person but I have some other options listed below.

If you wanted to upgrade or buy a package with a speaker, you can take a look at this Alesis Nitro kit with a speaker included.

Practice Pad

For around $20, you can get a practice pad and work on almost all the drumming techniques they will need in order to sound good on a drum set. And your student will always need a practice pad. I have three myself and I use them all the time. They can use them for warm-ups backstage before performances, late night practice when they can’t be loud, practicing on a beach, or on the john! They’re smaller and easier to transport than a drum set!

Percussion Kit

When a student joins the school band, a lot of schools require that you purchase a percussion kit. This is a kit that includes sticks, practice pad, bell kit, mallets, and a multi purpose stand. I would highly suggest getting a good quality one for two reasons. First, the cheap ones are really bad and will fall apart before school years end. Secondly, the resale value on a brand name kit will not go down by much. It will sell without trouble because people are always looking for these.

Sticks

Every drummer needs drumsticks, but what kind? There are literally hundreds of different types of drumsticks. At this age, the length and weight are the most important because standard/adult sized sticks might be a bit heavy. A lot of kids like to get sticks with their favorite characters or band on them. As long as the drum sticks are about the length of their forearm, it should work well for them. I like these Vic Firth Kidsticks, they come in blue or pink.

For kids under 12 and have joined school band or a community band, then the Vic Firth SD1 Jrs. are what you'll need. They are a bit bigger than drum set sticks but they work better for concert snare drum and tom work.

Metronome

One item that musicians overlook is a metronome. This is an essential practice tool for any musician. A metronome is a small electronic device or a phone app that makes a “click” noise at a perfectly constant speed that you set it to. The clicks are measured by “beats per minute” or BPM. For the math junkies, a metronome set at 60 BPM will click 60 times in one minute.

Almost all music is set to a constant pulse and it is essential for all musicians to have a solid internal pulse that doesn’t speed up or slow down (unless intentional). The only way to practice your internal pulse is to practice along to a metronome set to a perfectly constant tempo.

As a drummer, it is a bit more difficult to practice with a metronome because our instrument is naturally loud. And, as a beginner, it is difficult to control the volume at which we play. So, a lot of metronomes are too quiet to hear while we practice with them. The solution is to get some sort of an in-ear monitor or headphones. This helps block the outside sound allowing us to hear the click.

There are many metronome apps available on our phones that are free. If you go that route you could get these sound isolation headphones: Shure SE215-CL Sound Isolating Earphones. Or, you could use other headphones you already own for the time being but they might not provide very much isolation. Otherwise, you can purchase this ‘all-in-one’ in ear metronome: Korg In-Ear Metronome.

Practice Book

This is the one book I go to as the definitive starting drum set method. Alfred's Beginning Drumset Method is perfect. It starts with reading music and rhythms, holding the sticks, and playing basic rock beats and eventually moves along to more advanced beats and a jazz section in the second half. This is the book I started with myself!

And with that, I think your little beat maker is ready to get started! Don't hesitate to email me with any questions!

As your student moves along, I would strongly suggest reading my two part series on practicing. The links are right here:
Definitive Drum Practice Guide from Beginner to Advanced - Part 1 - Scheduling and Gear
Definitive Drum Practice Guide from Beginner to Advanced – Part 2 – Practice Session

Thanks for reading!

**Full Disclosure: I earn a commission if you click any of these links and make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.**

If you didn’t see part 1, go to: 

Definitive Drum Practice Guide from Beginner to Advanced - Part 1 - Scheduling and Gear

It covers some very important things like scheduling what you practice and when. We’re about to move onto our actual practice session, but there’s one topic that I need to cover: lessons.

Should I get lessons?

I have an opinion on “lessons vs. self-taught” that I would like to explain so I can help you decide on whether you should get lessons or not. If you are self-taught or would prefer to be a self-taught drummer, then ok, but hear me out.

When you self-teach, in any subject or discipline, it only takes you longer to reach your goals if you do it without the direction of someone that has already reached similar goals. I understand that everyone learns a bit differently, but as long as you have a good teacher, they will always find a solution faster than you can. Otherwise you're just taking shots in the dark to try to figure out techniques, licks, etc.

Bottom line is, good teachers will always help you reach your goals faster. But, if you prefer to take longer in facilitating your drumming skills just so you can have the pride of being self-taught, then I won’t stop you. I understand there could be other reasons, but hopefully it’s not the pride thing. Anyway…

Setup

I am sure you already have some sort of setup that you may be particular about. If it’s working, then that’s great. Just remember that the “no pain, no gain” model is not ideal here. You’re essentially doing millions of repeated movements over time and if that movement is causing pain, it will become a problem. I would like to point out that I am not a doctor and you should consult a physician for any definitive answers. I just have some suggestions that could help you on a basic level.

