How to Quickly Learn Drumming | The Tim Ferriss Experiment (TV Series)

Summary

Tim Ferriss takes on the challenge of learning to play the drums and perform live with the rock band Foreigner in just 5 days. He struggles at first to read sheet music and keep time. With guidance from expert drummers like Stewart Copeland of The Police, Ferriss realizes he should focus on nailing the main grooves of the song rather than getting overwhelmed with fancy fills. After hours of focused practice, Ferriss takes the stage with Foreigner to perform their hit song "Hot Blooded," overcoming his self-doubts and achieving his improbable goal.

Takeaways

• 😊 Tim Ferriss takes on the challenge of learning to play the drums and perform live with a rock band in just 5 days
• 👂 He gets advice from legendary Police drummer Stewart Copeland to focus on the basics - kick, snare, and hi-hat patterns
• 🥁 His initial attempts to sight read drum sheet music prove ineffective so he switches to a simplified notation system
• 😅 Tim experiences frustration and anxiety trying to learn drums so quickly but persists through the mental barriers
• 🎸 He simplifies the learning process by identifying the critical 20% - the main verse, chorus and pre-chorus grooves
• 🎤 Members of rock band Foreigner advise him to learn the song instead of just the drums
• 💡 Tim has an insight that repetitive practice of the core grooves is the most effective training strategy
• 🤘 He decides not to attempt fancy fills to minimize risk of failure at his live show debut
• 🔥 Tim gets an adrenaline rush and feels the electricity of live performance for the first time
• 😄 He ends up playing competently at the final show and feels he can now question other 'Impossibles' in his life

Q & A

What is Tim Ferriss' goal for the 5 day challenge?

Tim Ferriss' goal is to learn drums and perform live with an internationally renowned rock band in Los Angeles within 5 days.

Who does Tim Ferriss recruit as his drum teacher?

Tim recruits Stuart Copeland, the founding member of The Police and considered one of the top 10 drummers of all time.

What is Tim's main weakness when trying to learn the drums?

Tim's main weakness is that he does not know how to read music or think about music using standard vocabulary like measures and notes.

What advice does Chris from Foreigner give Tim?

Chris advises Tim to learn the song itself rather than just focusing on learning the drums. This means Tim should learn the drums through the specifics of the song he will perform.

What does Tim realize is the 'critical 20%' he needs to focus on?

Tim realizes the 3 main grooves of the song - the verse, chorus, and pre-chorus - make up the critical 20% he needs to learn to play 80% or more of the song.

What hard decision does Tim have to make before the performance?

Tim has to decide whether to go for the fancy drum fills and flourishes at the risk of messing up, or focus on nailing the main grooves even if it's boring.

What ritual does the band Foreigner do before the show?

The band members toss a carrot in the air and try to catch it in their mouths.

How does Tim feel after completing the 5-day drumming challenge?

Tim feels that if learning drums this quickly was possible, it makes him question what other 'impossibles' in his life he could achieve.

Where can viewers find additional footage related to the show?

Viewers can find extended scenes, interviews, and tutorials at Tim's website 4hourworkweek.com/sltv.

What does Tim Ferriss warn about working in TV?

He jokes that working in TV means you have to cut so much great footage to fit time slots that it makes you want to stab yourself with bicycle spokes.

Outlines

00:00

😄 Introducing Tim Ferriss and his drumming challenge

Tim Ferriss introduces himself as a best-selling author and human guinea pig who takes on difficult challenges. This week he will attempt to learn drums and perform live with an internationally renowned rock band in 5 days despite having no music experience. He finds an incredible teacher, Stuart Copeland of The Police, to help him.

05:02

😩 Struggling to learn the basics of drumming

Tim struggles to learn even the basics of drumming like holding the sticks properly and reading sheet music. He has an anxiety attack from the overwhelming challenge. He meets the band Foreigner who tells him he picked a very difficult song. He still doesn't know what or how to practice.

10:03

💡 Realizing the key is learning the song, not just drums

The band Foreigner gives Tim advice to focus on learning the song rather than just drum techniques. Tim realizes he needs to identify the minimum components that make up 80% of the song. He finds the 3 main grooves of the song and practices them repeatedly to gain confidence.

