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DRUM
TIPS
- Tips for Drummers |
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Drum
Tips 1 - It's about time. A drummer's responsibility
before anything else is to lay down a steady drum beat for the
band. You should understand "groove" thoroughly and
be able to lay a backbeat down like nobody's business. Drum
fills are secondary.
Drum
Tips 2 - A terrific exercise: This version of "WIPEOUT"
incorporates single, double, and triple paradiddles. Repeat
over and over until you build up your speed. This is a great
exercise for hand to hand control.
R l r r,
L r l l, R l r l r l r r, L r l r l l, R l r l r r, L r l l
(Capital letters are Accented notes)
Drum
Tips 3 - Inventory your drums and all your drum equipment:
Log all of your instruments, take pictures of your drums (all
sides), and make up a separate page for serial numbers.
Drum
Tips 4 - Videotape yourself playing drums. You will
be amazed at what you can learn from this. Everything from that
stupid look on your face while your playing, to the snare drum
that's tilted at a 45 degree angle.
Drum
Tips 5 - Repetitiveness is the key to learning drums fluidly.
Overlearn it! You will usually not get something down
good unless it's repeated over and over again numerous times.
Practice drum licks enough times that they become very natural.
Drum
Tips 6 - Your duct tape roll makes a great drink holder.
Set it down to the right of your bass drum foot where it can't
be knocked over.
Drum
Tips 7 - Set up your drums differently than other drummers.
Make your own unique statement.
Drum
Tips 8 - Try adding some basic auxiliary percussion to your
set. No need to add the huge plethora of crazy items that Cab
Calloway's or Duke Ellington's early drummers had (they didn't
play them anyway). Don't let it be a distraction, but use it
for some nice color here and there to spice things up.
Drum
Tips 9 - After a drum lesson, go home and practice right
away while it's still fresh in your head. Otherwise you tend
to forget a lot of what you learned.
Drum
Tips 10 - Take the time to tune your drums before a gig.
Many drummers tend to let this go but you would be surprised
how out of tune your drums can become due to playing, weather
changes, and the like.
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Drum
Tips 11 - Check out DrumBum.com
for Drummer Gifts, many more Drum Tips, & Drum Lessons.
Drum
Tips 12 - Double Bass pedal. One advantage to having a double
pedal (whether you play it that much or not) is you'll always
have a spare in case something happens to your main pedal.
Drum
Tips 13 - Think outside the book when practicing! Play along
with CDs, MP3s, or even with what music is playing on the radio.
Playing along with whatever's on the air will not only sharpen
your chops, but also gives you experience in playing different
kinds of music on short notice!
Drum
Tips 14 - Even if you don't care for jazz, you may find
it interesting to listen to some jazz drummers such as Max Roach,
Tony Williams, and Art Blakey for the variety of sounds they
can coax from their set.
Drum
Tips 15 - The bass player may be the harmonic foundation
of the music, and while she plays an important role in the tempo,
you as the drummer are the anchor, the rock. It is your responsibility
to control the tempo at all times. If guitarists start speeding
up, rein them in! Never let things slow down when they aren't
supposed to. Slowing down is an epidemic problem among amateur
drummers.
Drum Tips
16 - If you play hand drums (bongos, congas, djembes, etc.),
keep in mind that, like your hands, your drum heads get dry
during the winter (keep in mind that, in most cases, they're
skins, too!). Take a small amount of unscented hand cream and
apply it to the palms of your hands, then rub it around the
drumheads just as if you were rubbing it onto your own skin.
Let it sit for a minute or so and wipe off the excess. It doesn't
affect the sound quality and it keeps the skin from drying out
and cracking...saves you money on your drum heads and helps
ya keep the beat goin'!
Drum Tips
17 - In a pinch, you can get a sizzle cymbal sound from
your ride cymbal by taping about 4 or 5 dimes or pennies to
a strand of duct tape about 5" long and an inch wide. Experiment
with placement for the optimum sound.
Drum Tips
18 - If you play your drums regularly, change the batter
heads every 3 to 4 months and the reso heads every 12 months
for optimum sound.
Drum
Tips 19 - Practice on striking the drum in exactly the same
place each time - you will be surprised at the tonal difference
just a inch difference can make to the sounds of the drum.
