Develop A Routine
How do we develop a routine?
That is a tough question because of so much available on the Internet. Times have changed and you need to make it work for you. The one skill needed is to "eat the watermelon, spit out the seeds." The best way to do this however is an educational foundation to know what to weed out.
If you don't have that, you are going to need trusted sources. I offer a few on this site. This is why I first focus on hand development which supports all else.
I believe on developing hands the first year over playing drumset. Many will go another route, but that is how I believe early instruction should progress. This is performed on a practice pad and mattress/pillow.
The pyramid of learning from Kenny Aronoff:
Reading from bottom up, this pyramid tells us that we first need a beat (single stroke roll) that must be played in time (specific BPM) and it needs to groove (relaxed that feels good) before we create. In other words, there is a learning process or building blocks that work together When we try to skip or gloss over a step, the creative process suffers.
We have all seen the drummer who plays fast, but the strokes are not clean or it feels stiff. This musician got into bad habits and skipped the "record self "or awareness step in their learning development. Rather, we need to humble ourselves and respect the pyramid of learning. Almost all difficulties can be traced back to "level jumping" during this learning development pyramid.
1. Hands and grip
2. Basic rudiment development: singles, doubles, paradiddles
3. Basic reading
4. Use of a metronome
5. Record self: look at your posture, style, listen to actual performance
6. Set achievable goals: I will play clean singles, doubles, paradiddles for 3 minutes, read the first page of whatever book you are working through, practice for a minimum of 30 minutes five days a week.
7. Take an honest inventory of your goals. "I was able to do everything this week, but fell short of my sight reading."
8. Focused listening: search quality music. Instead of whoever is popular today (that is fine to listen to for enjoyment), focus on "classic" works; a Miles Davis jazz recording, Steely Dan record, and so on. Naturally we focus on what we like (again, perfectly fine) but also include some jazz, funk, rock, reggae, big band and so on to widen your scope. This develops muscle-memory and recall later on.
Record Your Progress
Do this for your intended time period (first month) and then add goals. Add a 5 stroke roll, double paradiddle, and slowly build. Then after three months, stop and review. Three steps forward, one step review. Repeat.
Content overload is the best way to give up early! A focused routine will allow you to stay on target. As time progresses, you will discern how to build your routine. Remember to also add unstructured play, just create whatever comes to mind. Sometimes this is need before and after the structured practice to get out that energy.