15:09

😎 Feeling ready after intense solitary practice

After intense practice on his own, Tim plays the full song well for Chris from Foreigner. Chris makes suggestions about simplifying the fancy drum fills. Tim feels the excitement of performing and thinks he is ready for the big show.

20:10

🥁 Successfully drumming live with Foreigner!

Tim successfully pulls off drumming live on stage with Foreigner, keeping to the simple beats he practiced without attempting complicated fills. He is surprised he did not fail completely and feels he can now question other "impossibles" in life.

Keywords

💡deconstruct

Deconstruct means to break something down into its basic elements in order to thoroughly understand it. Tim uses this term several times when talking about his approach to learning drums, as he aims to deconstruct drumming by identifying the most critical 20% of material needed to play 80% of a song.

💡protocol

A protocol is an established procedure or system. When Tim mentions needing to develop a protocol for practicing, he is referring to figuring out the most effective system for allocating his limited practice time over 5 days to learn the drums.

💡minimum effective dose

The minimum effective dose refers to the smallest amount needed to produce a desired outcome. Tim realizes he needs to determine the minimum pieces of the song he needs to learn in order to be able play it live after only 5 days of practice.

💡critical 20%

The critical 20% refers to the key components that account for the majority of results. Tim aims to break down drumming to identify the most critical 20% of techniques and rhythms he needs to focus on during his short timeframe.

💡muscle memory

Muscle memory describes the ability to reproduce a physical movement without conscious thought. Tim is concerned about disrupting his muscle memory on the drums right before his performance.

💡timing

Keeping timing means being able to maintain the beat and rhythm of a song. Tim identifies getting the timing right as one of the main challenges for him as a beginner drummer with no musical experience.

💡grooves

In drumming, grooves refer to the main rhythms that establish the core feel of sections of a song, like the verse or chorus. Rather than try to learn fancy drum fills, Tim decides to focus on nailing down the main grooves.

💡kick

The kick drum is the large bass drum played with a foot pedal, which provides the foundation beat that drives dance music. Keeping a steady kick drum rhythm is essential for Tim to be able to play with a live rock band after only 5 days.

💡fills

Fills are rhythmic flourishes that drummers play to transition between sections of a song. Tim has to decide whether to risk complicating his limited drumming abilities by attempting fills during the live performance.

💡pulse

Keeping the pulse means maintaining the steady beat or rhythm of a song. When his teacher tells him to keep your mind on the meter, he is instructing Tim to stay locked into the primary pulse of the drumming no matter what fancy fills he chooses to attempt.

Highlights

I'll find the world's best teachers and push myself to the edge to deconstruct, decode and demystify some of the world's toughest challenges in record time.

The challenge is to perform live in Los Angeles with an internationally renowned rock band.

Despite that I've always had a very contentious relationship with music and I have not been able to crack the code.

I'll put the pieces I've selected in the most effective order and the risk of embarrassing the hell out of myself on stage will keep me motivated.

My circuits are totally overloaded with just the basics and I'm not sure I'll ever be able to figure out the drum fills.

Nothing's going to stop this man, he's taking me directly to the enjoyment of drumming alongside other people.

I'm effectively having an anxiety attack if you're trying to learn something very very quickly in a compressed time frame.

You're overthinking this just a little bit...you're in trouble, okay you got your work cut out for you.

Chris's advice to learn the song and not the drums might sound like a fortune cookie but it's really important.

The light bulb is going off...I realize that none of these elements are part of the critical 20% that I need to learn 80% or more of the song.

I was seriously worried that I was going to screw up my muscle memory by playing on a fake drum kit.

I'm a little bit high...I was exhausted up until walking into this place and actually getting a feeling for the space.

Getting this uncomfortable because it just takes that sort of sphere of comfort within which you can act and get good results.

I'm not trying anything new today, except for oh my God I love it yeah baby.

Came here with a blank slate and a fantasy, and was able to not get completely laughed off stage.

