What Should I Practise on Drums?
- Rob Bishop
- 7 days ago
- 8 min read
By Rob Bishop | robbishopdrums.com
Quick Answer
The most important things to practise on drums are groove, timing, technique and songs — in that order. Most beginners jump to fills and complex patterns before the fundamentals are solid. A steady groove played in time is more valuable than any complicated beat played sloppily. Start simple, own it completely, then build from there.
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If you’ve just started playing drums, or you’ve been playing for a while but feel like you’re going in circles, one of the most common questions I hear is this: what should I actually be practising?
It sounds simple. But it trips up a huge number of beginners, because most people assume that getting better at drums means learning more stuff. More beats, more fills, more songs, more techniques. Just pile it all on and eventually something amazing will manifest.
That’s not how it works. And I’d argue it’s one of the main reasons so many people stop playing in their first year.
Let me show you a different way to think about it.
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# The Mistake I Made When I First Started
When I first learned drums, everything was played with my dominant hand. I’m right-handed, so my right hand led everything — every beat, every fill, every pattern. And I didn’t question it, because I was ''self-taught'' for a number of years before I finally got lessons and I just thought - “I’m right-handed. That’s just how it’s played.”
What I didn’t understand at the time was that this was seriously limiting me — and I had no idea why.
The realisation came later, when I started looking at the mechanics of what I was actually playing. Take a song like Mr Brightside by The Killers. That funky, driving groove with fast 16th notes on the hi-hat? When you play it properly, hand to hand, you’re playing a single stroke roll. Left right left right, back and forth between your hands, continuous and even and with some dynamic flow.
It’s not a single stroke roll and then a groove. It is a groove. The rudiment and the beat are the same thing.
That was a light-bulb moment for me. Everything in drumming is connected. Your rudimental work doesn’t exist in a separate box from your groove playing. The speed and control you develop with your hands doing exercises directly improves your ability to play a tight, musical beat. And playing grooves in a musical context develops the feel and timing that makes your rudiments sound like music rather than just exercises.
So your practice becomes about everything — not just one thing.
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# Why Groove Should Be at the Centre of Your Practice
Here’s something worth thinking about: how much time does a drummer spend playing a groove, versus flying around the kit doing fills and solos? (unless your Terry Bozio and/or Thomas Lang!)
A lot more. The vast majority of what a drummer does in a real musical setting is groove. Keeping the band locked in, serving the song, holding the pocket. Fills exist to punctuate and transition. Solos are rare (how many times do you hear a drum solo on the radio?). But the groove? That’s constant and where the money is.
So if you’re a beginner and you’re spending most of your practice time trying to learn fancy fills, you’re working on the 10% at the expense of the 90%.
Start with groove. Get really good at groove. Everything else builds on it. Learn to play your grooves with the opposite hand, start your drum fill the other way around.
And the good news is that groove practice isn’t boring, it’s actually where you’ll make the most noticeable progress fastest, because it’s where the music lives.
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# What to Actually Practise: The Four Areas
Here’s how I’d structure practice for any beginner drummer. These four areas cover everything you need to develop solid foundations.
# 1. Groove
Start with simple, musical beats. The goal isn’t to learn complicated patterns, complicated grooves played badly, sound horrendous. The goal is to play simple patterns really well (that feeds into complex, syncoptaed rhythms).
Some of the best beginner grooves to start with:
- The Billie Jean groove (Michael Jackson) — a deceptively simple beat that teaches you pocket, feel and restraint
- Another One Bites the Dust (Queen) — a driving rock groove that locks in your kick and snare relationship
- Four on the floor (disco grooves) — kick drum on every beat, teaches you to lock in with a steady pulse
These aren’t “beginner songs” because they’re easy. They’re beginner songs because they’re musical, they sound great when played well, and they teach you fundamentals that apply everywhere.
Always play to a click or a musical backing track. This is non-negotiable. Your internal clock needs constant calibration, and the only way to do that is to play against something external.
# 2. Timing
Timing and groove are related but they’re not the same thing. You can play a groove and still have poor timing. Timing is the underlying discipline that everything else rests on.
The most important practice habit you can build as a beginner is simple: use a metronome/click track. Every. Single. Session.
Start slow. Slower than you think you need to. When something feels easy at a slow tempo, bump it up by a few BPM. Build speed gradually and only when your control is solid.
And when you’re not using a metronome, use a backing track. Playing along to real music trains your ear to lock in with other musicians, which is ultimately what drumming is for.
# 3. Technique and Rudiments
This is where most beginners either go too deep too quickly (obsessing over advanced rudiments before they can play a basic groove) or ignore it entirely (never doing any hand work at all).
The middle path: focus on three rudiments and get really good at them before moving on.
