Blog Test

The Group The only place like it online–The Beginner Drummers Forum–is a Facebook group where beginners can go and ask any questions without fear of being teased or called a “noob.” It’s a safe space for learning and asking for critique of your playing. There truly is no other place like it online. You’ll find […]

Happy Holidays, everyone! Here is my gift to you.  It’s a little motivational video that I think can help you.  The mental exercise I describe in the video did–in fact–literally change my life. I don’t want to steal my own thunder so I’m not going to tell you that much more about it, except that […]

The other day I was listening to Clem Burke, the drummer from Blondie. He’s one of my favorite rock drummers. The song was “One Way or Another” from the album “Parallel Lines.” Clem goes to town on this song–big 16th note drum fills, a really interesting and muscular drum break–it’s a great drumming song. Then […]

Here’s something I’ve been talking about a lot lately. And it’s because it’s critically important. And it is overlooked in a major way, particularly among beginners. One of the things I’ve noticed with some students, particularly beginners, is that they think that if they just put in a lot of hours practicing, their hands are […]

Every since I first watched this solo, I’ve been obsessed. It’s masterful. It’s become one of my favorite drum solos of all-time. I’m guessing many of you might agree. My friend Tim Buell transcribed it for me. Do you know Tim? Not only is he one of Nashville’s best drummers (and teachers), but he is […]

As I get deeper and deeper into the video course that I’ve been creating for beginners, I’ve  been reminded of quite a few things. One is that even though it’s almost a cliche at this point, the notion of “focusing on the groove” and “playing for the song” really is of the utmost importance.  Truly. […]

There was a good year or so that I was obsessed with Keith Carlock’s drumming. And who could blame me? Keith has got it all: a killer pocket, chops for days, and a truly unique sound. There is a particular lick that Keith plays a lot, and I’ve written about that before. You can find […]

Welcome to “Nasty Drum Licks” #124 and #125. The six-stroll roll in this lesson refers to the left-handed version (LRRLLR) and the linear idea is something I’ve been playing for a while now (FLRLFR). I came up with the linear thing as a way to play something kind of slick-sounding while grooving on the hi-hat, […]

Are you ready? I am about to give you one of my Nastiest of the Nasty Licks!!! Nasty Lick #38 is one of my favorites. It pretty much ALWAYS gets a reaction. Just check out the screams from the audience when I launch into it in the video below. It’s a live video of my […]

Last week I posted a video of my playing along with Gary Husband’s song, “Groove Grease.” There’s an eight bar solo in the song and I’ve been getting asked about one of the ideas I played in that solo. Hence, Nasty Drum Lick #128 was born! The idea is a sixteenth note triplet phrase that […]

If you want to improve your single stroke roll, this system, if practiced consistently, should help you immensely. A lot of what I share here on the blog is a result of my own practicing, gigging, and recording experience and this practice system is no exception. In addition to explaining the exercise, I’m offering you […]

Achieving success in any endeavor requires focus and learning the drums is no different. Focusing on the right things–especially at the beginning–is truly important. Focus is something that I’ve read about and written about frequently because I sometimes struggle with it myself. There are many drumming ideas, techniques, and skills that excite me. And therein […]

This is a great lick that Vinnie plays on “Dong Work for Yuda” from the Frank Zappa album, “Joe’s Garage.” I immediately loved it because it sounded a lot like a famous Gadd lick I love. The Gadd lick is a well known pattern, very similar to this one. (See example #2 from “Seven Gadd […]

If you need to play Afro-Cuban in 6/8, this one never fails. I love it. It’s a little tricky in the independence department, but once you work through the pattern and get it locked in your muscle memory, you’ll have it forever. I know that the notation I’ve written on the PDF is in 4/4, […]

This is a great lick that looks pretty simple on paper, but it sounds amazing when blazed! I stumbled upon it on YouTube, where master drummer and teacher, John Riley, was demonstrating it at a clinic. Have a look at the video: John plays the lick very slowly in the video; slow enough that you […]

Just Updated with New Video! Experienced drummers are always saying that the groove is the main thing. That’s true. Having a great feel when you play beats is non-negotiable, but you still have to be able to play some cool fills when the time is right. One of the most common questions I get from […]

NOTE: There is another sticking that I recently discovered for Nasty Lick #109. Both this original and the new one work well, but I like the new one better. You can see the post and the link to the PDF with the revised sticking here: Philly Joe Jones Nasty Drum Lick #109 w Revised Sticking […]

Here I present to you an idea that combines some stuff I’ve heard Vinnie play with my own stuff. It’s simply a six-stroke roll with a little hand/foot combo thrown in. The way I like to use it has a “three-beat” kind of feel, which makes it sound cool and flowing. I’m offering you both […]

Hi Everyone! Today we’re going to work on hi-hat technique. It’s not something I see the drum teaching community writing about or teaching much, but it is a very important skill for beginners that should not be overlooked. In this lesson, I want to give you the tools to work on getting the hi-hat’s open […]

Hello Everyone! This time we’re going to look at another great Steve Gadd idea. It’s one of his staples; you’ll hear it frequently in his solos. This online drum lesson will include video and a PDF with the lick written out note-for-note. One thing that I talk about in the video is the idea of […]

Today, I’m offering a beginner’s online drum lesson. The topic? Disco! Hey, wait! Where are you going? The Disco Groove is actually a pretty cool beat. It doesn’t get as much love as it used to, but in the 70’s, you could hear this beat everywhere. It’s a little tricky to play. In fact, it’s […]

In this video drum lesson, we’re going to take a look at an interesting way to play a common hand/foot idea. The idea is just “Right Left Foot,” one that many of you already know.  If you’re a beginner drummer, welcome to one of the building blocks of hand/foot vocabulary. The natural first thought many […]

Hey Everyone! This post is for beginners or any drummer who has no idea how to read music and wants to learn. One way that works for me to teach this is to show new students how to play simple eighth note beats using only physical movements and then to show them and explain how […]

Recently I had a lesson with John Riley where we discussed soloing. The creation of vocabulary was a big part of the talk. There was a notion of efficiency in how one works on stuff–which I realized is extremely important, but I want to save that for later because it deserves its own entire post. […]

Hey There! Welcome to the second installment of 5 Killer Gadd licks. In this online video drum lesson, we’re going to show you how to play one of Steve’s signature licks. The first time I heard Gadd play this was in the groove on Tom Scott’s song “Dirty Old Man.” It knocked me out. When […]

One of the magical things about playing a musical instrument is that the possibilities are endless. That certainly seems to be true when it comes to drumming. Developing independence against a cymbal pattern that goes over the barline is just one idea that I’ve been working on that makes me feel that drumming and music […]

This marks the debut of a new video series: 5 Killer Gadd Licks. The first of the five is something I call “The Three Beat Triplet Flow.” It comes from an Elvin-ish jazz phrase that I’ve heard Gadd play. He applies the idea to funk in his playing and that is the focus of this […]

Welcome to a new series on making drum charts. Most gigging professional drummers have their own system. Mine is still developing, but I’ve got enough of a handle on it that I want to start sharing some ideas with you. The plan is to show you examples of drum chart/cheat sheets that I use in […]

Over many years of teaching, I’ve noticed a few things that come up again and again when I’m working with beginners. In this edition of “The Thinking Drummer,” we’ll look at the top 5 mistakes I see. If you’re just starting to play drums for the first time ever or even if you’re just fairly […]

First, the VIDEO! If you’re an avid reader of this blog, you’ll know that I love slick little licks that I can throw into a groove. I’ve written about these kinds of ideas before. For example: Nasty Lick 44: Yuda Variation Nasty Lick 43: Vinnie on Joe’s Garage 5 Killin 32nd Note Drum Groove Soloing […]

Improvisation has always been a mysterious topic for me. The information available on it, at least in the drumming education world, seems far from definitive. The video at the bottom of this post will hopefully help a bit with some of that understanding, at least as it relates to drumming improvisation. If you went to […]

Welcome to Nasty Drum Lick #137, an idea based on a five note phrase. I’ve been using this idea for a while; it’s simple, just RLRLF. That’s four notes with your hands followed by one with your bass drum. Putting your foot before the hands is fine too; it’s really the same lick either way. […]

Introduction | How The Hell Do I Learn To Play Drum Solos? For a long time, learning how to play drum solos always seemed elusive to me. How does one learn to do this? How do you get all these cool drumming ideas to come out of your body and flow? And how do you […]

Introduction/Overview Over the past year or so, I’ve been spending some significant time working on making my drumming videos better. I was doing OK (not great) with what I was doing originally, but the quality needed an upgrade. As soon as one of my drummer friends said, “your content is good, but the audio quality […]

One of the questions I often hear from beginners is about independence. In the very beginning of your drumming journey, the required separation between your hands and feet is pretty straight forward. I’m referring to your very first eighth note rock beats where your hi-hat pattern always lines up with the bass drum. To progress, […]

In this series, I’m going to offer some ideas on how you can strengthen your time feel. We all know as drummers that groove is king. It’s why you get hired. Or as Steve Gadd once said, “Fills bring the thrills, but the groove pays the bills.” At least I think he said that (It’s […]

I really like the sound of drums going low to high. The lick I’m offering to you today is an example of that. It’s a new one and I’m pretty certain it’s going into my current notebook of “permanent” vocabulary (yes, I have a notebook like that…You can read more about that here: Your Notebook […]

Here’s an idea I got from Glen Sobel. It’s a sixteenth note linear pattern that sounds much more complicated than it is. Below, you can watch a video of me playing the idea and improvising with it. But first, here’s the pattern. If you break it down, you’ll see it’s actually pretty simple. You play […]

I have been using Inverted Paradiddles in my playing for a long time. I’m pretty sure that I first became aware of them in the late ’80s when I was studying with Rick Considine at Drummer’s Collective in NYC. When Rick showed me how to use inverted paradiddles, the ease with which I could play […]

I’ve been making my own clave exercises for years because I couldn’t find a lot of existing material that would help me. The one book that I did find helpful was Ignacio Berroa’s Groovin’ in Clave. Yes, I did borrow his title for the name of this post. Since I’ve finally come to a point […]

