Playing drums tightly is all about playing in the pocket.

It means, if the beat is 96 beats per minute the divisions between 4/4 or 6/4 whatever the time signature is… the division is perfect.

I’m not sure if you understand what I’m trying to say.

Let’s say you are playing a 4/4 beat at 100BPM and you miss one of the notes by a fraction of second, over a few bars you will be out of the pocket.

People can hear whether something is in time or not. They might not be able to tell you why they don’t like it, but they will say oh no that sounds horrible. They might also understand time and not be able to do it, but see if someone else can do it.

So when you are learning drums, focus on playing really slowly at first and practicing technique. Play fewer stokes and focus on playing “in the pocket.”

Use different techniques like the moeller method, finger technique and wrist technique. Practice whenever you have a chance, but rather then focusing on speed, focus on playing the groove as tight as possible.

Learn to breathe while playing too that helps too.

by

Jared Talbot