Rudiments practice - pillows?

[Dv8tor]

Hi guys

Am new to this forum but been drumming for some time, please excuse the hasty construction of this virgin post. I have a question regarding rudiment practice on pillows - how does it help?

I researched a bit online, and there is this forum thread on Drummerworld.com that says practicising on pillows primarily trains stick control. My question is, the pillow has virtually no rebound..how does it work, actually? Do you have to force the rebound out?

Some people argue that 'if you're playing on pillows, practice on pillows, if you're playing on drums, practice on drums' but I find that although it has some truth, it doesn't address the issue in its entirety.

I normally practice either on a pad or on my kit..should I use pillows (or any other weird surface) for variety?

What do you guys think?

 

[mel80]

IMHO, pillows are more for you to train finger and wrist strength. So while it is good to work on that, never neglect your usual practice on the pads and drums, as there is a very high tendency to hit too loudly when you practice only on pillows.

 

[RudimentalDrummer]

I would never practice on a pillow - simply because the rebound is not there...but this doesn't works for me as I have tried, but others it may.

 

[marcdadrummer]

i learn from faidhi that using metal sticks + pillows is a great combination to train your fingers especially the muscle below ur thumb...

this will significantly improve your strokes, clarity of ur strokes and definately strength and speed. since there's no rebound on pillows, make sure ur hand is fluently doing the upstroke and downstroke rather than resting the sticks on the pillow... generally what we would tend to do coz of the rebound.

hope this helps.

 

[reuben]

adding my 2cents...

like you said, pillows have virtually no rebound. This means that you cannot rely on the rebound to pull your stick up after each stroke. This trains the forearm muscles because of the need to pull the stick up. This would be the exact opposite of practicing on the practice pad.

The best would be to practice on the drumset. Because instead of going to the extremes of having no rebound or too much rebound, you will insteadd learn to cope with and manipulate the various types of rebound available on the drumset. (eg tight and fast rebound on the snare and sluggish rebound on the floor tom)

 

[blurred]

well okie this post could go on forever because everyone has a certain way of practicing. there is no right or wrong way to do it, only the way that is best for u. the only way to do this is to learn afew practice methods from someone who is a gd drummer and a gd teacher. ask a few of this guys, dun stick to one person. slowly experiment with each of their suggestions and you will slowly find out what works for u.

i'd tell u what has worked for me.
i practiced on both soft and hard surfaces.
i practiced on my knees and certain soft items (pillows i find are way too soft). this was to train my arm muscles.
then i practiced on a hard practice pad and various hard surfaces.( this was to train my control ie. rebound of the stick and such)
thirdly i also did a fair amount of practice on an actual drumset.

remember the key to playing fast and clean, is to start off slow and clean. speed is a by product of consistency and accuracy.

 

[beboptang]

I agree with Blurred. Practising on a variety of surfaces isn't a bad idea, cuz giving our muscles variety actually trains them to handle varying playing situations.

When I travel, I bring my sticks and not my brushes, cuz these days it's really hard to explain to airport security what brushes are. So using sticks on pillows, keeps my brush-playing muscles supple, due to the non-existent rebound.

But there's one practice surface I use that is fun for the people around me and for myself. Sometimes I use my timpani mallets and practice on people's aching backs or shoulders. Of course, I don't hit so hard. This is the one time my practising doesn't annoy, but pleases people! And I get feedback from the "practice surface" when I lean too heavy on any 1 side, heehee! It's a win-win situation

 

[metzalx]

Lol I did that to my dad with some short and fat chinese sticks and he loved it, because it solved his backache problems... :mrgreen:

 

[Frummer]

Yeah like marc said , i do the metal sticks + pillow simple rudiments practice before i go on the drumset. Primarily strengthens wrist/fingers ( and i really do it SLOW....60bpm slow! ) No idea how to apply this on trad grip though ( im not really a trad-er )

But the bulk of my practice is still on the drumset. In fact, i do bring out the snare & stand and the do the same practice i usually do on the pillow.

In other words...yes agreed with blurred...various surfaces! ( JoJo Mayer can even rip it out on a pepperoni pizza! )

 

[RudimentalDrummer]

Sometimes I use my timpani mallets and practice on people's aching backs or shoulders. Of course, I don't hit so hard. This is the one time my practising doesn't annoy, but pleases people! And I get feedback from the "practice surface" when I lean too heavy on any 1 side, heehee! It's a win-win situation

HI Audrey - I am Volunteering to be your Human Practice Pad as in this case, I will bring the Timpani Sticks when I go down to Bus-Stop ...ok?..Kekekekeke.

Eric

 

[beboptang]

HI Audrey - I am Volunteering to be your Human Practice Pad as in this case, I will bring the Timpani Sticks when I go down to Bus-Stop ...ok?..Kekekekeke.

Eric

Ok! Come! Can slowly practise my Flam-Paradiddles then! Oi! It's BAR-STOP lah! Not Bus Stop... LOL!

 

[plainsman]

bus stop siah .... ERIC !!!!! :mrgreen:

 

[mel80]

Eric go ktv sing too much of Chia Zham (bus stop) is it? Wahahaa

 

[RudimentalDrummer]

Nah-Bei-Eh .... Chaiman & Mel wanna kenna slap by me izzit har - I know lah - it's Bar-Stop and not Bus-Stop, luckily I neber spell it as - "Bust"-Stop Kekekekeke !

 

[jenocide]

LOL dont use a pillow... use a bolster... harder and has SOME (may go unnoticed... its pretty sight) rebound. practice with normal rudiments... should work. works for me lol.