Drummer

Walk to the beat of a different drummer

noreply@blogger.com (pogunda) — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 08:29:00 +0000

Walk to the beat of a different drummer.
Be your own player. Be an "individual" drummer. Strive to develop your own distinct style on the drums that will make you unique. Do something different. Have a niche. This could be from mastering one particular technique to standing on your head while you're drumming ... just be different in some way.

Vinnie Colaiuta

noreply@blogger.com (pogunda) — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 08:23:00 +0000

Vincent Colaiuta (born February 5, 1956) is a highly regarded drummer based in Los Angeles. Originally from Brownsville, Pennsylvania, he began playing drums as a child and received his first full drum kit from his parents at the age of 14.

After attending the Berklee College of Music in Boston for a year, Colaiuta relocated to Los Angeles and made a mediocre living playing with lounge bands. His break came in April 1978 at the age of 22, when he auditioned for Frank Zappa, an audition that involved performing the notoriously difficult piece entitled "The Black Page". The audition was successful and Colaiuta went on to work with Zappa as his principal drummer for studio and live performances. Colaiuta's performances on Zappa's albums Tinsel Town Rebellion, Joe's Garage and Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar are considered by many drummers to be among the most astounding ever recorded. Joe's Garage was named one

Read more
Vinnie Colaiuta website

Dave Weckl, Vinnie Colaiuta, Steve Gadd - Great drums solo

Videotape yourself playing drums

noreply@blogger.com (pogunda) — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 02:32:00 +0000

Videotape yourself playing drums. You will be amazed at what you can learn from this. Everything from that stupid look on your face while your playing the drums, to the snare drum that's tilted at a 45 degree angle.

How to Purchase Drum Sets, Cymbals, and Accessories

noreply@blogger.com (pogunda) — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 08:54:00 +0000

Buying a new drum set can be a bit intimidating. Especially if you have not been playing very long. With so many different brands on the market and so many options and opinions, it makes choosing a new drum set a bit
challenging.

My advice is to go to severel different music stores or drum shops and get as many opinions as you can from as many different drum sales reps as possible. While you are in the drum shops beat around on the different brands of drum sets that are displayed and listen for which ones are most
appealing to your ears.

Since different drum sets and drum manufacturers make their shells out of different types of wood, sounds will vary. Most entry-level drum kits are made of basswood or mahogany, which is cheaper wood that does not produce a high quality sound . Higher-end drums use more expensive wood such as birch or maple, which produce a more rich, more resonant tone, but also require a higher price tag.

There is a minor difficulty to overcome about the drum sets on display, and that is, most display drum sets are not muted, or not muted properly. So, you will have to bring some felt or something with you to the drum shop along with some tape assuming the drum store doesn't have anything you
can use (it happens).

Also, ask the drum rep if you can remove the front bass drum head so you can insert a pillow, blanket, or your coat in as a mute if there isn't a mute already in there.

When your shopping for new cymbals be sure to bring your own sticks with you into the drum shop. When your crashing the crashes, riding the rides, and splashing the splashes, you want to get a good feel for them as you will be more comfortable with the sticks you are used to drumming with.

A quick tip... be sure to write your name on your sticks or mark them somehow before you take them into the drum store. Also, inform the drum reps at the store upon entering that you are bringing in your own sticks. You don't want them to think you stole them when you leave.

Obviously, one of the first things you need to consider when contemplating purchasing a new drum set is your budget. Drums are available in a wide range of prices, but unlike most other instruments, you can buy drums one at a time and build your kit as your budget allows.

You can start with as little as a new snare drum for your old kit, and then some new cymbals, then on to some new hardware or drum accessories. All of which can be purchased for less on eBay. I know you will not be able to test anything on eBay before you purchase it, but that's why you do your homework first. Go shop around at your local drum store and then zero in on your purchases.

Thank you to Dan Brown

To better understand time signatures

noreply@blogger.com (pogunda) — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 05:16:00 +0000

To better understand time signatures, visually think of dividing a pie into halves, quarters, eighths, etc. When it's in quarters, imagine putting a cutout of a quarter note on each slice and then slice that piece in two. You will then need to use two eighth notes for each and soon this will provide a better understanding of rhythmic values. This is also a great teaching method for your students.

Drums Throughout Humanity

noreply@blogger.com (pogunda) — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 08:47:00 +0000

From the time when man was a savage, he learnt that by hitting an object sound could be generated. Drums are among the oldest musical instruments known. They have entertained and helped people over the ages. You may ask how helped? Well, the American Indians used drums as a means for communication. So did the Africans. Today, drums are used in all kinds of music starting from classical to extreme rock. Groups like Beatles, and now Linkin' Park all use drum sets in their music. Drums are a part of the group of instruments known as percussions. Where you need to strike to create sound.

Examining the structure of the drum, we can see a membrane stretched over a shell. This is known as the drumhead. By striking the drumhead with a stick or part of a human body, sound is generated. Shapes of shell can be tubular or round. Other shapes have been used as well. In some drums, 2 membranes are used on either side of a tube with a small hole in between. The shell over which the skin or membrane is stretched, is the sound chamber. It is responsible for the noise emanating from the drum.

