Planned Practice

Practice isn't an accident. It doesn't just happen. You don't just stumble into a 3hour practice session.

Practice is a deliberate act. It's a focused, committed, and planned occurence. If you plan your whole day out and don't plan out a specific time and length for a practice session, chances are it won't happen. And if it does, it won't happen in a structured or planned fashion, thereby stunting its effectiveness.

Here's the big point...WHEN YOU PLAN YOUR DAY, SCHEDULE YOUR PRACTICE SESSION IN THE SAME WAY YOU SCHEDULE A DOCTOR'S APPOINTMENT, A COLLEGE COURSE, OR A HOT DATE. This means getting out your calendar, or Blackberry, or iPhone, or the back of your hand or whatever and blocking out a period of time devoted solely to practicing your craft. My relationship with my wife didn't happen by accident...it happened through me purposefully planning time with her...getting out my calendar and writing her in.

This is how a sample day looked in college for me...

5:30am-Wake up and shower
6:00am-Breakfast and devotions
6:30-9:30-Practice Snare and Drumset
10:00am-Class
11:00am-Class
12:00pm-Lunch
1:00pm-Jazz Band
2:00pm-Practice Mallet and Keyboard Instruments
3:00pm-Class
4:00-6:00pm-Practice Drumset or attend Ensemble Class

Practice was never an accident and it very rarely took me by suprise. I very rarely FELT like practicing at 6:30 in the morning...but it was a time that I was up and no one else would bother me. While we're here, let me say a bit about FEELING like practicing. I don't care if you feel like it or not...just do it. Practice is work. Monotonous work. Yes, sometimes it's a blast...and alot of times it's not. You don't need to be inspired to practice. It's a decision. I planned a practice session and I'm going to attend said practice session and work through my practice outline for that day. The payoff is that when you get on the gig, things will flow smoothly and effortlessly...and this is the time to really enjoy your playing. I love my practice times too...but I'd be lying if I said I enjoyed the process of banging my head against the wall, constantly pushing myself to play things I'm not able to....like I said, alot of times it's just plain work.

I think the biggest question is "Do you love playing this instrument?" Anything worth loving is worth working for...and working hard.

Planning and attending a purposeful practice time consistently is the only way to improve on any kind of measurable level.

Practicing

Hey Stephen,

"My name's Matt, I live in the uk and have been drumming for like 10 years, I only used to play drums in band practice until about 2 years ago when I finally realised how important drums were to me, and how much I wanted to better myself as much as possible. I'm having a bit of trouble though, I'm not sure if its something I just need to fix myself, but you seem like a real down to earth and approachable guy so I thought I'd just throw it out there and see if you had any advice!

Basically, lately i've been having a lot of bad practice sessions, like really sucking, nothing sits right or feels good, and I begin to wander what, if any progress i've actually made over the last 2 years!Don't get me wrong my theory and and my hand technique have come on leaps and bounds, especially on my pad, but I find it difficult to apply alot of what I can do to the kit! It s frustrating, alot of it sounds ugly haha. I haven't lost any of my previous ability of course, I'm just starting to wander when the things I want out of my playing are finally going to start sitting in place!

I guess I just wanted to ask what sort of approach you have to practicing?There is such an overwhelming wealth of drum education readily available, and I don't have more than about an hour or 2 a day to play tops. Do you thing I should strip it back down to basics? I had and idea that I could play through some stick control exercises until they feel good, then spend a little time applying them to my kit, see what sounds good, then for the last 20 minutes or so pick either one of your lessons to work, or something from a book or magazine.

It just feels like my practice is in itty bitty pieces rather than solid, and the knock on effect is that my playing is starting to feel like that too. I'm not trying to be the greatest drummer ever, i'm not too interested in flying round my kit at 2000mph either i just want to be able to groove solidly and thrown in some little spicy embellishements every now and then. I look up to the like of stanton moore, benny greb and steve jordan, you know, drummers who get you whole head and shoudlers rocking just with a kick, snare and hi hat!

Anyways, sorry to go on so much, this is just really important to me as I don't feel like I'm getting the most out of myself or my kit at the moment. I look forward to hearing from you soon, keep up the good work man, you videos are excellent and I glad I stumbled across them!"

Matt



What's up Matt,

Wow, GREAT questions and concerns man. These are the things that still bug me to this day. Am I progressing at the correct speed? Am I going backwards? Do I need to work on groove more versus technical ability? What about my hand technique? Do I need to revisit it? Why am I even playing drums? AHHHHHHHHHH!!!

Seriously, for anyone that truly loves this instrument (and I absolutely do) practice is a personal thing. When I was in college, a bad practice session could ruin my day. I once had trouble getting my snare tuned to the correct pitch I wanted...it literally made me nauseated for a week. Kept me up at night. Turns out it was a warped head that the music store had sold me. It had nothing to do with my ability to tune a drum. That taught me something. You need to be emotionally attached to this instrument, but at some point, you have to step back and realize it doesn't set the stage for the rest of your life. I say all of this to make the point...you're in the same boat as alot of other players. Congratulations, lol!

Try reading these few posts on my blog that I've written about practice first...

Keeping A Practice Log


Planned Practice


Technical Practice vs Musical Practice


Recording Yourself While Practicing


Being Motivated To Practice


I know that's alot of them, but I've written on the topic of practice a ton because I get so many questions about the topic and because I struggle with it myself like everyone else.

Things you absolutely have to do:

-Keep a practice log. This is probably one of the single most important things a musician can do (and most don't do it). It keeps you knowledgeable of where you and your playing are.

-Set aside specific times during the week that you practice. Nothing else happens during that time. You don't check emails on your phone, you don't talk to friends, you don't answer text messages...NOTHING! It's practice time...the rest can wait.

-Plan your practice. Sit down at the beginning of the week (this literally takes 5 minutes) and plan out what you want to focus on that week. Then, everyday when you start your practicing, review where you left off the day before and set a daily goal for that day. If you're working on singles between the kick and hands and you were at 150 bpm with 16th notes the day before, lets shoot for 155 that day. If you don't hit that goal it's ok. I gurantee you'll hit them more often than not though.

-Focus, focus, focus. When you're practicing, don't get distracted by whatever goes through your head. Don't get in the middle of practicing something challenging and then revert to your old licks just because they're easier for you to play. Push through those tough times. When I practice, I sound HORRIBLE!!! I mean, I sound like a handful of screws being dropped into a metal bucket repeatedly. It's bad. And that's the way it's supposed to be. If you sound good while you're practicing, you're not practicing anymore. You've accomplished the task and now you're just reviewing for your own pleasure. Once you sound good for a few minutes, it's time to change one of the variables. Change the sticking, change drums, change tempos...change something until you can't do it and you sound bad again. This is a very depressing thing to do, lol, but it's absolutely necessary. You have to constantly push yourself, mentally and physically.

-Allow time for the following things in your practice: Groove studies, Hand technique, Rudiments, hand and foot studies, and new material.

One of the problems is that you hear your playing everyday. You're bored with it at times. It's the same thing with someone that's losing weight. They never see the way they look now, they just see all of the weight they still have to lose. Whereas someone that hasn't seen them since they lost that last 20 pounds literally has to pick their jaw up off of the ground.

I struggle with the same thing you're talking about. There's so much to learn in drumming, so much I want to do, so much I CAN'T do...that sometimes I find myself flip flopping from topic to topic and never really learning a thing. Planning your practice at the beginning of the week, setting weekly goals, keeping a practice log to keep yourself on track, and reviewing where you are at the beginning of your practice time...these are the things that are going to slowly improve you beyond your wildest imagination. When I went into college, I felt like I played decently. I practiced a ton while I was there. Sometimes 8-10 hours a day. It was ridiculous. And I wasn't really seeing the growth that was happening. But when I got out of school and looked back, I was a completely different player...LIGHT YEARS ahead of where I had been.