This latest lick is one I’ve been messing around with for a while. It was inspired by Steve Gadd’s famed “ratamacue lick.” It’s got a similar vibe, but I find it much easier to play. The notation on PDF is here for you to download: Nasty Drum Lick #135 And here’s a video of me […]

I love these types of time-playing ideas. The first time I heard this kind of playing was when I was introduced to the drumming of Steve Gadd. His famous hi-hat/snare/bass drum ideas were always exciting and propelled the music forward. There are other posts with these types of licks offered elsewhere in the blog. You […]

Buddy was a master technician.  But he was also extremely musical. I had an argument/debate the other day with someone about technique.  The person I was debating was arguing that focusing on technique could rob one of creativity and musicality.  I strongly disagree with that sentiment.  Technique is a means to an end.  How one […]

Regular readers of this blog know that I’ve been writing exercises for developing independence with clave as a cymbal pattern for years now. Why is that? Playing clave as a cymbal pattern and playing against it freely is extremely difficult at first. In fact, it seemed almost unattainable to me. Similarly, when Jim Chapin’s classic […]

I’ve been stuck without my drum set again for a couple of months because of this COVID situation. The silver lining in no drum set is that I’m getting obsessive about my hands. Pad work every day. I’ve been looking into rudimental exercises and checking out other people’s warm-ups and practice routines. I wanted to […]

The last time I wrote about trying to get the most mileage from your drumming ideas (a notion that I think is very important to one’s drumming), I shared a PDF with one specific lick. Then, we “milked” it by changing the underlying rhythm from 16ths to triplets and beyond. No doubt, that works. Here’s […]

In this installment of The Thinking Drummer, I take a little look at Push/Pull aka Open/Close hand technique. It’s something that I’ve been working on seriously for several months now. Let’s talk about what it is, what the possibilities are, and how you can learn it. First of all, I’ve been interested in this technique […]

The other day I saw a crazy video on Benny Greb’s Instagram page. He was playing Son Clave by making clicking noises with his mouth. And then he used his voice, while maintaining those clave clicks, to play rhythms based on 3, 5 and 7. All of those rhythms go over the barline. And if […]

I’ve been enjoying the fertile drumming ground of Instagram.  There are lots of great drummers to discover there and one of my favorites is Justin Scott. He is a chops-heavy player; much of his content is him soloing or playing densely complex grooves. I’ve transcribed one of his videos–watch it below. And check out the […]

Have you ever felt that certain hand techniques might be unobtainable? I remember watching Jojo Mayer’s first DVD and thinking some of the super-advanced techniques he demonstrated might take so much practice to master that it might not be worth the work. The one exception was the push-pull technique. I thought that it would be […]

Many drummers love drum solos. Do you? We often revere those who play them well. Yes, any drummer who understands their role in music will believe in the power of groove, but many (dare I say most?) also covet the ability to solo. There are many steps a drummer must take in order to develop […]

How would you like to check out some new, talented drummers? I’m going to introduce you to 3 impressive female drummers I’ve stumbled upon on Instagram. These aren’t the most famous female drummers. But that’s the point. Discovering new drummers is always exciting for me and I’m guessing you might feel the same. I’ve deliberately […]

If you’re serious about drumming–really serious–you’ll be driven to figure out how play drumming that excites you. Transcribing is the usual way to do this. And transcribing is easier than ever because current technology allows you to quickly slow down recordings and videos. Your ultimate goal, however, should be to sound unique. That’s the “holy […]

A few weeks ago I posted a clip that showed how to learn to play 3 vs 2. You can check that out here: How to Play 3 Against 2 After I published it, a lot of people asked me “what can you even use that for?” Good question. This is actually the reason that […]

The other day I posted a little video on my social channels and there was one idea a few people asked me about. In this post, I’ll explain it, show it to you in a video, and give you the notation on PDF. First, a little about the lick. I’ve always loved Steve Gadd’s 32nd […]

The video embedded in this article is about 4 minutes long and will show you my method for learning polyrhythms. It focuses on 3 against 2, but the method will work for any two rhythms that you would like to work on being able to play simultaneously. Here’s the video: Try this out and see […]

Here is a great sounding lick that has many possibilities for you to create new ideas. I’ve already been messing with it starting from the PDF I’m offering to you; check it out here: Nasty Drum Lick #131 I’m definitely NOT giving you my new variations, but ONLY because I want you to make up […]

I’ve been experimenting with some new drum vocabulary lately. As usual, I like to share the good stuff with you. This time, I’m sharing an idea that I’ve used a lot; a group of five phrased within 16th note triplets. The pattern I used to always play is RLRLF. In this iteration of the lick, […]

So, as I write this, I’m still in “lockdown.” My wife and I fled NYC when the numbers started to get really scary and now I’m holed-up in a house on Cape Cod with no drums. But, I DO have a pad and I’ve been using it. One of the things I decided to do […]

The only reason I ask is that the video for this lesson is only 30 seconds long. And if you watch just that video, you’ll get everything you need to know in order to learn this lick. Really. And it’s a great one. In fact, it was inspired by something I heard Vinnie Colaiuta play […]

Welcome to “Stick Logic #3,” where we’ll work on a little piece that includes both the four-stroke ruff and the single drag. It’s a fun piece to play. I am certain that this came to me like this as a direct result of my working on Philly Joe Jones solos a ways back. I don’t […]

Here’s the 2nd installment of the new hand technique & drum rudiment series called “Stick Logic.” In this series, I’m going to get through all the rudiments, but do so by giving you études/musical pieces to work on. I always found it more interesting to work on pieces rather than just patterns. For example, the […]

Swing, Wisdom, and Perseverance from the seminal jazz and funk pioneer. Mike Clark gained fame throughout the drumming community during his tenure with Herbie Hancock in the early 1970s, most notably because of his tight, syncopated, and innovative grooves on the album Thrust. But that hardly scratches the surface of his extensive output throughout the […]

Here’s the first in a new series–“Stick Logic”–that focuses on hand technique and rudiments. This first installment features a little exercise I’ve been doing called “Twenty-Three.” It’s a double stroke roll exercise that includes both 5-stroke and 13-stroke rolls and reverses the hands with each measure (in other words, in the first measure, you’ll lead […]

In the past few weeks, I’ve been learning a lot of songs–both for gigs and auditions. As I went through the process of learning the material, I realized a few things: 1) Over many years of playing and learning songs, I’ve developed a methodology that works for me. 2) There are several “levels” of learning […]

In this edition of “The Thinking Drummer” we’re going to take a different view of the levels of mastery as explained by Neil Peart. I recently posted a clip of a Neil Peart interview on social media. In it, Neil discusses why the Rush song “Tom Sawyer” is so difficult to play. That, on its […]

Welcome to the first edition of our Social Media Scorecard series. The first installment looks at the social media power of the various brands of cymbals in the world of music merchandise. Why? First of all, aren’t you curious? I know I was. But secondly, there is a much more selfish reason. If and when […]

I’ve been getting into Chris Coleman lately. While watching one of his solos, I noticed him playing something familiar but with a really cool twist. I had never thought of doing what he did, and so I figured I would share it with you. Check out the video. At 3:23, Chris blazes paradiddles phrased as […]

Yes, I’m still obsessed with clave, among other things. In this post, I’m continuing the work with clave in the cymbal hand and the baiao pattern with the bass drum. The goal is independence; I’d like to be able to play anything I want with my left hand. By the way, there is much more […]

I’ve been working on clave independence (with my cymbal hand, not my left foot) for a long time now. When I first starting thinking about working on it, I thought it might be close to impossible to get real freedom with it. I see a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel […]

Anyone who has really studied John Bonham knows how he played his famous hand/foot triplets. Originally I thought the pattern was Right, Left, Foot, but that’s incorrect. The way that Bonham played them is: Left, Right, Foot. And man, when you get that lick fast and clean it sounds amazing. Once I started working on […]

How many of you get nervous before a show or audition? I’ll bet many of you are saying, “yes, I do.” Guess what? You’re not alone. I get nervous too. I’d like to offer you some strategies for overcoming this anxiety. Below are some things to tell yourself, actions to take or things to consider […]

For any of us who have dreamed big about their art–and making a living from it–this post is for you. I should start out by saying that as I write this, I do make a living from drumming, but not all of it is from playing. Most of it currently comes from my teaching business. […]

Welcome to the latest edition of “Pattern Control,” a way to gain control over complex vocabulary. Using this method can help you understand complex phrases and how they work in different rhythmic metrics. I’ve written several articles about this idea and you can read more by having a look at the links at the bottom […]

It was only a few weeks ago that I was lamenting the demise of Guitar Center’s annual drum solo competition, the “Drum Off.” They’re in the midst of a turnaround as I write this and I hope that they are successful. In the meantime, it was with great excitement that I discovered that the Percussive […]

Pattern Control is a concept/method I use often to understand drumming ideas I come up with (or steal). I’ve found it very useful, so I want to share the latest drumming pattern I’ve examined using the method. Pattern Control allows you to examine how a sticking or hand/foot idea plays out in a particular subdivision […]

In the two pages of 24 exercises offered here, I seek to give you an introduction to some simple linear fills. These ideas are based on three simple building blocks: 1) two notes with the hands and two with the feet (four-note grouping) 2) four notes with the hands and two with the feet (six-note […]

Deep advice from one of New York’s busiest and most diverse sticksmen. Kenny Grohowski’s somewhat eclectic resume could feel virtually endless. A brief survey of the Brooklyn-based drummer’s current active output includes touring and recording projects with Felix Pastorious’ Hipster Assassins; the costume-clad black death-metal band Imperial Triumphant; the prolific avant-garde composer John Zorn; the […]

The warm, sensitive, accommodating jazz mainstay offers a sincere glimpse into his world and his music. Adam Nussbaum’s credits abound. The seasoned jazz stickman’s output includes records with the late jazz-fusion guitar master John Abercrombie, the late saxophonist and composer Michael Brecker, jazz-rock guitar monster John Scofield, and the late jazz piano legend and composer […]

One of my favorite drum videos is Dave Weckl’s “The Next Step.” For my money, the most useful part of the video is the section on soloing. In it, Weckl explains the basis of much of his triplet vocabulary, which I offer to you here as a PDF. The vocabulary is simply combinations of different […]

