Been practicing almost every night at least 2 hours per session. Take nights off when I feel I need the break. Lets say I play 4 or 5 nights out of 7 a week minimum of 2 hours per session. Some nights I'm nailing it and some are just so frustrating. (This is playing drums) I'm pushing myself hard and making good progress, but some nights I just want to throw my sticks (and my kick drum foot) through the friggin window. Is it just me?
Sometimes I get pretty frustrated.
- Thread starter Heavyriff
- Start date
rolandson
Dr. Stratster
Sticks?
Well, if you're bang'n on your guitar with sticks I can understand completely.
But even at that...
Research shows that it takes 12 hours of concentrated focus (don't ask me how those two words are defined, I'm only on hour four) to commit something into the realm of knowing...
This same research suggested that the best success is achieved with frequent periods of rest.
So now those 12 hours are suddenly 100 hours.
Which is to say that...
It Takes Time.
Or put another way:
It's about the journey, not the destination.
But if I was you, I'd give up on the drums and take up guitar.
Well, if you're bang'n on your guitar with sticks I can understand completely.
But even at that...
Research shows that it takes 12 hours of concentrated focus (don't ask me how those two words are defined, I'm only on hour four) to commit something into the realm of knowing...
This same research suggested that the best success is achieved with frequent periods of rest.
So now those 12 hours are suddenly 100 hours.
Which is to say that...
It Takes Time.
Or put another way:
It's about the journey, not the destination.
But if I was you, I'd give up on the drums and take up guitar.
i already play the guitar. Now I'm learning drums. Did you read my post.
nickmsmith
Dr. Stratster
It just takes a ton of time and practice to get that full body coordination down.
I quit drums about 15 years ago, and never looked back. Too much equipment to haul, too hard to practice without being annoying, and you’re tied to at least 2-3 more people to have a gig.
but it definitely is fun. If it stops being fun, then stop for awhile. We spend most of our lives doing what we don’t want to do... no reason to do more of that in our free time.
I quit drums about 15 years ago, and never looked back. Too much equipment to haul, too hard to practice without being annoying, and you’re tied to at least 2-3 more people to have a gig.
but it definitely is fun. If it stops being fun, then stop for awhile. We spend most of our lives doing what we don’t want to do... no reason to do more of that in our free time.
Falstaff50
Strat-Talker
I find that when I plateau in my playing, if I take a few days off, when I come back to it, it all seems to fall into place. It's like my mind needs time to assimilate.
Once in a while it may be an hour, but after a little warm up and say going through 4 songs twice each that's an hour. So I usually go longer than that to start new material and revisit learned material. I do get what you are driving at though and it is good advice.
rolandson
Dr. Stratster
What, you expect me to read all of your post? I naturally assumed the parenthetical stuff was optional...
Drums are above my pay grade.
(of course I read your post. it's why I suggested giving them up and taking up guitar)
Im doing this because it is what I want to do, and I enjoy it, I am just sharing the learning curve frustration because it helps me to understand and possibly implement how other musicians deal with it. Dont read to far into it, I love the fact that I took up drums and is what I want to concentrate on.
Do you use ear protection? (sorry if that’s a naive question, I don’t play drums)
I would think that much drumming may cause some fatigue.
Might contribute to the frustration level.
I can feel fatigued playing at heavy distortion too long.
What? Say that again a little louder, I didn't hear you.
Baelzebub
Dr. Stratster
Nope. Not just you. It applies to everything, really. Some days you just can't buy a thrill. The universe is just not going your way. That's when you just need to lay off/lay low...and wait till it flips the switch, and then ride the wave... In the end you'll get more done with a more efficient use of your time and less frustration and stress.
Baelzebub
Dr. Stratster
Neil.C
Most Honored Senior Member
I would think after two solid hours of drumming physical fatigue would cut in making mistakes more likely.
I would caution you not to overdo it.
I would caution you not to overdo it.
montemerrick
no earthly reason why
frustration is ordinary, and frustrating. sounds like your right on target.
Cesspit
Senior Stratmaster
I have found over the years that progress is not a smooth, gradual curve but a series of sharp steps. Nothing for ages and then suddenly a jump and you have nailed something. And so it goes, on and on.
The gaps between the steps vary in length, for no real reason, but if you keep at it, progress you will.
Best of luck.
The gaps between the steps vary in length, for no real reason, but if you keep at it, progress you will.
Best of luck.
s5tuart
Perfecting time travel since 2525
I think you're doing too much.
Pushing yourself isn't going to make you learn stuff any quicker.
IMHO practising should be done in small/short sessions and SLOWLY! If one can't play slowly then playing fast will be a mess.
If you make mistakes then you're aiming too high and if you make mistakes while practising then that's what you're learning, mistakes!
Slow down until you can play mistake free then increase speed.
Good luck
Pushing yourself isn't going to make you learn stuff any quicker.
IMHO practising should be done in small/short sessions and SLOWLY! If one can't play slowly then playing fast will be a mess.
If you make mistakes then you're aiming too high and if you make mistakes while practising then that's what you're learning, mistakes!
Slow down until you can play mistake free then increase speed.
Good luck
This I must take into consideration. Perhaps you are correct.
I get really frustrated some days when it doesn't seem like I'm getting any better at all. And then I have a good day where I sort of feel like I can *ALMOST* play guitar.
There doesn't really seem to be much rhyme or reason to it.
However, I am pretty careful that if I've been playing a couple of hours, and suddenly I feel like I'm getting sloppy and making more mistakes than when I started that day, I stop. I think fatigue is a real issue. Particularly when you hit your 50's. I miss that era of my life when I was young and could concentrate for eight or nine straight hours on one thing and when I finished, it felt like minutes had passed.
Those days are long, long gone.
There doesn't really seem to be much rhyme or reason to it.
However, I am pretty careful that if I've been playing a couple of hours, and suddenly I feel like I'm getting sloppy and making more mistakes than when I started that day, I stop. I think fatigue is a real issue. Particularly when you hit your 50's. I miss that era of my life when I was young and could concentrate for eight or nine straight hours on one thing and when I finished, it felt like minutes had passed.
Those days are long, long gone.
Amen to that, I am in pretty good shape, but 10 hours a week of drumming may be a bit excessive.
