To Speed Or Not To Speed...

There isn't a single teaching day that goes by that I don't get asked by a student "how do I get faster?" Since I was once a young lad, I too was consumed with speed. All I cared about was how fast I could play. As I got older and matured in both my drumming and life, I realized much like the hired guns in the Old West that there will ALWAYS be somebody faster. Once I accepted this reality, I began to focus on other areas of my drumming such as time, feel, technique and reading. Although I've found much satisfaction (and job security) in honing those areas of my drumming, I occasionally feel that same twinge deep down as if I were 16 again and wanting to have blazing hands and feet. As a private drum instructor, I also need to deal with speed on a daily basis with my students. The following is my personal take on how to develop speed.

RULE NUMBER ONE: There are no shortcuts. Don't let anyone fool you into thinking there is some special way you can build speed in your limbs without putting in proper practice. There are no drugs, gimmicks or magic pixie dust available that can safely increase your speed. Diligent practice is where it is at. The key lies in HOW you practice. Whoever said "practice makes perfect" is only partly correct. RULE NUMBER TWO: PERFECT practice makes perfect. Drumming is very similar to other activities such as video games and athletics. All these activities require repetitive motions and practice in order to excel. The question or mystery lies in how do we effectively practice for speed?

It is my personal belief that speed is born from the following: control, relaxation and comfort. Think about it... EVERYTHING we do in life that requires dexterity yet can be accomplished quickly is typically the result from slow, methodical repetition. I always use texting as an example with my students. It requires quite a bit of dexterity for my young students to quickly text back and forth amongst their friends. I ask them if they are consumed with how fast they can text or if they are concerned with how accurately they can convey their messages. Of course they always choose the latter. I ask them if they practiced texting fast and they always answer "no." I ask them how they got fast and they answer "I don't know, I guess I just do it a lot." VOILA! Video games, typing on a comptuer, texting and pretty much everything else in life we do on a daily basis is done fast if we are comfortable, relaxed and in control.

If we as drummers are serious about increasing our speed, we need to stop practicing FOR speed and start focusing on accuracy, control, relaxation and comfort. The minute we're comfortable with something, the sooner we can execute it faster. I saw Steve Smith (amazing drummer) on a DVD explain how he likes to practice new licks. He says he likes to play things VERY slowly to allow his muscles the chance to feel what they need to feel and his ears the chance to hear what they need to hear. By practicing slowly and engraining the muscle memory, we can reach our speed goals quicker subconsciously. Practicing for speed can lead to problems such as tension, repetitive motion injuries and incorrect muscle memory which must first be unlearned before the proper muscle memory can be established.

Remember, there is no ONE right way to play the drums. It is important to seek out different techniques and approaches. This is my personal take on how to develop speed and it has worked well for both my students and myself. I'd encourage anyone interested in developing speed to at least experiment with my approach. You can apply it to rudiments, sticking patterns, fills, beats and just about anything we drummers do behind the kit.

Have fun!