I recently saw Dennis Chambers play with Oz Noy and Wayne Krantz. During one of Dennis’ drum solos, he started playing grooves that seemed to be in a completely different tempo than what Oz and the rest of the band were vamping on. You’ve probably heard this kind of drumming before. The idea has many […]

Glen Sobel is a beast of a drummer. Based in L.A., Glen is best known as the drummer for Alice Cooper and The Hollywood Vampires. He also won the Guitar Center Drum-Off early in the contest’s history. Anyone who knows me and my drumming preferences knows that I am a big fan. Why? He’s got […]

Lately, I’ve been on an Eric Moore binge. He’s got a great groove and a lot of chops. If you don’t know him check him out. He really makes good use of the hi-hat. That’s what I want to focus on in this post. There are a couple of little ideas I picked up on […]

I’ve been working out of Dave DiCenso’s great book, “Rhythm and Drumming Demystified” (aka RADD). One of the sections of the book I’ve been delving into is “Lesson 19,” which features a great pattern: FRLF RLRL (easily also played as RLRL FRLF). There are a lot of things I like about the book. One is […]

Referring to the grid of 16th note possibilities has become a frequent–almost daily–occurrence for me. Recently, that’s because I’ve been working on a lot of independence ideas. The grid is a handy reference for my OCD completist mind during that kind of practice. But there are other possible reasons to want this on one page […]

During my practice to develop independence with this cymbal pattern I’ve been calling the “1e-ah-2-and-a” ostinato, I’m continuously stumbling upon new ideas. I’ve been fascinated by this independence because the phrasing of the cymbal pattern, when played in 4/4, goes over the barline. That is not something you hear very often. It’s kind of weird […]

Here is the follow-up to last week’s introduction to independence against the “e-and-a” cymbal ostinato. These 16 exercises offer every 16th note bass drum possibility before two and four on the snare drum. The “e-and-a” cymbal pattern is laid on top of these grooves so you can work on the mechanics of developing this independence. […]

I’ve been writing a lot about independence lately. That’s because I’ve been thinking about groove and pocket and how to make stuff feel really good. I’ve also been thinking, as I often do, about how to sound different from other drummers. To combine these two thoughts, working on independence with unusual cymbal patterns began to […]

Last week I saw a Drumeo video where Gavin Harrison described and demonstrated “The Paradiddle Challenge.” I love drumming puzzles and I really liked the idea. In the video, Gavin mentioned that he had actually gotten the idea from reading an interview with Gary Husband, who described it in print. Inverted paradiddles have always excited […]

Much has been said about the flexibility and usefulness of the classic drum book, “Syncopation.” There are many applications for the 9 pages of syncopation exercises that begin on page 37, and certainly, new possibilities will continue to be thought of by industrious and creative drummers. Recently, I discovered a great new way of using […]

This 10 measure exercise is wall-to-wall sixteenth note triplets–with accents–and it should help you build fluidity with paradiddles, paradiddle-diddles, six-stroke rolls, double paradiddles and some interesting variations on them. It will test your ability to lead with either your right or left hand, but just for fun, the exercise begins with left-hand lead. Below is […]

Today we get to Part 3 of our journey into independence with what I’ve been calling the “1E-A2-AND-A” cymbal ostinato. Look at the notation below; that’s what the pattern looks like on paper. I really like this cymbal rhythm. It’s very different from what most of us are used to playing on the hi-hat or […]

Gary Chaffee is one of the world’s most influential drum educators. His students include a dazzling array of well-knowns, including Vinnie Colaiuta, Jonathan Mover, JR Robinson, Joey Kramer, Todd Sucherman, Steve Smith and many others. His 4 book “Patterns” series is probably the work he is best known for. I have worked out of many […]

I know that “The Ultimate Monster Drum Lick” is a pretty provocative title. And I’m actually not particularly prone to hyperbole. But this idea, even at the stage I am at with it–which is admittedly early on my journey to master it–has so much power and holds so much promise for incredible speed and power, […]

Recently, it’s come to my attention that there is a shortage of materials for drummers to work on playing in 6/8. It’s come up for me when working on things for myself as well as with students. I wanted to introduce a student to playing in 6/8 and I really couldn’t find anything in-depth on […]

As drummers, our primary job when playing with other people is to provide the groove. That’s the foundation of the music and the bottom line reason for our presence within a group of musicians. If we do a good job, the music just feels good. If we can do that, we’re successful. There are several […]

I think I’m solidly back in double bass drum land. Those of you who’ve been reading this blog for a while may have seen me see-saw a bit on this topic. One week I’m swearing off double bass (I did that for a few years when I was obsessed with Keith Carlock) and the next […]

Success. What does it mean? I’ve become fascinated with how drummers define it and how they pursue it. There are so many versions of success. So, let’s look at some of the ways that drummers visualize and measure it. Is it About Money? The most common way to look at success, of course, is money. […]

Newly Revised and Updated! I know this title is a mouthful. But it says what this post is all about. I’ve been working on some ideas for a solo section in a song where the band plays a vamp in 6/8 and I get to solo over it. The tempo is about 160 bpm. And […]

NEW VIDEO ADDED! Welcome back to the wonderful world of Nasty Drum Licks. Today we’re going to check out a really cool sounding idea that is based on 32nd notes. It combines double strokes or paradiddle-diddles with a hand foot pattern: FRLRLF. This hand/foot pattern is something I’ve heard Dave Dicenso play, and it’s something […]

Drummers (and other musicians), actors, artists, writers and creative people of all types have probably all thought about the idea of the “back-up plan” at one point or another. It is difficult to make money making art of any kind. It’s a winding path with no map and it can be overwhelming. Often, these creatives […]

Hey Everyone! This past week I was still obsessing about 32nd note drum lick ideas and one of them really stood out. I tested it out on a gig last week and I loved it, so today I present it to you. It’s #121 and it combines a left-handed paradiddle with the pattern Foot-Right-Left. The […]

As usual, my practice sessions give me ideas for these “Nasty Drum Lick” posts. For a while now, I’ve been messing with lots of 32nd note ideas. I’ve really been trying to expand my command of playing fast 32nd note ideas that incorporate the snare and hand/foot combos. I also lean heavily towards ideas that […]

Recently I bought a Kindle. I avoided doing so for a while. But just as I had resisted moving from my massive CD collection to streaming at first, I eventually relented. I can’t remember the last time I picked up a CD or played one. I have a lot of books and I started to […]

UPDATE: Video Added! I’ve been messing with clave independence for a while now. If you’re interested in getting into this, be forewarned–it’s going to take a lot of time to get this independence to a point where it will be useful. It’s pretty difficult. But, as with all drumming stuff, time will yield rewards. Nothing’s […]

This Nasty lick goes around the drums counter-clockwise as 16th note triplets. It takes advantage of a great three note grouping as single strokes that allows you to move back and forth on the toms. Combined with a paradiddle-diddle, the lick becomes one that you can blaze around the drums continuously. The lick is written […]

The other night I played a gig and there was one groove I played that felt really good to me. I noticed that the people I was playing with were really digging it too. It was an Elton John tribute show and the tune was “Tiny Dancer.” The groove I played was definitely more Keith […]

As a drummer who plays professionally and dreams of ever bigger gigs, I am an avid reader and seeker of any information that will help me in my quest. So, I read and I talk to people. And then I make adjustments to what I’m doing. I’m not where I want to be yet. I […]

I frequently have students ask me about sixteenth notes. How do they work? How do I count them? What do they look like? And more. In this post, I’ve uploaded a beginner’s guide to sixteenth note figures that I often use with students. It explains, in a very simple and graphic way, how sixteenth note […]

This post gives you a set of 9 exercises that you can use to practice working on two notes in a row with your single bass drum pedal. I’ve written about bass drum double strokes before. For reference, here are two articles, each with additional exercises: “9 Exercises to Build Bass Drum Double Strokes” “9 […]

This one is a killer. Sometimes you find an idea that you think is great and you work on it for a while but it is difficult to get it to the point where you can really use it. It just doesn’t feel natural and you don’t feel totally comfortable with it. Other times, you […]

Here’s Nasty Lick 116, an offshoot of a classic that many of you probably already know: RLRLFF. I don’t know why I never thought of putting two bass drum notes before RLRLFF before now, but I wish I had, because it’s a pretty cool sounding lick. As usual, I’ve given you a bunch of ideas […]

Drummers sometimes ask, “how do I play a drum solo?” The honest answer is that you get better at playing drum solos by actually playing them. Now, before you get pissed off at my seemingly obvious answer, here is how you can do that. You need some source material to begin. That’s what I”m providing […]

Hey everyone! In our fifth of our “5 Killer Gadd Licks,” here is a very useful bit of drumming vocabulary for you. I’m confident that if you don’t know this one already, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how much mileage you get out of it. It’s not a flashy idea, at least not how I […]

Hey Everyone! Today we’re going to do a quick lesson on linear drumming. When playing grooves in the linear drumming style, most of the time, you will play notes on three different surfaces without overlapping notes. Usually, you’ll be playing the hi-hat, snare drum and bass drum when playing these ideas, but there’s no rule […]

We’ve been working on learning to read music. If you’ve been following this series, you’ll have checked out the previous two posts, Your First Drum Lesson and How To Read Music For Drummers Part One. If you haven’t been following it, feel free to check out those links. The idea is this: first, learn a […]

Hey Everyone! This idea is something I got from one of my drumming heroes, Dave DiCenso. It’s a really cool hand/foot combo. When I heard Dave play it, he used a different rate (32nd notes) and his way of connecting it to other stuff he was playing was slightly different, but never-the-less, it sounded amazing. […]

Our fourth installment of “5 Killer Gadd Licks” is a rudimental pattern. I can’t remember what recording I first heard it on, but it was definitely Gadd. It might have been from one of his solos with Chick Corea (one transcription of a Gadd solo that includes the six stroke roll can be found HERE). […]

If you want to play drums and think you can’t or that it’s too hard or you’re scared…fear not! This beginner drum lesson is for YOU. In the video and PDF worksheet that are included in this lesson, I’m going to show you, in the simplest, easiest way possible, how to play three rock beats. […]

