[justadrummer]

I found that I wasn't pushing myself at all. I was stuck in a rut of playing the same licks and beats.

I started seeking out new fills on youtube.

Here is one example:

YouTube - DRUM LESSON Steve Gadd Drum Fill

[Louie J.]

If I feel like I'm doing the same stuff over and over, I'll remove a tom so I'm forced to come up with new stuff. I recently started going back over drum rudiments and trying to play them with my feet, or between my feet and the snare.

[Stickman]

First of all, hitting a learning plateau is normal , Its your mind taking time to collate all the new data. Second It,s absolutely nothing to be concerned about or ashamed of it's as I said, normal . Finally Most of the suggestions given in this thread are great ways to speed up breaking in to the next level.

[dtxtremeiiispecial]

Screamin' awesome thread!

[Stickman]

Ok, A very Important one is to just take a break. Give yourself a day or two off and let your mind rest. If you practice a lot, you 'll be hungry for some drum time and new things will come a little easier the next time you hit the skins.

[dtxtremeiiispecial]

Pyrochazm,
Please allow me to quietly and humbly suggest that Hunter S. Thompson, in that quote, was wrong. I simply inhaled all the Fear and Loathing stuff -- he was my favorite author for awhile -- but it is all about choosing the life to live, and choosing again and again, as necessary. Hunter, sadly, stopped choosing. Just my thought. Absolutely no offense intended.

[butter]

xtreme,
why? why is it about choosing the life to live as opposed to surviving the one you have chosen?
i would personally say that "it" is about both choosing and surviving. i agree that choosing is more important, being that if you choose wisely, it is not difficult to survive.

anyway, please explain your reasoning. i am intrigued

[dtxtremeiiispecial]

Butter,
Point well taken about choosing and surviving. But Hunter Thompson committed suicide.
I guess he had trouble surviving; I guess that's what he's saying in the quote.

I guess the way I see it is, if your life is in jeopardy, it's time to make some smart, fast moves -- time to make some definite choices and changes to get yourself in a better place.
Time to make some significant changes, some lifechanging moves -- not just to try to survive.

Of course, I may not know what I'm talking about on this score. But that's what I was thinking. I guess I would have a hard time using Hunter Thompson's words as a guide.

[butter]

that makes sense.

i dont think i could use them as a guide, either. especially after taking time to think about what they really mean.

thanks

[dtxtremeiiispecial]

I'm no moderator here, but I feel that the above post is inappropriate. It has nothing to do with drums and is simply a commerical for pharmaceuticals.