We're the hardest on ourselves because we know what we're capable of. That's a good thing. Keep plugging away at it with intense focus and determination. Decide on something challenging that you want to learn and don't stop practicing that skill until you have it down. The tortoise wins every time I read the book ;^)

You're simply going through what we call a playing slump. Listen to some new music, go have some new life experiences, find different techniques and patterns to learn. Every player worth their snuff goes through this...and it either makes them better or pushes them backwards. Pushing through this is what sets apart the real players from the kids. And I think you're a real player...so go get to work!

-Stephen T.

The Best Way To Get More Practice Time

This is the biggest issue I deal with on a daily basis.  Sure, I teach and play for a living...but that doesn't mean I have it any easier when it comes to juggling home/work/practice time.  It's a constant push and pull to get those precious few moments to sit at the drums and improve myself as a player and musician.  But there is one tip that I give everyone that will guarantee you will get your practice time in everyday.  That is, if you're willing to pay the price.  I received a question about it the other day and this was my answer


"How can I work in more practice time with a busy professional career, wife, and two kids?"

 and my response...

"Man...I feel you with that issue. I teach and play for a living...and I STILL have trouble with the same thing. I've got two awesome kids and a great wife myself that I love spending time with.  And it's healthy to want to spend time with them.  But it's a constant juggle. You know what I've found that helps the most?  It's simple and requires some discipline, but I've been doing it for years.  Getting up half an hour to an hour earlier than anyone else. This is a great time for me to get in some practice pad time.  When I was in college, my wife woke up at 5:30 am to go to her teaching job. I would get up with her and be on the kit by 6 am. I could get 3 hours of practice time in before my first class (my neighbors weren't as excited as I was that I was getting that extra practice in at that time of the morning). I've found that no matter how busy I get, I can always set that early time aside.  That is, if I'm disciplined enough to get out of bed!  And for some it's after the family goes to bed.  I've also found that keeping a practice log or journal helps me stay focused and get the absolute most out of my limited time.  I actually have a whole section of the members area on my website set aside to talk about practice, how to organize it, and how to get the most out of your limited time.  And if you want to read some other short posts I've written on practice, you can go here.
.
I wish I had an easy answer!   Lol, I would use it myself.  But this one thing has enabled me to get more practice time in on a daily basis.  As a matter of fact, I woke up at 5 am this morning, got some practice time in, and am now writing this.  On second thought, maybe I need to get a life..."

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Keeping a Gig Log

I keep a gig log, and up until recent years it's been pretty extensive. Why? Because I want to get better, that's why.

A gig log is simple to start, easy to maintain, and one of the most beneficial things I've ever done.

It doesn't have to be fancy either, just a spiral notebook will do...

While in college I maintained a pretty strict practice routine (i.e. Everyday!) and tried to "log" as many hours as I could. Some days that was 1...some it was 9 or 10...the average was 3-5 hours. This was on top of schoolwork and gig practice. This isn't bragging by the way, it's just what I did.

When you get into a long practice routine, it's easy to get distracted by...well, by pretty much anything. The answer? ORGANISATION!!! An unorganised practice time is almost as good as not practicing at all. The problem is, how to organise it. I won't get into all the details of that today, just one aspect...

The Gig Log

The problem I ran into when I played gigs were the mistakes...pretty obvious answer. It wasn't actually the mistakes themselves, but the process of rectifying those mistakes and using them as a learning opportunity instead of an opportunity to beat up on myself.

The only bad mistake is the one you don't learn from

I would play the gig, pack up, think about all of the mistakes I made on the way home, go to sleep, wake up, grab a cup-o-joe, sit down to practice...and I had forgotten 99% of the areas I needed to work on. One day I had a stroke of genius...I incorporated an ancient technique known as handwriting and decided to log all of the mistakes I was making. Pretty ingenius, right? I'm just sad I wasted so much time before I thought about the most obvious answer.

I used a simple spiral notebook and kept it in my practice room. As I was playing a gig I would mentally note the mistakes I was making and as soon as I got home from the gig, I would write them down. I eventually took it as far as bringing the log book to gigs with me and jotting quick notes on my breaks about what went wrong during the last set. It takes all of 5 minutes to do this. It doesn't have to be a super detailed definition of what went wrong, how angry the bass player was, what feelings you felt at that particular moment, how the bandleader yelled at you afterwards, how you ran to the bathroom crying and threw up in the toilet from the disgrace of messing up the intro fill to "Brick House"...

A couple of words will suffice.

Example: Groove for "Rosanna", Doubles around the kit, jazz waltz ride pattern, etc.

The next day I would wake up, grab a cup-o-joe (This is an addiction in my life...I'll never give it up!), and read through my notes from the evening before. I would then take 2-3 minutes to prioritise my practice time, starting with the most pressing issue (the one I would use the soonest, the one I sucked the worst at, or the one that would take the longest) I would list them in order of importance, decide how much total practice time I had, and then decide how long I would spend on each item. Once the time limit for that item was up, I moved on to the next one. If I had extra time at the end of my practice session, I would go back to the item that I didn't spend enough time on and work some more. Whatever was not mastered that day was revisited the next day.

This is one of the simplest things I've ever done, and absolutely one of the most beneficial. I was identifying my weak gig areas, which are different than your weak practice areas, and I was methodically working through them.

The great part of this was that the next time I played with that group, I had noticeably improved. It wasn't an improvement that focused around a showy fill or some other self indulgence...it was measured improvement in a practical area that would serve the music for the better. Mission accomplished.

So instead of beating yourself up as you try to drift off to sleep after yet another miserable failure, go to your practice room, grab a pen and jot the problems down...and then rest easy that tomorrow is another day, the band will forgive you, and you have a plan for how that mistake will never happen again.

Practicing vs. Rehearsing

Had another e-mail come in that I thought you guys would like to see...


Got a question!
I love the new material you always post. How do you (or more importantly how would I) go about balancing new practice material vs getting ready for the upcoming gig?

Love the beat displacement vid. I play hip hop and I never thought to do that. I am always looking for a different way to use the kick and snare since that is so important in that genre. Do you have the written music for that or is it in the book? If it's in the book don't bother, I am buying it here soon.

Thanks,
Jason
ps July 22nd you are at the NAMM in Nashville?



What's up Jason...

So sorry it took me a day or so to get back to you. I wanted to make sure I had enough time to fully answer your question...and a GREAT question it is!

I struggled with this so much while I was in college. I was playing in a ton of groups and going to school at the same time. It seemed like I was always having to learn new material for a gig as well as keep up with the ensembles I was in and my private lessons (I was taking from two separate teachers. Not only did I have to keep up with my drum set studies, I had to practice the vibes, marimba, and tons of auxiliary percussion). I actually found a few ways to have it all work to my advantage. I would learn what needed to be learned for the gig, keep up with my lesson studies, challenge myself in new ways, and make money with it all at the same time.

First things first...THE GIG IS THE MOST IMPORTANT!!! The whole reason we get into playing in the first place is so that we can take those skills and entertain (hopefully at least) people. To play with other musicians, to create...not to sit in our basement and hack out cool licks by ourselves (although I have just as much fun doing that). Whatever material has to be learned for the gig comes first. Period. If rehearsals with the group you're gigging with takes away from your practice time, that's just how it has to be. When you get onstage, you should know the songs backwards and forwards.

Now, that being said, I think you can do both at the same time. Practice for the gig as well as further your skills that is.

For a long time I separated what I practiced in my personal practice time from the gig material. I had the stuff I practiced and I had the stuff I played on the gig and never the two would meet. Thinking back it seems so stupid to do it that way. I just never thought to incorporate practicing for a gig into my practice sessions. The only reason we practice is to learn skills that will make us better on the gig. Your gigs and the material you learn should regularly mix with the material you have fun practicing.

It started while I was playing in NOLA. I was playing at least 5 hour shifts, sometimes 10 hours...6 days a week...now that's alot of playing! Needless to say, it was alot of the same material, and not overly challenging material might I add. I would practice for 2 or 3 hours before I went into the gig. It dawned on me one day that I had the perfect situation to try out alot of the stuff I had been practicing. I would take a fill idea I had been working on, or a groove idea, and I would look through our song list. I would find the best place to stick the fill in..."I'll play this fill going into the 3rd chorus of Jungle Boogie", or whatever. Or maybe it was a groove that I would stick into a solo section of a song. In other words, I was using the gig to apply the skills I was learning in my practice time. This is one way I made the most of my time.