Here’s Nasty Drum Lick #114. It’s a five note grouping (RLRLF) applied to 16th note triplets. In this online drum lesson, we’ll look at a video of me playing the lick with my band, LEVEL5. There is also a complete note-for-note transcription of the lick so you can learn it. I recommend that you print […]

Drumming is a journey. That means things change. I am frequently finding new ways to do things that I already play. When it comes to my drumming, I’m always tweaking my technique, my vocabulary and my philosophy. This article is the result of that kind of flexibility. I recently re-discovered a sticking that works really […]

If you’re a Vinnie fan, you probably know this solo. It kills. Here’s a transcription for you to dig into. There are many great ideas here. Willie Rose used his considerable skills to transcribe it. Have at it! Here is the PDF: Heavy Resin Drum Solo Transcription PS – Imagine that you could regularly get […]

Sometimes you stumble upon an idea that feels so easy to play that you know it’s “right.” That’s what happened for me with this one. This is really just a combination of two ideas I’ve been using a lot, although I haven’t combined them until now. The two ideas I’m talking about are “RLRLF” and […]

I’ve been practicing a lot lately. Today, I sat down behind the kit after a day off. Sometimes you need a day off just to keep things fresh. I realized how well this works when I sat down today. I was so happy and excited to play after not having played for just one day. […]

Musicians sometimes see endorsements with musical instrument and gear companies as a badge of honor. The gear company is agreeing to have you represent them as an artist (remember that you endorse their products, they don’t endorse you). That is appealing; we musician and artist types want to be appreciated for our art. When a […]

If you have some experience playing double bass, then you’re probably familiar with this classic idea: Note that the sticking on the above is: right hand on the floor tom, right foot, left foot. It’s a solid piece of drumming vocabulary and one of my favorite double bass ideas, but I wanted to see if […]

A few weeks ago, I wrote about and posted a great Philly Joe Jones lick. The idea was a result of a lesson with one of my students who is working on her jazz soloing. I saw this same student again this week. You know where this is going? That’s right! I’ve got another great […]

Recently I was asked to play an AC/DC tribute show. In order to learn the songs quickly, I made drum charts on finale for all the tunes. I road tested the charts in rehearsals and on the gig, and they’re spot on with the original recordings. These are not note-for-note transcriptions, but they’re definitely more […]

No doubt you’ve read or heard about the many ways you can use the Exercises #1 through 9 in the “Syncopation” book. These are the page long exercises that appear on pages 37 through 45. Many consider Exercises 1 through 9 to be the “meat” of the book. Most of the uses that I see […]

The old wallet on the snare drum trick eventually gets old. It’s a quick fix, and yes, it does work. But my wallet is bouncing around with every stroke of my stick, and then it looks like it may bounce off the snare onto the floor. And I start paying attention to my bouncing wallet […]

“Pattern Control” is a concept that I’ve been into for a while. When I take an idea and write it out continuously until it resolves back to the beginning of the pattern, I learn a lot about how to best use it. Looking at drumming ideas in this way has become an important part of […]

Hey Everyone! This time out, I’ve got one that you can absolutely shred. It’s a five note idea played as 32nd notes. The PDF is included below for you to download. I’ve been back to using a double pedal lately and you’ll notice that this idea is notated using two bass drums/double pedal. This is […]

Have you ever found yourself sick of the same old drum fills you’ve been playing? Want to find something new? Try using this system. It’s a process that will yield interesting ideas that you would not have just made up on the spot. Some of these ideas will sound awesome. Some will not sound so […]

This week, I was messing around with my double stroke roll. I wanted to come up with a new way of breaking it up on the kit. Sometimes the simplest idea of this type is to substitute “something else” for one or more notes of an existing pattern. In this case, I wanted to maintain […]

Yesterday I was in the drum room for about five hours and I was working on and practicing several things. I’ve been working on Dave DiCenso’s material, which I think is transformative. I’ll write more about that later, but in the meantime, if you’re interested, you can read an earlier article I wrote about one […]

The invention of electronic drums is a very important event in drumming history. The age-old problem for us drummer types is being able to practice and play drums without causing trouble and disturbing people. The big attraction of electronic drums is the solution of this problem. It wasn’t possible for me to really practice on […]

Bass drum pedals can be an obsession. They have been for me. I’ve tried many. If you care to, you can read about some of my trials and tribulations with pedals here: Perfect Balance Pedal Revisted. But this time, I’m going to tell you about my current favorite. It’s Yamaha’s Direct Drive. I’ve been using […]

The latest Nasty Drum Lick combines a five note “four up & one down” lick with the “one up & one down” idea. As always, it’s tested in my studio, so you can know it will sound great when you get it together. Included are single and double bass drum versions. The double bass version […]

This time out we’re getting into a 16th note triplet idea that uses groups of four; three with the hands and one with the bass drum. It sounds great. The 4 fully transcribed examples presented on the PDF include several versions of the idea. The basic “germ” without any orchestration is also offered so you […]

In this edition of “The Thinking Drummer,” we’re going to talk about drum set-ups; specifically, the 4-piece drum kit. Drummers have all sorts of drum set-ups, and generally speaking, I believe that you should use what works best for you. If you like a particular set-up, you sound good on it, and it works for […]

This time, we’re going to another LEVEL5 show where we’ll dissect a fill that I really like. It’s a thirty-second note idea, played pretty fast and it involves a double stroke roll with some accents thrown in on the floor tom and bass drum. Let’s check it out by looking at the video below. The […]

Here’s the NYC Live Music Drumming Calendar for November and December 2017. Note that below each show listed, on the second line of text, all the way to the right, there is a note on who the drummer is. I’ve been making this calendar for myself on my phone for years and I’m guessing I’m […]

Time spent, quality, feedback. Practice is a tricky endeavor. You need to work hard for a long period of time and you need a focused, goal-related, methodical practice regimen that is flexible. You need the help of an expert (or many experts) and you need the time to do it. And you’ll need the passion […]

In one of LEVEL5’s tunes, “Opus One,” there is a drum break section. You can check it out in the video below. Just in case you find any of the ideas I play in the video appealing, I’ve transcribed the drum breaks for you. First, here’s the video: Now here’s the PDF with the transcriptions: […]

If you are serious about your drumming–really serious–you need to check out this book. It may very well become a classic. It certainly deserves to become one. If you were to take some of the ideas of Gary Chester’s “New Breed” and expand them exponentially, you’d have some idea of what RADD is all about. […]

This drum soloing idea comes from “RLRLL,” a five note sticking to which I added some additional ideas using another sticking, “RLL.” That’s pretty much how it came about. But it sounds cool, so I started messing around with it until I could use it as 32nd notes. It’s an “all-hands” idea. Check it out […]

This quote by Wayne Gretzky is one of my favorite motivational ideas. When I feel a bit frustrated with my journey, I often think of these words, and they calm me. Why? Because I know I am taking my shots. I may not be successful, but I am trying. The path I am walking is […]

Digging Deeper into Rhythmic Notation Last time we discussed some of the overall concepts of reading music for drummers. We’re still going to be working on the basics here, but this time we’re going to dig a little deeper. We’ll learn about the system that reading music resides in (measures, time signatures) and how that […]

These little slick 32nd note groove ideas are always fun. This one is surprisingly simple, but it sounds great never-the-less. The secret to making these sound right is dynamics. The ghosted notes must be very quiet and the hi-hat notes should be significantly louder than the snare notes. The bass drum and accented snare notes […]

Learn to Play Drums with Work, Beyond Talent Over the years of teaching students how to learn to play drums, I’ve observed some students doing well and others not so much. The reasons are not always what you might think. So, I compiled this list of what it takes. But before we look at the […]

Since #100 is a bit of a landmark post, I thought I would celebrate by combining some things we’ve already worked on in various posts/articles. This combines inverted paradiddles, a three note hand/foot pattern and single strokes into one tasty, blazing 32nd note drum fill. If you want to have a look at some of […]

I love 7/8. I’m not sure I understand exactly why. Perhaps because of Rush? Maybe Rush’s “Tom Sawyer” is where I first heard it. It sounds so cool. There is not very much material to use when working on this time signature. I’ve pretty much had to just mess around with 7/8 on my own […]

I’ve been thinking about this lately. The goal of any musician seeking to be great is to sound unique. Think about the drummers you are drawn to. Don’t they all have their own easily recognizable voice? When you hear Dennis Chambers, Elvin Jones, Tony Williams, Dave Weckl, Philly Joe Jones, Keith Carlock, Steve Gadd or […]

Here is new idea that can be used as a drum fill, a way to spice up a groove, or as some soloing vocabulary. Do you remember Steve Gadd’s famous ratamacue fill? Well, if not, you can check it out on this worksheet I wrote about some of Gadd’s vocabulary called, “7 Gadd Licks.” You […]

Reading Music? Why? Beginning drummers often ask the question, “do drummers need to read music?” Or, “how is reading music for drummers different from reading music for other musicians?” Here, in Part 1 of this series on how to read drum music, we’ll talk about some of that, but our primary focus will be learning […]

As usual, I’ve been fooling around with lots of ideas. I’m always looking for something new, something different that will help me develop my own unique sound and style as a drummer. That’s the game. In my quest, I recently started working on playing grooves and incorporating 16th note triplets into my ideas while maintaining […]

I am a drum book freak. I love drum instruction books and I always have. From the moment I discovered the idea that learning to read music would open up a world of drumming information and learning, I was hooked. BANG! The Drum School has a huge library of drum instruction books. Below are some […]

That quirky rhythmic figure–the half note triplet–has confounded beginning drum students (and music students in general) for eons. In this post, we’ll dispel the mystery by explaining everything you need to know. Let’s dive right in. To understand how the half note triplet works, you need to use the eighth note triplet as your guide. […]

Welcome back to Vinnie land. In this lesson on how to play drums online, we’re going to look at and learn the fourth drum fill idea of this series of Vinnie Colaiuta drum licks. It sounds amazing and it’s based on a simple idea executed in a very interesting way. The lick is simply a […]

Lately, I’ve been experimenting with the following five note pattern: RLRLF. You may have read about it before here on “The Drumming Blog,” as I’ve posted about its use as 16th note triplets (more details on that later). To go deeper, let’s bust out the 32nd notes. The eight exercises on the PDF show you […]

