practicing on pillow and applying to drumset

[benlovedrum]

hello all,

I have lately started practicing my strokes on pillows and it really helps me a lot compared to last time... I have tried to apply my strokes on drumset lately and why it feels so different and it is so bouncy. How can i apply what i practice on pillow into the drumset?? Please give me some advice! =D

ben

 

[zal]

hey man, used to play the snare for 4years back in sch. my sir is a percussionist himself. power drummer. and seriously man, practicing on a pillow is bad. get a cheap drum pad. it's not the same but atleast it's not as bad as the pillow. a good pro mark drum pad shld not cost more than 40bucks. the reason why it's diff is because it's not of the same tension. so if u try to apply whatever u've practiced on bolster to the drums itself, it's gona suck man. bad. ok, hope that it helps. and remember, im not a professional. so maybe u can try gettin more advice frm real drummers out there. what i told u is only what i can barely remember my sir teached me 3years ago.

peace.

 

[rimshot]

Practicing on a pillow is a good way to strengthen ur forearms and wrists, but it shd not be taken as a anything more than a stregthening exercise.


A pillow has no rebound at all, while a drums have quite a bit of rebound, depending on which drum we are talking about of course.... If ur working on strokes and rudiments, do it on a snare drum or practice pad.

Its also good to note that tone is an important quality in music, but oft neglected by many drummers. Practicing ur strokes on a pillow is unlikely to help you get good tone from your drums.

 

[SocialReject]

i used the yellowpages before i got myself a practice pad.

 

[alvinthedrummer]

SocialReject! Yellow pages....Do I know you from somewhere??

I strongly suggest practicing on many different surfaces if you don't have much time to practice on an actual kit. I usually have a softer practice pad like the e-pads from Nigel and one with a bouncy/hard surface like the HQ or Vic Firth pads and whenever possible, one with a bouncy/softer surface like the tama pads. If you don't wanna spend too much $$....get a mouse pad (without laminate) and a yellowpages....and spend sometime on both surfaces. Practice playing all the standard rudiments on both and try to get them to the same playing tempo. Make sure you try to make your rudiments sound just as effective on both surfaces across a wide dynamic range.

Good Luck!

 

[alexi94]

Practising on pillows strengthens your forearms and wrist muscles. its mainly a endurance and explosiveness thing. for actual application to a snare, it takes a while to get used to but once you are able you control it you can fly. i own a drumset and practise my paradiddles and double strokes and independence exercises with sticks on a pillow. keep doing it consistently and youll improve.

 

[Magnimas]

i always felt playing on the pillow is bad =X coz u dun feel the real ting.. though i dun practise on pillow, i once practise air drum, which is somewad similar.. i dun get to feel the drum n i get quite used to it.. n due to the short range n wrong bounciness it provideds, i tend to go off tempo n miss crashes when i get on the drum =X

 

[Drumbassador]

my opinion

For me it depends on what you are practicing on the pillow.it was easier to play single stoke rolls on the pillow and when i moved on to the drumkit, the rebounds made it harder for me to control my single stroke rolls especially on the snare. on the other hand, due to the difference in technique, i found that it was useful for me to practice double strokes and paradiddles on a pillow because that greatly helped with my push-pull technique while doing the double stroke due to the fact that it required more effort to play it on a pillow. therefore, when i applied it to the kit, the practice regime paid off. so it is subjective to what technique you are using for your strokes if you want to practice on pillows. right now i dont practice on pillows unless i am lazy to practice on my pad or before i go to sleep i take out my sticks and do a short solo on my pillow before going to bed. it kinda helps me apply what i have practiced for that day on a kit, on a surface which is harder to play on. also for those who don't practice that often, playing a bit on your pillow before you go to bed every night would be a good way to ensure your chops still stay in shape. the first time i told my friend of this habit that i have, he laughed but somehow this has helped me. for me its like reading a book before you doze off. except that i don't read

 

[benlovedrum]

reply to all

thanks for your help! =D I really appreciate it... I guess I was practicing my single strokes and five strokes roll lately on pillow. I tried it on my drumset and I just realised its a huge bounce issue... Actually I do have a drumpad and hope that it would help me...

What can I practice on my pillow?? types of stroking that would help me to improve??

Hoping to hearing from all of your soon...

Benjamin

 

[benlovedrum]

SocialReject! Yellow pages....Do I know you from somewhere??

I strongly suggest practicing on many different surfaces if you don't have much time to practice on an actual kit. I usually have a softer practice pad like the e-pads from Nigel and one with a bouncy/hard surface like the HQ or Vic Firth pads and whenever possible, one with a bouncy/softer surface like the tama pads. If you don't wanna spend too much $$....get a mouse pad (without laminate) and a yellowpages....and spend sometime on both surfaces. Practice playing all the standard rudiments on both and try to get them to the same playing tempo. Make sure you try to make your rudiments sound just as effective on both surfaces across a wide dynamic range.

Good Luck!

HI alvin! =D where can I get the softer practice pad??

benjamin

 

[alvinthedrummer]

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[Drumbassador]

okay my advice would be to practice more double stroke related exercises on the pillows because playing the double stroke on the pillow is harder than on the drums and it help to improve your technique. on the other hand, if the exercises involve fast single strokes i suggest you do not practice it on the pillow. like Alvin said look through the standard american drum rudiments and see what you can practice on the pillow. or you can just scrap the whole pillow idea and just practice on the practice pad. for me i just do a short practice session on the pillow just before i go to bed just to make myself happy

 

[USADRUMMER]

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