The other one takes a bit more creative thought, but is alot more fun and has endless possibilities.

Take 3 or 4 songs that you'll be performing. They are now going to be put on the table to be dissected. First, find out what tempos they are played at. Write those down. Next, pick your regular warmup (if you have one...and if not, now's a great time to get one) or maybe just a section of a method book that you've been working on. Pick one of the tempos and instead of playing the exercise at the fastest tempo possible, play it at the tempo of that song. Make it groove and repeat it until it's perfect. I found that alot of the performance tempos I played at were slower than the tempos I was playing some exercises at. This allows you to work on the song indirectly. When you go to play that song, all of a sudden you'll have a ton of ideas start to spring into your head because you've been concentrating on that tempo all week.

Now that you've done that, pull the actual recording of the song out. Grab some headphones and have some fun! Put the song on repeat and play the exercise to the actual song. It doesn't have to make musical sense at the time, this is just practice. I've stumbled upon so many cool applications of things I had been studying just by randomly playing the exercise over a new song. "Oooh, I love the way that sits over that groove!", "Man, that sounds killer when I do that right before the bridge!".

We're just getting warmed up with this...

Ok, so we've practiced that songs tempo until we're blue in the face. Now lets dissect the song. Take the groove that you play to that song. Pull out a book like Gary Chester's "New Breed". Go to the section of bass drum exercises. Keep the hi hat and snare the same as they are in the song and play the bass drum exercises over that. Now keep the hi hat and kick drum the same as they are in the song and play the bass drum exercises, but this time play them with your left hand on the snare instead of the kick drum. Now keep the snare and kick the same as in the song and play the exercises on the hi hat...or tom...or ride cymbal...or whatever...no rules here! Are you starting to see what I'm getting at with this?

Next, take 3 of the fills that happen during the song. Learn them as they are played on the recording. Then mess with them. Start them on beat two instead of 1. Just use the sticking for the fill and put every note on a different drum...Play the fill on the cymbals...play the fill between the left hand and the kick...again, it's a game, just have fun with it.

Grab some popcorn, I've got a story...

I picked the setlist out for my senior recital 6 months before it was to happen. Then, I went through each song and decided what concepts I wanted to explore. I took all 6 months and came at those grooves and concepts in every way possible. It was some of the most intense and rewarding practicing I've ever done. By the time I played my recital, I had a virtual encyclopedia of stickings, grooves, and ideas to pull from.

This is the way I approach it. When I do this, I'll get to the gig and what seemed like challenging music when I first looked at it was now quite simple. And I found I wasn't just "getting through" the gig anymore...I had endless ideas that I could try. And I knew they would all be in the pocket because I had been practicing those ideas to that song for weeks.

Another way...

Get out your practice log (and I know you have one)...decide on how long you have to practice that day and how long you have until the gig (i.e. a week? a month?). Spend half of your practice time working on the gig material, and the other half working on your own stuff. As long as you slot out a time frame, you should be able to learn it in plenty of time for the gig as well as expand your own stuff.

As far as the displacement vid...so glad it helped! And yes, that material is in the book. If you haven't checked these lessons out that I did as well, you should. I think you'll dig them too...

DRUM & BASS


MOVING A LINEAR PATTERN



And yes, I will absolutely be at NAMM...and you? If you're there, let's hook up!

Practice: Swimming or Treadingwater?

Treading water is deceiving. You're working, but not that hard...and you never get anywhere.

Swimming is harder...you have to use your whole body...it makes you move foward into newer waters...deeper waters...

Practice is similar. Alot of players say they practice...a small percentage of those are actually doing it...or should I say doing it correctly.

You see, we sometimes get review confused with practice.

If you can play a figure or piece of music at an acceptable level, then each time you play back over that piece you're reviewing. Review is necessary...when you have a big test coming up, you learn the material and then review it so that it's fresh on your mind. The problem is, if you take that same material and review it for the next test (which is on newer material) you'll mast likely fail. Not because you didn't look at the material, you just looked at old material.

So what is practice? Practice is learning new material...harder material. I don't sound good when I practice...actually, I sound awful. I flub fills, drop beats, screw up patterns, hit rims...and that's ok...because the next time I drop fewer beats, flub less, don't hit the rims. And the next time I actually sound good...that's when I know it's time to move on.

Here's a few points that let you know if you're practicing...

-You sound like a 3 year old.

-Your brain hurts when you get done.

-You stop in frustration, hit the snare real hard, compose yourself...and try it again.

-There are stick shaped holes in the wall...

If you're always reviewing the old stuff you know and you sound good playing it you're not really learning anything new. You stop growing, and that's the goal of practice.

Here's the point...if you set aside the time to practice, make sure you're really practicing. The goal is foward movement...faster hands, quicker reactions, deeper groove, etc. It's harder...you don't feel as good about your playing when you leave because you still can't play it, but that's why you get up the next day and hit it again, and again, and again...and when it sounds good you move on.

So here's to sounding bad...here's to headaches and sore hands...here's to patching those holes in the wall...and here's to swimming to better beaches.

Keeping a Practice Log...

The other day I posted on keeping a gig log book...a simple list of mistakes you made during performances to refer to when you sit down and practice. Just as much as you need to keep a running list of items you need to work on, you need to keep a similar list of items you've MASTERED. Something that you can look back on and track your progress...or lack thereof.

All to often when I'm talking to students or other musicans I'm playing with, they complain about not making progress in their playing despite regular practice sessions. They just don't feel like they're getting any better. That's an easy fix with students...you just pull out the past lesson plans and emphasize where they started when they began lessons with you and where they are now. We shouldn't have to rely on teachers to do this FOR us though...it's easy to do for yourself.

Again, it doesn't have to be anything fancy, another spiral notebook will do (or you can get a 3 subject notebook and keep them altogether.) You can also keep a running file on your iphone or computer, just be sure to save a backup.

Here's a list of what should be in it:

1) The date

2) How long you plan on practicing

3) Items you plan on practicing with a timeframe in minutes beside it to let you know when to move on to the next item. Also include a BPM goal to work towards.

4) How long you actually got to practice

5) Notes on practice session.


Pretty simple...here's what one might look like...

8/6/09

Planned Practice Time: 2 hours

Things to Work on:

Ratamacue: 20 minutes: goal BPM: 110
"New Breed" system 3, pp.14-17: 40 minutes: goal BPM: 120
Up tempo swing: 20 minutes: goal BPM: 190
Using Ratamacue around the drumkit: 30 minutes: goal BPM: 110
Jamming: 10 minutes: goal BPM: None

Actual Practice Time: 2 hours 15 minutes

Notes:
Ratamacue: Work on LH lead. Got it up to 100bpm
"New Breed" system 3: finished pp.14-15, 16-17 need more work: pp.14-15:120bpm, pp.16-17: 106bpm
Up tempo swing: Work on endurance and comping with LH, 176bpm
Using Ratamacue around drumkit: Work on fluidity between cymbals and snare, toms to snare sounds good, 102bpm.
Jammed 25 minutes and came up with new groove using the Ratamacue.

You can get as detailed as you want with this...the more you are detailed the better! As you conquer certain things, make a note of it in your practice log...that way when you go back and look you'll see the improvement.

Alot of times we just FEEL like we're not improving. If you look at it on paper though, you'll see that you're making sufficient progress...or maybe you'll see that you're not. At least then you'll know and knowing is half the battle (Yo Joe!...Sorry, regressed into childhood for a second...).

This takes mere minutes to do and it's what separates the dedicated from the others, so please take the time.

