Hi all! Here is a little something I put together for Drums and Percussion magazine in Germany some years back. How to play Songo with more open phrasing . Many people can play the pattern but few can improvise effectively. Especially if you haven’t done any gigs with the Songo. So here are some coordination …
It’s funny how music reflects life in so many ways. The concept of “pocket” and “groove” – It is impossible to know every pocket in the world. You can only have a view that is distorted by the lens of the particular culture you are trapped in. When you are a serious researcher you will …
Yes the time has come to play that first Salsa gig and you have to decide which sticks to use! Well….after doing hundreds of salsa gigs in my career I can tell you that timbal sticks are going to sound better on the bells. The body strokes are fuller sounding and it makes a whole …
Being a drummer puts you in the position of having a great opportunity. Once you reach a certain level in your playing, once all basic fancy independence is done (Which takes many years) the next step, especially if you want to work in a wide variety of genres, is to basically be a field researcher. Like …
Being great at rudiments does not make you a great drummer. It makes you great at rudiments. Playing “Drumset” is not the same as playing snare in a line. It’s a different mindset. Waayyy different and especially when it comes to world music. Why am I mentioning this? Because I see this trend lately in …
Good morning. Today I am being sent lots of videos from random drummers around the world to critique. My thoughts are… 1) Copying drummers from the USA 100% is a bad idea if you do not live there. Use your own culture (Especially cats from India) to add your own unique voice to your drumming. I …
Greetings. At this very moment I’m writing to you from Germany. I’m about to do a series of performances at some big events at the moment. Which should be a lot of fun. But, there is a reason I point this out. It’s because I have taken an extended hiatus off the kit to produce …
Soloing Concepts For years now I have been getting lots of questions about soloing. How to solo. What makes a good solo. What is a “Musical” solo…. So here I am tackling these issues. A great drummer can play great solos… but also bad solos. What makes a solo great? It is a question of …
A question that is becoming common in my inbox is “What can I do to get my drumming career started” And here’s my answer for everyone. Those who have graduated from very expensive colleges and those who have never gone to college at all. Essential A most important thing would be to continually keep studying. …
Got technique? Got groove? Got concept? I have been receiving lots of questions lately about how to get to the point where you can play lots of gigs! So…one of the best pieces of advice I can give you is. “Take care of Music and Music will take care of you”. And what exactly do …