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A couple weeks ago I asked my Facebook community: “What has been your biggest drumming struggle lately?” And the top-voted response was:
This is a really important topic! And while I’m not a self-help guru or anything like that, I thought I’d share the types of things that help me stay motivated as I continue to learn new things, and strive to become a better drummer.
Because I’m a teacher and it’s what I absolutely love doing, I can’t wait to share what I’ve been practicing and then see what students do with it! So I always try to post lessons with new beats or fills – and these are usually things that I’ve been working on very recently!
And you can do the same sort of thing. Find a drum community where you can post your own videos on what you’ve been practicing – where you can feel comfortable sharing with others and receiving some honest and positive feedback.
(Of course, I recommend Drumeo Edge. But it’s totally up to you!)
Most students go into a practice session without even knowing what they are planning to practice – and generally end up playing the things they already know the best.
Benny Greb mentioned in a recent lesson on Drumeo that he actually recommends recording practice sessions so you can review your practice habits. Learning the drums isn’t just about what you practice, but also how you practice.
Not a lot of drummers do this. It’s easy to think that you need to improve your skills first, and only play in situations where you’re totally comfortable and confident. But if you really want to motivate yourself, consider searching for sessions or gigs that require you to stretch your skills.
Of course, you’ll need to believe that you can improve enough before it actually happens, because it’s hugely important to be fully prepared when the time comes. But by pushing yourself with slightly uncomfortable situations, you’ll be extra motivated to learn new things.
There’s nothing more motivating than that incredible feeling you get when you work really, really hard and then finally ‘get it’. We all experienced it the first time we learned our first beat, our first fill, and then our first song! And it’s about finding more and more experiences just like that, where your hard work actually pays off with measurable, recognizable results!
When you learn something new you and you really feel like you’ve taken your drumming to the next level, it’s a sort of out-of-body experience that motivates you to learn more and more.
When you are practicing, it requires a high level of focus. And if you don’t have good fuel – including diet, exercise, and rest – you’re going to have trouble focusing.
Take care of yourself and make sure you feel good before you try to push yourself in drumming. If you’re hungry, thirsty, or tired you’ll have a difficult time motivating yourself to push forward. So make sure to put some good fuel in your body!
You’ve accomplished a lot. And sometimes it’s easy to look at the huge mountain of things you want to accomplish ahead of you that it’s easy to forget the terrain you’ve already climbed.
You’ve already accomplished incredible things! Enjoy the journey and when you reach new milestones make sure to recognize them and celebrate them!
I’d love to hear YOUR best tips for motivating yourself to reaching your drumming goals!
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