Just passing along what I've been working on lately. I've decided that I've taken a lot of simple things for granted. When I was a kid I would learn something to the best of my ability to determine it was correct. I would play along to tapes, usually Jeff Porcaro or Steve Gadd or whatever AOR was popular on the radio at the time. It definitely helped, but I feel I cheated myself a little by not putting away the play-a-long and simply recording myself to some kind of metronome.

When I listen to my playing now most people seem satisfied, but I've never had many people rave about my feel. I, of course, hear all the imperfections and feel very insecure about listening to a play-back. I'm concluding that my playing is still too sloppy. It's one of those things that most non-drummers wouldn't conciously think about, but they definitely hear it. If you've ever had a band leader who complained about the feel but couldn't put their disappointment into words, I think you know what I'm talking about.

So I'm going back through a couple of beginner books with a sharp focus on articulation. For example, a bass drum pattern of a dotted eighth-note followed by a sixteenth note then a quarter note on a snare ... I'm practicing it at about 60 bpm really focusing on subdividing out loud, zeroing in on precise articulation. My right hand is resting so my tongue can sync up with the metronome.

I honestly haven't noticed a difference yet, but I have Keith Carlock on the brain. I have difficulty playing along to his stuff (specifically the Steely Dan stuff). There's a metric precision to his playing that I think defines the beauty of his feel that I'm shooting for. He has really strong, nimble feet. Sort of a Gadd quality. I'll try to check back in a couple of months to let you know if this pays off!

One of the stumbling blocks I'm having is keeping my heel up at slow tempos. My leg is laaaaaaazy and wants to rest the heel on the pedal. I know the only way I'm going to get good articulation and cleaner play at faster tempos is to practice with the heel up at those slow tempos, even if it feels so unnatural. I think I'm going to have big calves in a few months!

no great insight to offer other than articulation is a big reason why i dig billy cobham. he's got the precision and speed and power all rolled into one.