In my playing with my band LEVEL5, I’ve been experimenting with ways to add tension and help build the drama or intensity of my other band members’ solos. One way I’ve found to do this is to play something that is rhythmically interesting and “in the pocket” but that is still “off kilter.” Superimposing 6/8 […]

What This is OK, I know the title of this article is a bit of a mouthful, but I think it explains what we’re doing here. These ten exercises combine single paradiddles, double paradiddles and paradiddle-diddles in different ways to make up full measures as 32nd notes. Every exercise starts with a right and ends […]

I’m trying to remember exactly where I first heard Vinnie play this lick. Honestly, I’m not 100% certain, but it may be from Karizma’s “Document.” This third of a series of five Vinnie drum fills is another classic Vinnie idea. As usual, it’s something that you might not have thought of yourself, and very interesting […]

As a drummer, more often than not, one of our responsibilities is to count-off the song. In some bands I’ve played in, someone else counts off the tune, but most of the time, it’s me or you (I’m assuming you’re a drummer; that’s generally who reads this blog). Counting off the tune is a significant […]

Here we go! This is a great Vinnie lick. I first heard it on the song “Get A Grip” from the Tom Scott album “Flashpoint,” and I’ve heard many pro drummers use it; no doubt they stole it, just like I did (and just like YOU are about to) off that record. Go to around […]

I’ve lamented this notion with some of my musician friends. It is the same for every instrument. There are lots of little details in the gear we use, and if you forget one key thing, you’re toast. Over the years, I’ve found out the hard way by screwing up. So, please allow me give you […]

We already know Nasty Lick #91, and if you don’t, feel free to have a look at the orignal post HERE. This new twist on the idea is simply a matter of math. Instead of sixteenth note triplets, as in the original, we use 32nd notes. It’s a handy notion that most of the great […]

I’m going to use the platform of “The Thinking Drummer” to write about music marketing, something I’ve stayed away from in the past. But the truth is, all of us drummers, and all of us musician types need to know about marketing (and that’s a BIG understatement). I get asked about it a lot, and […]

Welcome to Vinnie Colaiuta land! Here is the first of five killer Vinnie licks, also to be known as “Nasty Drum Licks 92 – 96.” There are two videos for this first of five licks as follows: “5 Killer Vinnie Colaiuta Licks Part One: Slow to Fast” — in this video, I break down just […]

This has been floating around the internet for years, but it’s good advice, and it comes from one of the best musicians on the planet–Chick Corea–and that means it’s well worth passing along to you. So, if you haven’t seen this yet, please read on. The original document in which these rules appeared (upper left) […]

Here’s an awesome sounding new drum lick that demonstrates a notion I write and talk about often: using “connectors” in your soloing and fills. Usually, a connector is a rudiment or is based on a rudiment, and it is used to attach ideas to each other. In this case, the idea we’re connecting is a […]

Nasty Drum Lick 90 is merely a simple variation on Nasty Lick 89. But, it sounds so good, I had to write it out and give it to all of you here in “The Drumming Blog.” For review, Nasty Lick 89 is a five note pattern: RLRLF, and it’s phrased as 16th note triplets. With […]

Attention newbie drummers! It’s time to learn some vocabulary. Here are ten drum fills that are very simple and sound great. They’re gig tested and fairly easy to play. You just have to sit behind the kit and dig in. Practice them and repeat that practice until you’ve got it. Remember studying a foreign language? […]

If you’re looking for something interesting and new to work on in the new year, you’ve come to the right place. Today we’re going to dig into a new independence idea that I’ve seen Dave DiCenso use in some of his solos. If you don’t know about him, you have to check him out. I’m […]

So, you’re posting your videos on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, drummerworld dot com, and you aren’t getting anywhere. Modern Drummer magazine isn’t asking to interview you. Those clinic appearances aren’t rolling in (in fact, you’ve never done a clinic in your life). Bands aren’t hiring you. The drum companies aren’t asking you to endorse their gear. […]

Today’s drum lick (#89) comes from an idea I’ve been experimenting with a lot lately. The germ of the idea is the following five note grouping: RLRLF. The orchestration that I prefer is: 1) Right Hand on Snare, 2) Left Hand on High Tom, 3) Right Hand on Floor Tom, 4) Left Hand on Floor […]

Nasty Licks #87 and #88 are variations on a theme: 32nd notes using the three note grouping, RLF. Have a look at the notation on the left. Do you see how this way of using the pattern, FRLFRLFRL, is kind of like a 9 stroke roll between your limbs? It’s a nine note grouping. The […]

This article is going to get me some backlash. And I need to preface this by making it clear that I am saddened, shocked, distraught, disoriented and angered by Trump’s election to the highest political office in our great country. I also have to warn you that I am going to curse in this article. […]

What is Linear Drumming? Today we’re going to explore a linear pattern on the drum set. For those of you not familiar with the term, linear drumming means that you distribute notes across a rhythm using your limbs such that no overlapping occurs–only one sound source is being played at a time. RLF RLF RLF […]

Let’s talk about hand technique. For the purposes of this discussion, I am going to assume that you know a few basics: good drum technique requires a loose grip and tension free body motions the “meat and potatoes” motions of American matched grip come from a wrist motion that is much like your movements when […]

Alright everyone. Here’s my top ten. I’m guessing this may spark some debate, and think that’s fine, so feel free to let me know your thoughts. Syncopation This book, written by Ted Reed, is very versatile. I use it with beginners to teach them to read rhythmic notation, but it has many other applications for […]

It was my first gig with this new band. The band’s material is somewhat complex, so I really wanted all the little things to line up so I could feel as comfortable as possible at the start of the performance. But guess what? Pretty much the opposite happened. All the little things got completely screwed! […]

I’ve been repeatedly asked to post videos of the “Nasty Licks” series that I’ve been giving to you. So far, the series has been strictly made up of PDF transcriptions. Let it be known: I’ve heard your requests! Here is first of many videos that I hope will be helpful to you. So, let’s get […]

Here in “Nasty Lick #86,” we’re messing around with an idea that is 14 notes long, and the metric we’re working with is 16th note triplets. The 14 note pattern (consisting of one paradiddle-diddle, two bass drum notes, and three notes each on the floor tom and hi tom) makes this idea sound pretty “out-there.” […]

For Nasty Lick #85, we delve into a sticking (RLRLL) and use it to create 32nd note ideas within grooves. The ideas are based around three voices: hi-hat, snare and bass drum (not surprising since we are going for groove based soloing ideas). For you certified drum nerds out there, if you know Steve Gadd’s […]

I’ve written about drumming shoes before (see the post, “Drumming Shoes”). The Puma H-street was my sneaker of choice for drumming for quite some time. But it’s almost impossible to find them now. I had to find a different shoe. The Serrano model of Onitsuka Tigers fit the bill perfectly. They’re light-weight with very thin […]

This one is a nine note idea: RLRF RLRFF, and we’re going to play it as 16th note triplets. The attached worksheet will spell it all out for you using three examples. In the first, we’ll just look at the pattern itself with no real orchestration–hands on the snare and foot on the bass drum. […]

In this edition of The Entrepreneurial Artist, I want to make a case for the importance of an MBA in addition to a music degree. The new economy has created a situation that makes it harder than ever before to make a living using the old/traditional model of the music business. Streaming is here to […]

Dave Tough, a drummer who was active from the 20’s through the 40’s, worked with a who’s who of swing bands including Artie Shaw and Woody Herman. Unlike his much more famous contemporaries (Krupa, Rich and Roach), Tough didn’t like to take drum solos, so it might seem surprising that this book is part of […]

Here’s a new-ish video of Zach playing on and talking about the 7-ply mahogany Gretsch Catalina Club drum kit. The video is notable for Zach’s great playing. If you don’t know his playing, you should explore it. But the video also surprised me because I’ve always thought of the Catalina Club series as a lower […]

The other day I was listening to some Virgil Donati. I have a Virgil playlist in iTunes and it was on “shuffle.” The rhythm of Nasty Lick #83 comes from one of Virgil’s fills. I can’t remember what track it was, but Virgil played two versions of that fill on it. If you recognize the […]

This one just happened yesterday in the practice room. I saw some random video on Instagram. I don’t remember the drummer’s name, but I loved the idea he was playing which was a groove with some tasty 16th note triplet ideas thrown in on the hi-hat. I’ll have to go back and find it again […]

For beginners, here is the first in a series of Cheat Sheets. This one covers what I consider to be the three most important paradiddle patterns for beginners to learn: The Single Paradiddle The Double Paradiddle The Paradiddle-Diddle (both left and right-handed versions) The first order of business is to learn these hand patterns cold. […]

Welcome to a new feature, “Ask The Drummer,” where I answer questions sent in by readers. If you have a question, use the contact form on this website, and put “Ask The Drummer” in your subject line. Hi Mark- I’ve been checking out BANG’s Nasty Drum licks and I started working on the lick in […]

I’ve been working on some ideas for some solos in my new band, LEVEL5, and that’s led to combining some ideas you’ve seen here recently on the blog. In Nasty Lick #81, we combine groups of five and groups of 3 between the hands and feet. –The five grouping is: RLRLF –The three grouping is: […]

Vinnie Colaiuta has returned to Gretsch Drums. An announcement was posted on Facebook and on Gretsch’s blog on June 6th, 2016: We are proud to announce that legendary drummer Vinnie Colaiuta has come home to Gretsch Drums. Without question, Vinnie is one of the world’s most respected and admired drummers. Throughout his prolific, 4-decade career, […]

After some experimenting with Nasty Lick #80, I came up with some variations I really liked. They are all included here, on the attached PDF. You’ll find three examples on the worksheet, as described below. The first example is simply taking the core of #80 and repeating it for one full measure. Second is a […]

In this edition of “The Thinking Drummer,” we’re going to discuss a method of evaluating bands you might be considering playing with. The method is also useful for evaluating your own playing. If you are serious about your drumming or about your career as a musician (regardless of your instrument), you might consider taking the […]

This little sextuplet combo sounds fabulous and is easy to work up to gloriously blazing speed.  It’s based on a common move around the drums that many of you are already familiar with, but it adds one bass drum note in an interesting place.  The PDF has five examples: the first two are slightly different […]