Musical groups today, use drum kits. These drum kits contain a base drum, cymbals, tom-toms and a snare drum on a stand. The base drum is often played with a foot pedal. Today, a wide range of accessories is available for drum sets starting out from simple cymbals to complex electronic pads. In the 1980's, people assembled huge drum sets with many accessories. Today however, the sizes of drums have been reduced.

Towards the late 1970's, Yamaha and Roland started producing electronic drum sets. These are operated by pads and are different from the normal drums. These drums were a direct effect of the development of the synthesizers.

Drums have been used not only for music but also for communication purposes in the passed. The Africans used this instrument to send out messages between villages or call the people to a war. These African drums were hollowed out trees that had a great power to cover distances.

While buying a drum, one has to be careful to make a right choice. The material of the membrane has to be selected carefully and the service and repair for the instrument has to be assured. When you purchase a drum set, you don't buy it for a few years. This is a long term investment and care is needed.

Drums are not only used in music and communication but also in the army and in schools. They are used to lead the cheer leading team and for marching during solemn occasions. In the army, the troops are thought to obey the signals given by drums.

Over all, drums have played a key and important role in our history. People have associated with this instrument from a long time, as it is one of the oldest instruments around. The drum has seen dances, blood shed and death. It has seen war and peace. Indeed, it is an instrument in its own class with its own status.

By: Sandra Stammberger

Bill Bruford

noreply@blogger.com (pogunda) — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 01:59:00 +0000

William Scott Bruford (born May 17, 1949 in Sevenoaks, Kent, England), better known as Bill Bruford, is an influential British drummer who is recognised for his forceful, highly precise, polyrhythmic style. He was the original drummer for the highly successful progressive rock group Yes, and has been a prominent figure in the art rock movement since the early 1970s. He has been in many other bands and collaborated on numerous projects, most famously King Crimson and his own fusion band Bruford.

He began playing the drums when he was thirteen, and was influenced by jazz drumming, which would manifest itself on early Yes albums and would remain an influence on his style throughout his career. He had success in the early seventies during his time with Yes playing on their first five albums including the LPs The Yes Album, Fragile, and Close to the Edge. He left Yes at the height of their success in 1972, returning briefly for the Union album which was released in 1991.

Picture from wikipedia

Read more

Bill Bruford website

See Bill Bruford Drum Solo Drum Technique On VDO Bar Above

Bill Bruford and the Beat - Part 1

Bill Bruford and the Beat - Part 2

Bill Bruford and the Beat - Part 3

Getting Your Double Bass Chops Together

noreply@blogger.com (pogunda) — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 01:09:00 +0000

Reality check first the reality is that professional drummers, known for their proficiency with double bass drum playing spent years practicing like obsessed maniacs to develop their speed, endurance, and muscles. Unless you are a one-in-a-billion exception then you are not going to get that good in a few weeks. It's gonna take a lot of work.

First get your feet in position a few drummers may disagree, but I contend that the speed and power you are going for, is best achieved using the heel up technique. Although I have seen some double bass drum players use their legs for making the strokes, the more typical technique for fast playing involves the ankles. That's the technique I use, and therefore the one I will discuss.

Volume and Power

Now depending on which drummers we might use as an examples, you need to know that many of them actually get the volume via the sound system. Therefore, for the time being, I suggest that you focus on the playing the patterns and keeping them steady. Volume can be addressed later.

Equipment factors you need to make sure you set the height of your drum throne and the position of it (in relation to your feet on the bass drum pedals) to where your feet just hang naturally over the pedals. The idea is to get your legs into a position where your ankles can move freely in order to generate speed and control. Spend some time getting this position established because it is the basis of the balance you'll need for playing double bass drums.

The length of your beater stroke, the tension on your bass drum pedals, and the amount of rebound the beaters get off of your bass drum heads (because of the tightness or looseness of your bass drum head) are all very significant factors. You will have to experiment to find the right combination of those variables for you. Perhaps you will even need to make some trade offs to come up with a combination that sounds good and yet still feels good to you.

The physics of bass drum pedal speed

Imagine trying to play fast bass drum patterns with very long beater stroke lengths (the travel distance) plus loose spring tension on the pedals (the way the beater comes back to ready position) plus a very loose bass drum batter head (which has little rebound). That would take some absolutely phenomenal foot work. There are some minor adjustments would make it so much easier.

These adjustments will improve the efficiency of your pedal strokes. The length of the beater stroke has to be long enough to generate solid beater impact, but not necessarily from a ninety degree angle or "all the way" back. I'd start with about a forty-five degree angle stroke and then adjust it to whatever feels best to you. Somewhere is that general range is most likely going to be a good "feel" for you.

Next the pedal spring tension has to be tight enough to return the beater back very quickly to make the next stroke. You need to let the pedal help you. That's why a loose spring tension is just going to feel sluggish and will slow you down rather than helping you. The beater also has to bounce off of the batter head. Not sink into it. So if you are a drummer with a normal bass drum stroke that sinks the beater into the bass drum head (and holds it there) rather than one that lets it rebound off the head (much like a snare drum stroke), then you're going to have to change that style for fast double bass drum patterns. You'll never play thirty-second notes on your bass drums by sinking the beater into the head.