Technical Practice vs. Musical Practice

Another question...musical practice vs technical practice...how to balance them...this is by no means a complete answer, but I ran out of time...Please don't hesitate to send your questions to me via email @ littlesteviedrums@yahoo.com or stephen@LoversandLiars.com...or through Twitter @ http://twitter.com/drummeretc ...or on my YouTube channel @ www.youtube.com/DrummerEtc ...or on Facebook @ http://www.facebook.com/#!/StephenTaylor81 ...I think that's all of them ;^)


Question:

For the longest time, I only practiced technical stuff, and about a year ago I just stopped playing technical stuff and just played music. and now i cant do technical stuff, but just musical stuff. What do you suggest I do to have a good balance?

Answer:

Ah, the age old question...technicality vs musicality...accommodating the music while satisfying your need to play a 32 note roll at 180 bpm...nice question...I can only answer things from my viewpoint and experience, and they say advice is worth what you pay for it...that being said...

I think every drummer (or musician for that matter) worth their weight struggles with this very question...how much time do I need to spend focusing on expanding my technical skills as a player and how much time should be allotted to practical and musically applicable skills. As much as we'd all love to play in a band that allows us to stretch like Mike Portnoy does in Dream Theatre (or should I say DID...in case you missed that memo, he left the band...), that's just not the reality of it. We as drummers tend to alot a large majority of our practice time to attaining what we view as impressive skills but what everyone else views as annoying occurrences. I think the whole discussion boils down to how you view your playing and music and simple prioritization.

Let's start with the prioritization part...If you want to play professionally as a drummer, you'll need to make money...to do that, you'll need a certain set of skills that allow you to survive on a gig...i.e. you need to play musically, know a wide range of material, understand what an appropriate fill for that chosen genre would sound like, etc. Basically, the nuts and bolts of what we do. So I actually try and keep a practice log...If I have 2 hours to practice, it might look something like this...

30 minutes of groove studies (practical groove studies...like Gary Chesters book, or playing along to "Brick House" until it feels danceable).

30 minutes of rudiments and trying to apply them to the drumkit.

30 minutes of coordination and facility on the drumkit work.

30 minutes of impressive, melt your face, grow 3 extra arms type of drumming.

The problem we often feel is that we're not improving enough in one area quickly enough...but I'd rather improve slowly and evenly in all areas than be able to play 5 over 4 and get fired from a gig for not knowing "Ain't To Proud To Beg"...

Which leads directly into the next discussion of how you view your playing...

I used to segment all of my playing and practicing...I had my work stuff, my technical stuff and never should the two meet. It wasn't until I realized WHY I was working on the technical stuff that things began to come into focus...

All of the time you put into advancing your technical proficiency is for one purpose and one purpose only...to serve the music. I had to stop viewing them separately. Here's how I do it nowadays...

I work on something extremely technical just for fun...after I have it down, I start to search for areas I can use this particular skill within the musical confines of the situation I'm playing in. Tony Williams was the master at doing this...some of the Miles Davis stuff sounds so smooth and musical...but once you dissect what Tony was actually doing, you begin to realize that the things he was playing were frickin' hard! He had taken the time to look into the music and see where he could use his vast vocabulary in the most musical manner possible. Vinnie does the same thing...so does Steve Smith...and so many others...

So I guess the simple answer is, prioritize your practice time to include technical as well as musical items...and begin to view your playing not as technical vs musical...but just drumming. One leads to the other and the other leads to the one...

Practicing Rudiments

There's no getting around it...I hate practicing my rudiments. I know, I know, I'm a disgrace to the drumming community. I've just never been real enthused about sitting at a practice pad for hours on end going from slow to fast to slow over, and over, and over, and over...

That's a bad problem to have...the basic rudiments are kinda've like our alphabet. They help with chops, technique, flow, groove, technicality...they were designed as some of the most common stickings that drummers used. We NEED to know them.

I went through a whole semester in college where I focused heavily on my practice pad and working the rudiments...and hated it. It was boring to me. Some love it, I didn't.

So what to do? Well, I turned to the reason I started playing the drums...music...

1) Grab your practice pad and pick out the rudiment you're currently working on or the one that needs the most work.

2) Pick 3-5 of your favorite songs (You'll need to be mindful of the tempos...)

3) Press play on your iPod or cd player or Zune or whatever and go to town. Start by playing the rudiment in 8th notes on the verse. When you get to the chorus, play it in sixteenths, when it goes to the bridge, play it in sextuplets, and so forth. Try playing the verses super soft and the chorus super loud...try a slow crescendo through the bridge from soft to loud...use your imagination!

The end goal is to play the rudiment within the time signature of the song in as many subdivisions and dynamic ranges as possible. Traditionally when you work on your rudiments, you go from slow to fast to slow...doing this allows you to play the rudiment at any speed. It's boring though, and I hate boring practice.

Using actual songs to work the rudiments works on a few different areas: You work the sticking of the rudiment and get it down cold, playing it in the different subdivisions of the beat within the song allows you to work on several speeds as well as train your mind to move seemlessly within the parameters of the tune, playing to music helps your musical senses, and most of all...you never even know you're practicing! We all got into music to play music we love (at least I hope that's why you got into it), so why not find ways to do just that no matter what you're practicing?

After you've got the rudiment down pat and can go in and out of the different subdivisions, take it one step further...sing the song. It doesn't have to be a Grammy winning vocal performance, just work on saying the lyrics in time. Why? Well, I believe in 6 way coordination in drumming...2 hands, 2 feet, your mouth, and your mind (which has to keep constant track of the other 5). Singing allows you to begin to put the rudiment on autopilot so you can focus on the musical issues at hand instead of the technical side of it.

When you've accomplished all of the above on the practice pad, move it all to the kit. Come up with a cool application of the rudiment on the kit and play to the song again, repeating all of the steps above. The possibilities are endless!

Yes, you should still practice rudiments the traditional way...but break out of the status quo way of thinking about your practice and get creative! Creativity never hurt anyone, unless they didn't utilize it...then it can be crippling.

How To Audition

I had a comment left on my Facebook page (btw, if you aren't my "friend", you're more than welcome to find me. I stress this all of the time, but I answer any and all comments, questions, emails, messages, smoke signals, letters, bird calls, and tweets. I love talking drums, teaching, and sharing the knowledge that I've stumbled upon due to the massive amount of mistakes I've made over my career...there were some successes, but I didn't learn near as much from those, LOL). The comment had to do with auditioning, how to prepare, how to handle nerves, what if I get rejected...you know, the usual plethora of emotions and anxieties we experience anytime we have to "prove ourselves" to other musicians. I thought it was a great discussion, so I'm posting it here. These are just my thoughts on the subject...feel free to add your own to the discussion...

Hi!
I have sort of an "Audition" in two weeks for a marching band here in Austria. It's a group of 12 men and women and they play at local festivals here in Carinthia.
My problem is- I don't know how to play stuff in traditional grip.. my rolls just sound terrible.. but when we are marching I need to play in traditional because of the snare hanging sideways... My other fear is that I will just fail miserably at the Audition... Have you got any tips? Please?
Greetings and thanks in advance,
Lucas






I absolutely have some tips bro. First of all, that's awesome that you're even thinking of auditioning! Seriously, an audition is stressful, nerve wracking, makes you doubt yourself, fun, hard work...and lots more all rolled into one. It takes alot of guts to put yourself under that kind of scrutiny. Here's a list of things to watch out for in general on auditions...

1. Identify any problem areas

You already told me your problem area. Double strokes and rolls in your left hand suck. Great! Now that you know what your problem is, you can go about methodically fixing it. Anytime I have an audition coming up, I try to find my weakest areas and work on them. Sit down with a pencil and a piece of paper and write out a practice routine. How much time each day do you have to practice? Schedule your practice time just like you would school work or a job. Every minute should be accounted for in your day and any spare seconds should be devoted to practicing. Every last minute that you have scheduled to practice should be planned out, with additional topics to be practiced in case you have extra practice time. If you really want this gig, then take the audition that seriously. Treat every audition and gig like it's Wembley Stadium...like it's the most important thing in the world...because it is. Take your practice pad EVERYWHERE with you! You should be working on that left hand in your sleep. People should be begging you to stop playing diddles on your left hand. They should be petitioning the local authorities to have you banned in public places due to noise violations. You're a man on a mission! Act like it! (Ok, so maybe that's a bit overboard, but you get the idea!)

