Subscribe to my channel or I'll steal your cymbals: bit.ly/2AyH1Fb Not every drumming mistake you make is created equal. Some drumming mistakes hold more weight than others. And by focusing on these, we can take our drumming from sounding like a beginner drummer to sounding like an advanced drummer. Here are my 7 tips for how to stop sounding like a drumming noob. Leave a comment below and let me know your thoughts!

"Own every note you play"...that's authority. Old jazz player told me that once way back..stuck with me for 45 years.

When a teacher told me years ago to say " Playing " a drum instead of " Hitting " a certain drum helped me understand the concept of playing an instrument instead of a thing. A lot of drummers approach the drum kit like they are hammering a nail, not creating a musical note. I know it's just a small terminology change, but it is the little things that matter and this little shift can change attitude.

Stephen,I'm a 65 year old drummer that obviously missed this video when I was 18(doesn't matter) it's working fer me now! Thank you sir,and as it has been God bless you and your family.......and me.

I am guilty of 7/7 of these mistakes. Thanks Stephen!

I find learning how to play quietly really helps force the tone and authority of your playing tenfold. If you find yourself hitting to hard it’s usually a control issue that can be mitigated by some simple exercises and rudiments at a low sticking and try moving them around the whole kit but quietly. you’ll start to master the two distinct volumes and get closer to playing with more versatility of your dynamics.

6:08 but Stephen, if you can play it slowly, you can play it quickly

OMG, I'm glad it's a drummer saying all this stuff. When other band members say this stuff, we have some disagreements and a "band fight."

I've always told my drummer friends, playing fast is easy, playing slow is hard!

Written goals for this week: Tones, listen to Authority, play with Half learning half baked, finish cooking Speed, slow is smooth;smooth is fast Lane, pave your own Say less to say more Gear & equipment are like sextoys, sure you can use them but you can still get it on without them.

I love how Steve mixes up "philosophy" with drumming and practicing, it is really refreshing to see a man connecting dots of information beyond the "drum" topic but related to it. And about planning and how always comes out as a point that needs to be addressed I, as an individual, do not feel that rigorous planning works for me always. Sometimes i feel is much more important to have the "inspiration", desire or motivation to practice than a preplanned program for practicing. When practice becomes a routine and an "obligation", I lose the inspiration that gives me LASER LIKE FOCUS, no matter what i work on. of course i have an idea of the things i feel need to develop but without the "wanting to practice" no matter how long or what i practice, it is not a FOCUSED practice. In the now it manifest as, me practicing a subject for however long i feel inspired to, sometimes minutes, sometimes hours, and then resting my practice when i do not feel like practicing and then realizing that because of the FOCUS on the little time i spent, translates very quickly into the development of the skill. The prove for me of this is strengthen by and author called John Taylor Gatto who discovered that kids could learn to read and write in 25 hours! instead of years! But when "they wanted to learn" and not on a predetermined timing and manner. In other words what makes the "miracle" is the "inspiration" or the concentration given by the degree of the desire to develop a certain skill than the obligated practice, like in school. Sometimes i go months without practicing and when sit back on the drum set the skills show up on their own surprising me, given the little "planned practice time" i do. Like putting a seed in the ground that grows without a man having to do "anything".

I couldn't agree more on all these points but particularly the one about speed. When starting a new beat, or groove or fill with my students I'm always "Play it slow, nail it..... then speed up!" I get soo many of my students say "But its easier to play it faster (80-90bpm) then slower (40-50bpm). I try to explain to them that accuracy at slow speeds will improve your accuracy at fast speeds and taking your time to get there will pay off. It's a difficult concept for young students to grasp though. BTW you are totally correct, playing "airy" beats at super slow speeds is extremely difficult and is a great way to practice the nailing the beat. Especially a beat that would usually be played at 140bpm+. Hey another great video Stephen. You get my vote for top 5 KZfaq drum tutors if not best KZfaq drum tutor. The way you explain things and the effort you put into your videos is inspiring for a full time drum tutor like myself.

I’m a bassist who’s planning on learning drums later and this applies to any other instrument too. Great stuff

Excellent points Stephen. You uncovered for me two areas in which I need improving, the authority and the statement. You have a knack for explaining things in terms that I understand and can identify with and I will work on these two. Thanx brother.

Awesomely put Steven!!! You rock Brother! I have fallen into a couple of these mistakes! Love the video! Sums it all up! Stay safe my friend 🥁🥁🥁

Thanks bro this is so helpful and I am big fan of your channel....you have transformed my playing.

Every video is so clickbaity... but you're SO DEEP on everything you mention. It's so much more than vague bulletpoints, like a half-written internet article. You make it interesting, and substantial, so THANK YOU, Stephen!

You've got a great approach and really get the valuable info across. Thanks for helping me keep pushing forward!

