Film your game

Watch your moves by filming yourself. It's much better than just recording yourself. Before, I recorded myself on tape. It was the only technology available that I had. But you can learn a lot more about what you need to fix in your game when you analyze the video. This is easy to do these days. Thus, there is no reason not to.
You will see how relaxed you are, and your movements are light, smooth, catlike. You can watch Omar Hakim or Manu Katche play without sound and think, "Yeah, those guys are cool." You can just tell they can keep the beat just by looking at them. Likewise, you can turn on the video of yourself without sound, and see how easy and rhythmic you play.


Analyze if you are tense or if your body is in an uncomfortable position. Do you hold your breath when you play fill? Is your drum kit set up so you can easily reach every drum and cymbal? I see people setting their drums in such weird, unplayable ways that it just amazes me. When Porcupine Tree is played at festivals, I walk backstage and I see a lot of drum kits with their drums in such a position that I think, "Dude, these are simply impossible to play." Angles, height, everything should be set so that any drum and cymbal can be easily reached.


Think about where you place your drums and cymbals, how high or low you sit in your chair, how comfortable you are. Are you relaxed? Are you slouching? Are you biting your tongue and doing weird things? All this is a tension that does not contribute to the performance of music with a good feeling. So try to film yourself as you play and take a good look at what you're doing.