Seat Height

Your current seat height will almost always feel the most comfortable because your accustomed to it right now. However, a physician did tell me that in the seated position, the human body will have the most control of it’s leg movement when the knee is at a 90 degree angle. I would urge you to try this seat height. I chose to “get used” to this seat height and it has worked well for me.

Cymbal Height

When you extend your arm above your head, or your shoulders past a 90 degree angle, you increase the wear on your shoulder. Your arms naturally hang downward as the most relaxed position so you would like to be as close to that as possible. As a suggestion, it’s better to keep your cymbals at eye level when seated or lower.

Stick Grip

I have a simple exercise that has helps me dramatically when it comes to stick grip. Stand up, drop your hands to your sides and completely relax them. Then, freeze one of your hands in that position and bring it up to look at it. Your fingers will naturally be curled a bit. This is your hands most relaxed position. Now, with your other hand, place your drumstick in your frozen hand. After that, you can unfreeze your hand to grip the stick with your thumb and pointer finger as the “fulcrum” while the other three fingers lightly touch the stick. With minimum movement from a fully relaxed position, you should be able to hold onto the stick with the fulcrum and guide the stick with the other three fingers.

Warm-ups

Warm-ups are essential to a fruitful practice session. To really get the most out of it you should get your body temp up so your not “cold”, then stretch, then play some exercises. All in all, this should not take more than 10 minutes. I know it seems like a long time when you don’t have much, but it is essential. You only have to do it once in a day. If you work out in the morning, you should already be warm and stretched and then you just need to play a few exercises. Just take about 3-5 minutes and stretch these areas out:

Here are some stretches explained if you are unfamiliar with these stretches:

Wrist and Arm Stretches on aaptiv.com
Body Stretches on Self.com

Also, this drummer specific stretch feels great: the stick wrist twist. Just grab your drumstick in the middle and use your other hand to twist the wrist either direction until you feel the stretch and hold for about 10 seconds.

Hand Warm-up Routine

I have a hand warm-up routine that warms up my hands AND integrates rudimental practice along with polyrhythms over a metronome click to work on timing. It’s not as complicated as it sounds.

I select two tempos; a slow starter tempo and a fast tempo. I set the metronome so that instead of a click on every beat, it clicks every four beats, or every downbeat. I just divide the tempo I want by 4. So if I want to play this at tempo 60, I have to set my metronome to 15. This might take some time to get good at it so don’t allow it to frustrate you too much! I actually have this setup in an Ableton Project if your metronome doesn’t go this low or if you would like to bring some metronome work to a new level. (look below)

It can be very difficult at first. If you need to, you can start at 80 bpm (which means you would set metronome at 20 bpm). I repeat each segment as many times as necessary and move to each segment without stopping while maintaining the same tempo regardless of the polyrhythmic activity. I have provided a PDF download of my warm-up exercises for you below.

Foot Warm-up Routine

For the feet, I do alternating right-hand/right-foot AND left-hand/left-foot groupings. I play them at a slow tempo and a fast tempo and repeat each segment as necessary just like the hand warm-ups. These really wake up my feet and help me sync my hands and feet better in all of my playing. This exercise is also notated in the warmups PDF below.

Metronome Tools

The last piece of the warm-up I sometimes do I call the “Hold Groove”. I pick any tempo and play a groove for 32 bars using my “Hold Groove” clip in Ableton Live. Basically, the metronome plays fewer and fewer times throughout the 32 bar clip. First it’s on every downbeat, then it’s every two bars, and eventually it doesn’t click for 4 measures. This is a test to see how well you can maintain the tempo. Make sure you try drastically different tempos each day.

In this Ableton project, if you switch over to arrangement view, there is a clip that progressively adds 1 bpm to the tempo every four bars. This works great if you’re trying to work up a new lick or groove. The instructions on how to use all of these features will be in the email I send you.

Practice Session

Finally it’s time to practice! So what do you practice? That question could ask a million more questions. What are your goals? What styles do you like? What are you good at and what do you need to work on? I’m hoping I can help you answer those questions by making some suggestions here.

Books

First of all, it is quite difficult to learn new musical styles or exercises without being able to read music. To play music, it’s not essential, but, it will help you move forward so much faster if you learn to read music. It opens an entire world of interesting books with exercises and concepts that would be difficult to utilize without knowing how to read music. Most beginning method books for any instrument teach how to read music. Here are some of the tried and true, best drum books out there.

