Playing Music
4 Limbs and 2 Eyes – How to Read Music While Playing the Drums
How the heck is a drummer supposed to read music with both eyes while concentrating on playing the drums with all 4 limbs? You’re playing the hi-hat cymbals with your right hand, the snare drum with your left, the hi-hat pedal with your left foot and the bass drum with your right. You’re responsible for […]
1 Week, 3 Gigs, 2135 People, Pancakes and Eagles
This has been one of the most fun and rewarding weeks of my part-time drumming career. I haven’t had this much fun since I was a full-time musician living in Los Angeles and travelling the United States. The past week, I was able to play in 3 very different environments with 3 different bands for […]
The Magic of Song Sketches
It seems impossible that I could learn 40 songs in 2 days. If you were to listen to the songs straight through, it would amount to over 2 and a half hours of music. Think about what it would take to not just listen to the songs but to know them well enough to rehearse […]
How I Learned 40 Songs in 2 Days
A New Gig One evening after working my day job, I made an off-handed comment to my guitar-playing buddy, Ross, that I was interested in playing the drums more than a couple times a month with the church band. It had been several months since I had played with a club band and I was […]
Reading Feelings from Paper – How to Read Drum Fills
Don’t Forget the Feeling There are many reasons why someone wants to play the drums. I started playing because I love music and rhythm. I loved the way the drums made me feel when I listened to them in a song. In fact, when I was growing up, I was so focused on the drums […]