My name is MIchael Pluznick and I have been playing , teaching, recording and performing around the world since the early 70′s.
Although I started as a “free style” or thunder drummer, I quickly bcame bored with myself and eventualy sought out the help of teachers.
One of the many things I have discovered about learning drumming and taking classes is that it is fun to do but sometimes hard to learn or moreover hard to remember the rhythms.
In my many years teaching I have found that basically there are two types of learners or students. The first type learns quckly and forgets quickly, the second type (like myself) learns slowly but when we finaly learn and “get it” we remember everything over time.
If you are studying with a drum teacher I highly recommend a recording device, such as a small digital recorder. One thing that infuriates teachers however, is when they are showing you something and you are fiddling with the recorder turning it on and off, etc. So turn it on at the begging of your class and off at the end.
Even better, if your teacher will allow it, I recommend video taping your class.
It never ceases to amaze me how much I miss in a class I have taken until I get home and watch the tape. Furthermore, I am a somewhat slow learner at times, so having the video to watch really helps me to breakdown the parts and see what was and is going on. To demystify the teachings so to speak. Many teachers do not like their classes taped so you will often have to earn their trust first, or perhaps pay a little extra for your class. It is worth it. I am still watching class tapes from several years ago!
If you do not have a recording device or simply do not or can not use one for whatever reasons I recommend you develop a system of notation. I have seen every kind of notation system from traditional musical notation to made up language. I use a very simple box system on graph paper using 1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a for 4/4 patterns for example. Some people who do not wish to deal with math use a traditional vocal system developed by Olatunji called Gun-go do. The Gun represents a bass tone, the go represents an open tone, etc. If these type of systems work for you I suggest exploring them with a teacher who can help get you started.