Within the drumming world, there are people who like the traditional grip and others who prefer the matched grip. Some drummers switch back and forth between the two. I tend to play mainly palms down these days, with a few exceptions. There is no...
Read moreDave Weckl Drum Clinic
On December 5, 2013 I had the pleasure of attending a Dave Weckl drum clinic at The Toad Tavern in Littleton, CO presented by Rupp’s Drums. Here were the main things Mr. Weckl talked about: Stick position: middle of hand — not the front. This...
Read moreBreaking Sticks (Not Breaking Bad)!
It’s not very often that I break drum sticks. I find that if I go back to my old ways and hold my sticks too tightly, then the sound gets choked and the greater the chance of me breaking something. By relaxing and focusing on fluid motions, my...
Read moreDrumming Basics
The more I play and teach, the more I am drawn to the drumming basics. There is nothing more rewarding to me than spending time on my single stroke roll, e.g. Basically (pun intended), it’s the foundation of so many other things that I do. My arm...
Read moreTeaching the Drumming Basics
Without a doubt, I end up teaching the same material to different students. For some teachers, this is not fun or pleasurable. I find, however, that it’s better for everyone (including me) the more I teach the same drumming basics. I find joy in...
Read moreAddressing the Drummer’s Weaker Side
Many of my drum students have problems when leading with their non-dominant hand. This occurs when attempting drum fills as well as when starting rudiments with their left hand (e.g.) if they are right-handed. There are nice exercises that deal...
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 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 for the...
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 morePlaying Fast
Many students — beginners to the more advanced players — want to learn how to play fast around the drums. It has been my experience that I have to first have a certain amount of endurance before I can attempt a faster tempo. In order to play a...
Read moreThe Art of Practice
Steve Smith’s two disk DVD set, Drumset Technique/History of the U.S. Beat, contains a great segment entitled, The Art of Practice. In this portion of the first DVD, Steve talks about some very important points about how to practice. I would...
Read moreJoy in Repitition
It seems that my blog has quite a few posts that talk about making music. I’ve labeled them with different headings, but I’ve noticed that perhaps I’m repeating myself a bit. I’ll try to organize the posts at some point. In the meantime, if...
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