Your point in focusing in just a few things, repetition and making a conversation, telling a story as I see it is very much the basis of good soloing with any instrument. Good point. I run in to this problem more than often and I've found that when ever I forget this the music starts sucking.

Good Stuff, thanks for the advice!

I really love watching your videos, man. Your communication is clear and concise and you speak really well. I can see you know who you are as a person and are comfortable in your own skin. I can relate to you a lot and I appreciate your videos. They're helping me learn things every day.

Love it ! So true. Thank you for this helpful video.

Hey man, just wanted to say this video has helped me tons. ALL of the points you brought up have been topics and questions I keep asking myself these past weeks. You've helped clarify some things as well as given me motivation to continue in this fight we call drumming. Thanks mate! 🤟🏻😤

Superb video brother. Every word was important and informative. You nailed the message and I thank you for the ideas and perspective. 👍🏼👌🏽

Well done. actually, it's Excellent. Practical and good information there. Thanks. You nail several good points. I've subbed and look forward to others in your series.

excellent video, was able to relate all 7 points to parts of my own play. you are my favorite youtube-teacher

I enjoyed this. Great advice which can be applied to any instrument. Thanks!

Loved this video. It reminds me how far I’ve come but also how long it took to get where I’m at. I’ve kept my kit small and minimal adding something new every few years. I recently got a ‘new to me’ 60’s Ludwig snare out of the garbage, and a K sweet crash I put on lay-away, and thought man these sound great. But I also realized I learned how to play responsively to my drums. For the better part of ten years I kept it to a 3pc kit with hats and a ride just trying to make the most of it and sound pleasing. The best compliment is when I had a respected drum friend come over and compliment my Kick sound on a 20” 60’s stencil kit.

Saw Vinnie do a drum clinic playing a Gretch 4 piece right out of the box and he made it sound like a wrap around drum set. Incredible!

thank you, some of this stuff i already knew but it was refreshing to be reinforced and told about it in a different way. now i want to practice.

GREAT lesson Stephen thx u. The ‘listening to your sounds’ is such a big component of sounding professional. I was very lucky to study with Ronald Gould who was the principal percussionist of the New York City ballet for most of his career. He stressed that every day, thinking about where we’re playing on the snare drum, on the Timpani and just in general being hyper aware of the choices that we make when it comes to producing our sound.

Stephen, I find myself coming back to this particular video for inspiration it is really one of your finest as far as gaining the proper perspective approaching the kit in general and I think that applies to beginners as well as more advanced drummers. . Thanks, Bob M.

Excellent sound advice and tips on improving!

I love videos like this! Hits home and HELPS! Thank you!

Listening to this video took me back to the days when my dad was teaching me to play. Sometimes reviewing the basics is just as inspiring as learning something new. Thanks Stephen!

Very useful/helpful video ty for uploading! Must-watch for drummers of any level

Thanks for another awesome video and I love the shirt, still waiting for that Sweetwater clinic!

love your videos Stephen. Thanks for doin it

Those are really good advices for virtually every profession. Or everything you want to get better at. Great video :)

Awesome work Stephen ! I couldn't agree more with what you said, every beginner drummer should watch this video...

I see 33 unlikes. I can’t how people can unlike something as thoughtful as this. Thanks Stephen

Glad you put this out I have hit a wall with my playing and I have had 23 kits in the past two years because I'm wrapped up with the "gear" 😔 Thanks for the tips!

Hey Stephen you were speaking to me because i do all of the above, for instance playing with speed but frustrating to play at a slow pace or when practicing my roles and not sticking to the plan and was thinking of buying a more expensive drum kit because the one i currently have doesn't sound good as far as I'm concerned. These are my mistakes indeed. I'm going to use your advice definitely. Your advice is good advice.

Fantastic point about the speed, and also so true,

Great man!! Brilliant, compassionate.

Each word you said here are very helpful! Thanks for sharing stephen

Great advice! especially about speed going both ways. As a newbie I definitely need to work on slowing down, Thanks!

Great video. I began playing the drums when I was 13. So many fundamental concepts eluded me for years. In my early years, I missed the importance of tuning and faster isn't necessarily better.

Thanks Stephen! So many good points there and I need to work on a few of those! As a drummer in a band I really feel the need and desire to improve on everything drumming and your points are so on point!

I really liked what you said about playing with authority. It's amazing how timid I sound when I think I've mastered a really hard part; in my head as I am playing it I'm hoping that I nail it. Not any more. Your comment on tones really resonated with me too (pun intended).

This is a great video. Thanks for such worthwhile content.

Great teacher...I'm an old drummer coming back after about 30 years hiatus, and I appreciate good teaching. Oh and subbed!

