Many of the world’s top session and touring drummers, at some point in their careers, must have been confronted with the issue of increasing their playing speed, and drum fills. Understandably, upon watching one of those old videos of Elvin Jones, Buddy Rich, Gene Krupa and other drumming greats, any drummer would reflect on his own playing speed.
The speed exhibited by top drummers today, some of whom were basically child prodigies, is a clear indication that speed takes a long time to develop. It is a proven thing that playing on regular gigs for many years is a catalyst for your drum-set technique, speed of your strokes and your overall musicality as a drummer.
One important thing to note is that, without the right technique it's not practical for you to achieve coherence and speed in the things you play. Similarly, a well-known, professional drummer named suggests quite profoundly that, 'you can only play as fast as your slowest hand or foot.
This epitomizes the need for balance between hands, and possibly the strengthening of that weak left hand for right-handers, and vice versa.
Dow also makes it clear that, whether we like it or not, some of us: as with any other physical ability, have a threshold of speed which we cannot pass, even with the best practice habits. He states that, 'speed isn't everything in drumming, ' and that, playing with great meter, feel and groove, and to be able to add tasteful fills is more important.',
He then warns that, "not everyone has the same ratio of fast twitch to long twitch muscle fiber in their bodies," and as such, some drummers will inevitably become faster than others. As testament of this natural phenomenon, he offers his own journey and experience in competitive speed drumming.
In his first competition he scored 905 bpm (beats per minute) on the drumometer though he had no prior training, and by the time he qualified for the big finals at NAMM which he won; with more practice he already had a personal high of 1024 bpm.
Fastest drummer in the world
Ask today’s speedy drummers for example Mike Mangini, who holds the world record for playing the fastest strokes in matched grip, traditional grip and also with bare-hands.As Mangini put it, ‘During the important early years of my learning to play drums, I used paradiddles and single strokes (grouped as three to a drum) as the stickings that I would repeat for two to five hours straight, three to five days per week.’ Taken from "Need for speed: tips from four fast drummers, Jared Cobb".
How to practice the drums
With these accounts in mind there is no doubt that this unconventional and repetitious practice regime is what propelled Mangini into the history books. At the time he was interviewed, Mangini attested to playing the drumset for thirty-six years. If you only drum as an amateur, and are not interested in making it as professional drummer, you’d definitely find Mangini to be a little overzealous.
Conversely, if you happen to be serious about developing your craft professionally, you’d most likely reflect upon all those times you wasted doing activities that are not nearly as worthwhile as devoting to some serious systematic practice that would develop you for those big future gigs.
Mangini is however very philosophical and practical about his overall drumming and the about tutelage he would give to upcoming drummers as it regards speed development.
Learn to play the drums like your favourite drummer
A few bursts of speed by a skillful and experienced drummer as he plays fills in a musical performance at a typical sold out rock or hip-hop concert, can be mind blowing, especially to upcoming drummers who aspire toward greatness. Mangini advises however, that speed is not musical, but can be manipulated musically. He stresses that speed will only develop through repeating patterns at slow and increased tempos over long periods.
Drumming system for drumming practice
There are other techniques known to increase drumming speed that I have personally experimented with and now endorse:
- Practicing strokes on soft surfaces e.g. Pillows and cushions
- Practicing with a practice pad.
- For the experience of a real drum-set, with minimal noise, use a practice-pad-set, e.g. DW Go Anywhere set, sold at Zzounds.com.
- Practice with a metronome and try to beat a BPM limit each time.
- Practice for 15 minutes, rest 15 minutes then 30 minutes and rest 30 and so on.
Finally, learn and master hand techniques, for example the highly recommended Moeller technique and also Jojo Mayer’s several finger and hand techniques. Steve Dow also lists thorough speed and endurance exercises which helped him, and the ways he interprets established speed techniques.
Top drummers recommend these techniques
Successful and world renowned drummers have attested to using any one or several of the above-mentioned techniques to develop their speed as their musicality around the drum kit developed over the years.
If you are serious about experiencing any result in the speed of your strokes, practice any one of these that suits you. Do this in a structured and consistent manner for accuracy. be careful not to over practice or injure yourself in the process.
In recent times the drumometer which essentially combines a practice pad with a metronome and a capability for counting bpms (beats per minute) has been put into fully use, especially within speed drumming competitions. If your are willing to experiment, this accessory may add greater depth and motivation to your own practice experience and developmental goals as a drummer.
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