Shadowing Practice: 3 Things I Practice Everyday - Drum Lesson - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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Now this isn't one of the three things I'm going to show you today
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Now this isn't one of the three things I'm going to show you today
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but it is something I'm practicing a lot right now which is basically just sitting down on the kit and improvising
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because I've got the Meinl drum festival coming up in about three weeks
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and a big part of festivals and drum clinics in general is improvising.
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And it's not always that you set out to do a solo,
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it's just that maybe there's a Q&A that says hey that thing that you always do with your left foot,
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what is that?
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And it's like, oh, it's,
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you know, I just kind of add in a chick and then all of a sudden you're just going...
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So you have to have your improv chops ready for those moments.
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Now let's get into this lesson,
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three things that I practice every day.
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The first thing I do when I sit down on any kit,
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especially because I've got a kit at home with some practice pads on it.
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Then I've got my private lesson room that has a kit that I play on a lot.
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They're all the same size,
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but they're slightly different angles.
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And then I've got this kit.
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The first thing I do is I try to get acquainted with the drum set and especially the pedal tension.
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And the reason I say pedal tension is because I've never adjusted any of my pedals.
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However DW sends them, I take them out of the box.
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I put, I mean, unless they were extremely loose or extremely tight,
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I've never adjusted any of them.
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I put them on the kit and I just allow my foot to get used to them.
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So this exercise is really simple.
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Sixteenth notes around the drum set.
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Let's assume we're dealing with a four piece kit here.
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We've got one E and a,
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two E and a, three E and a, four E and a.
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The orchestration isn't that important but I'm trying to get used to the position of the drums,
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try to eliminate rim hits and things like that.
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But on 3E and a 4E
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and a I put a bass drum between every note so it essentially becomes thirty second notes.
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So we have 1E and a 2E and a 3E
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and a 3E and a 4E and a 4E and a 1E
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and a 2E and a Let's give it a shot with a click.
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Link in the description.
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Whoa!
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Singles between hand and foot,
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it's honestly something that's been frustrating me since I was a kid.
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I can never get it clean enough.
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I can never get it quite to
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that Vinnie Cagliotta level on the Buddy Rich Memorial Scholarship concert where he does it
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while he's pushing up his glasses looking at Dave.
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It's the best.
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It's just the best moment ever and I always think like,
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oh, I'll do that and then I go,
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yeah, I'm not going to do that.
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So you might be asking though,
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why not just do just singles?
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And I definitely do that quite a bit for endurance,
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but the thing with that is you're getting used to this rhythm.
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You're just staying there the whole time and your foot kind of adapts to that.
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What I like about this exercise is that your foot is stagnant and it has to jump in and be on time.
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So that not being used,
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then being used, not being used,
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I think that's much more practical.
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Because if you think about a groove like this.
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Those three hits, that's what we're doing here.
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So having that, if you're good at playing singles in between your hands,
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you're going to be good at doing it like this.
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In a groove.
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Not that you would ever have to do this for very long.
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At least I hope you don't.
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But that's what this exercise is all about
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and like I said it gets me acquainted with the position of the drums as well as the tension of the pedal.
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Moving on to number two.
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So every day I pick a new groove environment to improvise inside of and to explore.
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Obviously in this instance it's the Gadsden Groove,
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single handed 16th note groove.
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And I just sit in that pocket,
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I sit in that tempo,
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in that feel and start exploring things.
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Doing some 30 second notes.
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Is that too busy?
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Probably.
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Ooh, could I interject some triplet stuff going on here?
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And can I mess around with little hints of different subdivisions other than the straight 16th notes on the hi-hat?
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Also, I'm trying to find how far can I explore this thing without losing the actual groove itself.
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Naturally, sometimes I go too far,
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then I have to rein it back in,
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and sometimes I think I'm being a little too safe,
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and I need to explore a little bit more.
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But the goal here is to pick a groove,
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any groove, and just start to explore it a little bit more,
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and learn how to feel a little bit more free,
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so you're not so trapped inside that groove that groove.
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And finally number three this might be a bit torturous for some of you
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but trust me you will grow so much from it and it is soloing with a restriction.
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So that restriction could be a foot ostinato you could have a oh maybe like a little splash close close.
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So you're soloing over this.
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Oh I wish I could actually play that instead of just say that.
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No way I can play that.
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I'm trying.
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Woo!
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Come on biscuits and buttercups.
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Anyways, like I was saying, soloing over a restriction.
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So the restriction in this instance,
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quarter note challenge, but a little bit different than how I showed it in the Meinl videos a few years ago.
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In this case, I'm just working on a specific part of the skills that I feel like I'm lacking in.
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By the way, I got this idea from a solo that Terry Angoli did with Christian McBride.
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So I did not make this up.
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I saw him do a solo,
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and I just thought, that'd be easy.
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And then I went, yeah, I think we're good.
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So I had to practice it.
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Now where I feel like I'm lacking is right hand and bass drum together on the hi-hat against this.
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So you can think of like what could you do?
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You can do in between.
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Maybe some odd groupings.
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What would fives sound like against this?
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Cool.
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Some polyrhythmic stuff.
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.
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Things like that.
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So I'm just working on that.
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It sounds like this.
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Ah, come on!
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.
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So as you can tell,
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I'm still working on it.
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And that's what I'm trying to tell you is I'm practicing these every day because I don't have them down.
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If I had it down I would just nail a solo out for you and go like,
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Yep, still working on it.
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It's like, are you?
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Or are you just making yourself feel better by playing things you can already play?
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I don't have this down yet.
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I'm trying things.
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I'm going for them.
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And I'm physically not able to do that.
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Those threes?
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Ah, I want those threes!
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And they're within reach, right?
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Like, you know what it's like to have something within reach where you're like,
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I can think of it and I'm so close to do it,
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but I just can't.
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So what's it going to take?
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Oh yeah, practice.
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So, YouTubers, I hope you got something out of seeing a little bit of the process,
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seeing what I'm working on right now,
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every single day, chipping away at it one note at a time,
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not getting disgusted with myself,
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not thinking, oh, I'm the worst drummer ever.
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It's like, it's just going to take time.
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I'm going to have to chip away at this stuff,
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and so will you for whatever it is you're working on.
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Hope you enjoyed this.
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Please like, subscribe, all that good stuff.
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And if you're going to the Meinl Drum Festival,
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I will see you there.
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If you're going to the UK Drum Show,
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I will see you there.
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I've got my own room this year called the Mike Johnson Education Room.
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It'll be me, Richard Spaven,
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Carter McLean, and Matt Griner from August Burns Red.
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So I'm very excited about that.
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So hopefully I'll see you there.
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If not, I will just talk to you in the comments below.
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Oh yeah, and check the description.
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Everyone asks about notation and like this metronome, all this stuff.
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All the information you could ever need is in the description below.
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But until next time, go practice.