2. Try to find out what material you need to play ahead of time.

3. Go to any shows they have in the next couple of weeks. Let them know that you're not just wanting to play for the sake of playing drums. Let them know you're really interested in the group, that you really and truly like what they do. That goes a long way.

4. Whether you get the gig or not, it's worth it. I can't tell you how much improvement has come in my playing in the past due to audition preparation. And you know what? Every one of them gets easier. You'll find that you aren't as nervous at the next audition. Practice improves you...and so does practicing your auditioning skills. Unless you're Steve Gadd or Dave Weckl, people are going to want to hear you play before they make a decision on inviting you into their musical world. That's only fair.

Again, I can't tell you how stoked I am that you get this opportunity. If you get the gig, great! If you don't get it, great! Ask them what you can do to improve yourself...that way, if they have another audition down the road, you can come back and show them just how committed you are. There's a big chance that you could screw up...there's a big chance they won't like you...there's a big chance that you might embarrass yourself...SO WHAT! There's also a chance they might like you...that you'll blow them away...that they'll see potential. Don't judge your worth as a player and human being on the outcome of one audition.

Whew...I got a little long winded, sorry. It's just a great opportunity...you should definitely take advantage of it.

-Stephen

Preparing For College Auditions

Ok, yet another question (yes, people DO actually ask these!)...This one is on college auditions and how to prepare for them...

Question:
"Are the college auditions for music courses usually very difficult? how much practice am i supposed to do a day in order to pass with flying colours? i am asking this because i am now currently very busy with school because of football season and i am having a hard time to balance my social life,having good grades and devoting my time to the drums. i usually have about an hour to practice a day, or none for some crucially busy days. is there a way to make the best use of this one hour? my practice schedule is usually just warming up with rudiments for 10-15 minutes, and working through exercises from books, and since i am reall into jazz drumming now, i just practice exercises from jazz books. is this the right way to go ? or am i supposed to balance out the genres while practicing?"


The college audition conundrum...here's the skinny from my viewpoint...

You need to find out EXACTLY what they'll be wanting to hear from you. Track the professors down and talk to them, get the sheet that they should be giving out on audition guidelines and criteria, talk to other students within the program and ask them what theirs was like...anything you can do to get as much info about the audition as possible.

Once you have that info, then you can devise a plan. I know what it's like to be impossibly busy and still have preparations that need to be made for a show or audition. Sit down with your accumulated list of what they'll want and begin to make your own list...

List 1:
Everything they're wanting you to know

List 2:
Everything they're wanting you to know in order from hardest to easiest.

List 3:
All the things you don't know that you'll need to work on for the audition.

List 4:
Al of the things you're not worried about for the audition.

Once you have those written down (yes, WRITE them down) you can start to knock them out. The thing I would always get hung up with was I would practice like I always do, just work on getting better in general...not what you need to do for this one. You need to decide on how much time you'll have to practice and then prioritize that practice time...in other words, here's a sample criteria list...

AUDITION CRITERIA:
-Know all 28 rudiments
-Have one prepared piece
-sight reading
-trade fours over a standard jazz tune of your choice.

This is a very short list...here's how I would knock it out...

Day 1: 2 hours...

-half an hour on first 2 rudiments
-first 10 measures of prepared piece learned
-sight read for 15 minutes
-all remainder of time spent on ideas for trading fours

Day 2: 1 and a half hours

-Half an hour on next two rudiments, 15 minutes reviewing old rudiments
-memorize first 10 measures of prepared piece, learn next 10 measures.
-sight read same pieces as yesterday, noting any improvements...move on to new sight reading material.
-trade fours using only the melody of the song as a guide.

So you begin to see how you're working on NOTHING but the audition material and you're being VERY specific with how and what you spend your time on. This is exactly how I prepared for my senior recital...I spent a whole semester doing exactly what I did above. And I'm happy to say that I KILLED the recital...people talked about it for weeks! I'm not tooting my own horn, I'm just saying that all of my work paid off!

Be sure and plan out your time so that you have all of the material learned a couple of weeks before hand so that by the time the auditions get there, you'll be playing the stuff in your sleep. DO NOT go into the audition and try things you're not 100% comfortable with...nerves usually get the best of you in those situations and you freeze up...I'd rather play something easier and play it well than to mess up something more complicated.

Hope this helps...if you need some more ideas, don't hesitate to let me know!

Cheers,
Stephen T.

Drumming with an Injury

I've been getting some questions through email, Twitter, and via the Drummer Etc Facebook page. In the past I've addressed them privately...long drawn out emails...and then i started thinking, "Why not post the questions and answers for ALL to see?" I figure that if one person is struggling with it, maybe alot of others are too. So here's one from Alex via email...

Just thought I'd drop an email to tell you that the blog is great, and to keep up the good work. I read yer post on carpal tunnel, but I was writing to ask if you've ever gotten into any sort of serious injury or had an operation that kept you from drumming for a while. I ask because I recently had a small skin problem removed and along with it, some pretty gnarly stitches on my left arm. The doc said I'd have to stop drumming for a bit to make sure the wound heals properly. It should only be a couple of weeks but I'm still pretty bummed about the whole thing, cos my left arm is my weak arm as it is, and now this... ah well, I'm just hoping that after I get the thread removed I'll be able to play (painlessly) again. So... yeah. I was just wondering if you had ever had a likewise experience, and what you did to recover the practice lost and what not. Hope the email doesn't weird ya out, and again, keep up the good work!

Thanks,
Alex

What's up Alex...

The email doesn't "weird me out" in the least man...I really do love hearing from you guys! Now, on to the problem at hand...


That sucks that you had to have surgery...hopefully everything is alright...those stitches look NASTY (That's Alex's arm in the pic above...)

I actually did have a situation somewhat like yours when I lived in New Orleans. I was working at a restaurant part time for about 6 months(The Bourbon Street gigs got slow after 9/11) while also playing. As fate would have it, I wound up cutting the first knuckle on the ring finger of my right hand...doctor said I was lucky, a hair deeper and I would have gotten the tendons which would have done permanent damage. They stitched it up and put a HUGE bandage on my hand that wrapped around to my wrist. Problem was, I needed to play to make rent...so I stupidly took a gig the next week...I played, trying to baby the finger, but wound up bleeding through the bandage. I made it through the gig, but I shouldn't have been playing....I could have done permanent damage...so follow what the doc says. As for the practice...what did I do?

Well, instead of looking at it as lost time on my bum arm, I tried to think of it in a more positive light. I focused on my left hand and my feet. I went through all kinds of hand and foot exercises using just my left hand and my feet...what kind of fills could I come up with? What kind of grooves could I pull off with just my left hand and my feet? It was actually a pretty great growing experience...but it wouldn't have been if I had focused on the fact that I couldn't use my right arm.

Even though your left hand is your weaker, your right could always use some work...or maybe you take the time to just work on your feet? See what kind of grooves you can play with your right hand and right foot...what kind of fills could you do...practice your rudiments between your right hand and right foot...or between your left foot and right foot...

The point I'm trying to make is, don't look at it as a negative...try to turn EVERY situation into a positive one. I know you FEEL like your left hand is going to lose alot of ground, but you'll be suprised at how much muscle memory you have. The key is going to be keeping your mind sharp...if you stop practicing altogether, not only will your chops get rusty but your thinking will too, and that's a double edged sword.

During my time as a personal trainer, I've learned alot about muscle memory. When you first start a regular workout routine, it seems like it takes FOREVER to get in shape...months of hard work. However, I work with quite a few clients that have just been released from physical therapy and are now trying to recondition their muscles back to the level they were at pre-surgery. And you know what? It doesn't take near as long...there's a thing called muscle memory. When you quit a regular workout routine and then go back to it a year or two later, your muscles "remember" what they could do before and it takes a fraction of the time to get them back in shape. It's the same way with drumming...you'll feel like you've lost alot of time, but in reality it will come back with a couple of weeks worth of hard work.

