Pillow poll - Lets get some good responses!!

[vdrumforGod]

How many people that when they started to use pillows noticed a much greater improvment in their hand speed and fluidity compared to when they just used a pad or something with rebound? And did anybody end up with the bad habit of "playing into the drum".


Brian

[Michael Render]

Practicing on a pillow got my double stroke from bad to good. With no ill effects. I am a believer.

[tomrbland]

Whats this? I think i have missed something along the line!!

cheers

[Herl]

I regularly practice with one or two practice pads and one or two pillows at the same time. That helps me develop fingers as well as wrist at the same time. I find this especially useful when I am playing my acoustic kit because my toms do not have much rebound if any, whereas the snare and cymbals have a LOT of rebound.

I find that it helps me going from snare to toms and back to snare without any significant problems.

[JohnQ Public]

Practicing on a pillow got my double stroke from bad to good. With no ill effects. I am a believer.

Could you go into a little more detail with this one Mr. Render. I am trying to improve my double stroke roll but the technique I have been using is the throw and catch. I tried to practice on a pillow, but without any rebound I couldn't execute the throw and catch like I could on a practice pad or my snare. So what exactly did you practice on the pillow that helped your double stroke roll ? Thanks for any help.

[stickinthemud]

All this pillow talk! My mother warned me about this sort of thing!

[Herl]

All this pillow talk! My mother warned me about this sort of thing!

Yeah ... mine did too

[Michael Render]

Practicing on the pillow is going to develop finger muscle and control. Here is a quote from Steve Anisman, a drummer and writer, who can explain it much better that I.

On a pillow, however, there is no natural bounce, so the fingertips and the wrists work in a more intricate way to produce the roll. The trick is to play the first stroke with the wrist, and the second stroke with the fingertips. As you try to produce a double stroke roll on a pillow, your hands will naturally make the correct compensations - it isn't as hard as it sounds, and it has dramatic benefits. Learning this technique will certainly increase your control over your instrument, which is a worthy goal for any musician. It will allow you to roll with brushes or mallets, and to more accurately control each note you play on any surface. In basic terms, learning this technique strengthens the relationship between your hands and your instrument - the sticks (or brushes).

[Herl]

Steve Anisman: The trick is to play the first stroke with the wrist, and the second stroke with the fingertips

This is actually a neat little trick... I must admit, I never thought of that. What I did was to use the pillows to practice the RRLL RLRR LLRR LRLL pattern using wrist only and got considerable speed eventually.

Thank you very much Mike, now I can maybe build even more speed.

[hampis]

does the size of the pillow matter ? small, big,goose wings, anatomy pillows ?

[Michael Render]

does the size of the pillow matter ? small, big,goose wings, anatomy pillows ?

Yes. it has to be 40cm by 30cm and stuffed with 2 week-old chick feathers.

Just kidding. It can be any pillow. It should be soft though.

[hampis]

Yes. it has to be 40cm by 30cm and stuffed with 2 week-old chick feathers.

Just kidding. It can be any pillow. It should be soft though.

ok tonight no sleeping,just pillow practising

[JohnQ Public]

ok tonight no sleeping,just pillow practising

Not to sure the wife will like that Hampis.

[hampis]

Not to sure the wife will like that Hampis.

lolol. There r 3bedrooms here to chose

[Abecedary]

Playing on a pillow is an absolute must, IMHO. A relatively firm pillow, nice thick marching snare sticks, and a big pile of rudiments will help anyone develop excellent stick control. Once you have that, adapting it to a set is pretty straightforward. Of course, it does nothing to help your feet. : p