Drum
Tips 20 - Volume
is important. Not loudness, not softness; volume. There is a
time to be loud, a time to be soft, a time to be very loud,
and everything in between. Some drummers consistently play too
loudly - that's the stereotype of drummers in general. Some,
though, play too softly. Open up your ears and listen to the
others playing around you. Listen to the balance between the
drums and the rest of the band on recordings. Then, record your
band when you play - judge how you are balancing.
Drum
Tips 21 - Playing
snare in a marching band? Be wary of those super tight heads.
Many of them are made of Kevlar, the material used in bullet
proof vests. Stay flexible as you play, as there have been reports
of young drummers getting Carpal Tunnel syndrome from the style
of playing many use on these drums.
Drum Tips
22 - While it's important to keep your hand drums tuned
properly, it's always a good idea to detune the drums (loosen
the heads slightly) when you're not playing them. This reduces
the possibility of the heads splitting or cracking due to unexpected
temperature or humidity changes...
Drum Tips
23 - Be cautious when using cymbal cleaner because it can
remove the logo on your cymbals if you arent careful.
Drum Tips
24 - Expensive high zoot drum kits will NOT make you a better
drummer!
Drum
Tips 25 - You should buy the best kit you can afford. So-called
"bargain" kits are no bargain when you have to buy
a better-quality kit to replace the cheaper kit after it wears
out. Most manufacturers have good medium-price kits that will
serve as both a great starter kit and a foundation on which
you can add more drums and accessories down the road!
Drum Tips
26 - If you're a hand drummer who plays tunable bongos and
congas, keep the lugs lubricated. If you've ever had a lug strip
out on you while tuning the skins for a gig--or had to replace
one afterward--you know it can be an expensive hassle! Some
manufacturers provide a small bottle of "lug lube"
with your hand drums; keep it, or a small bottle of multi-purpose
oil, in your gig bag.
Drum
Tips 27 - This is the best thought process any drummer can
have, play the basic beat, if your not feeling the fills don't
do them. Never overplay, in time you will figure them out. Iam
in a 80s cover band ,no I dont play each song and or try to
copy the drummer exactly ,why because I'm not that drummer.
I hear the songs my own way. To me this makes sense.
Drum Tips
28 - Make sure your drum throne is not set too high. You
should not be stretching to use the pedals of your high hat
or bass pedal
Drum Tips
29 - When purchasing a drum throne, look for a model that
can be easily adjusted to provide that exact fit Ironfist recommended!
The cheapest thrones usually have a limited number of positions
that can be adjusted by only a bolt and thumbscrew; better thrones
have a locking post that enables you to spin the seat into the
perfect position for you.
Drum Tips
30 - Jazz drummers -Invest in a pair of fiber brushes, they
dont bend like wire ones and more importantly they are a lot
kinder to your cymbals especially if you've upgraded.
Drum Tips
31 - Play for the song. Don't try to put all your best drum
licks and fills in every tune just because you can. Listen to
the music and ascertain what it needs from you first. It may
need to just sit there and groove real hard. If it calls for
a drum fill, then you can play a creative fill. Otherwise, be
a responsible and mature musician and play for the music, not
yourself.
Drum Tips
32 - If you play drums for a living or as part of a church
group, you're going to be sitting behind the kit or your hand
drums for quite a while in each gig. Look for a drum throne
with a motorcycle-style seat (think of the seat of a Harley-Davidson
ElectraGlide), rather than a simple round seat. A biker-style
seat not only gives you a more comfortable place for your buns,
but it also supports nearby body parts and lessens discomfort.
Drum Tips
33 - If the lugs on your bongos and congas can handle a
ratchet-type socket wrench, lucky you! You'll be able to tighten
and loosen rhe drumheads faster and easier than with the standard
wrench your drum maker provided. (You may need a deep socket
on some drums, but give it a try--and remember the lug lube!)
Drum
Tips 34 - A famous jazz drummer once said that instead of
trying to beat the sound into the drums, he tried to pull the
sound out of the drums - an interesting mindset that could perhaps
help you achieve another level.
Links
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- Unique
Gifts
for Drummers at Giftys.com
- Find
Drummer
Gifts at OccuaptionGifts.com
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Drumming.com
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Everything you need for drumming
- Find
Drum
Lessons at DrumLessons.org
- Join
a growing community for bands at Add
Your Band
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