I am in my comfort zone when playing the drum set. Not so much, when playing hand percussion. Yet, I play more and more Early Music gigs where I need to play tambourine, frame drums, and other percussion. Listening to the masters gives me an idea...
Read moreKeeping At It
I like to practice—really work on things that are challenging to me still. There’s so much to try to get under my belt, but this helps. I do feel like I’m getting somewhere, sometimes. I’ll keep at it. Hit Drums, and remain grateful.
Read moreTraditional Grip
I have a few new students who want or need to play with the Traditional Grip. Two of them will need to do this in order to be able to play with the drum line in school. So, I’ve gone back to really shedding this. My first drum teacher taught me...
Read moreDesert Island Drum Book
Over the years, I have acquired quite a few drum books. The majority of them are very useful, well written, and I refer to them time and again. However, if I had to pick one book for my “Desert Island Drum Book” it would be John Riley’s, “The Art...
Read morePush Yourself on the Drums
At this point in my drumming life, I know what I can do comfortably. I also know what I cannot do. I continue to try to push myself to learn new grooves, new stickings, and generally fresh ways of approaching the instrument. It’s an ongoing...
Read moreKeep Practicing
Over the years, it’s been a bit of a mantra of mine to simply keep practicing. As it turns out, sometimes it’s not so simple. I run my own business which is multi-faceted. I love what I do and I am so grateful, and yet it seems that there are not...
Read moreHappy 2019
Happy New Year to everyone! 2019 is here! I just received a nice email from a good friend who talked about working on some pretty hard stuff — Joe Morello’s Master Studies and Ted Reed’s Progressive Steps to Syncopation for the Modern Drummer. He...
Read moreDrum Teachers
Today, one of my drum students asked me about the number of different drum teachers I’ve had. So, I decided to make a list: Thomas Search Ted Fulte Joe Hunt Jun Saito Skip Hadden Ed Kaspik Alan Dawson Kenwood Dennard Buster Bailey Frankie Malabe...
Read moreWorking on Your Internal Clock
Fairly frequently, I am asked how to improve one’s internal clock. Here are some of my thoughts: Developing a strong internal clock is something that I continue to work on every day. I use a metronome/click more often than not. I attempt to keep...
Read moreTeaching Drums
I have been teaching drums for quite a while at this point, yet in never ceases to amaze me when a student starts to get it. This may be something as basic as their first drum beat, fill, or even their first snare drum etude. It just always gets...
Read moreAnd Repeat
Just when I think I have some things together on the drum set, something else comes along that trips me up. While this obviously frustrates me, I strive to embrace the process. I find that it helps if I allow myself to feel whatever amount of...
Read moreThe Jazz Ride Cymbal Pattern
I don’t seem to tire of working on my jazz ride cymbal pattern. One really fun thing about it — there are so many phrasing variations. E.g., Tony Williams’ ride cymbal sounds so unique, and very different than so many other great players, such as...
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