The big key is to not get frustrated. You're going to feel handicapped when you try to practice without that left hand...because you're used to playing things a certain way. This is going to break you out of old habits and cause you to look at things in a new light...something we don't often make ourselves do.

I've had times in my praciticing that I spent WEEKS just focusing on my jazz ride cymbal pattern, or my right foot, or the hand and foot coordination between my right foot and hands, or just my left foot, or whatever. Eventually, if you're serious about playing, you're going to begin to break down individual parts of your drumming...what better time to start than now?!

This is also a great opportunity to dive into some listening exercises. Too often we get consumed with how much practice time we're logging and we forget to take the time to expand our mind, open our ears, and discover some new influences. Take 30 minutes of your normal practice time and listen to a style of music that you've never taken the time to listen to. That could be salsa, jazz, big band, carribean, pop music, 70's funk, whatever...the important thing is to immerse yourself in the songs. Listen instrument by instrument and try to figure out exactly what makes that style tick. What's the drummer doing? What's the guitar doing? Are there certain fills or grooves that are associated with that style of music? In other words, take yourself to school on it. No, it's not playing the drums...but your still involving yourself with music, your still sharpening your mind, your learning some history, expanding your influences, and I gurantee that when you sit back down at the drumset you'll have a whole slew of different ideas to pull from.

The main thing to remember is to NOT STOP PRACTICING!!!

I think you'll find that you're not going to lose near as much ground as you think you are.

Hope this helps...and thanks for the question...

Hope you get your bum arm back in order...and just remember...DON'T GET DISCOURAGED AND NEVER STOP PRACTICING!!

-Stephen

This advice could go for any injury. I've gone through several pulled muscles, sliced knuckles, wrist problems...life happens. You just have to go on about the business of becoming that drummer and musician you have pictured in your mind. If you get discouraged and stop practicing everytime life throws you a curveball, you'll never get to where you're going. I have a kid and another one on the way...family responsibilities, work, gigs, home repair projects, church...it all adds up, but it's the same concept. The one thing I've learned that keeps me sane and focused...ALWAYS HAVE A LONG TERM MENTALITY. You're not in it for the short haul...you're in it to the finish...so just suck it up, get creative, and just watch how much you improve!

A Practice Log Book

Before I launch into the topic...good news...just confirmed an interview with Rich Redmond, drummer for chart topping country artist Jason Aldean. If you don't know who Rich is, you should. Don't miss watching the interview.

And now on to the topic at hand...a practice log book. I've been looking for one for years. Something simple, sleek, with plenty of room to write and some empty bars to jot ideas down post shed session. Haven't been able to find one. So I decided to make one for myself.

I formatted the perfect page, uploaded it to the site I publish my books on, replicated that page 100 times, made a black hardback cover that reads "Practice Log", and then hit publish. Voila! Originally I had meant it just for my own use...but the more I've thought about it, the more I think others could benefit from it. So I'm making them available to anyone now. You can thank me later ;^)

If you want to see the format of the pages, check out the pic that goes with this post. A very simple and durable way to record your progress, correct mistakes, and scratch out inspired ideas (12 empty bars on every page).

So if you're wanting to log your practice times and track things better, GO HERE and use this code at checkout to get 25% off for the next couple of days: BUYMYBOOK305

On Being Motivated To Practice...

What if motivation doesn't matter?

Because it doesn't.

I think way to much is made about being "motivated" to get a task completed (i.e. practice).

How about being "committed" to practicing?

Brings it into a whole new light, doesn't it?

What if you set a scheduled time every day that you sit down at the drums, pull your notepad out, and start going down your checklist of things you need to work on. Novel idea, I know.

Here's the deal…in music we often get stuck in the "I'm not inspired" rut…i.e. I'm not inspired so I'm gonna sit here and play video games, or watch mindless television, or whatever. What good is being inspired to play if when you sit down to play you can't actually play the ideas you have because you haven't developed the facility to execute them?

So back to that motivation thing…who needs it…let's change it to "committed"…Be committed to practice everyday.

I don't miss many commitments in life…at least not the ones I really care about. And if you don't really care about playing your instrument, then why are you reading this anyways…you'd be better off going and watching some t.v.

Poll Results and Things to Come

I've been running a poll for the past couple of weeks asking you guy's what topics you'd like to see written about. The choices were...Gig Etiquette, Practice Tips, Dealing With Life on the Road, or Stories of Real Life Experiences and what I've learned.

I wanna go ahead and say a HUGE "Thank You" to everyone that took the time to vote...that's the only reason this site works and is interesting, because of your interest and interaction...so again, thanks!

And the winner is (If you haven't seen the poll results already...)...Practice Tips! It seems alot of you guys have some questions regarding practicing, how to practice, making your practice time more efficient, etc. So in the next little while I'll be writing on said topic.

In close second place was some of my real life experiences (I've got a TON of them! I've played in all kinds of strange situations and scenarios and I've learned something from all of them.) I'll be working on posts about those stories as well.

If you have anything specific about practicing you'd like to ask and get a response on, please don't hesitate to contact me here, by email, on Twitter, or on Facebook.

And as an added teaser...we'll be having some killer guest posts. The first will be from the deep south...Darrian Douglas is an in demand jazzer in the South Mississippi/New Orleans area, playing with jazz legends such as Ellis Marsalis, Jason Marsalis, Marlon Jordan, Delfayo Marsalis, Neal Cane, Will Thompson...the list could go on but you get the point. Be checking back, you don't want to miss what he's got to say!

Drummers of Next Big Nashville: Nathaniel Shelton of The Worsties

I first saw the Worsties at the Red Gorilla Festival (happens at the same time SXSW does in Austin, TX). I was also playing Red Gorilla with Meshach Jackson and we had decided to go out that night after we played and catch some bands. We happened to walk into a small venue and lo and behold, some fellow Nashvillians were tearing the stage up...I stayed for the whole show, which says alot considering what all else was going on that evening. The energy and pace of the show was great. I immediately talked to them after the set and said we needed to set a show up with them and my band, Lovers and Liars...

Fast foward a few months and we were both on the same bill with Marcy's Playground in Clarksville, TN. Again, they had a stellar performance. And to boot, these are some of the nicest guys (and gal) that you'd ever want to meet. You can grab their new cd "Dude, Dude, Dude, Totally!" here.

How long have The Worsties been around, how long have you been with them, and how did you get the gig?

The Worsties have been a working band for about 4 years now. I joined the band around 2 years ago. I'm the first permanent drummer for the band. Before we hooked up, they used a drum machine and had more of an electronic vibe. In the process of becoming more of a rock band, they had a few hired guns and friends filling in. Then we met and we're a family now.

What's your background with the drums?

My father was a very talented and accomplished drummer. At a very young age, he showed me how to hold the sticks and turned me on to some great music... mostly soul music from the 60's, which I still love! We've talked a lot about the philosophy of drumming, and I've heard lots of great stories about his drumming career. I consider those things to be my most valuable lessons. I took proper piano lessons for several years when I was younger, but I'm a mostly self-taught drummer. Concerning the technical aspects of drumming, I've learned that through my own playing experience, studying other drummers, reading every piece of drumming literature I can get my hands on, and listening to all kinds of music.

Traditional or Matched grip?

I can play both. It really just depends on the situation, style, or feeling of the music. I think it's important for drummers to understand both grips and learn both. With the Worsties, I always play matched grip to get more power and projection. It is also useful because I do a lot of big double crashes in most of our songs and it helps me reach the cymbals.

Favorite drummer?

My favorite drummers are some of the most influential jazz drummers who ever lived... Tony Williams, Joe Morello, Max Roach, Elvin Jones, and Buddy Rich. There are so many more, but that's my "big 5". The rock drummers that influence my playing with the Worsties are Bill Stevenson, Jimmy Chamberlain, William Goldsmith, Joey Castillo, and Chris Pennie. I'm a huge fan of Brian Blade... he's my favorite drummer on the scene today.

