SILENT DRUM PRACTICE E-Book

Micha Fromm

• Herausgeber: tredition
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 131

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025

Beschreibung

SILENT DRUM PRACTICE Practicing Drums without Drums - at Home ad on the Road (#1 Amazon Bestseller in Germany) The drums are a great instrument, but it is in the nature of things that they are also a very loud instrument. I often hear from students or colleagues that they couldn't practise certain things on the drums at all or only very briefly because the neighbours or parents complained about the volume. Or because the free rehearsal time overlapped with other appointments, or because the walk to the rehearsal room is too long and they were too comfortable after all. Or because they don't even own a drum kit yet. Do you know that too? In this book, I'll show you that there are lots of very useful exercises that you can do completely without drums. Noiseless to low-noise - at home or on the go. The interactive book contains 30 exercises with 38 videos on topics such as: -Clapping and counting exercises -Writing and reading notes -Transcribing songs -Musical expression and creativity -Learning to listen -The imaginary drum kit -Structured practising -Motivation and inspiration -Pad exercises -Mental practising -Stroke technique and polyrhythms

Leseprobe

Micha Fromm

Silent Drum Practice

Practicing Drums without Drums – at Home and on the Road

`This book is packed with lots of exercises and ideas´ (Jazz Drummer World)

`A wonderful gift´ (Oli Rubow)

`Highly recommendable´ (Christin Neddens)

´A very comprehensive book which offers many creative ideas for practicing´ (off-beat Magazin)

`A brilliant book´ (Magascene)

`An absolute inspiration for drummers´ (BOE Music Academy)

`I am very enthusiastic about this book´ (The Planet Drum)

`SILENT DRUM PRACTICE is simply brilliant´ (Der Trommel Talk)

© 2025 Micha Fromm

Website: www.michafromm.de

Printed and distributed on behalf of the author:

tredition GmbH, Heinz-Beusen-Stieg 5, 22926 Ahrensburg, Germany

The work, including its parts, is protected by copyright. The author is responsible for the content. Any use is not permitted without the author's consent. Publication and distribution are carried out on behalf of the author, to be reached at:

Michael Fromm, Badenstedter Str. 11, 30449 Hannover, Germany

Contact address according to EU product safety regulation:

[email protected]

Book typesetting by tredition, created with the tredition Designer

Cover design, cover photo, typesetting & layout, music notation, graphics, photos, video recording, video editing: Micha Fromm

Author photo book cover and portrait: Madita Biemann

Set construction photos: Katharina Fromm, Sarah Diemert

Live photos: Anima Nigra Photography, Emeraldpics, Marina Naumann

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank all the lovely people without whom this book would never have been possible!

Thanks to my parents Birgit and Wolfgang and to my sister Jule for the continuous support, the good music and all the love.

Thanks to Hans-Martin Chemnitz for the great lessons at drummer's focus Cologne, which completely changed my playing technique. Some of the inspiring content of the lessons can also be found in this book.

Thanks to all the companies that support me and provide me with great instruments. In detail, these are Evans Drumheads, Istanbul Mehmet cymbals, Los Cabos Drumsticks, Yamaha Drums, PPC Music, Audix Microphones, Ahead Armor Cases, SkyGel Damper Pads, Drumsigns, DG De Gregorio, Drumprax, Ultimate Ears, Fisher Amps, Schlagwerk, Latin Percussion and Handmade Custom Drums.

Thanks to Moritz Amrhein and Daniel Schwarz from D'Addario, Thilo Schulz and Katja Kaiser from Musik Wein, Robert Mühlbauer from PPC Music, Sibi Siebert from Sky Music Distribution, Matthias Höbeler from Trius Music and Nico Nevermann from Gewa Music for the excellent service and the great support!

Thanks to Madita Biemann for the inspiring photo shoot.

A thousand thanks also to my dear colleagues Felix Krafft and Phillip Wilke for their thorough proofreading and valuable input.

Thank you to all my dear musician colleagues with whom I have been able to share the stage in recent years for the inspiration.

Last but not least, I would like to thank my beloved family, my wife Katharina and my son Jonathan for everything.

Table of Contents

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Acknowledgments

Foreword

Music as a Language

Speak, Listen, Write and Read Rhythms

Goal 1: Learn Binary Letters

Exercise 1.1: Rhythm Alphabet of 16th Notes

Exercise 1.2: Simplifying 16th Note Values

Exercise 1.3: Rhythm Language in 16th Notes

Exercise 1.4: Rhythm Dictation in 16th Notes

Exercise 1.5: Reading Exercise in 16th Notes

Goal 2: Learn Ternary Letters

Exercise 2.1: Rhythm Alphabet of 8th Note Triplets

Exercise 2.2: Rhythm Language in 8th Note Triplets

Exercise 2.3: Rhythm Dictation in 8th Note Triplets

Exercise 2.4: Reading Exercise in 8th Note Triplets

Goal 3: Talk through the Instrument

Exercise 3: Hand Sets of Binary and Ternary Letters

Have I Made Myself Clear?