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About This Lesson

In this lesson, you will explore essential drumming techniques that can enhance your overall musicianship. The instructor emphasizes the importance of improvisation and daily practice routines, which serve not only to refine drumming skills but also to build confidence in performance settings such as festivals and clinics. By focusing on developing a familiarity with different drum kits and their pedal tensions, you'll learn how to manipulate rhythm effectively. This lesson will offer valuable insights into the mindset of a musician who practices regularly and improvises effectively during performances.

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

  • Improvising - Creating or performing spontaneously without preparation.
  • Q&A - A question-and-answer session, often used to engage an audience.
  • Pedal tension - The tightness of the bass drum pedal, which affects how responsive it is.
  • Orchestration - The arrangement of sounds in music, particularly in relation to drums.
  • Sixteenth notes - A rhythmic value representing one-fourth of a beat in music.
  • Shadowing - A learning exercise where you mimic spoken language to improve pronunciation.
  • Frustrating - Causing annoyance or exasperation, particularly when learning new skills.
  • Rhythm - A strong, regular repeated pattern of movement or sound.

Practice Tips

To make the most of your learning experience, consider employing shadowing techniques while watching this drum lesson video. Start by playing the video at a comfortable speed, focusing on key phrases and drumming terminology. Pause the video after each key section and try repeat what you hear. This method will allow you to improve your speaking skills while also gaining insights into drumming practices.

Try to mimic not only the sounds but also the rhythm and intonation as you practice. Pay attention to the pacing of the instructor during their explanations, as it can help you adjust your speaking speed when engaging in IELTS speaking practice. Engaging in this kind of practice will help you learn English with YouTube content related to music and drumming, while also refining your language skills. As you become more comfortable, increase the speed, gradually pushing your limits in both language and rhythm. This immersive shadow speak approach will bolster your confidence and enhance your understanding, making it easier for you to apply these skills in real-world situations or performances.

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

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