Making Practice Fun: Drumming on the Move with Rodi Kirk

There's no way around it, if you want to become a better musician, producer, or beatmaker, you just have to put in the time and practice. But here's the good news: practice doesn't have to suck. In fact, researchers have found that musicians who enjoy their practice have a greater chance of success. It makes sense, right? If practice is enjoyable, you'll be more likely to stick with it. This is why it’s never too late to adjust your approach to practice and make it more fun.

Firstly, let's acknowledge that it's easy to fall into the trap of believing that talent is a gift of natural ability rather than the result of many hours of dedicated practice. But ask anyone who has achieved any degree of mastery in any craft and they’ll tell you that this is never the case. It’s just that most of the work happens out of sight. When we think of music practice, we might imagine a musician, confined to a windowless room, sheet music spread out around them, repeating the same scales and passages over and over. However, many successful musicians don't practice like this, and if we think about rhythm and groove based music, this kind of approach doesn't seem particularly useful anyway.

One fun and effective way to embrace the repetitive nature of practice is through drum rudiments. Rudiments are fundamental patterns or exercises that drummers use to develop technique, coordination, and control. They are the building blocks for most drumming techniques. Once mastered, they can be applied to create complex rhythms, fills, and solos. These essential patterns can be found in many music styles, from jazz and rock to jungle and club music. By practicing rudiments, you'll not only improve your rhythm and dexterity but also develop a strong internal clock, which is crucial for any musician. You might be thinking, “But I'm not a drummer. How do rudiments apply to me?” The beauty of rudiments is that they are not just for drummers – these patterns can be practiced by anyone, regardless of their instrument or style. 

To get started, here are three essential rudiment patterns:

1. Single Stroke Roll: This fundamental rudiment involves alternating strokes between your right and left hands, creating an even, continuous sound. Focus on maintaining a consistent tempo and even volume between your hands.

2. Double Stroke Roll: As the name suggests, this rudiment involves playing two strokes with each hand before alternating. The double-stroke roll helps build speed, control, and endurance.

3. Paradiddle: A slightly more complex rudiment, the paradiddle consists of eight notes played in the following sequence: right, left, right, right, left, right, left, left. Another way of thinking about it is two singles followed by a double, then repeated on the alternate side. This pattern helps develop coordination and control between your hands.

You don't need a drum kit or even drumsticks to practice these patterns. MIDI pad controllers and standalone devices like Ableton Move are excellent portable options, allowing you to work on your technique using just your fingers and without disturbing others. You can make the practice more fun by changing up the sounds or by recording your own.​​ In fact, you don't even need a device for this at all. You can also turn your lap, a tabletop, or everyday objects into practice tools, with a bit of creativity and resourcefulness. Working with everyday items like desks, pencils, and bottles is also a great way to start integrating field recordings into your beats. These sounds, when recorded and mixed with electronic beats, can give added texture and a unique feel to otherwise static patterns. Try layering “off the grid” hand-played percussion with everyday objects over a more static sequenced drum pattern to create an interesting contrast.

Incorporating rudiments into your daily routine, even just short five-minute sessions, can lead to significant progress over time. Research shows that brief, focused daily practice yields better results than infrequent, unstructured longer sessions. For more on the science behind this, check out our previous blog post on developing musical skills. Since it doesn't take much daily practice for the compounding effect to kick in, try to keep a setup portable. This way, you can squeeze in a few minutes of practice whenever you have a spare moment, making it easier to build rudiments into your habits and improve consistently.

Reducing the friction to get started is one of the most powerful ways to increase your daily music time. When your instruments and equipment are set up and waiting for you, it’s easy to quickly dive into an exercise, jam along with a tune that’s playing, or capture a sudden burst of inspiration. If you have to unpack and set everything up each time, you’ll be less likely to practice whenever you have a few minutes to spare throughout the day. Keeping your equipment plugged in and ready to go, so you can sit down, flick a switch, and start, is one of the best hacks to consistent music making and practice. And it’s made even easier with small portable devices like Move which are always with you and ready to go at any moment.

Making practice fun and effective is the key to unlocking your musical potential. By focusing on rudiments and incorporating them into your daily routine, you can develop the technique, coordination, and musicality needed to excel. And with the Melodics app, practicing rudiments has never been easier or more enjoyable. Melodics combines interactive lessons, progress tracking, and practice features to make learning music fun and rewarding. To celebrate the release of Move, Melodics has teamed up with Ableton to offer readers access to 25 free lessons that focus on core rudiments and practice patterns. Download the Melodics app today and start your journey towards mastering drum rudiments on the go!

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Text by Rodi Kirk | Director of Product & Education at Melodics 
Photography by Kate Francis Battersby