My line takes a packet of music and we sit in a line with practice pads and sit and read and play and if we mess up (like you yourself) you start from the top again while the others continue and its a competition to see who reads the best and can play all the way to the botton the quickest

Ok, this post has definitely been answered, but, I figure its not too late to put my two cents in.

Along with what everyone else says, which is basically the best way to start, Id also suggest another thing.

This is more for you to get a better understanding of the music.

Try taking all your music, from your show, or warm ups, or whatever you have available, and Write them out yourself, By hand.

No finale.

Re-writing your parts out by hand helps you to break down each note, rest, dynamic, and time signature in the particular selection, and understand what its there for.

This is also a good idea if you need to memorize your music.

Hmm...never thought about it like that....thanks. I'll go ahead an try that.

I just recently got Contemporay Rudimental Studies & Solos by Lalo Davila and its going pretty good. Although, i'm still just on single stroke rolls! Its hard stuff if you ain't got chops. Especially on 32nd notes....Another question....Since there are solos after each rudiment, should i try the solo WITHOUT the CD then with the CD??

The solos are based on the rudiment thats on the previous page(s)

If you now how to read it then just practice reading it all the time. I suggest buying a book with a whole bunch of easy-medium solos to sight read out of.

I've been working with my students for the past few months on reading and what the BD will do is make up a rhythm sheet and then they have to write in how to count the rhythms. We test them on it each week, and just really drill them on it and it's made a huge improvement with a lot of the kids. I'll also make up tests for them so they can learn natural sticking. But I would suggest that you go buy a book that will help you with counting rhythms and knowing how everything works. If you can't remember things like how many 8th notes are in a dotted quarter note and basics like that your going to have a real hard time in college.

THis could have been answered in 3 pages of posts but...

Try learning all the duple/triplet check patterns. Work those with a metronome/marking time to get a good sense of it all. Make sure you know where the downbeat is all the time. Then slowly learn more and more rudiments, and you'll see that all music is just rudiments placed into check patterns.

Another thing that worked for me, was learning things that were way above my head playing and reading wise. Like Martian Mambo and Electric Wheelchair. I'd just listen to the recordings and play to it with the sticks and rudiments in until I got it. I'd simplify parts as needed until I could play the right rudiments. (For example the first measure of EW that's not the snare intro) Then once I could play them well, I had a much better understanding of how rythms worked. That's kind of assbackwards though, and I wouldn't recommend it. But it did work for me.

Honestly, to put it plain and simple - read everything you can. More exposure to different musics will help you learn rhythms and be more comfortable.

I am gonna disagree with the post above. I don't think you should go learning music that's way over your head yet. Unless your technique is solid. Otherwise you'll learn rhythms and playing with bad technique.

Also, when you learn to read, learn to subdivide!! It makes playing so much easier and will help in sight reading.

Really, there is no trick other than practice, practice, practice.

I can vouch for this myself. I was a poor player/reader/drummer when I joined F+D corps back in the beginning of 8th grade. By the end of 9th grade year, I was NY state champion.

Practice practice practice.