I hesitated to write this because it seems like something that every drummer knows. In fact, every drummer I know who has “been around the block” does know this trick. But then I remembered that when you’re just starting to play drums, there is a world of information that is new. So in that spirit, […]

In this edition of “The Thinking Drummer,” I offer ten tips for aspiring/beginner drummers. They are not in order of importance. Be Patient Realize that skill takes a long time to build. Becoming a great musician can take years. Be patient, do the work and you’ll become good. Focused practice under good guidance will take […]

Have you wanted to play drums for a while, but you weren’t sure how to get started? Let me guide you to playing your first drum beat. It’s OK if you’ve never played before and it doesn’t matter if you can’t read music. This is a pretty-much full proof way to get started. So, here […]

Way back in the beginning of “The Drumming Blog,” I wrote a piece about getting the most out of your ideas. The article is called “Milking Your Licks Dry,” and it explores the notion of taking ideas you already know and figuring out new ways to use them. With Nasty Lick 79, I took a […]

In this post, you’ll find a PDF to help you work on a really cool and useful ostinato that you can use in your drum solos. I call it “The Left Hand E-And” because the left hand plays the middle two 16th note figures on the hi-hat, while the left foot plays quarter notes by […]

I’ve been digging deeper into inverted paradiddles and the deeper I go, the cooler it gets and the more ideas I come up with. That’s what “deep practice” is all about. Immerse yourself deeply in a particular aspect of your playing or in a concept you’re working on and you’ll see the power of it. […]

Hey everyone! So for Nasty Lick #78, I return to a concept I’ve written about before–the backwards six stroke roll. I really like this reverse sticking (L R R L L R) because: 1) It’s different! I rarely have heard anyone play the six stroke roll this way. And that’s a good reason to try […]

Lately, I’ve been messing around with triplet ideas using just the bass drum, snare drum and ride cymbal. The original inspiration for this type of playing came from some of Steve Gadd’s work with Chick Corea. Check out “Humpty Dumpty,” from the album “The Mad Hatter.” If you cue up that track and start listening […]

There are certain drummers who we believe have magical abilities. They are legendary for their groove, technique, solos and sometimes, their behavior. Their playing just seems impossible and unapproachable. When drummers talk about these other-worldly drum stars, the stories that are told are the stuff of mythology. These players are looked to as gods. You […]

This inversion of the ever-useful paradiddle is sometimes referred to as the “paradiddle with the diddle in the middle.” It’s one of my favorite stickings because it is very easy to put accents on either the quarter note or the “a.” And that allows for some cool sounding phrases to be created. The first step, […]

Hey everyone! This time out, I’m honestly not sure where this lick came from. It just kind of came out during practice one day. But when I find a good one (and I only post good ones here) then I share it with you. It requires technique to pull off, but that shouldn’t stop you. […]

But Mom, I Want to be an Artist! When I was around 12, I was faced with the decision about which high school I should attend. One of the great things about growing up in NYC is the wealth of educational choices. I had applied and was accepted to several high quality schools. The High […]

A few days ago, I received an email via Modern Drummer’s email list about a new educational release from the great Steve Smith called “Pathways of Motion.” After reading the email, I immediately clicked the link to Amazon and bought my very own copy. Want to know why? Read on, my dear obsessed drummers, read […]

Last time we focused on eighth notes. This time we add sixteenths. Some of these exercises will sound cool and some won’t, but the idea is to give you the freedom to play what you want while maintaining the inverted paradiddle groove pattern. Next time, in part 3, we’ll focus on grooves that we test […]

The paradiddle inversion with the “diddle in the middle” (RLLR LRRL) is my favorite of the single paradiddle inversions. Why? It sounds cool. Why else? The inverted paradiddle can be used musically in beats, fills AND soloing. A true triple-threat. Recently, I realized that my ability to use this pattern in grooves was limited. The […]

When working on playing authentically in any musical style, one fail-safe approach is to begin by absorbing the playing of your favorite drummers. Transcribe what you like, practice it, absorb it and then use it freely. Once you can do that, alter the ideas to make them your own. When it comes to uptempo jazz, […]

Vinnie Ruggiero is a cult figure in the drumming community. His playing was muscular and aggressive and grooved like crazy. Let’s not mince words–Vinnie Ruggiero was a motherfucker. I was introduced to his playing and teaching by one of my drum teachers, Rick Considine, who hails from Rochester, which is also where Ruggiero eventually settled. […]

What Are Ghost Notes and Why Should You Care? Ghost notes are simply snare drum strokes/notes that are much lower in volume than your “backbeat” (“2” & “4”) drum stroke. These quieter notes are always tricky to learn, but once you get the different stroke heights into your muscle memory, things will get easier. Ghost […]

New ideas frequently come from very simple ideas that you already know. The guts of Nasty Lick #75, presented here, came from a very simple 16th note lick I’ve been playing for a very long time (the sticking is “RLRL”), shown below: The new version came from simply adding bass drum notes before and after […]

When practicing with the aim of better soloing, one of the most important concepts is figuring out how to connect your ideas. I’ve come to realize, after a lot of trial and error, that the best thing to do is to focus on things that are comfortable for you to play and then figure out […]

The Pearl free floating snare drum has been my “go-to” for the last ten years or so. There are many options available in shell choice and dimensions (depths), but my favorite so far has been the brass shell with a depth of 6.5 inches (pictured at left is the brass snare with a depth of […]

Prediction: Luis Burgos Jr will win this year’s Guitar Center Drum Off competition. I saw Luis twice during this year’s contest, which concludes with the Grand Finals on January 16th, 2016, in Los Angeles. FYI, Luis competed via the North East region. I was at the Quarter Final round at NYC’s Union Square store on […]

Recently, a student asked me about how to incorporate tom toms into her drum beats. Good question–and something that I do frequently. It’s a great way to vary your beats for different song sections, and it’s not an easy concept to teach. I started to think about how I learned to play this way and […]

Staying on the same track as last time, today–with “Nasty Lick #73”–we continue with more variations and combinations of paradiddles as 32nd notes. Expect more like this one in the near future; this idea allows many possibilities and so far they all sound great. To re-cap the notion we’re using here….simply take paradiddles, paradiddle-diddles and […]

Since it’s Halloween today, here are some thoughts on masquerading as other drummers. If you’re an experienced drummer, you probably have mimicked other drummers whose playing inspired you. If you’re not, consider doing so. Musicians “steal” from other musicians this way all the time. It’s perfectly legal, and a great way to learn new things […]

I’ve been working on a solo over a vamp. The vamp (a four bar phrase) played by the guitar player and bassist is based on sixteenth notes and there are two places within it that beg to be “hit” by the drummer: the “and” of “four” in bar two, and the “e” of “four” in […]

In this installment of “The Thinking Drummer,” the topic is learning. As in, no matter your level–beginner, intermediate or professional–there are ALWAYS things you can learn that will improve your drumming. This week I drove about 80 miles or so (each way) in order to take a private one hour lesson with one of the […]

Recently, I’ve been making some significant changes to my technique. Continually obsessed with getting better, I’ve found that technique is one of the most–if not THE most–effective ways of adding new tricks to my repertoire as a player. Seems obvious perhaps, but the notion escapes many. Raising your drumming game by improving technique is extremely […]

I’ve experimented with playing a double pedal for over twenty years. My facility with it, and my commitment to the technique is nothing compared to the masters. Frankly, the only drummer on the planet whom I consider to be a true master of double bass is Virgil Donati. There are many great double bass drummers, […]

This one is a new variation on an idea I like a lot. I have used this five note pattern, “R L R F F,” as sixteenth notes in the past, but recently I started experimenting with using it as triplets. I’m digging how it sounds, so here are a couple of ways to try […]

Once you’ve been bitten by the linear drumming bug, it’s hard to find a cure. This groove is an example of the fun and slickness that ensues from the pursuit of this drumming style. Once you learn a pattern, moving your hands to different parts of the kit almost always results in something that sounds […]

Lately, I’ve been combining patterns that I am already very comfortable with into new ideas. The theory here is that the new combinations will be fairly easy to get into “playing” shape. I already know these these words/ideas, so the new ways of mixing and matching them should take less practice time to become “performance-ready.” […]

There is a great technique book called “Savage Rudimental Workout,” that I think is a bit overlooked. I don’t hear much about this book in any of the usual channels–chat rooms, magazines, social media etc. I’ve been using the book with advanced beginners to help with technique. The other day, I was working on the […]

I’ve been reading a lot about the new digital age. I’ve been thinking about it and acting on it too. Despite the fact that many lament the downfall of the traditional music business because their royalty streams have dried up, I on the other hand celebrate it. No, I am not celebrating the fact that […]

Welcome to Nasty Lick #69. The more comfortable I get with a drumming pattern or idea, the more variations occur to me. This simple three note pattern is one of my favorites. If you are a regular reader of the blog, you probably know that the paradiddle-diddle is another favorite of mine. Foot-Right-Left as triplets […]

Presenting Nasty Lick #68–another interesting and cool sounding way to use paradiddle-diddles as 32nd notes. In this case, the idea also includes two bass drum notes, but not in the usual place. At least, it doesn’t sound “usual” to my ears. And I like that. Another nuance is that the two bass drum notes are […]

Back when I was shedding a lot of Philly Joe Jones and Vinnie Ruggiero stuff, I started writing out some cadences that came to me while practicing. What strikes me as I look over this material again is how musical it is. The phrases have space and are syncopated in that traditional jazz type of […]

I’ve recently been listening to Jeff Beck’s “Performing This Week: Live at Ronnie Scott’s,” featuring Vinnie Colaiuta. I’ve always loved “Led Boots,” from the “Wired” album, and Vinnie doesn’t disappoint on the live version.  “Led Boots (Live)” is a great example of how to approach adding your own voice to a song that fans already […]

The technology now available is extraordinary. What is possible with just a laptop computer makes very high quality recording available at one’s fingertips. I find these advances inspiring and enabling. It is much easier to create high quality music than ever before. But it is only easier in the realm of TECHNOLOGY. Let me explain. […]