Goal 4: Train Musical Expression

Exercise 4.1: Groove Parameter Workout

Exercise 4.2: Groove Analysis in a Song

Goal 5: Repeat Yourself

Exercise 5: Play it Again

Tension and Release

Goal 6: Create Musical Tension

Exercise 6.1: Tighten the Bow

Exercise 6.2: Analyzing the Mood of a Song

Listening is Important

Goal 7: Conscious Play

Exercise 7: Mean What You Play

Goal 8: Capacity to Listen?

Exercise 8.1: Where is Your Performance Limit?

Exercise 8.2: Listen to Your Fellow Musicians

Exercise 8.3: Clapping a Canon

Exercise 8.4: I´M Packing My Suitcase

The Song Makes the Drum Part

Goal 9: Capture the Form of the Song

Exercise 9: Write Down Your Song

Body, Movement & Coordination

The Drums Follow Your Lead

Goal 10: Economical Playing on the Drums

Exercise 10: Set up Your Drums

Body Awareness is Important

Goal 11: Relaxed Muscles

Exercise 11.1: Don't Forget to Stretch

Exercise 11.2: Let Your Arms Dangle

Motion Sequences on the Drums

Goal 12: Natural Direction of Motion

Exercise 12: Follow the Stick

Goal 13: Maximum Rebound

Exercise 13.1: Find the Sweet Spot

Exercise 13.2: Train the Full stroke

Goal 14: Push & Pull the Double Strokes

Exercise 14.1: Stick Seesaw

Exercise 14.2: Push & Pull Technique

Goal 15: Loud and Quiet

Exercise 15.1: Level Technique Pre-Exercise

Exercise 15.2: Level Technique Execution

Goal 16: Optimal Kick

Exercise 16.1: Tune Your Pedal

Exercise 16.2 Your Feet Among Themselves

Clapping and Counting for the Right Timing

Goal 17: Strengthen Your Pulse Awareness

Exercise 17.1: Clapping and Counting the Pulse

Exercise 17.2: Clapping Duet 16th Notes

Exercise 17.3: Singing Drum Grooves and Fills

Goal 18: Optimize Motion Sequences

Exercise 18: The Hand Set Counts

Why You Only Need 4 Rudiments

Goal 19: Apply Rudiments

Exercise 19: Set the Rudiment to Music

Coordination is Everything

Goal 20: Train Hand-Foot Coordination

Exercise 20.1: Rudiments with Hand and Foot

Exercise 20.2: Drum Grooves with Bare Hands

Exercise 20.3: Making Music with Drum Grooves

Exercise 20.4 Always one Less

Exercise 20.5 Hand-Foot Canon

Exercise 20.6 The Weak Side and the Syncopes

Exercise 20.7 Who is Leading Now?

Homemade Polyrhythmics

Goal 21: Understand Polyrhythms

Exercise 21.1: Dice Your Polyrhythm

Exercise 21.2: Playing the Note Value Pyramid

Goal 22: Apply Polyrhythmics

Exercise 22.1: Groupings via the Pulse

Exercise 22.2: Modulate Motifs Rhythmically

Mentality, Motivation & Inspiration

Why Do You Play the Drums?