Snare Drum

Rock

Jazz

Both written by John Riley, an amazing drummer and educator in his own right, these two books are staples for learning jazz drumming. Not only are the exercises interesting and relevant, these books teach the entire concept behind bop music from forms and phrasing to motifs and soloing. (Art of Bop Drumming on Amazon.com / Beyond Bop Drumming on Amazon.com) (commissioned links)

World Music

Drum 'n' Bass/Electronic

All Styles

Concepts

Stick Control, written by George Stone, is a very old book of relatively simplistic patterns in sticking and rhythm for which it was used to teach snare drum for marching music. Since its inception, people have taken Stick Control to a whole new level and reconfigured the use of the patterns in very unique ways. It has become one of the most important drum set practice books ever written. Many years later, Joe Morello (of notoriety from Dave Brubeck's classic "Take Five"(Listen on Amazon Music)) a student of Stone, wrote the book Master Studies which takes the patterns and a slew of new ones in Stick Control and explains the different ways you can use them. “Master Studies” is the perfect title for this book. (Stick Control on Amazon.com / Master Studies on Amazon.com) (commissioned links)

I will also implore you to check out the comprehensive list of timeless drum books from Modern Drummer:
Timeless Drum Books from Modern Drummer

Now, here are some practice tips to keep your eyes on the prize.

How do I work on my "groove" ?

The great Jon Fishman of Phish once used a great analogy to describe time and groove. Just picture a road where the yellow line represents perfect time and the outer white lines to the left and right represent playing on top of the groove and behind the groove. The road's center is usually defined by the rhythm section in the band and where they are implying the song's time exists.

It usually goes unspoken about where each musician chooses to lie on this road. Sometimes the bass player will sit on the back while the drummer pushes the time a bit. Sometimes it's the opposite. The years you spent listening to the music you love by master musicians has given your playing a natural feel that probably sits on its own unique position.

At your next rehearsal, try to start a conversation about where everyone likes to sit in each song. Sometimes when you talk about it, it can solidify the groove. But it can be a confusing concept to some so don't push the idea too hard.

If you are playing slow funk, soul, or any music that asks for a relaxed feel, you would want to consistently play a little bit behind the groove. You should also make sure you relax your shoulders and body when you play. At first, you may feel like your falling behind but as long as you consistently hit your beats a little bit behind, it will have a naturally relaxed feel or sometimes heavy feel.

If you want to give the song some energy, you can sit on top of the beat. This sounds like your speeding up but if you consistently playing a little bit ahead of the beat, you will give the song a front-edge sort of energy. Most rock and metal drummers play like this naturally. If you're not aware of this, it can limit your ability to offer different feels for other songs that might require a relaxed feel like ballads or slow heavy tunes.

Some great examples of drummers playing laidback feels that sound great are ?uestlove of The Roots on the album "Things Fall Apart" (listen on Amazon music), Jeff Porcaro of Toto on the album Toto IV (listen on Amazon music), Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers on the album "One Hot Minute" (listen on Amazon music).

Some great examples of drummers playing a front-edge energetic feel are Stewart Copleland of The Police on the album "Regatta de Blanc" (listen on Amazon music), Nicko McBrain of Iron Maiden on the album "Piece of Mind" (listen on Amazon music). (commissioned links)

These are just a few but there are countless other examples you can explore. Here's an article from DRUM! magazine that lists some of the best groove drummers of all time: 15 Greatest Groove Drummers of All Time

This article from DRUM! magazine covers the idea of groove and what kind of feel fits with different styles/genres. Check it out here: Vital Beats Every Drummer Must Know

To work on your groove without a band, you can experiment with a metronome. Try taking different grooves that you are working on and consciously play them on top of the beat, then behind the beat, and then right in the middle of the beat. The more you practice different grooves and styles this way, the easier it will be to hear the differences and apply them to music.

Is it a physical limitation or a coordination issue?

Depending on how long you have been playing and how developed your muscles are, you could find yourself with some physical limitations. These are limitations that require muscle building over time in order to execute. One of the best examples of a physical limitation would be speed.

Hand or foot speed is not something you can work out in a day…it takes time. So, you have to differentiate the elements of what you’re working on so you don’t get frustrated. If there’s an element of speed as part of the groove or style you are working on, allow yourself the time to build the muscles. You could set a time aside during your practice session to work you hand or foot muscles until they burn! If you stay consistent, you will eventually build up that speed.

If you are finding a coordination issue in what your working on, it usually takes a lot less time to work it out. If you slow down the exercise and repeat it over and over slowly, the coordination with come around. You can also work on coordination with mental practice and visualization which I will cover in the next section!

