Yesterday, one of the participants in the drum circle playshop asked, "What's the best way to practice outside of the drum circle?" Here's what I suggested:
Develop your internal sense of rhythm by playing the following series that goes from hole notes: 1 - - - (1 beat per bar), to half notes: 1-3- (2 beats per bar), to quarter notes: 1234 (4 beats), to eighth notes: 1&2&3&4& (8 beats), to sixteenth: 1-ee-&-a-2-ee-&-a-3-ee-&-a-4 ee-&-a (16 per bar), to a drum roll - playing as fast as you can! Alternate hand strikes. Try it on your Hi tone, then your bass, then try combinations using both. Focus on maintaining consistency of the sound and of the timing - don't speed up!!
Drum with music you like, especially music that has strong percussion. Play at the same volume level as the music and stay on beat. Try to imitate the rhythm. Try to find variations or additional layers for that rhythm or song. Improvise a solo. Do these with the music then try them by yourself. Move on to another song and start again.
Drum until you find something. Don't think. Just play. It doesn't need to have rhythm or repeating pattern, just play FREELY until a pattern emerges. Repeat it a few times, find variations, and then go back to drumming freely. Try drumming how you felt about your day. Try drumming emotions, stories, relationships, elements, the weather, your home, your city...
Be open to noticing and interacting with rhythms in your day-to-day life. Chewing. Breathing. Talking. Walking. Brushing your teeth, your hair. The sound of rain, a streetcar, your car's turning signal blinker, bird calls, your alarm clock, fire crackling, trees creeking, wind whistling....
Rhythm is EVERYWHERE - PLAY WITH IT!
