Increasing Power Behind The Kit - Horsepower vs Handling
Smoke rubber, not cigarettes. Source: dicktay2000
Disclaimer
Building power is a worthy goal. But it takes time. There are no shortcuts. It must be built brick by boring brick. And the work must be done. Oh yes, the work must be done. Don't expect any quick fixes.
With that out the way...
This is a subject I was
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The Myth Of Timing
Timing. It's easy to get lost. Source: fdecomite
Everyone talks about the importance of having good timing. Or being able to play in time. Or good time-playing. It doesn't matter how you say it, it's the most important thing you need to develop. But also the most difficult. Because it doesn't exist.
The way most people (myself included) first go about working on timing is to put on a click and play a groove along with it. There's nothing wrong with that, it will work great for a beginner and if you've never done it before it'll really sort out a lot of problems. But there comes a point when
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Exploration And Xbox: Result Of 4 Months Without Drumming
Learning makes you smart. Source: austinevan
First things first...
Thanks to everyone who has been in touch and encouraged me to start writing again. I haven't been drumming much since February because of an old wrist condition that started to bother me. Other than keeping my gigging and teaching commitments, I've barely picked up a set of sticks. On the bright side though, it's given me time to work on my Xbox Gamerscore.
And I've used the time away from the kit to reflect on my drumming. I'm feeling like I've learned more over the last couple of months than I have in all my other years of playing. Yet, there's still way more to learn than I ever thought there could be.
So I've decided to give up on everything I was doing, start over and
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Why You Will Never Be A Good Drummer Unless You Cheat At The Lottery
Win. Source: dplanet
Cheaters always win
You've played the lottery before. If not, then you know what it is. But do you know how cheating at it can help your drumming? Obviously, you can use the money you win to buy new gear, build your own studio, quit your job and spend all your time drumming. But this article has nothing to do with money. It's about practising. Stay with me on this, it will all make sense soon.
What practising is
Let's say you want to show off a new fill at band practise or at your next gig. You have to practise that fill first before you can do it. You need to completely ingraine that fill, not just in your mind but in your central nervous system. This is what people mean when they say that something is stored in your "muscle memory".
When you get to this stage you can play the fill on automatic pilot, you can play it without having to concentrate, you can play it while thinking about something else entirely and, most importantly, you can
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What To Do When You Lose Motivation To Drum
Life is over. Source itsjustminna
You begin to doubt yourself
Maybe everyone was right. Maybe you're wasting your time. Maybe you're no good at anything. You wonder if you'll ever be able to play like your heroes.
Does this sound familiar? I've felt like this a lot with my drumming and it's not a good place to be.
Fortunately, there are things you can do to get your motivation back.
Here are 6 of the best things that will get you back into the drumming groove again.
To start with, the most important thing is:
Don't panic
It's totally normal for your motivation to rise and fall. Just realise that it's a temporary phase and that you will get through it. Try your best at this time to...
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7 Simple Ways You Can Turn A Bad Grip Into A Good One
Key to the world. Source: azrainman
Last part in the grip series
By now you know why your grip is important, you know which grip you should be using, you know which part of your grip you have been overlooking and now... you can put all this information into action and turn your current grip into a new one that will allow you to take over the world (seriously).
So the first thing you need to do to change your bad grip into a good one is:
1. Learn
Make sure you have at least read my other articles in this series. But don't stop there. Look around for videos of your favourite drummers, go and see bands play live, ask questions to other drummers on Twitter. That's what I do. But my personal favourite is to get a teacher. Not only do you get to see their grip and technique but you can ask them specific questions and
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The Most Overlooked Part Of Your Grip
Notice that pinky. Source: Sonny Side Up!
I use this phrase a lot but...
This changed everything for me and it affected so many parts of my playing:
- Increased endurance
- More power
- Faster singles
- Less tension
- More control
- Less aches and pains
- No more blisters
So far in my series on Drumstick Grip, we have talked about why your grip is impoartant, and you also which of the two grips you should use. Now its time to
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Should You Use French Or German Grip?
French and German Drumstick Grip
There's only one way to find out
In the previous part to this series on grip, we talked about Why Your Drumstick Grip Is So Important. Now we're going to look at what type of grip you should be using.
To know which grip is best for you, you're going to have to spend a bit of time with each one, discover the benefits and use the one that works best for you.
I'll give you my personal recommendations in this article but everyone is different so what works best for me may not be what works best for you.
Before you go any further
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Why Your Drumstick Grip Is So Important
Grip is important. Source: beeto456
Drums are a weird instrument
With most other instruments you have to hold them or at least touch them in order to play them eg. guitar, saxophone, trumpet, harp, violin etc. But with drums (and percussion instruments in general) you don't actually touch them. On a drum kit you're either hitting things with sticks or pushing pedals with your feet. But you never come into contact with the drums or cymbals themselves.
So the main point of contact that you have with your instrument is your sticks. If you have a bad grip on your sticks then you'll play badly. This is why so many drummers recommend that you practise for hours on a pad because once you get control over your sticks then playing drums becomes so much easier.
Nick (one of my Facebook friends) suggested that I make holding drumsticks a blog topic. He rightly pointed out that
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50 Killer Drum Tracks You Should Listen To
Listen. Source nasrulekram
The 50th Article from MakeDrumWork.com
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
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