Transcripts

one of the best ways to learn something

fast is to set Stakes everybody I want

you to give it up for Mr Tim Ferris over

there so here it

goes you could feel the power rising up

in your loins 5 days this is like the

first time I looked at Chinese

characters zero experience you're in

you're in trouble okay and the world's

best teachers yeah baby is four or 5

days really enough time I have my

doubts

I'm Tim Ferris everything going up

best-selling author and human guinea pig

I'll show you how to make the impossible

possible by bending the

RO I'll find the world's best teachers

and push myself to the edge to

deconstruct decode and demystify some of

the world's toughest challenges in

record

[Music]

time if I can do it so can

you

this week's experiment is

drumming the challenge to perform live

in Los Angeles with an internationally

renowned rock band growing up my

favorite Muppet was animal naturally

despite that I've always had a very

contentious relationship with music and

I have not been able to crack the code

over the next 5 days I will break down

drumming I'll find the critical 20% of

material that gives me 80% of what I

need to reach my goal I'll put the

pieces I've selected in the most

effective order and the risk of

embarrassing the hell out of myself on

stage will keep me motivated I have

found an incredible teacher to help me

with this the Yoda of

Yodas Stuart Copeland founding member of

the police widely considered one of the

top 10 drummers of all time Tim I

presume it is such a pleasure to finally

meet you hey how are you doing in

welcome to the sacred grove this is

where I do my cool stuff where my fancy

friends come to

play St of Copeland a bit like

Christopher Lloyd and back of the future

very enthusiastic and gets you really

fired up I got a secondary percussion

unit here why is

that so I imagine I'll be spending a lot

of the next week in front of something

like this very close to this yeah this

pretty

standard

[Music]

right away I notice a lot this drum kid

is extremely elaborate this symbol here

plays a short note while this one

resonates more I can see he's holding

the sticks differently in each hand also

his feet are doing two things at

once look how relaxed his grip is the

sticks look like they're going to fall

out of his hands but of course they

don't and one more thing not a single

piece of written music in sight

I don't even know where to start the

rhythm is broken

into three components the kick which is

on the

floor that's what everyone dances to to

create interest its contrasting Rhythm

is a snare

[Music]

drum and it's this cross talk that gives

you your cool Rhythm glued together

that's the connected TI stuff it's a

connect

exactly

that is all you need to know off to the

razor your

turn come on come on I'll try harder

that was very nice of you to start off

real quiet like that very delicate very

delicate take a deep

[Music]

breath let's get a starting point here

there you

go okay now you got that you're going to

spend a lot of time doing that right now

you're doing it but you're tense yeah

and that's just because your your brain

is telling and controlling consciously

every action and what you're going to do

by just playing is to get outside of

your

[Music]

body

great ah you're getting power mad oh you

could feel the power rising up in your

loins you're a primate an alpha male the

great silver back making a great noise

cuz you've got your crash and your kick

landing

hard power power loins power loins going

to be my stage name all right so what is

a Phil you mentioned a Phil okay once

you're playing along and everybody's

happy singer singing a

song now the drummer is getting

bored crash and he hopes the rest of the

band didn't notice CU

they my circuits are totally overloaded

with just the basics and I'm not sure

I'll ever be able to figure out the drum

fills hang on a second can't stop him

[Music]

now raking me out of my shell and almost

immediately throwing me into a jam

session with him was very smart

nothing's going to stop this man he's

taking me directly to the enjoyment of

drumming alongside other

[Music]

people that's fun it's the dumb right

now I know the anatomy of a drum kit the

anatomy of a song is still very very

difficult to me would you suggest having

some type of sheet music for drumming to

follow along with do you understand what

the dots mean okay well that's kind of a

hurdle okay my weakness is no big

surprise reading music figuring out how

to think of Music in terms of vocabulary

like measures and notes which is not a

way that I typically deconstruct what I

hear I'm effectively having an anxiety

attack well this is no joke man you're

going to be playing a real gig with us

and you don't have much

time great for session Stuart is amazing

knows how to get you in the mood for

music I do on the other hand need to

learn how to read sheet music or somehow

practice the song that I'll be playing

in addition to that I need to develop

some type of protocol for practicing hey

what's up man going on man how are you

good good to see you I'm hoping Adam can

help me deconstruct the learning process

for drumming this is the School of Rock

the School of Rock today we're going to

be in here we're going to be behind

these two kits oh awesome okay so we

play side by side I like this idea that

school is going to be awesome for you

this week cuz uh we teach through music

which accelerates the learning

process I know you don't know how to

read music I don't but I charted out

drum parts for you I mean right now

you're probably looking at it's foreign

language yeah this is like the first

time I looked at Chinese characters yeah

this is the this is on the floor tom

you're doing eighth notes so one and two

and three and four and and then there's

a Phil so I wrote the biggest problem

that I have is looking at music

hearing it dissecting it as notes on a

sheet of paper I've never done that

before first four bars of the

[Music]

