I have been trying to be consistent recently with my drum practicing. It’s something I talk about with my students, and it’s working for me too! Life does get busy with all the “stuff” to do, but there does seem to be a way to squeeze some drum...
Read moreNatural Talent
I started playing the drums when I was twelve years-old. I had very little “natural talent.” Basically, everything I can do today on the drum set is because I practiced – a lot. Starting off, I learned snare drum technique, some coordination...
Read moreDeveloping Your Voice
One thing I enjoy is listening to recordings with which I am not familiar, and trying to guess who is on the recording. Many of the great players have developed their own “voice” on their instrument. E.g., when I hear a certain ride cymbal sound...
Read moreSeeing Is Believing
I love going out to hear music. Part of the fun for me is to watch the musicians and the way that they interact with each. One thing in particular that I enjoy, is watching the drummer! It can be so much fun – watching, listening and learning...
Read moreWhere Do You Feel the Beat?
At a gig recently, the guitarist started pretty much every song by himself and then the band would join in. He was playing an acoustic steel string guitar and had a piece of wood on the floor with a microphone on it. He would tap his right foot...
Read morePlaying with a Metronome or a Click Track
My students learn early on that I value playing with a metronome or a click track during their lessons. I encourage them to continue this during their practice sessions away from my teaching studio. There are many options to make this happen: a...
Read morePlaying What You Do Not Practice
I love to practice drums! Sometimes, it’s frustrating and other times invigorating, and sometimes it’s somewhere in between. Regardless, I enjoy being on the drum set. The actual feeling that comes from striking a drum is very satisfying and I...
Read moreConsistency and Practicing
It has been my experience that consistency plays a important role when trying to improve. I am talking about consistency in terms of the amount of time spent practicing; the actual time of day that is chosen for practicing; and the practice...
Read moreLearning How to Practice
Many of my students have had trouble learning how to practice while sitting down behind the drum set. Quite often, they play the things that they can already do and don’t spend enough time on new challenges. Instead of telling them not to “play”...
Read morePatience
Learning to be patient with myself has been an on-going process for me. This seems to get harder and not easier when I’m trying something new on the drum set. The more I’m able to execute complex ideas that have taken me a while to learn, the...
Read moreLearning to Dance, Drums, Repetition and Patience
Recently, I have spent some time trying to learn how to swing dance (Lindy Hop) and also ballroom. Being a drummer, I thought that it would be fairly easy to feel the rhythm and stay with the beat of the music. Well… sometimes it was and...
Read moreDynamics
It’s been my experience that when playing music, it’s important to have a sense of dynamics. Not everything is meant to played as loud as possible. This is true whether you’re at a jam session (“sitting in”) or whether this is a group that you...
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