How to be a fast drummer?

A worthy mission. I would imagine all drummers amongst us have at some point wished to be able to play faster. Drums are a high energy instrument that appeals to many people with a need for speed.

But what do we mean by fast?

I would break down 'playing fast' into a number of categories to help destroy the mystery behind some of the top players technique

1. Singles
Our raw single stroke roll speed (see pas.org for rudiment list) is one way of assessing our speed. How fast can you play 16th notes? The world record (see previous post) is currently set at over 300BPM! My suggestion for increasing your raw pace is to practice little (5 min) every day. Set your click going, and note the fastest speed you achieve. If you can increase this by 1BPM per day, you are doing very well indeed...

2. Doubles
I use double stroke rolls as a phrasing tool to move quickly between drums. Whilst one hand is doubling, the other is free to move quickly to the next drum. You should be able to play doubles as bounces, and as individual hits. Practice as per singles with a click and note speed daily.

3. Using feet
Putting kick drum strokes into a phrase frees up your hands to move. A great Vinnie trick is to play doubles with one hand, then doubles with your kick foot. Be able to play this with both hands and feet. Of course using a double kick pedal can also be used to great effect within a phrase.

4. Coordination
How fast you can pay a groove often comes down more to coordination that raw singles speed. If you need to play a groove faster - work it out really slow - and go round and round til you really understand it! Then slowly increase pace, noting top speed as you go. Within a week or two you'll be up to speed.

5. Power
Often the faster we play, the less power we are able to achieve. So as not to lose the urgency and feel of a fill or groove, we need to keep the power consistant. Working with bigger sticks can be a good way to build the muscles in your arms and hands (much like runners putting sandbags around their ankles.)

Use these tricks and soon you'll probably be faster than me....