- Single stroke roll — right left right left, alternating hands, evenly and consistently
- Double stroke roll — right right left left, building smoothness and control
- Paradiddle — right left right right, left right left left — one of the most useful patterns in drumming
Here’s the insight I mentioned earlier: when you play 8th notes on the hi-hat, you’re playing a one-handed single stroke roll. When you play 16th notes hand to hand, you’re playing a two-handed single stroke roll. The rudiment and the groove are the same thing expressed differently.
So your rudimental practice isn’t separate from your musical playing, it feeds directly into it. Faster, more controlled hands make for better grooves. Better grooves reinforce the coordination that makes your rudiments cleaner.
Practice rudiments with a click. Start slow, build speed, keep it even.
A great reference point for where this can take you: Simon Phillips, legendary drummer who has played with Toto and countless others. He plays equally well with both hands, ambidextrous in the truest sense. That level of independence doesn’t happen by accident, Simon Phillips has spent years of deliberate, disciplined hand and foot work. You don’t need to be Simon Phillips, but you do need both hands working properly.
# 4. Songs
Playing songs is what ties everything together. It puts your timing, your groove and your technique into a real musical context, which is ultimately the point.
Choose songs that are slightly within your ability, not beyond it. The goal is to play them well, not to struggle through them. A song played cleanly at 80% of the tempo is more valuable than a song played sloppily at full speed.
Play along to the recording. Listen to what the drummer is doing. Try to match the feel, not just the notes.
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#The Key Principle: Simple Things Done Well
There is a lot of mileage in just the basics. You do not need to jump straight into complex syncopated grooves and crazy fills to start sounding good.
A solid, locked-in groove played with good timing and relaxed technique sounds professional. A complicated beat played sloppily does not.
Focus on the simple things done well. This will hold you in good stead as you develop your ability — because the foundations you build now are what everything else gets built on top of.
Don’t rush the fundamentals. Own them.
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# A Practical Beginner Practice Session
Here’s what a 30-minute practice session might look like based on all of the above:
- 5 minutes — Warm up. Single stroke rolls on a practice pad, starting slow, building to a comfortable tempo
- 10 minutes — Groove practice. Pick one beat (e.g. Billie Jean groove) and play it repeatedly to a click or backing track. Focus on consistency and feel
- 10 minutes — Rudiment work. Single strokes, double strokes, paradiddles — with a metronome, slow and controlled
- 5 minutes — Song run-through. Play along to a track you’re working on, or put what you're working on, TO a track.
That’s it. Half an hour, four areas covered. (More time the better though.)
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# FAQ
What is the most important thing to practise on drums as a beginner?
Groove and timing. Most of what a drummer does in a real musical context is groove — playing fills and solos is a small fraction of the job. Getting really solid on simple beats, played in time, is the most valuable thing a beginner can focus on.
Do I need a full drum kit to practise?
No. A practice pad and a metronome is enough to work on your hands and your timing, which are two of the four key areas of beginner practice. A full kit (acoustic or electronic) lets you add groove and song practice on top of that.
How long should I practise drums each day?
Consistency matters more than duration. 20-30 minutes of focused, deliberate practice every day will produce better results than two hours once a week. The key word is focused — not just noodling, but working on specific areas with intention.
What is a single stroke roll and why does it matter?
A single stroke roll is the most fundamental hand technique in drumming — right left right left, alternating hands, evenly and continuously. It matters because it’s not just an exercise: it’s the same motion you use when playing 8th or 16th notes on the hi-hat in a groove. The rudiment and the beat are the same thing. Getting your single stroke roll clean and controlled directly improves your groove playing.
Should I use a metronome when practising drums?
Yes, always. Your internal sense of time needs constant calibration, and the only way to develop it is to regularly play against an external pulse. Start with a metronome, and also practice to musical backing tracks — both develop your timing in slightly different ways.
What songs should a beginner drummer learn first?
Start with songs that have simple, musical grooves — Billie Jean by Michael Jackson, Another One Bites the Dust by Queen, and classic disco or rock tracks with a four-on-the-floor kick pattern. These songs sound great when played well and teach you fundamentals that apply across all styles.
How do rudiments help with groove playing?
Directly. The speed, control and coordination you develop doing rudiments — single strokes, double strokes, paradiddles — feeds straight into your groove playing. When you play 16th notes on the hi-hat hand to hand, you’re playing a single stroke roll. The rudimental work and the groove work aren’t separate — they’re the same skills expressed in different contexts.
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# Ready to Take the Next Step?
If this has given you a clearer sense of what to focus on, the next step is having a structured path to follow, not just individual ideas, but a clear progression from where you are now to where you want to be.
That’s exactly what the Free Drum Starter Pack is built around. It’s a practical guide to your first steps on drums, completely free, and it’ll give you a solid foundation to build everything else on top of.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
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