Exercises when you are not at the drum kit Louie Bellson was the first drummer to really bring double bass drum playing to popularity. I had the fortune to meet him, when he was here in Nashville visiting my friend Larrie Londin. We talked about double bass drums and he shared something that, at first, really surprised me. I'll share that here. He told me that one of things that helped him master the feel of playing double bass drums was his ability as a tap dancer. He said that his bass drum playing had a feel similar like he was tap dancing on the pedals. Well, I'm not a tap dancer, but I watched him do it. And it made a lot of sense to me. It was all in his fast moving ankles! Now I point this out, not to suggest that you take tap dance lessons, but to suggest that even when you are not at your drum kit that you can do some exercises that will develop your ankle muscles.

Exercises

You can do this by sitting on a stool or chair (perhaps with something in the seat that helps raise your heels a bit off of the floor-if needed) and, with heels up, start tapping out an eighth note pattern. Focus on keeping the tempo even. If you can't do it at the tempo you first attempt, then just slow the tempo down. Stay with that slower tempo until you can keep the eighth note pattern steady and even. Then speed it up a bit and master that. After all of these years of playing double bass drums, I still do this exercise daily.

Review of my tips

Get your pedals and bass drum heads adjusted for your best overall sound and feel. Get your throne height and position for the best balance. The speed and control is going to be coming from your ankles not from your legs. Remember, for fast playing, - the beater has to bounce off of the bass drum head quickly in order to get ready for the next stroke. Practice slow eight note patterns first. Master the slower tempo, and then move up to a little faster tempo. You are working on the ability to keep the pattern even and steady. If the strokes sound choppy or uneven, then you are not ready for a faster tempo yet. This is a building block endeavor for you. There is no point in trying to pound out blazing thirty-second note patterns until you can play steady eight notes evenly and effortlessly.

Do your feet exercises whenever possible to build up endurance and feel. Practice. Practice. Practice. Then practice some more.

Many times, nothing of value comes to us easily. But if playing double bass drums was easy and everybody could do it, then it wouldn't be a big deal would it? Stay committed and have fun.

Ken Sanders

Think twice before cleaning those cymbals

noreply@blogger.com (pogunda) — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 00:49:00 +0000

Think twice before cleaning those cymbals! Many of the old pros swear by that crusty old dirt that's engraved in cymbals. They claim, more often than not, that it gives them a real warm sound that adds character and body to their overall sound.

Snare Drum Buying Guide

noreply@blogger.com (pogunda) — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 01:03:00 +0000

The snare drum is the central instrument within the drum set. There are essentially two types of snare drums on the market: wooden-shelled drums and chrome-shelled drums. In rare cases, you may come across plastic or composite-shelled drums, too. A common starter snare drum a chrome 5 1/2" x 14" eight-lug drum.

The snare drum contains:
A shell or circular body. A top "batter" head and a bottom ultra-thin clear head. Chrome hoops (rims) that fasten the heads to the shell. Tension rods that screw into lug casings, these are used to tighten the rim onto the shell. Snare wires. A throw-off apparatus.

Whatever drum you buy make certain that the snare (thin metal strings on the bottom of the drum) are intact and that the throw-off lever on the side of the drum works properly. The throw-off is a chrome apparatus found on the side or the shell of the snare drum. It contains a lever that snaps the snare wires up against the bottom drumhead or releases them so that they hang about 1/8" below the head. When the throw-off or strainer is in the up position, you will hear the buzz of the snare wires. When the throw-off is in the sideways position, the drum will sound similar to a high-pitched tom-tom.

Tom-toms are similar to snare drums in that they have two heads fastened to a shell. They do not contain snare wires though. They also differ from the snare drum in their function. When checking the snare strainer, make sure that you can turn the snares on and off without too much effort. Also, make sure that the snares tighten and release quietly. If you do not get this on-off effect at all, it may simply mean that the snare wires are too loose. All quality snare drums have an adjustment knob that is part of the throw-off apparatus. If the snare is not working properly, try tightening this knob. You should feel the tension increase depending on the direction you turn it. If you turn the knob and it has no effect on the sound of the drum, chances are the apparatus is faulty. Don't buy this drum.

Finally-and this goes for any drum-check to see if the drum has any cracks in the shell and make sure that the rims or hoops that fasten the head to the shell are not bent or dented. Also, make sure that none of the tension rods (screws) are missing, and check that none of the lugs(tension rod casings) are stripped. Don't worry about heads, because these are dispensable. Often the head that comes with your purchase needs replacing anyway. Once upon a time, drumheads were made from calf hides (skin). However, the problem with skins was that they were very difficult to keep in tune due to fluctuations in the weather. They were also not very durable. Now days, we use plastic or Mylar heads on our drums and the most popular head manufacturer is Remo, although Evans and Aquarian make fine heads, too. On the bottom of your snare drum, you must use an ultra-thin clear head. Anything thicker will choke the snare wires and they will not vibrate. Also, you should use only a single-ply "batter" head on the top of your snare drum. The batter head is a rough, sand papery-surfaced head that is designed to give texture to brush strokes. If the head were smooth, brush-ing the head would have little effect. The batter head is also single-ply to allow for a crisper tone and more sustain.

