Some people practice constantly. You read articles or talk to guy's who claim they practice two, three or more hours a day, everyday. The fact of the matter is most of those guys do nothing but play drums for a living, or, like a lot of us during our adolescence, are temporarily parentally subsidized, and a great amount of time to practice is available. Unfortunately that has not been the case for me for a good while. As a matter of fact I've been working my regular day job on the average of between 9-10 hours a day for a looonnng time, longer than I really care to think about. The way I've got it figured if I had practiced the same amount of hours that I've put into my day job for all of these years I would now be drumming for the "Late Show" with David Letterman instead of creating this webpage for free. How lucky for you that didn't happen because what you're reading right now might have cost you and "Late Show's" drummer Anton Fig big bucks!

Life is not a bowl of cherries for all of us, and what practice really comes down to is making the most of the time you have. If your young with few responsibilities then take advantage of that situation, believe me it will change sooner than later. Time is such a precious commodity, this you may have already discovered, or will find out later in life. Get yourself in a routine. Try to set aside some time everyday to practice. Make it interesting by learning new things. Talk to your drum instructor about new challenges. Listen to different types of music and practice those styles. The last thing you want to do is to get bored by doing the same old things day after day. There are soooo many new things that could be learned that it truly boggles small minds like mine. Remember that the world's greatest drummers have practiced their rear ends off to get that way.

I like to "veg" out and watch TV as much as anybody else. So what I do to make that time a bit more productive, and still be able to rot in front of primetime, is have my trusty old practice pad in front of me. I have it strategically positioned between the couch and the tube. It's always there, unless the kid's have played with it - they like to throw it like a Frisbee. Funny, they don't seem to have the same amount of respect for it that I do. So I sit down to mindlessly cuddle up to whatever garbage the networks are spewing and *presto* I'm practicing. OK, so it's not a complete drum set up but I do get a lot out of it. Familiarity is a big playing key for me. Practice keeps me familiar with my old rudiment friends, so on the weekends they can come out proud, sounding fresh and crisp. The old saying "Practice Makes Perfect" is absolutely true, and every accomplished musician knows it.

Thanks to the "Late Show" for use of their logo.