Technique
I’ll Practice Drums on the Weekend!
Do you know what caused me to start drinking coffee? It wasn’t when I stayed up late to study or party in high school. It wasn’t when I played until 2 AM on Sunday nights and then woke up at 6 AM for school on Monday. It wasn’t when I played on the road 6 […]
Relax…It’s Just a Drum Set!
Do your hand and foot muscles start to hurt while you play the drums? Do you get blisters on your fingers from holding your drumsticks too tight? After you play the drums does your back ache? Do you have a chipped front tooth and don’t know how it happened? Do you have trouble playing fast […]
How To Play the Bo Diddley Drum Beat
Once you hear it you’ve got to start movin’. You may not know how to dance; you may not even want to dance. But once you hear a Bo Diddley beat, your body starts to move in mysterious ways. The Bo Diddley drum beat is the last of the 6 beats that I think can […]
How to Play a Blues Shuffle Drum Beat
For a drummer, nothing feels better than playing a straight-ahead, no-frills blues shuffle “in the groove” like the one below. Even though “groove” in this case is a feeling, drummers will have fun talking about “groove” as if it’s a real, physical thing, like a crease in the pavement or the groove on a vinyl […]
How to Play a Slow Blues Drum Beat
The Blues… If you’ve got ‘em you know it. There’s nothing worse than that “down in the dumps”, “nobody can help me”, “leave me alone”, “I’m sad; why aren’t you?” feeling. And when songwriters get the blues, look out! They will write some of the most mournful, gut-wrenching, heartfelt songs you’ve ever heard. That is […]