Thank you so much! Your videos really help!😊

You are an excellent teacher. You nicely described (some of) the mistakes I've made over the last 40+ years :)

your suggestions on how to improve drums playing can be easily converted to every concept of life, tnx man I realy used your suggestions

THANKS SO MUCH.........great advice.....uplifting.

you're a real one Stephen. thanks for what you do from a fellow introverted drummer

This vid is really helpful man, thank you!

i do remember these things one at a time usually. thank you for bringing them to light.

Omg! I love this video so much! Thanks master Taylor!!! I really want to study with you someday!... 💪💪💪

So need to work on these suggestions. I'm trying to always record myself when I play, which I find helps in getting the essential feedback in regards the sound. Thanks Stephen

great videos, entertaining, lots of info, THANX a lot, inspiring me to work on drum parts more before giving stuff to my drummer (Y) , judging from your T-Shirt..... do you know NDV? ;-)

F**kin' great show. I'm on to it, THANKS mate! 👍

This is great advice for any practise. Not just for drumming. Thank you!

I love your videos, but this one is so great!

You have the gift of teaching. I've watched two of your videos and I'm so impressed with how much I learned from you :) Liked, Subscribed, hit the notification bell.

Great vid Stephen, keep em comin!

Great video very interesting. I totally agree with “I make my sound, not my kit” but I’ve sat behind kits that when I played them they sounded like crap Meaning they were not tuned correctly. So I agree also, that tuning, and where you hit, place your stick makes a BIG difference.

Thank you for the video Stephen. The not focusing on other people's game but playing your own is so important and i always forget that. Thanks for sharing your wisdom!

Amazing information for any musician, not just drummers.

Oh my gosh, thank you! Helped a lot. One I have trouble with is comparing myself to other drummers. Gotta stop that!

I've been playing for over 20 years and your channel has still taught me a ton. Excellent information.

i saw your videos too much learn u gave to me..u arecso kind..thank you sir...keep goin'..i sub your channel

I like how I came across this video by liking a very short clip shared by this poster. You’ve said a lot, almost everything in this video.

Love it Stephen ! I’m working on my bad hitting habits....

This IS EXACTLY WHAT I NEEDED. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Like your flavor and just getting back on the skins, Perfect...Subscribed...

Yea ! So glad that you are discussing speed...I personally believe that it is more difficult to play slowly and with good control if we don't first build the muscles enabling that same control, and later, speed. Have taught my students in that way. Thank you, Stephen.

Wise words, eloquently put 👌

Very helpful. Thanks Stephen👍

Love the video, thanks!

Wow! This really lit up my mind. I will come back to this video to remind myself what's said in this video. Thanks Mr. Taylor for this video!

I love these videos. I honestly think you are the best drumming channel on this platform

You just made my day man! Thanks for the precious lessons you tough me!

hey stephen, i realy get the "playing with authority" topic and it relates to me because it might be the number 1 issue that i have with my own playing. how would you treat that sense? do u have maybe a video focused on this? thanks

Been watching your videos for years, this one hits me hard man.

Bro! I just learned so much in 12 minutes I actually can't believe it! Thank you for posting this Stephen. This was so cool!

Great video! 🔥

This is all tremendously valuable advice. Play with authority. Be the ball. Thanks Stephen!

Hey Stephen, great tips my friend, thank you.

Pfff.... the "authority" advice is priceless, and very difficult to explain, you did a great job Stephen!! Cheers

Steven you are the bomb bruv. I'm a self taught drummer playing a cheap electric kit. Until last year I didn't know what rudiments are. I am guilty of some of these things and I'm always trying to improve. Thanks for all the amazing videos. I'm trying to build my confidence enough to play in front of others as I find social situations difficult and these lessons are so helpful. Keep making drumming fun!

Amazing video! It's exactly how my dad who is a session drummer taught me and corrected my playing. You have to own the notes you play. 😎

These thing I used to before in high school in marching band, but for some reason now that I picked an instrument and new one by myself I end up be like what now and get stuck. But I suppose it makes sense since I had teachers and advanced band mates showed me about everything that you talked about here and I applied it. Thanks for reminding me of this simple but helpful suggestions. But the only is I could ask them hey am I applying this right, or?. Is there a way I can do something like this now? I lost connection with so many of my friends that where musicians and some just stopped playing as a whole. Thanks to anyone who read this poorly written paragraph.

Finally somebody who the secrets fundamental s of the art of drumming. Now that’s refreshing and inspiring.

Thanks Ill buy some simple stuff, and keep you informed on my progress ,thank you my friend for answering so quickly, take care of yourself ,and family under these unusal circumstances, Jim

This was really useful, thanks Stephen! I definitely succumb to some of these... 1/2 learning in particular! I get bored! But good to know I can do the slow beats - my drum teacher always starts me out super slow and doesn't let me get faster until I can actually get it at a slow speed, so I've had a lot of practice on that one...

Great vid!

Great stuff as always

Excellent video Stephen.