song

[Music]

okay oh my God I should learn the

counting just I mean I'm going to have

to get there so you're going one and two

and three and four right now I'm

throwing a T of stuff against the wall

to see what sticks maybe it'll be

reading music maybe it'll be counting

the beats in my head I don't know

what'll

work why am I that up it's so early in

the process it's very difficult to say I

know exactly what my game plan is I need

to figure out the minimum effective dose

for learning this song that is the

smallest piece I can focus on to pull

this off and nothing

[Music]

extra Bravo sir

I don't know which portions I'm going to

have the most trouble with which will

then dictate how I schedule my training

time and what I focus

on which stresses me out a

bit here we are it's about 3: in the

morning and you can see I am not resting

very

well I'm effectively having an anxiety

attack if you're trying to learn

something very very quickly in a

compressed time frame you will

experience extreme frustration at

predictable points and sometimes

completely freaking out the question

remains of course is four or 5 days

really enough time for me to adapt and

learn what I need to learn I have my

[Music]

doubts oh here's this must be our guy

I'm here to meet these guys members of

the legendary band

Foreigner like the

time yeah I'm Chris Chris we will be

talking yes of course that was just

warming up right oh yeah yeah that was

just limbering up my tendons and my

ligaments but that's uh probably not far

from all I have at the moment well this

is no joke man you're going to be

playing a real gig with us yeah playing

a real song yeah I know and you don't

have much time been struggling a bit I'm

not going to lie uh it's it's my first

time really tackling music so just

trying to keep the timing in my head

it's been challenging to figure out what

to practice because I'm not sure how

much do I focus on Phils versus let's

say grooves for the verse and the intro

and then I've don't know how to read

music this this is the first time I've

looked at anything like this you're

overthinking this just a little bit well

that's what I'm so I need your help to

avoid it you're in you're in trouble

okay you got your work cut out for

you but you also picked one of the

hardest songs too because it has a rock

feel in it but it has a a touch of R&B

and touch a swing to it would you

practice this chronologically or exactly

linearly or you would okay I wouldn't I

wouldn't just I just wouldn't worry too

much I I just think Play the song don't

play the drums okay all right let's good

advice Chris's advice to learn the song

and not the drums might sound like a

fortune cookie but it's really important

it means put simply that I should learn

the drums through Hot Blooded not learn

the drums then try to play Hot Blooded

what we have to say to you is good luck

thank you

sir

the goal is to learn Hot Blooded now I

just have to figure out the minimum

effective dose the keys to unlock the

song I kind of actually today I wanted

to maybe put that aside yeah yeah just

sh that paper notes words who needs it

Adam's right trying to learn to read

music is not working for me there has to

be a more effective way the question is

what is it what I wanted to do is

actually just break it up and just get

the main grooves of the song Finally the

light bulb is going off until now I was

getting totally overwhelmed trying to

simultaneously learn to read music count

in my head all while adding in the fills

or embellishments now I realize that

none of these elements are part of the

critical 20% that I need to learn 80% or

more of the song There are three grooves

that make up the song Hot Blooded the

verse the chorus and the pre chorus that

is my 20% and that's what I'm going to

focus on to get me prepared for game day

and the Big

Show

[Music]

playing Hot Blooded ad nauseum over and

over again rinse and repeat does wonders

for your

[Music]

confidence holy I have to play that

tomorrow I can omit the crash symbols I

can omit the fancy bass drum work I can

omit any of the flourishes and as long

as I can keep the heartbeat going I'm in

great shape

hey yeah

[Music]

baby on one hand I was seriously worried

that I was going to screw up my muscle

memory by playing on a fake drum kit but

I was actually smiling and having a good

time which wasn't the case earlier this

week that was

awesome this is what guitarists do which

is really annoying get right in your

face yeah you're right that is Prett

annoying

I'm a little bit

[Music]