Favorite band?

I have so many, because I love so many styles of music... but one that I never tire of is The Descendents. As a kid, they were one of the first rock bands I was ever into. So their music is nostalgic to me and always a fun listen.

Do you have a consistent practice time outside of rehearsals?

I practice every day no matter what... I can't sleep if I don't play! I usually practice jazz coordination exercises from all of the classic workbooks that my heros learned from. I am particularly fond of "Advanced Techniques for the Modern Drummer" by Jim Chapin... I've spent so much time with that book that I dream about it sometimes! Also, "Master Studies" by Joe Morello, and "The New Breed" by Gary Chester. When I feel like I've hit a wall, I improvise on the drumset, play along with cds, or shed rudiments on the pad. When I'm not playing, I am always listening to music and I read Modern Drummer Magazine religiously.

Do you have any other projects that you're involved with at this time?

I'm a full-time Worstie! But I love jamming and recording with my friends whenever possible.

Do you have any endorsements?

I have no endorsements, but I do have brand loyalties. With the Worsties I always play Tama drums and Tama hardware, Zildjian cymbals, Evans heads, and Vater sticks. I also have a small collection of vintage Slingerlands and Ludwigs from the 60's and 70's.

Do you have a day job?

I do have a day job. I enjoy working and I love to stay busy. But in some ways it's just a means to an end. The advantage is that it allows me to pursue music simply because it allows me to pay bills, eat, and have a place to sleep. The main disadvantage would be that it takes time away from doing what I'm truly passionate about, which is making music.

Is your band signed?

We are not signed, though we have had quite a bit of interest from labels, both major and indie. For the Worsties, the advantage of being an unsigned band is being able to do things on our own terms, develop our own style, release songs when and how we want to, play when and where we want to, etc. The disadvantage is having to do all to footwork ourselves -which isn't easy- but it's a job we all love to do. This is our baby, and it's going to take a very special parent to come along for us to consider giving it up for adoption! When the right opportunity comes along, we will take it. I see that in our future.

When you're on the road, what do you travel in?

Jairo usually takes his private jet. I prefer to drive, though. For long trips, we usually rent a big van. For closer regional shows, we take one or two of our own cars. Whatevs. As long as we all get there!

Best part about being on tour?

Making music together, partying, making new friends, seeing great bands, and playing Mad Libs in the van! Jairo, Jesse, and Anna are some of my best friends, and a lot of that is due to the time we've spent together on the road.

Worst part about being on tour?

There is no worst part! I even love the annoying parts.

What is your band doing to think outside of the box when it comes to attracting new fans?

We are fairly traditional when it comes to the way the band makes new fans. We take full advantage of all internet resources, of course (MySpace, FaceBook, iTunes, etc.). But mostly, we just try to stay productive, write new songs, and when we play live we PLAY OUR A%@$# OFF!!! Most of our fans have been made at our live shows. It may not be "outside the box", but that's how we do it. Like they say... the proof is in the pudding!



What sets your live show apart from others?

The only way I can describe it is that it is a party on the stage. We always strive to put on the most high-energy show we possibly can. It can be wild and unpredictable at times. But we have a great time performing and we want the crowd to have a great time, too. When you go to a Worsties show... it is really a SHOW. See us live and there will be dancing and debauchery... this is a given.

What's the biggest challenge you face as a band?

The most challenging thing for us now is that we all have day jobs... bummer.

With the major labels struggling, do you feel it's more important for a band to focus on getting signed or focus on getting a significant buzz within a given group of people?

To me, there's really no difference. It's all about what you do with it once you get there. Keep playing and play the best you can. As long as you give it your all and stay true to yourself, then you will be able to enjoy any successes that may come your way. If you really have what it takes, you will be noticed.

Future Plans?

My future plans are to create as much music as possible, have fun adventures, and always work toward mastering my instrument. Music is a lifelong pursuit for me. I will go wherever it takes me.

How much does chance play a part in the success of your band and how much of the success comes from sheer blood, sweat, and tears?

I often compare "making it in the music biz" to winning the lottery. I do believe a lot of it is right place, right time. However, I think you can also put yourself in the right place at the right time. We do live in Music City, after all. I believe the blood, sweat, and tears are necessary to develop a healthy perspective, but sadly not always required in the world of pop. Those who have gotten lucky without earning it usually sparkle and fade. The Worsties are hands down the hardest working band I've ever met, so we're here to stay.

If you had a fifteen year old sitting in front of you and could tell him/her anything about the music business, being in a band, or drumming, what would it be?

LEARN THE ENTIRE HISTORY OF THE DRUMSET, LISTEN TO THE MASTERS. STUDY HARD. STAY LOOSE. KEEP AN OPEN MIND. and of course... PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!

Quote that you live by?

"Have fun, stay young!"

To Major In Music Or Not?

Before I even get into this post, let me address something that I get accused of alot...THIS IS NOT A NEGATIVE POST!

When I answer questions, I answer them from my viewpoint and from my life experiences...so if I include something in an answer, it's because I wish that I had...

A) Learned that "something" sooner than I did and hope to help someone else avoid my mistakes.
B) I actually know from experience that this "something" isn't practical or applicable in the real world.
C) I feel that the person asking the question has an unrealistic view of the professional working musical world, and I feel it's my duty to throw them a bucket of ice cold reality.

I never answer a question with the intent of discouraging someone from their dreams, I simply want their dreams to be viewed through realistic lenses. The road to success in the music business (notice I said success, not fame...two completely different things) is littered with uninformed but well intentioned players...I want people to succeed, and the sooner they embrace reality, the sooner they can be on their way to that success...and not just a flash in the pan success, but sustainable success. So before you say "Don't you think your answer is a little jaded, bitter, and angry?!"...No I don't think that...I'm EXTREMELY happy with where I am in life and in my music career, and I want others to experience that same happiness and contentment...so I mince no words, I cushion no points, and I pull all of my punches...because I want you to succeed. I preemptively say this only because the answer I'm fixing to give will fly in the face of the common conception...and I'm ok with that...I have no desire to starve and suffer for my art...I like to live well and enjoy my art. That was a longer disclaimer than I intended, but that's ok...you've probably fallen asleep by now anyways...but if not, a great discussion is below about majoring in music in college...

Email I got from a drummer...

"I am also looking to get a jazz major or a music major when i go 2 college. i am thinking of doing a major in business and maybe a minor degree in music. do you recommend any good colleges which provides these courses? i am not looking to be a full session gigging drummer but i want to teach and gig maybe on few nights. and it is also very sad in my country, that i cannot find a jazz band and get more exposure."

Lol...you're one of the smartest musicians I've met! Here's the skinny on a music degree...

An undergrad in music (without an emphasis on music education) allows you to do ZERO (monetarily at least). If you go on to get a masters in music performance, you can teach adjunct at a university part time...and if you get a doctorate, you can teach on the college level. A degree has no value in the gigging world...besides to let the other guys on the gig formulate a preconceived idea of you and your playing (college musicians can tend to overplay alot, and be cocky, and overall hard to work with...not the case with all of them, but with alot of them). A degree in music would be obtained strictly on the basis that you wanted to improve your playing and devote an ungodly amount of time to practice and performance...I would know, I got a degree in Jazz Studies (also equally worthless in the gigging world).

The point is, unless you plan on pursuing your doctorate, spending the time and money to obtain a music degree won't do much for you (again, we're speaking monetarily and in the scope of your career) that a buttload of hard work on your own can't do. That having been said, if you get a degree in music education, that would allow you to teach on the public school level...i.e. high school band. Not a thing in the world wrong with that, I know alot of perfectly happy and excellent players that teach band...they LIVE for it and wouldn't do anything else. A doctorate in composition would allow you to teach on the college level and compose in your spare time, etc and so forth...

"Why are you being so negative?! If a person wants a degree in music, let them get one!"

