Lately I’ve been noticing a lot of talk about doing things the hardest way possible— among drumming students there’s a great fear of “crutches” and “cheating.” The path of least resistance offends people’s protestant work […]
Category: performance practices
Playing funk effectively
Here are a few tips on playing funk and related music, focusing on how to project to the audience and facilitate groove among the musicians while playing live unmiked, at a moderate to moderately strong […]
Buddy meme
This Buddy Rich quote, embedded in a meme, has been kicking around the internet awhile: “You only get better by playing.” Uncontroversial to people who can play, but it has generated a small amount of […]
Very occasional quote of the day: cymbal selection for bop
Roy Haynes talks about what cymbal used to go with what soloist in the 1940s: “I just liked the sound of a cymbal with the sax. It was cool with a trumpet, too. Back in […]
Orchestrating and embellishing backbeats
What do we do with this? Someone bored with playing backbeats all night asked this question on the Drummerworld forum: “What do you do to spice up the 2 & 4?” My answer is: I […]
David Garibaldi’s funk tips
Great piece from Rhythm Magazine with some comments on funk drumming from Tower of Power drummer David Garibaldi. I’ve pulled my choice favorite comments, but there’s a lot more, so go read the whole piece. What […]
Very occasional quote of the day: the drummer’s job
“Your job is to make everyone in that band feel like playing. It’s a very idealistic way of looking at it, but you have got to. Because that’s your outlet.” — Ed Soph, interview with […]
“All you need to bring is cymbals” translated
“What? Them’s drums, ain’t they? Whatsamatter?” What this familiar instruction really means: “Bring your cymbals, and these items too: two different sizes of hihat clutches cymbal felts, washers, sleeves, and wingnuts snare drum throne bass […]
Advice for beginning drummers
Obligatory inspirational picture 1. Play every day. Consistency is the main thing. At some point in your playing career, you will need to put in many hours every day, for several years at least, if […]
VOQOTD: rhythm machine
“Your part isn’t the only thing that’s happening in the music; you’re part of a rhythm machine in which there are gears interconnecting with each other. Learn how to be supportive and when to stay […]