🥁 50 Questions to Sharpen Your Drumming and Improve Faster 🎯

Want to get better behind the kit? The key isn’t always more hours—it’s better questions. Use these 50 focused prompts to challenge your technique, timing, coordination, and control. Great for journaling, lessons, or breaking out of a plateau. I found this exercise helpful as a baseline for where I now, not 10 years ago. Try not to get overwhelmed with the amount of questions. Pick a few and work from there.

🧱 Technique & Fundamentals

1. Are my strokes relaxed?

2. Is my grip consistent across different tempos?

3. Can I play double strokes evenly at slow and fast tempos?

4. Is my bass drum technique (heel-up/heel-down) working for me—or holding me back?

5. Do I rebound naturally—or am I forcing the stick?

6. How clean are my flams and drags?

7. Can I play rolls (open and closed) with control?

8. Are my hands and feet synced up properly at all tempos?

9. Am I using the full range of dynamics—or just loud and louder?

10. Can I control ghost notes with precision?

🕒 Time, Subdivisions & Coordination

1. Can I play straight 8ths, triplets, and 16ths smoothly at various tempos?

2. Do I rush or drag when switching between subdivisions?

3. Can I count and feel subdivisions while playing grooves or fills?

4. How accurately can I play with a metronome on 2 & 4—or just on beat 1?

5. Can I comfortably play with a click that drops out randomly?

6. How steady is my pulse when improvising fills?

7. Can I play a groove while singing or counting out loud?

8. How consistent is my hi-hat foot timekeeping?

9. Can I isolate each limb and play it independently?

10. How quickly can I recover from mistakes while keeping time?

🧠 Reading, Repertoire & Memory

1. Can I read standard drum notation?

2. Can I sight-read a basic groove or fill accurately?

3. Do I remember the drum parts to songs I’ve learned weeks ago?

4. Can I transcribe a groove or fill I hear by ear?

5. Have I memorized key rudiments and their sticking patterns?

6. Can I read and play a chart with kicks and hits?

7. Do I know the form of the songs I’m playing—intro, verse, chorus, bridge?

8. Can I play a fill that leads into the next section with confidence?

9. Can I interpret lead sheets or chord charts as a drummer?

10. Have I learned any full albums start to finish?

🧩 Groove, Pocket & Feel

1. Can I tell when I lock in with a bass player on a groove?

2. Do my grooves feel “rushed,” “lazy,” or in the pocket?

3. Can I maintain a consistent groove over multiple minutes?

4. Can I vary ghost notes to change the feel without losing time?

5. Can I switch between straight and swung feel naturally?

6. Can I add syncopation without losing control?

7. Am I able to play with consistent intensity across all limbs?

8. Can I play a groove that makes people want to move?

🔄 Versatility & Adaptability

1. Can I comfortably play in 3/4, 6/8, and odd meters (5/4, 7/8)?

2. Can I mimic grooves from different genres—funk, jazz, Latin, metal?

3. Do I understand clave and how it applies to Latin grooves?

4. Can I adapt my playing to different volume levels (acoustic vs amplified)?

5. How well can I switch styles mid-song if needed?

6. Can I play a shuffle that swings and stays clean?

7. Can I groove convincingly with brushes, rods, or hot rods?

8. Can I set up and tune a drum kit to fit the style I’m playing?

⚙️ Gear, Setup & Ergonomics

1. Is my drum setup optimized for efficiency and comfort?

2. Do I regularly check for loose hardware or tuning issues?

3. Are my cymbals positioned for smooth motion and control?

4. Can I play cleanly on unfamiliar or minimal setups?

✅ Final Tip

Write down 5–10 of these questions that challenge you right now. Focus on them in your next practice session—and revisit them regularly. Progress isn’t magic. It’s deliberate attention.