Practicing Tips

[@lennartvossjazz]

Mr. Dior, the discovery of your channel has been a revalation to me. What a time we live in, to have musicians of your format sharing information for free. Thank you for the wisdom and inspiration! Best, Lennart

[@davehunter935]

I've also been playing for many years and find Rick's masterful playing and accessible teaching approach to be very inspirational. Thanks again Rick and best wishes to my fellow drummers!

[@rishipoddar2559]

Sir when you said "you'll end up jamming/noodling and will keep on playing the same and same thing over again" , I can totally very well see myself there...

[@MonacoRocha]

Woodshedding your Hands & Feet is ADDICTIVE!! I can't STOP.. I'm 65 Still woodshedding Drum set 5 hours daily ..

[@LewisMichaelMusic]

Enjoying your videos Rick! Beautiful sound and flow. Thanks.

[@thibodaux3424]

Great information as always. One thing I don't do nearly enough of is recording myself. These days I'm very time poor with a family and work so I now walk into the practice room with a pre-planned practice agenda so I don't waste time. Thanks for sharing your practice concepts.

[@mixinkperranporth]

As a self teaching drummer I really got a lot of motivation out of this one great videos really enjoying watching and learning thanks for the help 👍

[@rickdior]

Thanks Mike So glad I could help

[@anthonychristensen193]

I just discovered your channel, I absolutely love the stuff you are showing. been playing for 50 years, and you have really inspired me to play more. love your playing.

[@PJTheCurryGod]

Rick i just gotta say man, your knowledge and wisdom of all things rhythm and percussion is greatly appreciated by all of us musicians. You and your channel is a gold mine and I am so grateful for your information. Thank you. Anyway I can help support your endeavors, let me know.

[@rickdior]

Thanks for watching. I appreciate your kind words.

[@johngeorges1510]

Rick, thank you for sharing your knowledge.

[@ianbridges6040]

I second this, just discovered the channel, so great!

[@omarpercusion]

Thanks for the inspiration, this method of organization will help, I'm sure

[@lawrencemurphy7542]

Another great lesson Rick!!!! Thanks for all of your help during this pandemic.

[@kevinfrazee7690]

Amazing as always! Your work ethic really shows in your effortless incredible playing. I can't thank you enough for all your instructional videos

[@patrickwaldron1794]

I love your lessons, Rick! The drum teacher I never had hahaha!

[@dylantamaroff2543]

Your rolling in rhythm video is really helping me with that solo! Thanks Rick!

[@vtrebicky613]

Dear Rick. I admire your playing and your vids as well. Very inspiring! Thank you. I teach myself, and found one thing super helpful and being a sort of a “cure”, esp for coordinations. It is singing

[@vaughanxaviermusic]

Very helpful video. Going to apply as much as I can here

[@NMRK91]

Thanks Rick. I’m really enjoying all your videos.

[@Midoetsaguitare]

Thanks a lot Mr Rick, your videos inspire me, you're the best drum teacher i ever seen ! mehdi from morroco !

[@marcbxl7576]

Thank you, very interesting

[@miguelsaavedrums]

That intro was a masterclass

[@josephg.bradetich3064]

Thanks again happy new year 🎉

[@onlygospelmusic7806]

nice groove very interesting, and good sound , your fills are very precise, keep it up

[@iainctduncan]

This is gold.

[@nicmakro2010]

Thank you very much!!!

[@12alozada]

Thanks for the practice tips! Great video!

[@hendrikpleysier3722]

Great stuff/teachings on the hi hat use this opens an new world for me in jazz drumming. been watching bill Steward (live) hihat creativity on hihat too..jack dejonette is another creative hi hat user...

[@MegaLJ3]

Thanx rick, you're an inspiration.

[@rickdior]

Thank you!

[@williamthompson5078]

That’s my problem I don’t know how and what to practice.

[@bobweber4140]

This is great content love this channel thankyou

[@davemoraata517]

I always run to James Gadson grooves for any kind of Funk or to strengthen my 16ths. Lovely Day by Bill Withers helped my coordination a ton!

[@olejakob9216]

I totally agree about practicing with music, i am teaching myself mostly by jamming, I know you just said that here that you’re not a fan of people doing that because you can get stuck in patterns, I agree on that but that’s when I find practice/jamming to music helps cause I jam to all kinds of music and I know what I’m not good at, most of it I guess but one big thing is ride and hi hat rhythms, so I’m always listening extra closely for that ride pattern trying to hold the rhythm with my hand, it’s such a difficult part of the set , specially in jazz I think cause I’m constantly afraid of hitting it too hard making it too loud while still not loose the rhythm by playing too loosely or light...🙈

[@vincentrizzi4929]

Awesome 👍 thanks

[@bshubo]

this is great! thank you!

[@rhythmfield]

A lot of great advice here. I appreciated the hi hat ostinato at the beginning. This is one very specific area that really requires focus and daily practice, like I did with my teacher Gary Chester; we did was ostinatos in different voices around the set in each limb, always with a metronome. Request: would you please devote a video to some workout ideas with focused on this great hi hat pattern you are doing, or have you done one already? Thank you.

[@rickdior]

Hi Greg I have several videos using this ostinato if you look at my drum set playlist and check out anything in 3/4 or 6/8. Gary was great....I had lots of friends in NYC who studied with him in the early 80's and they loved him.