The white Remo Ambassador Batter is the most common of its kind. You may use the Ambassador Batter heads on all of your drums. However, a heavier, double-ply pinstripe head is very popular with many drummers because of its durability and rounder tone on tom-toms. The pinstripe head rings less, and therefore has fewer overtones. Whatever you do, definitely use the pinstripe head for your bass drum, as this will give you the necessary punch and durability you need. You will need to change your top or "batter" snare head every three to six months depending on your degree of activity. In most cases, you don't need to replace the bottom tom-tom heads, front bass drumhead, and bottom snare head with high-quality heads since you will never strike these heads. Whatever heads come from the factory (or the person who had the drums before you) are probably good enough as long as there are no rips or holes in them.

By Eric Stark

Simon Phillips

noreply@blogger.com (pogunda) — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 00:18:00 +0000

Simon Phillips (born February 6, 1957, in London, England) is a prolific English jazz and rock drummer.

Style

Phillips' trademark is his precise, creative and very dramatic style. His fills often begin earlier than is expected, often beginning on the "2-and" and continuing to build until "1" of the next bar. His use of metric modulation is notable, and he often uses it to build tension in sections of songs with repeated chord progressions. He often uses double bass drums in the context of a fill.

Phillips has been an endorser of Tama drums for many years. His carefully tuned and dynamic drum sound is highly identifiable, and he uses large drums and incorporates octobans and a gong drum in his kit.

Noted for his versatility, Phillips plays diverse styles, including rock, fusion, metal, prog, and jazz. He also plays open-handed, meaning that he plays the hi-hat with his left hand and the snare with the right, not crossing his hands. The ride cymbal is also played left instead of right. However, when playing jazz music, he switches to playing the traditional method with the hi-hat and ride.

Picture from drummerworld.com

Read more1

Read more2( see VDO drum solo & audio )

Simon Phillips website

See Simon Phillips drum solo drum technique on VDO bar above

Drum Lesson from Simon Phillips

Simon Phillips drum solo

Study a melodic instrument

noreply@blogger.com (pogunda) — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 00:44:00 +0000

Study a melodic instrument (not just drumset). This will give you a valuable understanding of harmony, chord structure and overall music theory. You can then be more involved in the arranging of your band's songs. You can also write your own drum charts more efficiently.

Tuning Your Drums

noreply@blogger.com (pogunda) — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 01:22:00 +0000

If you do not yet own a drum set, just keep practicing the way you have been. You will appreciate this lesson a little more when you finally get your drums. This lesson is for those students who wish to improve their drumset tones.

I contend that even the cheapest drums may be tuned to your personal satisfaction. The secret is in knowing how to pull the sounds that you've imagined, from each of your drums.

When tuning a drumset, you must initially imagine the tones you are wanting to hear, then you must discover how to tweak those exact tones from each drum.

I have assembled the following pointers to help you do just that.

TENSION SCREWS AND LUGS:

Look closely at your snare drum and try to decide exactly what factors most effect the tonal quality. Notice the 'square headed screws' around the top and bottom rims of the Drum. We call these ?tension rods' or 'tension screws'. They screw into the lugs, that are usually mounted permanently on the sides of the 'shell' of the drum. We may tighten or loosen these screws with a tool called a 'drum key. A drum key can be purchased at any music store for a dollar or two. Adjustments to the tension screws with a drum key will effect the tension on the Drumhead, which will raise or lower the pitch (tone) of the drum.

A tight Drumhead will produce more bounce for the Drumsticks and a higher pitch, whereas less tension on the head will produce the opposite. A little experimentation will help you decide which you personally prefer.

Your PERSONAL PREFERENCES are paramount, here, since you'll be the person actually playing the drum(s). No one should ever try to dictate to you, the tones YOU are preferring to hear. It's a discovery you'll need to make for yourself. The CORRECT tuning of your drums will only be correct, if YOU agree, and it is never correct until YOU approve of the tones coming from the drum(s).

It's virtually impossible to PURCHASE the tones you are wanting to hear. You'll need to learn to 'tweak' your preferred tones from even the most expensive drums. Price has very little to do with that.

Be cautious when adjusting the lug screws around any drumhead so as not to warp either the drumhead or the rim. Do not over-tighten one screw while leaving another very loose. It is best to tighten the lug screws in a diagonal crisscross pattern around the head. Cautiously turn each tension screw an equal number of turns until you have achieved the desired tension.

THE SNARES:

Now turn your snare drum over and look at the strands of wire underneath. We call these wires, ?snares'. The ?snares' produce the ?snap' sound and give the ?snare' drum its name. Without these ?snares' your drum will sound like a tom tom.

THE STRAINER:

The snare wires are usually connected on one side of the drum with a screw apparatus and a flip lever. The flip lever on most drums is usually designed to release the snares quickly, so that a 'tom effect' can be a tonal option.

The screw apparatus, called the ?STRAINER', may be tightened or loosened to place the desired amount of tension on the snares. The degree of tension on the snares will increase and decrease the amount of 'snap' or 'rattle' coming from the snare drum. Again, . . . You must decide just the right amount of 'snap' or 'rattle' you want to hear. This will require some experimentation before you will discover the exact tone you personally prefer.