Here, in “Nasty Lick #67,” we have a Vinnie inspired idea that sounds different because of the placement of accents in the context of 16th note triplets. Many experienced drummers are used to hearing the placement of accents in a 16th note triplet context based on our use of six stroke rolls or paradiddle-diddles. What […]

This quote pretty much nails the big picture of how to conceptualize what a drummer needs in order to be a great player. We’re not talking about skills. Yes, you need to learn to read rhythmic notation and gain technique. Yes, you need to study and gain multi limbed independence. Yes, you have to learn […]

One of the purposes of “The Drumming Blog” is to curate. As one who is obsessed with drumming, I’m a big consumer of the drumming media and therefore I stumble upon little tidbits of drumming wisdom all the time. Often, it’s from interviews I read with great drummers either online or in magazines. In this […]

Open handed drumming is a method that is debated frequently. I’ve considered it and have applied it to my drumming here and there. In this article, I will weigh in on the pros and cons, my experience with playing this way, and my net-net opinion. For those not familiar with it, let’s define open-handed drumming. […]

One of the most popular posts on this blog is 9 Exercises To Build Bass Drum Double Strokes. I wrote that page of exercises a few years back in order to help give some structure to drummers who are working on doubles with one bass drum. To follow up with some more exercises, I put […]

In the latest DrumSpeak, Steve talks about groove and how his jazz background, combined with the music that was popular while he was coming up helped define his sound. There is a lot of great information here, soak it up. Below, the interview with Gadd from Modern Drummer online (July 1, 2005). MD: I was […]

I’ve been messing with different bass drum pedals lately. I know. So what else is new, right? Any drummer obsessed with sound and technique is always trying different gear. It’s a never-ending journey. This is one of the reasons I am glad I don’t endorse a ton of drum related products. I like to change […]

This highly useful rudiment inversion came about by necessity, like many inventions. I was working on some 32nd note soloing ideas and I had a few I liked. Unfortunately, the stickings were tricky and I was having trouble coming out of the phrases and landing on “1” (or other places, like the “and” of “1” […]

In one of my lessons with John Riley, I asked him about talent. I have often thought about whether there is such a thing. Many drummers-to-be ask me about this too, wondering if they have enough talent to make it worth their while to try playing. Honestly, I’ve never thought I was particularly talented. But […]

This three page monster exercise, inspired by a similar idea in Joe Morello’s “Master Studies 2,” is a killer, and the title describes it’s purpose. I’ve been working on single strokes lately, and as usual, I want to share my methods with you. I did not write the sticking on the exercise sheets because once […]

Theodore Roosevelt must have been talking about leadership in the quote below, but every drummer in pursuit of their art form will relate to the thought. In fact, any artist will understand the idea of battling against the pull of the “normal” and striving to do something different. I stumbled upon this through my readings […]

It was with great anticipation that I opened the box that had arrived from The Vic Firth Company. As a matter of full disclosure, I am an official endorser of their products, but I promise to tell it to you straight anyway. That’s what this column “GearHead” is all about—telling you the truth about products […]

I have a love/hate relationship with beat displacement and “rhythmic illusions.” For those of you who are not familiar with these ideas, they are methods of presenting grooves that make the listener believe that what they are hearing is either slower or faster than the original groove, or in a different time signature, or even […]

With Nasty Lick #66, we return to ways to blaze 32nd notes. Try this one out. Here is the PDF of the idea for you to download: Nasty Lick 66 PDF. If you’ve been reading this blog, you may recall a slight obsession of mine with six stroke rolls and “reverse” six stroke rolls. I […]

Think about the best drummers. They lead the band. Their confidence and skill makes everyone else in the band sound better. That’s the job. Ever see a band with a bad drummer? It kills everything. An otherwise great band is crushed into a pulp of horrible mediocrity. But a band with a great drummer! Everything […]

Here we go again! As you know, I loves me my double stroke rolls. Lately I’ve been fiddling around with new ways to break them up around the drums, trying to add accents and bass drum combinations to change the flavor. Here’s what I came up with today–“Nasty Lick 65.” See if you like how […]

For “Nasty Lick #24,” we go back to 1976, the year that The New Tony Williams Lifetime released the album “Million Dollar Legs.” The album was not well received by fans, and it is not the music one would have expected from this band of killer musicians (Allan Holdsworth -gtr, Alan Pasqua -kys, Tony Newton […]

Here’s an idea designed to open up your drumming in new creative directions. Smart businesses use this concept all the time to come up with new products and creative ideas for their companies, but it will work for your drumming as well. The notion is to ask “what if” about your drumming. Some of the […]

If you read this blog regularly, you’ll know that I’ve been working on practical uses of the 2 vs 3 polyrhythm. Here’s an example: Eighth Note Cymbal vs Eighth Note Triplet Independence Part One. In that article, I explored some uses of playing triplet ideas while maintaining the eighth note cymbal pattern, which I find […]

Remember when I wrote that the backwards or reverse six stroke roll was fertile ground for great drumming ideas? Well, more proof is here. This one (“Nasty Lick #64) continues the exploration of the kind of great phrasing you can come up with when using this idea. I’ve been shedding this type of vocabulary a […]

Yesterday I had a student who was complaining about her left hand. She uses matched grip and is working on strokes in the american grip position. “It just doesn’t work as well as my right,” she said. So I looked at her hands. She was right. The mechanics of her left hand were not really […]

Previously, we looked at two worksheets to begin coordinating simple rock beats with a dotted eighth/sixteenth note ride pattern: Dotted Eighth Independence Part 1 and Dotted Eight Independence Part 2. In Part 3, we begin adding ghost notes with the left hand. The more deeply I get into this, the more I like it. The […]

On January 17th, 2015, the five finalists in Guitar Center’s Drum Off gathered in Los Angeles for a final show down. Shariq Tucker, 22, brought home the trophy this year. I was at the semi-finals in the new Times Square Guitar Center store, where Shariq competed against four others winners in the Northeastern division of […]

A few months ago I bought the DrumDial, a device that was created to help drummers more easily tune their drums. Tuning is an important skill for a drummer. Often overlooked, but clearly important. A great player with a not so great sound on their instrument translates into a so-so player. So it follows that […]

In recent weeks, freedom of speech has been under attack in a most violent way. The forms of art that were involved were both satires. Sony’s weak response to the alleged North Korean threats against their film “The Interview,” a comedy satirizing the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, was a mistake. Charlie Hebdo, […]

The “Reverse Six Stroke Roll” (LRRLLR) is very fertile ground for new ideas. The latest in the Nasty Lick series, number 63, is another example of this in use. There are two exercises presented, one where the phrasing is very simple (see illustration above), and one that is a bit more syncopated. Once you get […]

Today I came across these words from the great jazz pianist Bill Evans. Recently, I’ve been thinking about practice and the work that goes into becoming a great artist. Evans echoes my beliefs on how it all works. There is no secret. The answer is focused hard work. See the quote below the photo.   […]

The Talent Code examines the details of exactly how great skill is developed.There is more science to this than you might imagine. As a matter of full disclosure, I haven’t finished the book yet. But I’ve read enough to be able to tell you that I think it would be worth your time to check […]

Part of my job with this blog is to be a curator. In that role, I want to share things with you that I think are excellent, inspiring and push the limits of the art form of drumming. Here is one such example. Dave DiCenso. Do you know him? Perhaps his most well known gig […]

At first, you may look at this and just say, “why?” I know. I get it. But I have begun to find use for this idea. Bear with me a moment, OK? We’ve been taught since the day we begin drumming that we should be able to play lots of figures with our limbs while […]

Introduction I’ve always believed that the ultimate achievement for any musician is to have their own voice or sound on their instrument. For many ambitious musicians, that notion represents the Holy Grail of musicianship. Steve Gadd, Tony Williams, Elvin Jones, and Keith Carlock are just a few of the drummers who have reached that apex. […]

Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, […]

I know I will get grief about this. And I welcome the debate because what it means is that I (and therefore you) will find out about more great Vinnie solos that rival this one. I have loved this particular solo since I first saw it, which was about 25 years ago. I even have […]

Following up on last week’s post, I’ve stumbled on another idea that goes a little deeper. Let’s start by showing you a video of me playing the new idea. I play it twice in the clip. By the way, the click is audible during the video with the high pitched beep set as the “1” […]

With Nasty Lick 62, we explore the mixing of two great patterns: the double stroke roll (as 32nd notes) and the “Foot-Right-Left” Triplet (as 16th note triplets). As it turns out, they work really well together and offer many interesting possibilities. I really like the flowing sound that these combinations, when played well, create. What […]

A simple idea, just placing one bass drum note before two paradiddles. But from that idea comes “Nasty Lick #61.” Here is the PDF for you to take into the practice room: nasty lick 61

Here, with Nasty Lick #60, are some great sounding applications of the six stroke roll on the drum set. If you’re not familiar with this pattern, the six stroke roll, in it’s most useful forms, is as follows: 1) Right Hand Lead 2) Left Hand Lead (“Backward”) As shown in both 1 and 2 above, […]

Nasty Lick #59 explores a simple paradiddle idea that has interesting and powerful results. Recently, I’ve been experimenting with different ways to play 32nd notes on the drum kit. I want to play them with interesting phrasing and dynamics. Incorporating double strokes and/or paradiddles into such ideas can be an important way to accomplish this. […]

We began the exploration of this shifting cymbal rhythm with a previous post: Dotted Eighth Cymbal Independence Part One. After practicing that worksheet, and finding that it did indeed help me develop the desired independence, I decided it was time for more. In Part Two, we continue with common rock beats based on eighth notes, […]

I recently began reading “Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less” by Greg Mckeown. Although I’m only a bit more than a third of the way through it, the concepts have already profoundly changed my thinking about certain issues. I’ve already been a fan of the ideas here.  For a long time I’ve been preaching to […]

Here’s a new combination: two bass drum notes, followed by six notes on the toms as singles (low to high, three on the floor tom and three on the high tom–a Max Roach idea) and finally followed by a paradiddle-diddle on the snare. The pattern is 14 notes long and when it repeats as 32nd […]

After playing a lot of shows with a lot of artists around NYC,  I started thinking about what works and what doesn’t.  Why do some musicians get called for gigs and why don’t others?  Perhaps the hardest thing is number 11, in the world of people playing for free, making sure you get paid is […]

