Time

It never ceases to amaze me how many drummers I see play with some time issues, perhaps rushing fills or counting off a tune at one speed then playing another, and after a quick a chat it soon materialises that they’ve never practiced playing to a click or metronome. And whilst some people are blessed with an innate good sense of time for the rest of us it’s something that like the rest of our drumming often needs some work. When first working with a click it might feel as though it’s moving around and mocking you however eventually you’ll find that you can turn it down very low in your headphones as your sense of time develops. At the other end of the spectrum are some drummers who spend so much of their time playing along with a click that it becomes a crutch and they feel uncomfortable playing without it. To avoid this make sure that you’re also spending plenty of time playing music with other musicians.