MUFFLING AND MUFFLERS:

After tuning both heads and adjusting the Strainer you may find that your Snare Drum (or any drum) may still emit an undesirable 'ring' or 'overtone' when struck a glancing blow. Too much vibration in the heads can often cause this overtone. Some type of muffling device may be necessary, and this is often where most students experience problems with their tone. If your drum(s) seem to 'RING' too much, you'll probably need to muffle the drum heads . . . which can be done a number of ways.

There are MANY ways to muffle the heads of a drum. Some drummers use a strip of duct tape, and others may place a thin strip of felt or linen under the head(s), between the shell edge, and the head itself.

Those tips, (above) are the economical ways. The tips below may cost a few pennies.

In recent years a number of spinoff-companies have emerged to address this 'ringing' and 'muffling' dilemma. One of the best solutions to drum-muffling is a 'thin mylar oval', that lays flat and directly over the head of any drum. They are known by names such as, O-Rings or Sound Ovals.

If your drum(s) seem to emit too much 'ringing' and too many overtones, it might be wise to visit your local music store and ask a knowledgeable salesman to demonstrate the effectiveness of such a muffling device.

To 'hear' the dramatic differences in tone . . . may be enough to make you want to try them on your own drums. O-Rings are offered in a number of sizes, and varieties. Some are adhesive backed and will stick to your drumhead, while others simply lay on the drum. Still others, may be made of a felt-like material as well. Experiment with the many varieties until you find the type that works best for you, personally. You'll probably want to use them all the way around your drumset.

Muffling perfection is the KEY ingredient to achieving the exactness of tone your ear is wanting to hear.

Big bucks aren't the answer to tuning problems. Perfect tone is a matter of simple common-sense. The most expensive drum set in the World will sound terrible, as they come out of the box. They too will need to be 'tweaked' to your satisfaction, or you'll hate them!

OTHER MUFFLER TYPES:
A INTERNAL DRUM MUFFLER, is simply a screw device that places a felt pad against the batter head inside the drum. The muffler is usually equipped with a flip lever or turn screw that allows for easy external adjustment. In previous years, most snare drums came from the factory with a muffler installed, but that practice has recently stopped for some unknown reason. Almost any music store will install one for twenty or thirty dollars (per drum). Again it is up to you to decide whether you like your drum(s) with, or without a muffler.

The INTERNAL MUFFLER was the STANDARD muffling device for many years, and as far as I'm concerned . . . it was, and still is, the best method of muffling. I don't know why the major drum manufacturers have stopped installing these devices at the factory, but I assume it has a LOT to do with profit-margins . . . and greed.

DRUM HEADS:

If you are still dissatisfied with your tone at this point, you should look at the batter head (or top head.) Batter heads are manufactured at varied thicknesses or weights ranging from thin to thick.

Thin heads are designed for very light, snappy, crisp tonal qualities, but they have a tendency to break under heavy use.

Thick drumheads will withstand a great deal of punishment, but some tonal quality will be sacrificed. Thicker heads tend to 'contain' much of the tone 'inside the drum' in a way that keeps those tones from being released and perceived by our ears. Extremely thick heads have a tendency to sound flat and dead, in my opinion.

Again, a trip to your local music store may be wise, here. Familiarize yourself with all the various types, styles and brands of drumheads and experiment with many of them. Determine your own preferences. That's really the only way to be sure of what you personally prefer. The many choices are yours to make. We are all different. That's WHY there are so many varied choices.

Personally, I prefer Remo heads. I prefer a Coated-Ambassador on the snare, and Pinstripes (see below) around the toms, for 'live' gigs.

I like Hydraulic heads around the toms, if I'm doing work in the studios. Hydraulic heads produce a great tone when micked, but they don't seem to project as well as pinstripes, when played acoustically in large night clubs. (That's just my opinion.)

Tuning the Toms
Now that you have your snare drum tuned to perfection, it's time to focus on the remainder of the set.

Begin with the smallest tom . . . it will often be situated directly next to, and a little above, (or even flush with) the Snare. This should be your highest pitched tom since it is the smallest. The larger toms should be graduated in both tone and size in clockwise fashion, around you.

When tuning your toms, try first to imagine ALL the tones you'll want to hear from the entire set, then seek to achieve or pull those tones from each drum.

Remember that tight heads produce higher tones and loose heads produce lower tones.

You may wish to experiment with varied combinations of tight top heads, loose bottoms for one effect, or vice versa for the opposite.

Some drummers choose to eliminate the bottom tom heads completely. Search for the sound that you like, personally.

Drum mufflers, (O-Rings, etc.) will help eliminate any undesirable ?ring' or 'overtones' in your toms. Many high tech solutions to tom tone have appeared on the market in recent years. Experiment with some of the following options:

TOM TOM HEADS:
* 1. Black Dot: This is a tom head designed with a double thickness of head material in the center of the drum. The double thickness tends to eliminate some 'overtones' and enhance the life of the head.
* 2. Pinstripe: Pinstripe heads have a double thickness of head material around the outer perimeter of the drum where most overtones occur. I prefer this type of head.
* 3. Hydraulic: Hydraulic heads involve the sandwiching of an oily substance between two thicknesses of head material. Many drummers swear by them. The overtones are greatly reduced and the heads are very durable. My opinion is that they do not project very well in a large room. The tone tends to fall flat a short distance from the drum. Microphones can help solve that problem though.