high you're a little bit sh hey hey man

to see you again how you doing I'm doing

well this is where I've been spending my

solitary confinement oh cool I think

what I should do is just kind of see how

far you've come and where you're

at as Chris was watching me for the very

first time I totally immediately flued

it and then settled in and played the

rest of the song well before he timed

out and made some very good

suggestions so you did a fill where you

you played with your left hand and the

thing about it is since you're

right-handed I'm I'm assuming you're

right-handed it's going to be easier for

you to to lead your fills with your

right hand the big decision is do I go

for the fills and try to get fancy and

risk blowing the whole thing or do I

focus

on and doing that until my brains melt

of

boredom uh we shall see you got to get

some of this going man you know just

smile at the audience you know and point

at the girls that you want backstage you

you I like this rockar thing already

definitely starting to feel the

electricity the spider sense of a live

performance never felt it

[Music]

before just going straight through that

way all right well I can see why this

would become a addictive drug for people

to play rock and roll ad absolutely it's

unlike anything else

wild having a spinal tap

moment I was exhausted up until walking

into this place and actually getting a

feeling for the space are you ready for

the pre-show forigner ritual that we all

do toss the

carrot

yes two one 2 three

4 what's happening hey it's getting

getting settled as ready as I'm going to

be if you can catch that break with us

though that'd be really great yeah you

know I wasn't sure exactly I like doing

things like this as odd as it seems

getting this uncomfortable because it

just takes that sort of sphere of

comfort within which you can act and get

good results and it just

goeser I don't know what a serer is I

don't know what spiking it means either

and the more you do that the more you

inoculate yourself against making

mistakes when you're afraid you're still

afraid I'm not trying anything new today

except for oh my God I love it yeah baby

what's up now David ler

Ross come on in hey hey hey that sounded

like a drummer knock look at you and

your snake skin all right how are you

man good how was yesterday yesterday was

great yesterday was great I had to make

some decisions about what fills to cut

and which ones to keep I had all kinds

of great advice as soon as you walked

out the door all kinds of Pearls of

Wisdom occur to me but I won't hit you

with any of them now because I'll just

you up yeah I appreciate that I can't

stand it one pearl of wisdom and then

that's it okay all right I knew I saw

something eating at you yeah yeah yeah

is to keep plowing through whatever you

do the drum fill yeah is just play play

throw yourself off the clip but keep

your mind on the meter Mind Over meter

yeah we were

approached by a young man named Tim

Ferris he he said to himself I want to

play drums with a famous rock band and

we said you're great

crazy everybody I want you to give it up

for Mr Tim Ferris over

there here we go one 2 one 2

[Applause]

[Music]

3

well checking

Tre got a f

on3

I'm high I'm

high get don't have to read my

mind to know what I have in

mind are

you will you be ready when I call your

love my

time you got to get away from my you

know

what you making me

[Music]

sing with me baby you know I'm going to

go yeah you turn me

[Music]

on

came here with a blank slate and a

fantasy

and was able to not get completely

laughed off

stage and I've come away from this

feeling like if that was possible what

other Impossibles do I have in my life

that I should really

[Music]

question give it up for Tim Ferris

everybody on the drums

never did it

[Applause]

before hey guys Tim Ferris here one of

the things that kills me about TV is

that you have to take all of this

amazing footage in our case we had 5 to

six days of of 12 to 16 hours typically

per day and you have to chop it down to

21 or 22

minutes which is a 30-minute show with

the ads removed it just makes me want to

stab myself in the eyeballs with bicycle

spokes it's so agonizing the good news

is we have all that footage and so we've

taken huge extended scenes we've taken

interviews we've taken tutorials

everything imaginable that we could get

our hands on that we thought was really

world class that we wanted to put in and

you can find it at 4hourworkweek

docva and we really feel like we could

have made the best 2hour documentary

imaginable on the subject that you just

saw or had five different shows of equal

quality all different with the footage

that we captured so please check it out

there's some amazing stuff and you can

also check out the podcast where I do

very long in some cases two to three

hour interviews with a lot of the

experts in this show and that's the Tim

Ferris show which was nominated one of

the best of iTunes which I'm very very

happy about and you can check out both

so find everything at 4work week.com

sltv and if you think that's an oxymoron

by the way you're right if you want a

4-Hour Work Week do not work in

television thank you for

watching