“Amateurs practice until they get it right. Professionals practice until they can’t get it wrong.”​ -Unknown

Mental Practice

Sometimes we don’t have the time to practice…or, maybe we have idle time when we are away from our drum set. How about when your riding the bus home from work? …when your on an airplane? …when your working out? These are all times that you could visualize practicing and receive the benefit of practicing. Visualizing your practice helps you almost as much as actually practicing!

Here’s a great article from the reputable “Scientific American” which explains that this actually does work:
Can Visualizing Your Body Doing Something Help You Learn to do it Better?

As I said, visualization is a great way to work on coordination. While your riding the bus, plane, treadmill, etc., think of the groove you were last working on and visualize yourself completing the necessary movements to kill that groove.

You can also use mental practice for memorization. Repeating patterns over in your head will engrain them into psyche so you can improvise with them comfortably—especially odd meters! Also try repeating that complex song form in your head so you stop going to the bridge at the wrong time at band practice!

Ari Hoenig wrote a fantastic series of articles for Modern Drummer with the idea of mental practice called “Polyrhythmic Coordination”. He talks about one way to practice mentally is to teach yourself rhythms you couldn’t hear before. The articles he wrote appear in the July 2012, September 2012, November 2012, and February 2013 issues of Modern Drummer. Unfortunately, there’s only the fourth part available online unless you have a digital subscription to Modern Drummer. Here’s a link to Part 4:

Modern Drummer: "Polyrhythmic Coordination" - Part 4 - Six Note Base Rhythm

I hope you enjoyed this article and got something out of it. Be sure to check out some of the other articles I have on my page and keep up the good work.

Be well!

Other articles that may interest you:
Definitive Drum Practice Guide from Beginner to Advanced - Part 1 - Scheduling and Gear
Everything You Need to Become an Online Session Drummer - Part 1 - Getting Gear

**Full Disclosure: I earn a commission if you click any of these links and make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.**

“Every positive change in your life begins with a clear, unequivocal decision that you are going to either do something or stop doing something.”   - Anonymous

Practicing a skill in any medium takes a lot of dedication, love, and discipline. Every sports player, musician, or professional in any field, spent countless hours working on their craft. The idea of being born with talent is simply a myth.

If you ask any one of these individuals if their “talent” came naturally, they would give you one of two answers. They would either tell you that their level of mastery came with extensive practice and sacrifices, or they would tell you it came easily. The individual providing the latter answer would simply not remember the time they put in to their craft because they loved it so much and they have no recollection of the “grueling” work they put in.

What I am getting at is if you want to get good at drums, you have to put in the time. Just like in anything else, experience is key. You need to practice and play with musicians as much as you can. When you are amazed by a drummer’s playing, you are actually amazed from the time and effort they put into it. “Wow, that would take a lot of practice to be that good!” It sounds silly but it’s true.

If you already have the basic gear necessities to play and practice, you can skip to the “Scheduling” Section.

If you literally have nothing to play drums on, then I'm going to help you figure out what you need. Some items will seem obvious yet others will not. I am going to share with you everything you need to start playing drums.

What You Need to Buy

Sticks

​Every drummer needs drumsticks, but what kind? There are literally hundreds of different types of drumsticks. So, if you are playing drum set, a good size to buy is 5A in any brand. This size is pretty standard for drum set. They are the “just right” size—not too heavy, not too light. If they seem a little heavy or too loud, you could go with 7As. 7A is the standard jazz drumstick size.

If you are joined school band or a community band, then size 2B is what you'll need. They are a bit bigger but they work better for concert snare drum and tom work.

Drumset, Snare Drum, or Practice Pad?

The next thing you need is something to hit with those sticks. Obviously there are drum sets of all sizes and colors. But you don’t need to start out by spending $800 on a drum set. You could start out with a snare drum or a practice pad. This would get you started practicing techniques like single stroke or double stroke rolls. Even learning to hit a drum properly can be tricky at first.

Drumset

If you are ready to buy a drum set, I have a great cost effective choice linked right here. Ludwig is a brand that has been around for over 100 years and they have always made great products. One other thing is that not all drum sets come with cymbals, stands, drum throne, or sticks. This one does! I’ll admit the quality of these cymbals aren’t very good but they will work great to start out. Good cymbals can cost anywhere from $200 to $500 a piece so that is an expense you can wait on! However, the drums are great quality Ludwig drums.