BASS DRUM
If you like your bass drum loud and ringing, that is easy! Simply tighten both heads to maximum, and do not try to muffle them. YUK!!!!!

We may get a solid "thud" effect in the following ways:

* 1. Place a 6" x 26" piece of cloth (felt is suggested) between the drumhead and shell of your bass all the way across the drum.

You may even choose to cover the entire circular area with thin cloth.

Remove the drum rim and head, place the cloth over the hole, then replace the head and rim and pull them to the desired tension. Finally, trim away the ragged edges of cloth.

* 2. Many drummers prefer to eliminate the front head and rim entirely and place different articles of padding inside the Drum (pillows, foam rubber, roadkill, etc.) until the desired muffle has been achieved. (I'm just kidding about the roadkill.)

* 3. Pro-drummers may often cut a small (10" to 12") hole in the center of the outside bass drum head, (facing the crowd.) This is good, because it allows the drummer to adjust the padding inside the drums as needed, during the gig. Not all rooms are created 'acoustically' equal.

* 4. It's common to see ALL of the above muffling techniques used in various combinations, along with O-rings and other muffling devices. Muffling is a major factor towards achieving, personally preferred tone. So, don't be afraid to experiment!

Thank you to Bill Powelson

Joey Jordison

noreply@blogger.com (pogunda) — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 00:15:00 +0000

Nathan Jonas "Joey" Jordison is an American rock/nu metal musician. He is best known for his role as the drummer for the band Slipknot. He is also well known as the guitarist for Murderdolls, a glam metal/horror punk band which he founded in the 2000s, that is currently on hiatus due to the Murderdolls' members' main projects. In 2006, he was the drummer for the industrial metal band Ministry. For the most of 2007, Jordison took over the drumming duties for the nu-metal band Korn (he is seen in their video for "Evolution") before going back to the studio to work on Slipknot's fourth studio album. He also did the drumming not only for Korn but as well as Metallica at the Download Festival in 2004.

Picture from drummerworld.com

Read more1

Read more2

Joey Jordison website

Slipknot website

See Joey Jordison drum tip drum technique on VDO bar above

Slipknot - Joey Jordison Drum Solo

Singles and Doubles

noreply@blogger.com (pogunda) — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:53:00 +0000

Singles and Doubles. Drum rudiments are made up of doubles and singles. Learn to play these as cleanly, evenly, and correctly as possible. Do the same with doubles. They make up all the rest! Master this on the drums and you'll find everything else comes a lot easier.

Drumming and Singing

noreply@blogger.com (pogunda) — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 01:44:00 +0000

Isn't Easy at First, But It's Worth Working On Although I take it for granted now, I sing both lead and backing vocals regularly while playing the drum kit. I have a tenor range that enables me to sing many types of harmonies. This takes the strain off of the other singers in the band, and is appreciated. It also gives you a chance to shine, by occasionally lead singing original or cover tunes. There are a variety of methods that I have seen drummers use to become proficient at backing and/or lead vocals. But no matter what, you must have been endowed with the ability to, at least, hold a tune. If you do, then you CAN learn to sing and play drums - even while playing odd times and polyrhythms (I really hate that word "odd" for 5, 7, 9 beat per measure music - but that's common western terminology).
My approach to develop my lead singing and playing ability:

1. I went to a classical vocal instructor and had her evaluate my voice.
2. I took classical vocal lessons to learn proper posture, breathing, etc. This helped me learn proper sitting posture, while improving my vocal range and projection (I actually brought my drum throne to each lesson).
3. After absorbing a good deal of vocal training, I began to applying my voice in real situations. In doing this, I found out right away that it was best to get the drum part down first so you don't have to "think" too much when you begin layering the vocal part.
4. After learning both parts separately, I began to practice both the drumming and singing parts together. I started by concentrating on backing vocals first, and I also worked on a song in sections. I repeated a section until I felt comfortable. Then I would move on to the next section... and so on.

Eventually, I found that my mind became more and more used to doing these two things at once. As the years went by, I also found that it got easier and easier to pick up harmony parts and sing them "on the fly". It was much like the process of developing your chops on the kit. Putting it simply; if you have a decent voice, and you haven't bothered to learn to play and sing, then you're really limiting your playing opportunities, and wasting some of your talent. Singing drummers are NOT the norm. And having this skill could the difference between landing a gig and not! I strongly recommend that you take some time to try and learn this skill, so you can use it to your advantage (and for the fun of it). You CAN do it!
Thank you to Steve Dow

Your Drumming is Your Voice

noreply@blogger.com (pogunda) — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 00:18:00 +0000

By: Daniel N Brown
After having played music with many different musicians on many different skill levels I have noticed something interesting among most of them. Each one will usually play his or her instrument according to his or her respective personality.

When this concept comes to drumming it is really noticeable.

I've noticed that drummers who are a relaxed type often play relaxed. A drummer who is a more bold person usually plays the same way... bold. A drummer who lives his or her life a little sloppy and wreckless will often play the same way. Likewise, a drummer who is a very organized individual will fairly play rather consistantly. All this is okay to an extent. But, we just can't let our drumming be subject to our personality, feelings, or mood at any given moment.

