More is Less is a saying that many of us have heard, and it’s been talked about quite a bit through the years. I have to say, I really like the idea of playing less. I love the feeling of establishing a strong groove and trying to keep it...
Read moreYoung Students
I have a young student who was given the chance recently to sit in with a professional band at a July 4th party. I wasn’t there, but I saw the video. He held down the groove like a pro! The band’s song list consists mainly of classic...
Read moreStudio Update: July 2013
My drum teaching studio has morphed into a recording studio. I still teach drum lessons and record all lessons to a DVR so that students walk out of every lesson with a DVD of that lesson. In addition, not only can I also record drum tracks for...
Read moreTechnique; Aging and Chops
There was a recent post on a social networking site wondering if certain drummers had lost some ability over the years. The author was reminiscing about music from the 1970’s that was high-energy and recorded with some great drummers. These...
Read moreLearning Tunes for Different Bands
This past weekend I had the pleasure of working with four bands, three of whom were new to me. I had to learn quite a few songs in a fairly short period of time and keep it straight at each gig. For one of the bands, charts were emailed and I...
Read moreJamming with Friends
I was the host drummer at a jam session last night and some guitar player friends showed up. I was fortunate and got to play with them all throughout the evening. You never know who’s going to show up for a jam, and last night no other...
Read moreAttitude
Simply put, I love what I do. Not only do I get to play the drums at many different kinds of gigs, but I also have the opportunity to influence students and try to impart some drumming knowledge. I’m never too old to learn from anyone, and...
Read moreGhost Notes
When drumming, I like to put in “ghost notes” on the snare drum. These notes are played much softer than my backbeats or other accented notes. I like to use a rimshot for the bigger notes and then leave my stick close to the drum head...
Read moreThe Hi-Hat is the Groove
One of my students wanted to learn a Dennis Chambers groove from a short clip on youtube: Fatback Groove Lesson. This is a great groove from his DVD, Dennis Chambers: Master Drummer. Before we got to the end of the clip, I paused it and remarked...
Read moreMaking Magic
I love the feeling when playing music where it feels almost magical. One of my students felt this recently after we had been working on a swing ride cymbal pattern and I asked him to try to count out loud while playing the ride. Before he began...
Read moreBeing Versatile
I like lots of different kinds of music. I grew up listening to The Beatles and top-40 radio pop and rock. One cool thing was that radio stations used to play many different styles of music. I could hear Led Zeppelin followed by The Carpenters...
Read moreThe Half-Time Shuffle
I have a fondness for the half-time shuffle and I really like how Bernard “Pretty” Purdie does it (called the Purdie Shuffle). I remember when I first heard Steely Dan’s Aja album and the tune Home At Last — wow! Shortly after...
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