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 […]
Category: performance practices
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 […]
You’re improvising wrong
Or so says blogger, and composer Aaron Gervais. I thought he was mainly into trolling artists on economic issues, but then I saw this post, “Most Artists Don’t Really Get Creativity”, and I thought, OK, […]
VOQOTD: the drummer’s job
I just try to play the compositions, not so much imposing any particular kind of rhythm on any particular tune or composition—but to try and interpret the composition as if I’m an accompanist, fundamentally. And […]
Do your verry best
From Edward B. Straight’s The Straight System, a drum method from 1922, here is a page of performance tips so you can thrive as a society/theater band drummer in the 1910s and 20s: Some of […]
“When in doubt, groove.”
Branford Marsalis’s drummer Justin Faulkner gives a drum clinic at the Seattle, and says lots of great stuff: Part 2 is after the break: [h/t to S_Funk at Drummerworld]
On playalongs, pt. 2: play exercises
Stuff like this. Anything. Why not? Back from tour and easing back into blogging, here, with part 2 in this thoughts on practicing along with recordings series. Today we’ll discuss the value of not just […]
How to play Stablemates
The bop tune Stablemates, by Benny Golson, is something of a test piece for drummers. As now-Portland pianist George Colligan said, “Stablemates can be revealing for a drummer….”, and Golson himself said “It moves around […]