What if all you had to practice on was a practice pad? Imagine you have no drumset and no music to listen to, and all you have in your possession is a pair of sticks and a pad.

This may actually be your reality, and you’re shouting at the screen, “Stephen, this isn’t funny! I’ve been practicing on a pad for years now and I still haven’t been able to get a real kit.” If that’s you, this email is aimed to help direct your pad practice so that you’ll grow in your skills without a kit in your possession. And if you do have a kit, you’re probably limited as to which hours you can play and make noise anyway. Pad practice should be an important element of your regular practice as well. Today we’re finding the most effective thing to practice on a pad that has the most impact on your drumset playing.

A few years ago I was in the limited-practice-because-I-lived-in-an-apartment situation,...