Listen. Source nasrulekram
This post is a huge milestone so I really wanted to make it special for you.
I decided to collect 50 of the best songs for drumming.
I’ll be honest: I got stuck pretty quick.
But instead of giving up, I asked people who are smarter than me for help.
So what follows are the suggestions of my cool, clever, beautiful friends on Twitter and Read the rest of this entry »
Lots of sticks. Source: el clinto
I always thought that a set of sticks were the same as any other set of sticks. Boy was I wrong… The different types that you see in your music store all have their own unique size, length, weight, feel, tip, bounce and balance point.
It’s confusing if you’re not sure of the difference between all of them and, to be honest, I still don’t get why there is such a stupid naming system.
Just stick to the points below and you’ll be fine!
To start with, you need to buy sticks from one of the big name brands like Vic Firth. They’re more expensive but there are Read the rest of this entry »
It's good to drum. Photo: neate photos
A friends of mine is thinking about starting his own blog and it got me thinking about the reasons why I blog. So after a bit of reflection, here are my top 7 reasons why I blog about drumming.
I’ve been playing for 13 years now and I love it now more than ever. It’s what I do, it’s who I am. I love the excitement of nailing a new groove; the way my sticks bounce on a pad; that it makes me stand out from other people. I’m more excited about it now than I ever have been!
I know what it’s like when you first start out drumming; or when you’ve been playing for a while and you’re not getting anywhere; or Read the rest of this entry »
Ayers Rock Plateau. Photo Credit: Palentour
You’ve just learned something new, you’re ecstatic, you’re on a roll, you’re making great progress, you’re psyched to be practising every day. You couldn’t be happier.
Then all of a sudden you stop getting better and you stay at the same level for a long time and then you actually start to get worse. Sound familiar? What happened? Want went wrong?
Congratulations! You just Read the rest of this entry »
Be Like Rocky. Photo Credit: Neeta Lind
To me, Rocky Balboa is much more than just a movie character. He is a real person. Being born in the early 80’s meant I was too young for his movies when they first came out. However, that didn’t stop me growing up with Rocky.
His movies were the only violent movies that my parents would let me watch. They loved Rocky. They loved the character, the story, they loved that me and my brother would be quiet and stop arguing when we watched it. For me and my brother, Rocky was who we wanted to be.
The spirit of Rocky lives inside all of us. When we decide:
So what can we learn from Rocky Balboa that Read the rest of this entry »
Explicit content. Photo credit: FLY2005
It’s all about understanding your psychology, hacking into different parts of your brain and using it to your advantage to become a better drummer.
Basically, your memory is split into 2 sections and each section stores different types of information.
In this sense, the word explicit means to make something clear or visible. The explicit part of your brain is used for Read the rest of this entry »
Evidence of rimshots
Getting the sound you really want isn’t just a matter of hitting your drums as loud as possible and hoping for the best. You need to learn different techniques to give you the best sound.
In this article, we’re not just talking about techniques though. We are going to hack into the actual physics of your snare drum in order to get the best possible sound out of it.
Normally when you play your snare, you hit the drum head (also called the drum skin) with the tip of your stick. This makes the drum head flex downwards which in turn pushes the air inside your drum down towards the Read the rest of this entry »
Makes me angry. Photo credit: Photomishdan
“I just spent a week choosing a great sounding crash cymbal, paid $300 for it and it cracked.” Sound familiar? This has happened to me a couple of times and it’s so frustrating. The first time, it turned out that the cymbal was defective and I got it replaced free of charge by the manufacturer. The second time I wasn’t so lucky.
So why does it happen? Is it the cymbal’s fault? Or are you doing something wrong? I have found that these are the 5 most common reasons why you are cracking your crash cymbals:
Setting your cymbals up flat so that you are hitting them directly on the edge is a sure way to crack them. Set up your cymbals so that they are pointing down toward you a little. If you really like the way they look flat then Read the rest of this entry »
Jan 15
Audience. Photo credit: toddmoritz
A cover band is a band that forms to play other people’s songs with the goal of entertaining an audience to make money. I have taken a lot of jokes, insults and even out-right anger from people when they find out I play in a cover band.
If you play in a cover band you’ve probably heard these before. I really want to hear the best insults you’ve had. Or the best insults you’ve ever given someone for playing in a cover band! Leave your replies in the comments. With this much stigma, why would you do it? Why would Read the rest of this entry »
Easy Money. Photo credit: FireChickenTA99
I’m sitting here at the coffee shop thinking that this look likes I’m showing off. Or exaggerating. Or even straight-out lying. But I’m not. It’s just what actually happened. In fact, it’s what being a musician is all about. You earn stupid amounts of money doing what you love, with the people you love, for the people you love. Awesome.
My band got booked to play New Year’s Eve and the night of New Years Day for a venue in Scotland that’s out in the middle of nowhere (sorry to all the great people who follow me on Twitter. I couldn’t wish you a happy new year because there wasn’t even any phone reception there!)
Here is the story: We left home about 6pm on New Year’s Eve and drove to the venue with some friends and family. We set up, met new people, played a few songs, talked, ate some food, had a few drinks and generally had a great time.
I saw in the New Year on stage, sitting at my drum kit, surrounded by 3 of my best friends. That’s pretty cool. The only bad thing was Read the rest of this entry »
