How Much Practise?
This hard to quantify; however, the more practise you do the better you will get. Just think about all the time you spend watching rubbish on TV! This is perfect drum practise time! I tend to practise more at the weekend when I have more time. During the week I work on improving my rudiments and maybe try out ideas that I've found or have come up with myself. I also have to learn to play the grade pieces in order that I can teach them!
The truth is, if you put in 15 minutes a day you will improve. If you put in 30 minutes a day, you will improve more... and so on. Those aiming to progress rapidly should put in about 1 hour a day. Try playing along with a song you like; as long as it's not too fast if you're a beginner, this is a great way of practising.
It's always a good idea to begin your practise session with some warm up exercises. Practising a single stroke roll (RLRL) is always a good place to start, then move onto some of the other rudiments, placing them around the kit.
Warm-up Routine
10 mins - single stroke roll (I use an endurance exercise by Gary Chaffee). Try doing the first 5 mins on the snare and the second 5 mins around the kit in different ways.
20 mins - double/triple/quadruple stroke rolls. Again, 10 mins on the snare and 10 mins around the kit
20 mins - paradiddle RLRR LRLL. Also, work on the different variations, e.g., RLRLRR LRLRLL (double paradiddle), RLRRLL (paradiddle diddle), RLLR LRRL (inverted paradiddle), RRLR LLRL (reverse paradiddle), etc.) 10 mins on snare, 10 mins around the kit.
10 mins - flam exercises (taps, accents, paradiddles, etc.)
60 mins plus - anything you like! Try out new exercises, playing along with tracks, etc.
Come up with your own but don't expect to see results immediately!
Also, read this useful guide on practising from musicteachers.co.uk
Some Useful Websites
Drum Channel - An American site with lots of eductational resources
40 Essential Snare Drum Rudiments - This site by Vic Firth allows you to hear the patterns and watch movies of them being played.
PAS International Drum Rudiments - This site contains those rudiments deemed important by the Percussive Arts Society... the ones that REALLY count!!!
RudiMat Drum Kit Silencers - If you play an acoustic kit and don't want to bother your neighbours, it's well worth investing in some noise reduction pads such as RudiMat pads. Ask Richard for more details.
RudiMat Review - "Drumming is often about compromise. Many drummers must practice at certain neighbour-friendly times or in set places. Even if you can play at home, silencer pads are never quite the same as playing the real deal. With this in mind specialist rubber and foam company Coplan Ltd. have created a the RudiMat silencer set that deals with these issues".
Metronome Online - Everyone's friend, Metronome Online.
Tuning Service
Richard offers a drum tuning service which includes a lesson on tuning technique. Drums are classed as non-pitched percussion so tuning a drum is not like tuning a guitar where there's a fixed pitch to aim for.
Tuning a drum has more to do with achieving a good sound and this depends on a number of factors such as the shell material and thickness, type/age of the head, the quality of the bearing edge, the room ambience, etc. Drummers often neglect to regularly tune their instrument. Many are guilty of not touching a drum key for months on end! This is a shame because when a drum is in tune it can sound fantastic.
Now's your chance to stand out from the rest! If you are interested in this service, please contact Richard to discuss a quote.