Snare Drum & Stand

If you want to start now but don’t have the money for a drum set, get a snare drum. This snare drum I have listed here is also a Ludwig so the quality is there. Snare drums are ideal if you are going to play in school band or a community orchestra or band. If you do buy a snare drum, you will need a stand to go with it. I have an affordable option shown here:

Practice Pad

For around $20, you can get a practice pad and work on almost all the drumming techniques you will need in order to sound good on a drum set. And you will always need a practice pad. I have three myself and I use them all the time. You can use them for warm-ups backstage before shows, late night practice when you can’t be loud, practicing on a beach, or on the john! They’re smaller and easier to transport than a drum set!

Percussion Kit

When a student joins the school band, a lot of schools require that you purchase a percussion kit. This is a kit that includes sticks, practice pad, bell kit, mallets, and a multi purpose stand. I would highly suggest getting a good quality one for two reasons. First, the cheap ones are really bad and will fall apart before school years end. Secondly, the resale value on a brand name kit will not go down by much. It will sell without trouble because people are always looking for these.

Metronome

One item that musicians overlook is a metronome. This is an essential practice tool for any musician. A metronome is a small electronic device or a phone app that makes a “click” noise at a perfectly constant speed that you set it to. The clicks are measured by “beats per minute” or BPM. For the math junkies, a metronome set at 60 BPM will click 60 times in one minute.

Almost all music is set to a constant pulse and it is essential for all musicians to have a solid internal pulse that doesn’t speed up or slow down (unless intentional). The only way to practice your internal pulse is to practice along to a metronome set to a perfectly constant tempo.

As a drummer, it is a bit more difficult to practice with a metronome because our instrument is naturally loud. And, as a beginner, it is difficult to control the volume at which we play. So, a lot of metronomes are too quiet to hear while we practice with them. The solution is to get some sort of an in-ear monitor or headphones. This helps block the outside sound allowing us to hear the click.

There are many metronome apps available on our phones that are free. If you go that route you could get these sound isolation headphones: Shure SE215-CL Sound Isolating Earphones. Or, you could use other headphones you already own for the time being but they might not provide very much isolation. Otherwise, you can purchase this ‘all-in-one’ in ear metronome: Korg In-Ear Metronome.

So here’s where we’re at for items needed to start playing drums:

Let’s get on to scheduling.

Scheduling

So how do you find time to practice?

Believe it or not, many players do not know how to practice.

The magic is in “learning how to practice”. You need to be aware of how to practice, how much to practice, and what methods to use to reach your goals.

Sometimes players have the speed or facility, but they don’t know what they are listening for with aspects of groove or feel. Sometimes players have good time and feel, but don’t know the techniques to push their chops.

When practicing drums, there are the two aspects of time management:

You need to schedule out your weekly practice time, and you need to schedule out what you work on during your practice time.

You can get so much more done in a week if you do this. 

Weekly Practice Schedule

With weekly practice, you have to spread out your time. Your brain needs time to digest what it has learned.

If you practice 15 minutes every day for 5 days, it’s better than one 2 hour practice session in 5 days.

Have you ever worked on a lick or beat to death and you just couldn’t seem to get it down? So then, you quit practicing for the day because you are frustrated. Then, the next day you come back to it and nail it on the first try? That’s because your brain muscle memory need time to process what you have learned to be able to repeat it the way your ears want to hear.

I have made a flexible 12-hour, weekly practice schedule for you. I am telling you that I need this to stay sane! I have ADHD so I need to have tasks scheduled out or I meander through the day and get nothing done! Sound like you?

Use this schedule to plan out your week so you know when you should be practicing! You can enter the time that you normally start your day and continue for 12 hours in 30 minute increments. If there is a extended period of the same activity (ex. WORK), just put a dark squiggle line below that time period and start with a later hour of the day below that.

Fill in these slots with your normal weekly schedule like WORK, GYM, CLASS, LUNCH, WALK DOG, and PRACTICE. You can print a new one out every week if your schedule changes a lot, or just print one out every season. This schedule will help you out with life in general, not just drum practice…but drumming is life right?

I would urge you to start the schedule in the morning even if you work early. If you got 5 minutes on the practice pad with your coffee, you would be doing yourself a great service!

Once you have your weekly schedule figured out, now you need to plan what you do during your practice time.

Practice Schedule and Log

I created a practice schedule and practice time log to help you here. I use this practice schedule with all of my students. It gives clear start and end dates of your lesson week, the materials to work on for the week, and a log of practice time. I even use this for myself every single week!

The practice materials list keeps me focused on my goals so I don’t get distracted, and the practice log holds you accountable for the actual amount you practiced all week.

This is a visual reminder and it helps tremendously. Remember, you have to spread out your practice time—no playing catch up on Saturday! If you did, you will see that from the previous week.