New to drumming (5 weeks) is 186bpm 1/4 note ss rolls good?

INFails

A backstory. Skip to the bottom for my question about my stick speed.

I have a small studio and I've been a guitar player for 15 years and I still struggle. I also play keyboards and have a few synths. I'm self taught.

I think I have always been a drummer but I played with my fingers and my desk instead of sticks and a drum. I've always wanted a drum kit but I never had the money or the space to get one so it went unfulfilled for most of my life.

Having recently bought and moved into my first house I had money left over from savings and I bought rockband just before xmas as my gift to myself. I already had guitar hero, but I wanted rockband for the drums. I figured I'd get it out of my system (a lifetimes desire to rock a serious drum solo). I was surprised to find how easy it was for me. I mean it was hard, but with concentration I beat the game on medium when my musician friends struggled with easy.

Suddenly that lifelong desire grew stronger and all I could think about was getting a drum kit. I obsessed about it and I usually get caught up in something and then it goes away but this didn't. It got worse and worse and it was driving me crazy.

When I started beating songs on expert 2 weeks after getting the game I said screw it and started looking for a kit. A week later I was the proud owner of a Sound Percussion 5 piece kit with hardware and cymbal pack for $300 from Guitar Center.

This was around new years. That first week I had off work and I literally played drums all day every day. When work started again I asked around and learned about rudiments so I got a practice pad and I started practicing single stroke rolls, double stroke rolls, paradiddles, and flams, for at least an hour a day. This was in addition to actually playing my kit.

I've added a Zildjian Z custom ride cymbal, and some resonance rings to the kit and I've been trying to learn as much as I can and play a wide range of styles.

Anyway so It's been about 5 weeks since I started playing the drums, and the daily practice, and watching every video I can about stick technique, the Moeller method etc I've been watching my progress with a metronome and I'd like to know how well I'm doing.

I started struggling single stroke rolls at 130bpm, I added about 6bpm to that every week with paradiddles lagging slightly behind and double stroke rolls being my slowest rudiment.

This weekend I topped my personal best of 160bpm quarter note single stroke roll with 1 minute of continuous 186bpm single stroke roll and I can paradiddle at 160bpm now and double stroke roll at the same speed (all quarter notes).

How fast is this compared to where I need to be? Am I getting there? I know I haven't played long but I am going max effort here.

On the actual drums I'm doing polyrythyms, playing along to ACDC, The doors exotic beats, and doing triplets to Charles Mingus. I can hold a rock beat all day, I know a few disco beats, and I've basically been listening to all my favorite music trying to learn the drum parts by ear.

I think I'm as far along after drumming for a month as I was on guitar after a year. IE can hold a song but still a little rough and nothing overly complicated.

My personal heroes are Steven Drozd and Stevie Wonder. Their multi instrumental talents and drum ability blow my mind.

metal head · Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2008 2:37 pm Post subject:

you're doing good so far. just keep practicing. that's all it takes.
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gigeoffro · Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2008 3:45 pm Post subject:

agreed... keep up the good work... practice practice practice
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INFails · Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2008 4:04 pm Post subject: