How to practice

General Practice Tips for Music Students

Introduction
I'd like to offer some general practice tips.

Awareness of Physical Techniques

First of all, be aware of the physical techniques that you're going to use to get the sound that you need. This includes:

• Bounce techniques
• Stroke techniques or stroke sequences

Remember, it's from those techniques that you get the sound and the dynamics that you need.

Physical Efficiency

Also, think about being physically efficient:

• Use the right strokes and the right movements to get the right sound.
• Work methodically and slowly.
• Break everything down.
• Be patient.

You don't need to rush through the exercises. Just take your time. If you need to break things down into separate bars or even separate beats and play many times, that's fine. There are no rules. Just take your time on the exercises; it's much better than trying to rush through everything.

Practice with a Click

Work with a click, metronome, or a sequence to develop this inner clock. This is the term we use for developing an inner time flow, which helps you achieve:

• Good metronomic time
• Solid knowledge of pulse and subdivisional changes

Regular Practice

Practice regularly! It's much better to practice a little bit each day than to do eight hours in one day and then not practice for two weeks. Aim for:

• Daily practice or about five days a week
• Cumulative practice rather than binge practice

This is very important, so practice regularly!

Stay Connected

Make sure that you speak to your teacher or do further research if you don't have a teacher about all the components of the technical studies. It's beneficial to:

• Run this information by others
• Speak to friends who might be drummers or others preparing for exams

Just have a chat and keep in touch with people so you don't feel like you're totally on your own in this. Speaking to others helps you feel connected!

Conclusion

Before I go, I want to mention that in the technical exercises, there are sections called Groove and Fill and Stylistic Studies appropriate to your grade.

While I won't demonstrate these, they are essentially combinations or extensions of the pieces, grooves, styles, and concepts that you need to practice throughout your entire grade package.

If you've prepared your pieces, grooves, and technical exercises, you'll be well prepared for the exam.

Good Luck!
Here are the technical exercises for your grade, played at the tempo stated in the book. I wish you good luck!