[@DenisRichardJr]

Thank you Rick. You have confirmed things I've been doing for years. It's good to know. Love the channel ❤👍🥁 Respects from Montréal, Canada. 🇨🇦

[@rickdior]

Thanks Denis Hope you are doing well in the great city of Montréal.

[@blainerobey4452]

Hey Rick, thanks for this video! I have a quick question about playing along with music. When you do this, do you try to play exactly what the drummer is doing-all of the hits/fills note for note? Or do you just play over whatever is happening? Thank you!

[@rickdior]

When I was a kid I transcribed hundreds of tunes and in that case I would learn things pretty much exactly as they were on the recordings. These days I do not play over anything that already has drums on it except when I am teaching. You should feel free to experiment and play what you want but first you should learn what is on the recording to the best of your ability.

[@blainerobey4452]

@@rickdior awesome! That’s helpful to know. Thanks Rick!

[@MonacoRocha]

Hi Rick .. Great Videos ...!! Where do you live ?

[@Savantjazzcollective]

Great vid, Rick can you please let us all know why and how you ended up in N.Carolina? You are soo great that i wish that I could see playing at smalls in NY and the like...

[@rickdior]

My wife (then girlfriend) got a gig with the Charlotte Symphony. A year later I took an audition and I got one too. I wanted to get out of New York in a bad way. It was not a pretty scene there in the late 80's as crime was high as was the cost of living and gentrification was beginning to push musicians out of Manhattan. It worked out great and we lived happily ever after! I made my living playing in NYC Jazz clubs for 10 years. Believe me, other than the great musicians it is not a great place live a life unless you are wealthy..

[@koladeemmanuelolukolapo8792]

Thanks for this information...... Greetings from Nigeria Sir

[@koladeemmanuelolukolapo8792]

Please how can I contact you?

[@rickdior]

Hi Kolade You can email me at [e-mail] Thanks Rick

[@williamthompson5078]

What do you think about the Level System?

[@johncrookston9980]

Great practice tips, Rick! Thank you. Question: what is your take on practice drum kits? Currently, I've started practicing on a Prologix Practickit, mostly because the pads are very quiet. I am looking at getting some low volume cymbals like the Zildjian L80's to complete the set up. I have always practiced on an acoustic set in a basement, but we have moved to a smaller house and I'm trying to put together a quieter practice setup. Your thoughts and recommendations would be really appreciated.

[@rickdior]

Hi John When I was a kid I had a Ralph C. Pace "Set the Pace" rubber pad practice kit. I hated the thing but it was the only set my parents could afford at the time. Since then I have not kept up on practice kits but several of my online students use them and they seem to like them. I think a better alternative would be to use the quiet drum heads now made by several manufacturers as well as the quiet cymbals you mention. I have a student in France who uses this setup and it seems to work well. If you have the space and finances the best thing to do would be to build a drum booth in your basement. I did this in my NYC apartment in the 80's and I was able to practice 8 hours a day without any fuss from my neighbors. I outline this in my acoustics video which you can find here on you tube at kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z4i1doJ7h5WIrtU Good Luck

[@DogbadTV]

Thanks for those latest two videos, "Practicing Tips" & "Health and Wellness". Very good ideas and the two videos compliment each other well. One thing I have heard from teachers, and have practiced myself with some good results is: practicing on a rolled-up towel so as to strengthen the wrists. I have never heard you mention this- Do you ever do it or can you recommend it? Why or why not?

[@rickdior]

Hi Thanks for the great question and for watching. You may not like my answer. I do not like to play on anything other than a real drum head. Even the practice pads I use have real heads. I strongly feel that if you play on very soft surfaces such as pillows, towels etc. a lot you will end up using too much wrist when you play on a real drum. This will lead to overplaying the drum and the lack of development of the bounce which for me is the most important stroke. I have had many adult students who were told to practice on pillows and towels by teachers and they were always tight and had two dynamic levels-loud and louder. They are coming to me to learn better technique but it is extremely difficult to get them to relax their hands and play with a bounce stroke. It is very easy to use too much wrist when playing since our natural inclination as tool users is to use the largest muscles available and not our fingers and bounce strokes. It just does not come naturally to most folks. Practice on the surface you will be performing on with a variety of stick weights. This will be enough for you to develop the strength and endurance for a long healthy career.

[@larrytate1657]

I agree with your experience of that except for double strokes practicing on a softer surface helped me get my doubles on my low tuned floor toms better. Your tuning is higher than mine though. I play a lot of rock so my floor toms are very gushy.

[@DogbadTV]

@@rickdior Mmmmm- thanks!

[@pharcydebug]

Love your videos. Just curious, is there anything you've discovered in life that has improved your drumming that isn't directly related to drumming, for example, things like exercise /yoga / meditation? Cheers from the UK

[@rickdior]

Hi I try to walk 5 miles a day. That helps clear my mind. Being married helps as well. My wife takes care of a lot of things which gives me more time to practice (don't tell her I said that).

[@pharcydebug]

@@rickdior Excellent , thanks for the response :)

[@PL-oc7vn]

FREAKING DELICIOUS!!!!!

[@philliph2118]

What drum kit is this?

[@rickdior]

It's a Doc Sweeney African Olivewood stave set.