Relax and Get Real

Beginning drummers are taught the proper way(s) to hold sticks and make strokes, and soon begin learning the fundamental rudiments of our craft. We are taught to make all strokes evenly and cleanly, so rudiments sound tight and crisp. This is all very good and important for obtaining proper control over our hands and sticks in order to make the sounds we want to hear. But it can lead to stiff music.

The real world is far from precise. Uneven strokes lend a sense of feel and dynamism and help music begin to swing. When practicing or jamming to music, allow yourself opportunities to relax and explore playing on different parts of the drumhead. Try various stroke angles, rebounds, and grips; take notice of how they feel and the resulting sounds. Allow some of your practice to stray from the stiff constraints of correct technique to see what happens. Let your physical motions begin to reflect the mood you are in or the mood you want to convey in the music.

Don’t be deliberately lazy in your practice; technique gives us more advanced vocabulary to tell our musical message. But also, don’t be afraid to get a little messy at times and see if you discover other ways of saying new things. You won’t always be playing to a button-down concert hall audience.

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