In the same way that practice pads and pillows have different feels, so do the the drums on most drumsets.  Snare drums feel different than floor toms, mounted toms feel different than ride cymbals.

That being said, practice--regardless of the medium--is really just trying to master CONTROL of the sticks.  Whether that be controlling the bounce from a SD or needing the control to lift the sticks off a loosely tuned floor tom.

Personally, I practice some on a Real Feel pad, some on a Moongel pad, and some on my drum set.  All application, I feel, have their place.

It's all about having control regardless of what you play on.

My kit at home is tuned completely different than the kit I play on at church.  I like a higher pitched, tighter head on all my drums compared with the guy who tunes the churches kit.  I'm about a quality of sound and tone that I LIKE.  At the church they tune the kit to perfect 4th's and at a low pitch range at that.  So at home I play on tight heads with great rebound snare/toms- all of them while at church they aren't dead in their response, but comparatively- they are .

Variety is CERTAINLY a good idea

Exactly.  Wrist control is ANOTHER aspect drumming of which one needs to control.


Not always. Sometimes this technique is Exacltly was is necessary to play an instrument.


SOLELY practicing on a pillow is a flawed technique (IMHO).  But it has its place in MY practicing and teaching regimine.

I guess you (and probabaly others) and I (and probably others) will have to agree to disagree on this.

When practicing on a pillow you will almost certainly be playing 'slower' than when playing on a pad or drum.  Will practicing slowly help you build speed?  I'm not sure.

Others may disagree, but it seems to me that the greatest speed can be attained when you use as much of the natural rebound as possible.   I don't think practicing on a pillow will necessarily teach you this.  You get fast by playing fast.  That being said, I've had students who were so lazy that they wanted to play everything by letting the sticks flop around on the pad.  They didn't want to do any work and couldn't play a decent double stroke roll, for example.   They couldn't get their wrists moving fast enough to play 'wristed' double strokes which could smoothly transition to bounced double strokes.  I have recommended that these students spend some time practicing on a soft surface,  like a pillow.   There are also times when you may have to play on very soft surfaces, like extremely loose floor toms, concert bass drums, rope tensioned field drums, etc., where  natural rebound is minimal.  In addition, if you're a percussionist playing marimba, vibraphone, xylophone, etc.  rebound is limited as well, so you may have to do more of the work.

Just some random thoughts.........

Natural rebound vs. pillows?

I don't think it's a matter of one or the other.  Practicing on a surface, like a pillow, with minimal rebound teaches your fingers to harness, controll, and get the most out of the rebound from the surfaces you normally play.  I started practicing double strokes on a pillow and noticed a remarkable improvement in my overall playing.  I now practice even moeller technique, tripple strokes, rudiments, etc, on a pillow.  Every time I return to my kit to find more controll, speed and endurance.  Just try it!

i dunno,

to me, it still makes NO SENSE to practice on pillows to strengthen your wrists.  sure, there are different surfaces, but a drum will still be a drum will still be a drum and NOT a pillow.  and if it is, then you need to work on proper tuning.  

proper stick technique is all about controlling and using rebound to your advantage.  praticing on pillows only seems like it strengthens the wrist to be able to bring up your hands for the next strike of the drum.  but why make more work for yourself with such an inefficient method?  why not let the rebound do the work for you?

to take an example from Dom Famularo, drumming isnt too different from playing basketball.  as you learn how to dribble, you learn how to control the ball as it rebounds up from the floor.  you dont see ballers throwing flat dead balls to the ground, lifting them off the floor to help their dribbling.  same is true for drummers.  all about the rebound and using the "the Free Stroke".

seems like good control techniques like the FS get lost admist sheer drumming "wow" from the likes of many players who may not have the best technique that will most likely NOT be good for the rest of us.

IMHO, your best bet is to learn on a practice pad, which up until this point in drumming history, is the best at mimicing a drumhead, and learning how to best control that rebound for a more efficient and less energy wasting technique.

Heal up or heal down, traditional or matched, Moeller or free Stroke, pillows or practice pads --- Don't know if you can say one is better than the other.  Learn them all and then make your decisions.  Or better yet take the best part of them all and fuse them together into your own style.

I practice on concrete with metal sticks.  I play until I have no feeling in my hands.  LOL

I like the tingling sensation in my arms.