Goal 23: A Clear Vision

Exercise 23: Writing a Why/How/What List

Inspiration

Goal 24: Be Inspired

Exercise 24.1: Transcribe a Drum Solo

Exercise 24.2: Copy a Personality

Exercise 24.3: Find a Band

Exercise 24.4: Take Lessons From your Favorite Drummer

Exercise 24.5: Visiting Concerts

Exercise 24.6: Reading

Exercise 24.7: Listening to Podcasts

Exercise 24.8: Watch Drum Videos

Exercise 24.9: Clear Your Head

Creativity

Goal 25: Be Creative

Exercise 25.1: Limitation Means Liberation

Exercise 25.2: Guessing Song Forms

Expand Mindset

Goal 26: A New Perspective

Exercise 26.1: Play Another Instrument

Exercise 26.2: The Producer View

Goal 27: You Are the Boss

Exercise 27: A Matter of Your Attitude

Preparation, Stage Presence and Stage Fright

Goal 28: Confident on Stage

Exercise 28.1: The Right Preparation

Exercise 28.2: Being the Center of Attention

Exercise 28.3: Improve Self-Awareness

Practice Makes Perfect

Goal 29: Effective Practicing

Exercise 29.1: Playing is Not Practicing

Exercise 29.2: Musical Motivation

Exercise 29.3: Write an Exercise Plan

Exercise 29.4: Many Small Units

Exercise 29.5: Moving Microscope

Exercise 29.6: Control is Better

Mental Practice

Goal 30: Use Mental Practice

Exercise 30.1: Imagine a Song

Exercise 30.2: Imagine Your Concert

Exercise 30.3: Integrating Mental Practice

Notes

SILENT DRUM PRACTICE

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Acknowledgments

Foreword

Notes

SILENT DRUM PRACTICE

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Foreword

The drums are a great instrument, in my opinion even the best instrument in the world! However, it is in the nature of things that they are also a relatively loud instrument that you can't play everywhere and at all times without problems. I often hear from students that they couldn't practice certain things on the drums at all or only very briefly because the neighbors or parents complained about the volume. Or because the free rehearsal time overlapped with other appointments, or because the walk to the rehearsal room is too long and they were too comfortable. Or because they don't even own a drum kit yet. Do you know this too?

The good news is that there are many very useful exercises that you can do completely without drums. Noiseless to low-noise - at home and on the road. I'll show you how this works in this book.

My book is divided into three sections, which you can read and work on one after the other, but also independently of each other.

In the first section, Music as a Language, I introduce you to my concept of rhythmic language and musical articulation. Here you will learn how to write and read music in a structured way and how to implement rhythms with the help of effective hand movements. It's also about training your listening skills, building musical tension and analyzing song forms.

The second section, Body, Movement & Coordination, focuses on body awareness, stroking technique, movement sequences and coordination. I'll show you timing exercises that work without a metronome using only clapping and counting, as well as polyrhythms and rudiments on the pad.

In the third section, Mentality & Inspiration, you will learn to mentally practice how much your attitude matters and how to keep your motivation and inspiration high. Other topics include sound, improvisation and creativity.

In each section, there are several goals to be achieved in order to train the skills mentioned. There are one or more exercises for each goal. The parts of the exercises marked with an Additional Level are slightly more demanding in terms of level. You should only complete these once you have mastered the previous part of the respective exercise. There is also a conclusion at the end of each chapter.

For each exercise, it is noted whether it can be performed quietly or completely silently. This allows you to decide which exercises you want to do at home or on the road and at what time of day or night.

Exercises for which you need drum sticks are marked with the sticks symbol. For many other exercises, you are free to play with your hands on your thighs or with sticks on the pad.

In addition, interactive exercises are marked with a dice symbol.

For each exercise, it is noted which tools you need to perform it. The following tools are mainly required:

• Click (metronome or app)

• Recorder (e.g. cell phone)

• Timer (e.g. cell phone)

• A pair of dice

• Writing utensils

• Practice pad

• Headphones

• Sticks

Many of the exercises in this book are not only suitable for drummers, but also for all other instrumentalists.

There are 38 videos to accompany the book as well as further links that are linked via barcodes. The counting in the videos is in German Language. You can use English subtitles if needed. I have recorded some videos without counting and metronome for the sake of clarity. Simply scan the barcode with your smartphone's camera app and the corresponding link will open automatically. If you would prefer to have a list of the links, please send me an email to: [email protected]

I wish you lots of fun and success working with my book!

 Music as a Language

Music is a form of language. As a musician, you communicate within your band and with the audience. You can express your emotions musically, create tension arcs, react and improvise.

Speak, Listen, Write and Read Rhythms

So that you can act as freely as possible, it is important for you as a drummer that you can speak, listen, write and read in the field of rhythm. Speaking means articulating rhythms, i.e. clapping or playing. The corresponding counterpart from spoken language is listening to rhythms. Being able to write down rhythms in musical notation and read them are the necessary skills of written language, analogous to learning a foreign language.

You also need a large rhythm vocabulary. You can imagine this, analogous to any other language, as words made up of individual letters.

My version of the rhythm alphabet1 consists of a total of 12 letters. The letters are created by the various possible combinations of playing a beat (circle with filling) and not playing a beat (circle without filling).

For the straight binary grid, there are four binary letters, for the odd ternary grid, there are eight ternary letters, as shown below. Any rhythm can be expressed with the binary and ternary letters.

Based on the principle of the following exercises, you can generate an infinite number of exercises for at home or on the road and train your ability to listen out for music and play rhythms, your note-reading and

writing skills and your timing at the same time. In future, you will be able to read any sheet music and write down your own ideas or transcribe drum parts at any time without any problems.

Rhythm Alphabet

The rhythm alphabet for the binary and ternary letters is shown below.

Binary Letters

Ternary Letters

 Goal 1: Learn Binary Letters

Skills: Reading and Writing Music, Transcribing, Timing