Each week, each Newsletter is different. Some are anecdotal, some are personal, and some (like this one), are tools to help you move forward in your day-to-day.
My goal is to always create something that is informative, helpful, and hopefully something that shakes things up for you in some shape or form. Something to help you move forward with a little more clarity and direction…
I talk about being ‘world-class’ alot. I do this simply because it’s the standard that I have for myself. But I also do this, as it’s a standard I feel we should ALL strive for, so the more I mention it, the more it sinks in, and the higher the bar will be raised.
Nothing less than our personal best!
If you want to become world-class, and I mean truly world-class, then it’s time to stop messing around.
Too many drummers waste days, weeks, months, and years spinning their wheels—watching endless YouTube videos, scrolling social media, partially learning a lick here and there, but never committing to real progress.
They wonder why they aren’t improving, why they still sound like everyone else, and most importantly, why they aren’t getting the opportunities they hope for.
But here’s the truth—if you give the next six months your full attention, you could actually make more progress than most drummers do in six years.
Have you heard the term ‘going ghost mode’? Or ‘Monk Mode’?
It’s the idea of disappearing for a period of time, and getting a concentrated amount of focused work under your belt, with no distractions, so you can make some serious gains.
I’ve done this a bunch. This method will do anyone, at any level, absolute wonders! But…
I’m especially talking to intermediate-level drummers.
But why intermediate drummers? Because I think that being an intermediate drummer is a death trap unless you make a serious concerted effort to break out of it as fast as possible.
You’ve made some progress, (actually, a decent amount of progress), you’ve had some early wins, and for that, you’re now well and truly out of the beginner phase, so it’s rewarding. It feels great.
You’ve got some decent skills now—you can play some pretty cool things, so, you start patting yourself on the back!
But that’s the trap! Because what happens, in a lot of cases, is you get stuck…
‘Intermediatitis’ sets in. I’ve seen it countless times.
Intermediatitis is a real condition, and you could have it.
What happens is, you start to coast, and most tragically, you start to rest on your laurels.
And I think the worst part of this tragedy is, you don’t actually realize you’re stuck—because you’ve already made some pretty good progress.
The next level—advanced/pro-level drumming—requires a completely different level of focus, time, effort, and discipline. And if you don’t make a conscious decision to level up, you’ll sit in the same spot for years without realizing it.
That’s what we’re talking about today.
Six months. That’s all it takes to separate yourself from the pack, and I want to help you.
I’ve done it. Countless others have too. And so can YOU!
Let’s get into it…
———————–
Stop Effing Around! – The ‘6 Months To World-Class’ Blueprint
STEP 1: Define Your Macro Goal
You want to be world-class? Cool. But at what?
Clarity is everything. You need a macro goal—a clear, specific objective that you are committing to. Saying “I want to get better at drumming” is useless.
Saying “I want to be a world-class pocket drummer with insane control, touch, and feel, and at the level of my heroes Nate Smith and Steve Jordan” is a goal you can actually work toward.
If you don’t know exactly what you’re aiming for, you’re never going to hit it, as there is nothing to hit!
Get specific. Define it. And most importantly, write it down.
STEP 2: Break It Down into Micro Goals
Every world-class drummer you admire didn’t get there all at once. You can’t. They built a range of micro-skills over time.
All macro goals are made up of micro goals—smaller, focused skills you need to master one at a time, to aid what’s needed to attain the macro goal. Think of it as pieces to the puzzle.
Let’s say, as mentioned, you want to be world-class ‘pocket’ player, well, one element of this is that you’re going to need world-class Dynamics and Mechanics—one of the most overlooked aspects of drumming that really separates amateurs from pros.
So, over the first 30days, your micro-goals might look like this:
- Week 1: A full reset. So, the 7-Strokes Reset. Completely reset your hands, and the way you approach Dynamics and Mechanics on the kit.
- Week 2: Application of those Dynamics and Mechanics. So larger number groupings, and in the context of the bigger picture.
- Week 3: Applying them to basic grooves. Let’s not run before we can walk. Keep things simple, controlled, high quality, and on task.
- Week 4: Experimenting with more advanced grooves. Half-time shuffles, funk drumming, etc.
THIS is how you structure your practice. Not random, aimless playing—but deep, intentional skill-building, from the ground up.
If this is an area you need to level up, my course ‘The Key to Dynamics & Mechanics Mastery’ is built for exactly this.
STEP 3: Commit to 1-3 Hours Minimum, Per Day. (30 Days Per Micro-Goal)
Here’s where most people fail. They think they need 6-8 hours a day. Wrong.
