I had a nice Thanksgiving with family this year and am reminded of how truly lucky I am to be surrounded by loving people. I am truly fortunate and I try not to forget that. On Black Friday, I was at The St. Julien Hotel and Spa in Boulder...
Read moreMusic, Drumming and Adjectives
Many adjectives and phrases can used to describe a musician’s and/or band’s performance. Quite a few of these seem to be very popular: they killed it; they were smokin’; or she was on fire! One problem for me is what to do with...
Read moreIt’s All in the Details
People contact me for gigs in various ways: email; text messages; Facebook Messenger and cell phone. Not only do I respond as quickly as possible, but I take my time reading emails and texts. The initial text may list a certain date and then the...
Read moreA Beginner’s Mind
Over the years and up to this day, I have been interested in learning the drums. What can the drum set do? What are the various styles that I may not be good at — yet? I purposefully buy drum books that cover techniques and ways of playing with...
Read moreGetting Lost in the Music
Getting lost in the music has at least two connotations. The first one is pretty great and the second one is not as nice. There have been times when I have been so into the music, that I transcend that moment in time. It can seem as if the drums...
Read morePrepare For Your Next Drum Stroke
One thing that I find very useful is practicing drum strokes that will prepare me for what is coming next. E.g., if I need an accented note, then I don’t want to wait until the last moment to raise the arm that will be playing that note...
Read moreThrow and Catch While Drumming
I love the concept of throwing and catching a ball when it comes to the drum set. Buster Bailey introduced me to the idea of bouncing a ball many years ago, and it’s something I use all of the time. Please take a look at this short clip of...
Read morePlay For Your Drum Teacher
A student of mine was recently reflecting on some lessons with a prior drum teacher and told me that this drum instructor never had the student play for him. I was quite surprised. I’m not sure how prevalent the practice is of teachers not...
Read moreLearning to Let Go
There have been times when I have felt stuck — professionally and/or personally. I have found that, for me, it’s best to let go of whatever it is in my life that’s not working at that given moment. This may be a relationship or...
Read moreMaster Drummer
I recently watched Master Series — Antonio Sanchez. This is a great DVD from Hudson Music. One important concept Antonio talks about is learning the “language” of any musical genre. He said that he had worked on and had developed...
Read moreKeep Smiling
I have noticed that some of my favorite musicians (including some drummers) seem to almost always be smiling while they perform. It’s quite obvious that they’re not only enjoying playing the music being played, but they’re also...
Read morePlaying Drum Licks
One thing that I’ve experienced is that when I’m at a gig and I attempt to play a “drum lick” that I’ve been practicing is that it feels different as compared to when I was at my drum studio all by myself. E.g....
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