Simple Exercise To Improve Timing (Inspired by Matt Garstka) - Drum Lesson | Drum Beats Online

In today's drum lesson I'm showing you a super simple drum exercise to improve your timing!

Lets be real here. Matt Garstka is an incredible drummer and he is a huge source of inspiration. So naturally, he inspired this drum lesson! Here's the thing though, at first glance you might be thinking that this timing exercise is so simple and that you are above it. Well let me tell you, this exercise is KILLER! It's an incredibly simple concept, but it's very hard to execute well! So try your best and keep practicing it! I promise it will improve your timing in some awesome new ways!

Lets be friends!

[electrizer]

The general rule is that when you play slowly there's much more more room to wander and be exposed. Because spaces between notes are larger you have to be super precise. I always bring down the tempo of a song Im practicing by roughly 20-30 bpm and as Im getting better I slowly build it up. When I was a self-taught kid drummer there was this rule someone told me which stuck:

"The longer you play slowly, the faster you play fast"

[lylewhite]

Once I locked in and was able to stay aware of the one, my creative side felt comfortable and started coming up with little grooves and short fills that I've never played before and it felt so natural and it is really fun. It was almost like after I was sitting right in the pocket that I went thoughtless and was just observing myself play. This is probably the best timing exercise I've ever tried and I've been playing music for 15 years. Thank you

[MickeyInw]

Best timing exercise ever.
After 3 hours work this out, my groove and filling are getting much better...big thanks!!!

[jnlhansonian]

Great lesson! I've noticed that it's often more difficult to play a lick or beat slow than fast. Funny thing is, if you nail it slow, it sounds faster (probably because it's cleaner) than a sloppy fast.

[andreaskoch]

Thanks for the exercise!
You can spice it up by going all the way up including quintuplets, septuplets, etc. So start with 1 (quarter notes) and then build your way up (2;3;4;5;6;7;8) – 8 being 32nd notes. After that you can also switch hands.

[bigneutron]

First play: quater, eight, tripplet, sixteen, quintuplets sextuplets
Then mix it by randomize it.
That works for the rest of your life. Everyday 10 minutes

[dwsma]

Great lesson! Reminds me of an exercise Robert “Doc” Schietroma taught us at UNT. Same concept, but just on the snare/practice pad. Set the metronome on a slow tempo, 40-52bpm and play quarter notes, eighth notes, triplets, sixteenths, quintuplets, sextuplets, etc and back to quarters. Great timing exercise and if you can count the quarter notes the whole time…even better. When you can no longer hear the click track you have it nailed!

[jyoshymusic]

First time ever attempting drumming, this was the only video I could find that really helped with my timing. Thanks dude!

[danneu]

If you want to spice it up a bit more, throw quarter note triplets in there somewhere.

[Drumaier]

This video is great as it is. Let me just add some things in case anyone cares: 1_to do this but with a gap click instead of a normal click 2_to interprete the click as the up not the down (second eight aka the AND) 3_to add the left foot into the equation 4_To count out loud the subdivision and to use a different voice for the subdivision (ie if you are playing triplets voice only the quarter notes etc). I feel like a jerk everytime i add this kind of comments to a videos someone else did but i can't help myself. Last thing, i'm not inventing any of those things, i got them from Benny Greb, Chris Coleman materials.

[joshuah]

I'll try this for a month. If it works, I'll subscribe.

[Fitandover]

That's a great idea! I was actually today doing something similar but on the snare at 50 bpm and I will try as you show here. I also realized as with tennis for example, there are skills that not necessarily translate to all situations and it is a matter of practice. In other words, in order to be able to play at different tempos and different subdivisions at different tempos, I must practice at different tempos, different subdivisions and rudiments and Know them by feeling and hearing. Get "familiar" with them, I guess that would allow me to make breaks and pauses and feel the pulse even when there are no audible notes, I am not sure yet and I guess I'll figure it out soon. Thanks! Another great inspiration!

[iwantyourgrandmayumyum]

Thank you very much for this video. It has definitely proven tricky for me after trying it, but I think this exercise is really going help me improve my timing, which I have been struggling with a little recently. :)

[tranvia]

Start slow, always good advice. Finally, an exercise I can follow. Thanks for not talking it to death. Simple, straightforward and slow.

[AlexanderEL]

Bro really a good vessel for the spirit of drumming

[drumzyful]

I'm having a hard time spacing my notes correctly with my kick drum where my instructor says I am shuffling, either coming in too fast or just behind the middle so hopefully this will help because I have been struggling with this problem for a month and just can't tell when I'm doing it and he tells me to slow it down too. ARGH!

[kennedymack]

This is truly a perfect lesson I love it.

[andrewmantell]

Thanks Matt! I'm super super new to the drums but this seems to be helping.

[SuperDrumsforever]

Excellent lesson as usual. I also play these subdivisions in as many different random ways possible. Your lessons are great. Slower the better.

[fannydwargee]

Very nice video and advice, I'm on my 50s and practicing drums since october, I'll try for some weeks on my e-kit and come back with the results.

Thanks man, you got my like.