Our instrument, the drums, are our expression in the band. It's our voice. And, many times, we must drum in a manner that does not line up with our personality, feelings, or mood.

Being an outstanding drummer requires becomming a bit of an actor. What I mean by that is, sometimes we have to play drums a certain way despite our true personality, or how we may feel at any given moment. That's what a good actor does, he temporarliy forgets who he is and becomes someone else for a time so that he can pull off what he needs to pull off in order to get the job done.

As you know, sometimes we have to drum a little harder than we may feel like drumming. And then at other times we may have to drum a bit softer when what we really want to do is rock out.

In order to be an outstanding drummer we have to be able to put out what is required of us at any given moment. For example, sometimes a certain song needs to convey a certain message, feeling, or mood. But, your particular mood at the time does not jive with it at all.

If we want the song do what it's supposed to do, we can't expect the song to submit to how we feel right then. We have to submit to the song and forget about ourselves by becoming a part of the song.

The bottom line is this... don't play your drums according to your personality. Play your drums according to each individual song's personality. Only then will your songs truly come to life.

Bill Stewart

noreply@blogger.com (pogunda) — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 01:52:00 +0000

William Harris "Bill" Stewart (born October 18, 1966, Des Moines, Iowa) is an American jazz drummer. Stewart is a versatile player who has performed with a broad array of musicians, from Maceo Parker to Jim Hall. He is also an active composer, whose distinctive tunes, which might be categorized as "postmodern" jazz tunes, appear on his, and others', records.

Musical style

As a drummer, Bill Stewart's playing is distinguished by its melodic focus, and its polyrhythmic, or layered, character. To say his playing is "melodic" means there is a sense in which one can "hum along" to his solos, as there is a clear sense of melodic construction. His improvisations favor the development and layering of motivic ideas over the raw generation of excitement or display of technical prowess. Stewart has great touch, or dynamic precision, so that his ideas are articulated with a pleasing exactness and clarity. He has also achieved a very high degree of independence of his limbs, so that not only the ride and the snare/toms, but also the bass drum and hi-hat, are free to participate as melodic "first-class citizens." His drumming bears the influence of various melodic drummers who preceded him, including Max Roach, Art Blakey, Roy Haynes, Tony Williams, Jack DeJohnette and Al Foster.

As a composer, Bill Stewart is forward-looking, and seems not to want to repeat what others have already accomplished. In other words, his tunes have a bit of an avant-garde flavor. The melodies, harmonies, phrase lengths, and measure lengths are often altered so as not to conform too closely to traditional jazz language. Some of his tunes (such as "Mayberry") also feature a built-in "free blowing" section, surrounded by a composed "head" (in the case of "Mayberry", a parody of the theme song of the Andy Griffith Show.) The concept of "Mayberry" may have been borrowed from Stewart's long-time collaborator John Scofield, who has written many tunes of the same general shape.

Picture from drummerworld.com

Read more1

Read more2 & see clip drum solo

Bill Stewart - Awesone Drum

Speed is not everything in drumming!

noreply@blogger.com (pogunda) — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 01:51:00 +0000

Speed is not everything in drumming! Now days you see drummers who always see how fast they can play or how many beats a minute they can lay donw in a minute. Leran how to walk before you can run!Speed comes with practice! Remember a complex drummer who is solid can be just the same about of competition with drummers like Joey Jordison, traivs Barker, Tony Royster, thomas lane, and many others. Practice makes perminent but perfect practice makes practice perfect and do that and you will succed! - xJonx

Stick Spinning

noreply@blogger.com (pogunda) — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 00:04:00 +0000

1) Start by holding the stick between your middle 3 fingers; the middle on the bottom of it and the ones on either side on top.

1 3 -ring and index fingers
------------------ -stick
2 -middle finger

*make sure you start in the middle of the stick. It's much easier with equal weight on both sides. 2) Move your ring finger down and index finger up. The index finger should release the stick. Now your ring and middle fingers should be level and your index finger slightly higher.

|
| 3 -index finger
1|2 -ring+middle fingers
|
|

3) Bring your ring finger counterclockwise around your middle finger and pull your index finger back, then down, then out. now your fingers should be in the reverse position of step one.

2
--------------
1 3

4) Ring finger goes down and lets go, index finger goes up. Opposite of step 2.

|
|
2|3
1 |
|

5) Index finger goes counter-clockwise up, ring finger pulls back, goes up, goes out on top of the pencil. You should end up back in position 1.

1 3
--------------
2

Repeat the steps, and you've got a spin. If you do it right, you should eventually be moving your fingers up the stick, and you will run out of room to spin. You can avoid this by making the stick form a figure 8 around you middle and ring fingers, but I'll save that for another lesson.

Drumstick spinning lesson

Drum stick spinning(beginner)

Monitor Mixes

noreply@blogger.com (pogunda) — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 01:50:00 +0000

Monitor Mixes: Try to get a "medium" volume from your sound guy. You can then go down or up from there. Low volume mixes will help you play softer if necessary. Mixes that are too loud can not only be physically harmful to your ears but they can sometimes cause confusion.

