Drumming
Start with a part you can play steadily, then work on the changes that give you trouble in a song. These lessons explain what to practice and what to listen for so you can hear whether it is helping.
Learn the part before adding to it.
Get the recording and arrangement the band is using. Mark where the drums enter, where the sections change, and how the song ends. Practice those changes together with the groove on either side, so you can return to time without a pause.
Check what the room hears.
Your monitor mix gives you a different balance from the audience. Ask the leader or sound engineer to listen from the room. If the cymbals cover the vocal, try a quieter, more closed hi-hat and compare the same passage again. Make one change at a time so you can hear its effect.
Give the next practice a specific job.
After rehearsal, write down the song, section, and beat where something went wrong. Work on that passage at a tempo you can control, then play it in context. The notes and journal entries below offer small exercises; the articles explain the underlying skills in more detail.