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greetings my fellow drumming enthusiasts! has it
already been
a month since the last installment of 'the
connection' ?? boy
time flies.
just as time can get away from us, so can
opportunities to
practice. if you've found yourself slipping into the
trap of "..i'll
do it later", remember that 15 minutes of regular,
well-focused
practice is much better than the occasional l o n g
practice
session!
so get up from your computer right now, walk over to
mirror
and say "i will commit to 15 minutes a day of
focused practice,
no matter where i am !!". but don't you
need sticks
and drums
to practice?
....read on and we'll see
| "hands on" drumming |
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people may have thought that i had some type of
nervous
disorder when i was
growing up (and probably still do) because i have
always been drumming on things with my
hands.
little did i know that
this constant beating to the music in my head was in
fact a
great
tool that all drummers and percussionists should use
on a
regular basis.
we can hone our independence skills and rhythm
patterns with
or without sticks and drums. the feel is certainly
different, but
that's ok because technically you should be able to
execute a
certain rudiment or groove no matter what you play
on or with.
consider this the testing ground. if you rely on sticks
bouncing
off of a head or a pedal adjusted just so, then maybe
the
equipment is hurting you more than helping?!
why not mix up your practice routine by stepping
away from
your drums, laying down your sticks, and play the
same licks
using just your hands and feet. i like to use different
surfaces
like a book & table top to take the place of toms,
cymbals,
and a snare.
here's to air drumming and just beating legs and
tables to
stretch our minds and muscles beyond the norm!
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| seat it |
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i'm bad about "assuming" things, especially when it
comes to
drums. i've been around them for the better part of
my life
and have replaced and tuned a lot of drum heads.
early on i learned the importance of seating the
head. seating
is the process of breaking in a new drum head while
creating a
bond with the bearing edge. for those of you who
are not
familiar with this, i apologize for "assuming" you knew
about it.
why don't we all get up to speed on the process of
seating a
new drum head.
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| rudiment of the month |
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this month we're going to take a break from the
double
stroke rolls and cover one of my favorite rudiments:
the
single paradiddle! next to the roll, the single
paradiddle
is probably one of
the most well known rudiments. i consider it the
foundation of
my playing style.
first of all, what is a diddle? well, believe it or not
we've been
practicing them for several months now . . . in the
world of
drumming it is when you play two strokes on
the same hand:
RR or LL. the structure of this rudiment is that you
have a pair
of alternating single strokes (R L) + one diddle =
RLRR. conveniently you
end on the right (R) hand so you can alternate to
start with the
left (L) hand next: LRLL.
here's what the single-paradiddle looks like in music
notation:
if you're wondering what the ">" means on the first
stroke of
each paradiddle, it's an accent mark. an accent is a
strike that
is played much louder than the other beats. i can't
express
enough how important it is master the accent. the
dynamics
involved are great for learning stick control.
the single paradiddle should be praticed in the slow-
fast-slow
format just like the rolls we've looked at. once you
get the feel
for how the single paradiddle sounds, you can use it
to work on
your indepedence between hands and feet. for
instance, use
your left hand and right foot. while doing that, use
your right
hand to play quarter note down beats on the ride
cymbal (i.e. 1
2 3 4). switch it up between hands and feet.
for regular hi-hat / snare grooves, try playing them
as usual,
except this time one hand plays the hat and the
other plays the
snare. don't play accents on the hi hat but keep the
over all
volume up (as normal), then play the accents on the
snare.
the result is a cool rhythm on the hat, ghost notes
on the
snare, and a nice loud smack on two and four! not
only does it
provide a good groove, but it's great for keeping the
tempo.
these exercises are only the tip of iceberg with ways
the
single-paradiddle can be used. practice, experiment,
and have
fun!
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Featured Article |
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there is much to be said for 'spontaeneous improvisation'.
better known as jamming.
what we are talking about here is the 'creativity factor',
using your
'individual imagination' to improve behind the kit
while playing with a recording or a band.
while taking creative liberties, always remember: "there is no
such thing as a mistake
if you remain 'in-time". that is a very big statement
but it is completely true!
theoretically you may do anything (that sounds good) when
you are behind the drumkit. anything goes, most of the time!
that is . . . anything goes, that does not throw you out of sync
with the timing of the music or results in making you
the target of smelly objects like rotten eggs and tomatoes.
sometimes, you may not be playing exactly the intended
(classic) patterns. maybe you will miss a lick, here and there.
that's okay!
just stay in time, focus on the feel of the beat.
occasionally the missed licks may sound better than the
intended licks anyway.
Go to the complete article
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