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 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 moreComfort Zone
The bass player in one of my jazz workshops was having some problems not too long ago. As I was coaching him on some ideas to help deal with some of these issues, he came up with a brilliant phrase: There is no growth in the comfort zone and no...
Read morePractice At Home
When I’m working on new material on the drums, I want to develop a level of fluency with it before test driving it at a gig. I want it to be fluid and not sounding as if I’m struggling. That being said, I’m not always successful in this. There...
Read moreKeep Listening to Music
I really love music, and I really love listening to music. Not only do I enjoy putting on a favorite recording (or discovering a new one), I particularly enjoy hearing a live band doing their thing. You don’t have to be famous or on some big...
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...
Read moreDrumming and Taking Lessons
Some musicians stop taking lessons at a certain point. I want to keep learning, so I buy DVD’s, books, and listen to lots of music. I also brush up (pun intended) on things with drummers and drum teachers. Recently, I heard a classical trained...
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