You're absolutely right, but there are smarter and more effective ways to go about getting an "education" in the musical world (private lessons, dvd's, audit the classes you want...). What you're talking about doing is an EXCELLENT choice. You only get as much out of a music degree as you put in...you can have the best teachers in the world and if you don't practice and apply yourself, you won't learn a thing. Having a degree in business with a minor in music gives you the best of both worlds. Most musicians that make a sustainable and comfortable living are essentially in business for themselves. They own private studios, operate corporate bands, front a popular band, have a large private teaching practice, compose for television and film, songwrite, etc. All of these are businesses in and of themselves, and so many musicians that I know could have benefited from a few business classes. If you really want to become a better musician, you'll do that whether you major in it or not. You're not getting a degree to "fall back on"...you're getting a degree that will help your passion produce a better and more prosperous future for yourself and your family. In other words, it's like two horses pulling the same buggy...your music is the buggy, your commitment and your knowledge of the business world are the two horses...make sense?

There's nothing worse than having to sacrifice your art for the sake of the almighty dollar...but it happens alot...and I think it would happen alot less if musicians in general were a little wiser about their education. What good is a teaching practice if you don't know how to market to get new students? What good is running a killer sounding band if you don't know how to promote and run a profit/loss statement on your gigs and merch?

Is it becoming clearer?

I wish I would have taken a few business classes while in college...because I've had to go back and learn it all on my own, which sucks and takes up alot of my free time. Music is an art, and to make money performing that art, you must monetize your efforts...but musicians don't like to talk about the money...they just want to create, and be passionate, and make beautiful music...

...well so do I...and I also happen to like eating nice foods, living in a comfortable home, and providing adequately for my family...so call me greedy and money hungry if you want...but being proficient in other areas of life has afforded me the luxury to make my music career in the exact shape that I want it to be in...

So kudos to you for having a great plan...just don't forget to practice as much as you study your business classes!!!

Cheers,
Stephen T.

The Idea of a Concept

Do you ever get the feeling like your whole musical vocabulary consists of exercises you learned from some instructional book? Maybe you didn't learn from books. Maybe you learned by emulating different grooves from your favorite bands or learning a bunch of killer licks from some old Frank Zappa records. But after the newness of it all wears off, do you ever find yourself saying,"When will I sound like me instead of like a hodge-podge of regurgitated knowledge?"

Don't get me wrong, book knowledge and the study of your musical heroes is essential. Most all of the musical greats have admitted to an incubation period of emulating their predecessors, everyone from Jeff "Tain" Watts to John Coltrane has done this. But they all have one thing in common...they came to a place where they decided it was time to sound like themselves. So breathe a deep sigh of relief if you've felt this way lately...you're in the company of the greats!

I think all musicians (and yes, drummers are musicians contrary to the jokes) come to a crossroads where they can either continue on down the well beaten path, or they can make a left turn and start on a search for their own voice. The only question is where to start.

I came to this place myself and I didn't know where to begin, but I knew I wouldn't be satisfied until I sounded like ME. There were several ways I began to blindly go about it, but there was one I discovered that really helped me succeed at beginning to hear myself in my playing. It was the art of turning an idea into a concept.

First we'll need a working definition of both an idea and a concept. Wikipedia defines an idea as: "A specific thought that arises in the mind of a person as a result of thinking." A drum groove or a particular fill would be examples of ideas in drummer speak.

On the other hand, their definition of a concept is: "A general idea derived or inferred from specific instances or occurences." A concept is simply an expanded idea, it's that simple!

You might ask how this grammar lesson involves drumming, and rightly so since this is a drummer's blog, but we had to get some basic understanding of those two words before we could apply them to our situation. Now we're through with grammar...Let's get down to business and try to apply it to the drums...

We'll start off with a simple rudiment, the paradiddle-diddle (RLRRLL or LRLLRR). The rudiment itself wil be our idea. The first thing to do is master the idea of the paradiddle-diddle and that means practicing it on the snare or practice pad from slow to fast and back to slow (which assures that you'll be comfortable with it in a wide variety of tempos). Do this until the sticking becomes second nature to you. After you've done this it's time to turn the idea of the paradiddle-diddle into the concept of the paradiddle-diddle.

Moving to the drumkit...Split the rudiment up between two different voices on your kit (i.e. right hand on the floor tom, left hand on the snare; right hand on the ride cymbal, left hand on the top tom, etc.). Continue this until you've used every combination of two voices on the kit, and I mean ALL of them...the rims, bells of cymbals, sides of the drums...Go crazy with it! It could take a while to do this.

Now let's try three voices. Play the two singles on the snare and play the right hand doubles on the top tom and the left hand doubles on the floor tom. Again, do this until you've used every combination of three voices on the kit that you can think of. Don't forget to practice leading with both hands, and you can alternate subdivisions too...triplets, sixteenths, etc.

Now that we're getting into the swing with this concept, let's make a groove out of it. Try putting the right hand on the hi-hat and the left hand on the snare. Using sixteenth notes, play the rudiment through twice and add a paradiddle on the end of it to make a bar of four-four (RLRRLL-LRLLRR-RLRR or vice versa). Now decide where you can accent the snare to make some sort of backbeat. Havin' fun yet? Here comes the real challenge...add the bass drum.

There are several ways to do this. You can use the bass drum exercises in Gary Chester's "New Breed" book, you could read through "Syncopation" exercises, or you can simply start placing the bass drum in random spots. The whole purpose of this is to be able to play anything you want with your bass drum underneath this groove. Now switch the right hand to the ride cymbal and read the rhythms with your left foot on the hi-hat. If this gets easy, try some fills but base them on the paradiddle-diddle (we're being very specific and staying within this concept for now). Just use the two and three voice exercises you were doing earlier, then go right back into the groove.

Now try a samba pattern underneath the sticking and put accents in different places within the sticking, and if that gets easy, try a baion pattern.

Try playing the rudiment between your feet, or between your right foot and left hand...now play it in 3/4 time...invert the sticking (LLRLRR or RRLRLL) and start all over again...try it in 11/8 time...got the idea yet?!?!?!

We just took a very two dimensional idea, expanded it, and developed a concept by using our imagination and coming up with endless possibilities for this one rudiment. That's the way you develop any concept, by coming up with as many variations on a particular idea as you can and then methodically working through them until you no longer have just one idea to work with but a concept that you're completely fluid with in any situation and on any part of the drumkit.

The key to doing this is the imagination part. With technology and TV the way it is nowadays, we can go for long periods of time and never use one iota of imagination. Heck, we can even watch people live their lives on any number of reality TV shows! It takes alot of extra thought and practice to do what we just did, but the payoff is astronomical. You won't like every combination and idea that you try within a concept (that's not the point), but you'll come up with some very unique ones and you'll improve your facility on the kit at the same time.

When I started implementing this into my practice, things got crazy. I would hurry and try to learn the lessons my private instructors had given me, then I would break down individual components of the lesson and develop concepts around them. Maybe I was working with the "Syncopation" exercises but I also wanted to work on my brush patterns in 3/4 time. I would write the "Syncopation" exercises out in 3/4, pick a brush pattern, and then play the exercises with my right foot, left foot, both feet, etc. It got to where I was a little overwhelmed at times because when I got a new exercise out of a book or learned a new fill from a recording a whole new world of possibilities would be opened up. I had trained my mind to develop concepts instead of just settling for individual ideas and exercises from books.

I really believe that the authors of instructional books never meant for the students to only play the exercises written, they were simply trying to spark the imagination and help the stuent see a few of the many different possibilities.

I saw a change in my teachers too. They loved the fact that I was not only learning the assigned lesson but I was also putting in the extra time ad practice by trying to do it my own way, and I really appreciated the fact that they were giving me the freedom to try new things.

The main point I want to get across is, please don't limit yourself. Your ideas are valuable. Just because you haven't written a book or performed with some name artist doesn't mean your ideas are of any less value. You will find that if you're truly trying to find your own voice and you're playing for the music, musicians want and NEED what you have to offer.

I am nowhere near finished finding my voice (some days I feel like I haven't even started to find it!), but I'm constantly searching and trying new things. So the next time you pick up a book or hear a new lick, unlock your imagination and see what happens!