Pivoting

noreply@blogger.com (pogunda) — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 00:22:00 +0000

To get from one drum or cymbal to another, I try to position my hands or arms in between the instruments in order to eliminate moving my arms from the shoulder(which would involve using the larger chest, shoulder and upper arm muscles). This enables me to pivot the stick from the wrist between two toms, for example, in a sort of windshield wiper fashion arcing from side to side. To do this the wrist is bent slightly into the up position and is moved by twisting the wrist at the forearm. The same principle is used to pivot between my high positioned cymbals and lower positioned drums : by raising my upper arm at the shoulder, I can position my wrist at about shoulder height between the drums and cymbals. Then, I can pivot at the wrist to go between them using the smaller muscles of the forearm with less effort than lifting up and down with the shoulder, upper arm and chest. This technique can be expanded to the whole kit. Just place your wrists in the center of a group of toms or cymbals and try to pivot with out having to move your arms too much(for example, if you were to cycle around 4 toms, place your hands in between tom 2 & 3 and see if you can pivot to tom 1, 2, 3 & 4).
Thnk you to Terry Bozzio

Drummer Warm Ups

noreply@blogger.com (pogunda) — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 00:54:00 +0000

Like any physical activity, drumming is demanding on specific muscles, tendons and ligaments. Because of this, stretching/warming up properly is the wise approach to ensure that you will play your best while avoiding injury. Like tennis elbow to a tennis player, we must avoid tendonitis, tenitis, and muscle pulls to continue doing what we love. Warming up actually encompasses the acts of stretching specific muscles and tendons - as well as "using" them in a controlled fashion before you actually begin a higher level of activity. And, with almost everything, there are different routines that work best for different people - and different styles of drumming. For example, if you're a metal drummer, you will be using your larger muscle groups more than a jazz drummer. Thus, you will need to concentrate on warming-up and stretching these muscles more. If you play lighter, you will concentrate more on smaller muscle groups. Regardless, I believe that the following warm-ups do apply to all drummers. There are other approaches also in use that work equally well, or better than mine. And that's OK. The main point is to always try to stretch and warm up before you play!
Warming Up Exercises for Drumming

The first thing is to try and get at least 1/2 hour of free time before you're going to perform. You don't need separate "warm up" kit either (although that would be great). I always bring a Remo pad or a foam pad to work my fingers, wrists and forearms (since it is light and doesn't make much noise). For my feet (because I play a double bass pedal setup) I bring special beaters, or, I use two small pieces of closed cell foam under my feet that apply some counter-force - in a heel up or down position. I usually begin by "cold-stretching" my arms, wrists and fingers for about 5 minutes (using 9-12 different exercises). Then I stretch at the ankles for about the same time (using rotation, and up and down motions). Finally, I get out my practice pad and begin playing flat flams slow to fast (a flat flam is a unison stroke). After this I begin with single stroke rolls - also slow to fast, and then light to heavy. Finally, I add various sticking exercises with rudiments and accents. Then I move to my feet. I begin by playing with my heel down with both feet playing flat flams and other rudimental exercises. As I do this, I eventually use a toe-up position - and then go back to a heel down position. I initially try to keep consistently slow tempos as I change my dynamics. Then I speed up. Eventually, I use both my hands and my feet. In this mode, I alternate between playing fast and slow - regardless of the patterns I chose to play. Next, I stop and "warm-stretch" (same exercises). Then, I work on both my hands and feet some more. Then, I feel ready to play!
Thank you to Steave Dow

Jacob Armen

noreply@blogger.com (pogunda) — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 00:11:00 +0000

Jacob Armen is a true child prodigy drummer. Born in 1980, this drummer was playing like a pro at the ripe old age of 18 months. By the age of 6, he was playing with a full jazz ensemble. He was on tv many times between the ages of 7 and 10 years old, some of these video clips are available online. This prodigy drummer was trained in jazz by his father who would place a radio in his baby crib and he would listen to jazz drummers each day until he was able to play as well. By the age of 7, he was performing with 4 drumsticks, a double bass pedal, and full kit. Some of the most renowned musical product lines sponsor Mr. Armen and his art. Jacob Armen released on NPG Records after being signed to a contract with Prince. Jacob's second release "Breakthrough" was released on his personal label, JAAB Records. For the past 2 years, Jacob has been working on his third release which will feature over 40 musicians!

Jacob Armen website

Jacob Armen drum solo when he was 10 years old

Jacob Armen drum solo when he was 7 years old

Bass Tone

noreply@blogger.com (pogunda) — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 01:17:00 +0000

To create the bass tone, strike the center of your drum with the palm of your hand. Like the open tone, you want your hand to bounce off the head as soon as you make contact with it so that the head can vibrate freely. One trick here is to hit the drum on a slight angle, brushing past the head as your palm hits it. Doing so helps get your hand out of the way of the head's vibration. For most drums, this position is also the most natural way to hit the bass tone because you have to move your hand at an angle toward the drum to get the center of the head.

Some drums are conducive to creating bass tones than others. Generally, goblet shaped drums, such as the African djembe or Middle Eastern doumbek, make a more pronounced bass sound than a barrel-shaped drum, such as the conga.