1-3 hours of truly focused, high-quality practice, beats 4 hours of unfocused noodling. And I know you’ve done plenty of that. We all have.
- Pick one skill
- Go deep
- Give it a full 1-3 hours every day
- Track your progress
If you do this for 30 days per micro-goal, you will be literally unrecognizable in just 6 months.
Want proof? Just try it. What do you have to lose? Just think, time doesn’t really exist. You have as much as you choose. If you started this journey 6 months ago, you know what? You would be there now! Just like that. That quick.
STEP 4: Eliminate Distractions
If you’re serious, you need to cut the dead weight.
- Stop scrolling. Stop watching, Stop judging. Stop reaction videos. Stop ‘Drumtertainment’. Stop endless gear reviews (unless you’re in the market)—it’s all just noise. They win. Not you.
- Earn your downtime. Make Drumtertainment a reward, not a habit.
- Take serious breaks from your smartphone. This is the single biggest problem we are all facing. Take the power back.
- Surround yourself with people who push you. The people in your life influence you more than you think. If your circle isn’t inspiring you, it’s holding you back.
I posted this yesterday –
The greatest drummers in the world don’t get there by accident. They got there because they spent more time on their pad and kit, than they do on their phones. #facts
STEP 5: Make Necessary Lifestyle Changes
Everything you do impacts everything you do. Progress on the kit is not an isolated or single task.
If you want to go all in, you need to take care of yourself off the kit, too:
- Wake up earlier. Discipline equals freedom. Want more time, create it.
- Train your body. Strength, conditioning, and endurance make better drummers.
- Dial in your nutrition. The right food = better energy = better playing. You don’t need to be perfect, but you need to put a good amount of work in, thats for sure.
- Train your mind. You need mental strength and resilience. Read books on mindset, psychology, and discipline. Your mind is a muscle—train it daily.
I’ve said this before, but one of my favorite books is The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. If you haven’t read it, do yourself a favor and pick it up. Pressfield talks about resistance—the invisible force that stops you from doing the work you know you need to do.
“Resistance will tell you anything to keep you from doing your work. It will perjure, fabricate; it will seduce, bully, cajole. Resistance will assume any form, if that’s what it takes to deceive you. It will reason with you like a lawyer or jam a nine-millimeter in your face like a stickup man. Resistance will pledge anything to get a deal, then double-cross you as soon as your back is turned. If you take Resistance at its word, you deserve everything you get. Resistance will not be reasoned with. It is always lying and always full of shit.”
This is real. Resistance is why most people never go all in. They tell themselves they’ll start tomorrow. They make excuses. They negotiate with themselves. Daily.
Stop doing that. Get to work.
STEP 6: Define Your Personal Philosophy & Brand
Who are you? What do you stand for? What’s your voice on and off the kit?
This is where most drummers fail. They focus on the chops but never build a personal identity.
If you want to be world-class, you need to know what makes YOU different.
- What’s your sound?
- What do you have to say about this instrument?
- What makes your playing stand-out?
Define it. Live it. Own it. Be proud of it. Share it.
In today’s world, whether you like it or not, your playing is only one piece of the puzzle. Your personal brand is what will help separate you from every other great drummer out there. And there is plenty!
Dig deep. Learn about yourself. And most importantly, BE GENUINE!
Final Thoughts
Most people waste years talking and dreaming about being world-class.
Very few put in the right kind of work to actually make it happen.
If you apply these 6 steps, you will see massive changes in as little as 6 months.
But! You have to go all in.
If you’re serious about this journey, MasterMind Drummer exists to give you the tools you need on you journey –
- The Key to Tuning a Modern Drumkit → Master your sound.
- The Key to DoubleStroke Mastery → Go to the next-level with this one addition to your playing!
- The Key to Dynamics & Mechanics Mastery → Develop world-class touch and control, and feel.
- The Key to Single-Kick Mastery → Finally free that clumbsy foot up!
- The Key to Chops Mastery → Open up YOUR voice and facility on the kit.
Just click HERE. The blueprint is all there, you just have to follow it.
So what’s your choice? Do you want to be world-class? Great!
Make the decision today, not tomorrow, make the necessary changes to pull yourself out of the funk you’re in…
And in the words of the famous Art Williams – Just do it!
Let’s leave it there this week.
Thanks as always, I appreciate you making an effort with these.
Hit me back with any thoughts you may have, but otherwise…
Stay hungry (and healthy),
Stan
ps. Need some extra motivation today? Check out Art Williams famous ‘Just do it’ speech, HERE