Here’s a new spin on independence. The idea is to develop the same type of facility against a steady eighth note cymbal pattern that a jazz drummer has playing with the ride cymbal’s jazz pattern. Jazz drummers create conversations between their left hand and feet while playing the “classic” jazz cymbal pattern. I want to […]

The rhythm created by playing every third sixteenth note is one of my favorites. I’ve used it a lot in fills and soloing vocabulary. I think that I initially got the idea for applying this to a cymbal pattern in grooves from something (surprise!) I heard Vinnie Colaiuta play. I know, shocking. The only way […]

Just published and transcribed by Joerg Eckel, this book of Philly Joe Jones solos is certain to be very accurate. On matters such as these, there is no one I trust more than John Riley, who, several years ago, told me about a student of his who had transcribed a large number of Philly Joe […]

I have been experimenting with the idea of moving my hi hat position for months now. I really do like the idea of not crossing my hands, but the shedding that I would have to do to play completely open handed all the time is a bit over whelming. Truly, that practice is not a […]

This latest Nasty Lick, which happens to be number 56, was inspired by one of my all time favorite drummers, Zach Danziger. I heard him do something like this on the Wayne Krantz album, “Long To Be Loose.” The phrasing of Zach’s version was a bit different, but the essence of it is very similar. […]

“Indian Time Zones” appears on Warren Cuccurullo’s 1996 album, “Thanks To Frank.” The tune is in 5/4 and Vinnie Colaiuta takes an eight bar drum solo on the track. My favorite part of the solo is the 2nd half. A transcription of those last four bars is presented here. The 2nd half of the solo […]

At some point in your career, you will probably have to think carefully about which gigs to take and which to turn down. Some gigs will be no brainers. But if you find yourself not sure if a particular gig is for you or not, try using the following as a framework to evaluate. These […]

I frequently see drum students rushing through a page of exercises. One such page is the first set of eighth note rock independence exercises in the late Charles Dowd’s book “The Funky Primer.” I use the book often with beginners who are interested in playing pop and rock. It’s a great way to begin that […]

More doubles licks. These are good. Not much more to say. Download the PDF here: Blazing Double Stroke Roll Licks #2

Here are some great soloing and fill ideas that use the double stroke roll. The idea is to play a double stroke roll and put little flourishes of hand/foot combinations within it. The result, after some practice, is some blazingly fast and incredible sounding licks. There are four related examples, and the grooves that precede […]

In the further pursuit of all things clave, here is a groove I cooked up the other night while practicing. I think there’s something to it. The video is below, followed by a PDF with the transcription. It’s tricky, but fun. You can download the PDF of the groove’s transcription here: clave funk groove one

You only have your ONE name and you only have one career as a professional drummer. Think carefully about what products you choose to associate yourself with. Latey, when I browse the websites of my compatriots, I notice a disturbing trend. Drummers are grabbing every single endorsement they can get, no matter how insignificant the […]

I know this sounds harsh. But it is solid advice. When you consider the possibility of collaborating with musicians, managers, agents, producers or others who have impact on your career, think about their financials. You may want to think twice before working with those who are broke. Read on for why. Just like on “Law […]

Thomas Edison was a great thinker and a really hard worker. And he was really successful. One of the most important inventors in history, without Thomas Edison we would not have the light bulb nor the phonograph. The implications of what he created are massive. How can you achieve that kind of success as a […]

Yesterday I revisited a cymbal pattern that I like. Below, the notation, with the left foot playing the hi-hat on quarter notes and the ride cymbal notated above that with the right hand: I think I first heard this cymbal rhythm as played on the hi-hat by Narada Michael Walden on “Come Dancing,” a track […]

Yesterday I gave a lesson to a highly motivated student who told me he had just secured a practice space where he could practice almost as much as he wanted to. I rarely hear news this good from my students. Honestly, I more frequently hear bad news about their progress. The statement “I was really […]

Paradiddle Diddles are without a doubt one of my favorite of all the rudiments. Why? They are useful. Perhaps the most useful rudiment. These grooves are a good example of what I mean. The general idea here is to spice up simple funk grooves by using the paradiddle diddle to add 32nd notes on the […]

I’ve been reading the great drummer Zoro’s book “The Big Gig.” So far, it’s been an inspiring read. Very motivating. Zoro tells a story about asking the legendary studio guitarist Paul Jackson Jr advice on how to become a better drummer. The guitarist advised Zoro to practice simple grooves and play them without any variations […]

This latest addition is based on an eight note pattern with the hands moving around the toms with one little snare note thrown in. The pattern begins with the right hand and alternates hand to hand the entire way through. It comes from a great Max Roach idea that I love, but it has its […]

I’ve written about this before, but I decided that my original entry on this topic was somewhat lacking. Hence, a more complete look at this idea. The original is here, “7 Steps To Shuffle Independence,” just for reference, but you actually needn’t go there–everything that is there is also in this updated version (with more […]

There’s been much speculation about Mr. Colaiuta’s gear since his short-lived association with Ludwig Drums. The drum geeks of the world were looking to see what Vinnie would be playing when he went on the road with Sting this year. The wait is over. The answer is Heuer. You can read about Chris Heuer’s drums […]

I recently posted some exercises called “Funk Comping 1” on my personal drumming website. For a different twist on those ideas, I substituted the clave rhythm with the cymbal hand for the more traditional eighth note pulse. Playing clave with your cymbal hand is a bit of a brain twister at first, but as with […]

I’ve been trying to come up with some new thirty-second note ideas that rely heavily on double stroke rolls on the snare, but mix in toms and bass drum notes. Here’s one that I like. And because it is a 7 note idea, it moves around the bar in an interesting way. The worksheet has […]

Have you noticed that a lot of prominent players are moving away from traditional grip? Recently I’ve read interviews where Dave Weckl and Steve Smith each mention they are using matched grip more than they used to. Thomas Lang has gone so far as to say that Traditional Grip is “a curse.” Much of what […]

I’ve been digging into Matt Cameron’s playing with Soundgarden recently, and the result is this sheet of great sounding fills. There is something very Bonham-ish about some of Matt’s playing. In fact, of these fills, #4 is something I’ve definitely heard Bonham play. The phrasing of fills is often the key to making them sound […]

I’ve become obsessed with “The Icarus Deception,” by Seth Godin. Let me tell you why. Like “The War of Art” or “Effortless Mastery,” Godin’s book is inspirational and it addresses the creation of art. There is often a battle inside us that prevents us from creating. You know that little voice that tells us we’re […]

Dawud “D-Mile” Aasiya-Bey of Lake Elsinore,CA defeated Jonathan Burks of Little Rock, Arkansas, Shariq Tucker from the Bronx, Hilario Bell from Miami and Josiah Maddox of Chicago to be crowned the champion of Guitar Center’s 2013 Drum Off. The battle began in September of 2013 when over 5,000 drummers competed at the store level across […]

Here is the second of a bunch of ideas I used in this year’s Drum Off competition at Guitar Center. The transcription shows exactly what I played during the four bar solo I took using this concept. “Idea Two” is closely related to “Idea One” which you can check out here: Drum Off Idea 1 […]

WHY? The idea for this came from playing a lot of blues recently. For a drummer, playing a lot of blues means playing a lot of shuffles and a lot of 6/8. Shuffles are deceptively difficult. It takes a lot of time to make them groove. There are also a million ways to play them. […]

Every drum student who asks “how long will it take until I’m good?” needs to read this quote from Ira Glass. The bottom line truth is that it takes a long time and a lot of really hard work to get there. Most people don’t make it there because they don’t have the patience and […]

The attached PDF will give you three great examples of serious groove playing in 9/8. Matt Cameron from Soundgarden’s track “Black Rain” Bill Bruford from his own “Fainting In Coils” John Bonham from Led Zep’s “The Crunge” All three examples show what happens when the drummer lets the music dictate the groove. The most musical […]

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been working on something very important to me. I’ve asked some friends and some acquaintances for help. I’ve been overwhelmed with the assistance I’ve gotten. In some cases the help came even without my asking. This goodness in people has given me comfort, encouragement, joy and hope in the […]

Excuse the brevity of this post. But conciseness is in line with the concept of simplicity. Simple, no-frills, in the pocket playing is what is moving my drumming career forward. More and more, when describing successful musical experiences, I hear myself saying things like: “all I did was play simply and in the pocket and […]

This bad boy is based on a five note pattern: Right (snare), Left (hi tom), Right (floor tom), Left (floor tom), Foot (bass drum). Taking those five notes and playing them as continuous 16th notes yields interesting results. The attached work sheet, which you can download as a PDF here: Nasty Lick PDF, presents three […]

Why It Matters All the practicing and skill in the world won’t help you once your reputation is tarnished. A good reputation spreads. It may not spread like wildfire; but it will radiate outward as you continue your efforts as a musician. It will grow, slowly and steadily, like a tree. But, a bad reputation […]

Innovation yields greatness. We long to hear something new and exciting. Steve Gadd gave us that when he burst onto the scene with Chick Corea. Vinnie Colaiuta did it again a bit later. Then came Weckl. Then, later still, came Virgil Donatti. They all sounded fresh and new because of their innovations. It made them […]

It has been a little over a year since Ludwig announced that Vinnie Colaiuta was an official Ludwig artist. I remember when the rumors began that Vinnie was leaving Gretsch and Zildjian. At the time, a quick look at his website revealed that the links to those companies had been replaced with links to Ludwig […]

This lick is based on a five note pattern: three hands and two feet (right, left, right, foot, foot). I’ve used this primarily as a sixteenth note based idea, but recently I started experimenting with applying it as 16th note triplets. I like how this sounds when it’s played fast: ie in the neighborhood of […]

Any of you who have been following the story of Bon Jovi’s long-time drummer Tico Torres and his unfortunate medical issues may know about Rich Scanella. But it bears repeating because Rich is just another example that anything is possible for anyone who puts in the work and persists. The bottom line: Tico was sick, […]

A friend just sent me this interview with Elvin from May of 1968. An amazing interview and article written by Whitney Balliett. Necessary Reading. Here’s the PDF: Elvin Jones New Yorker 1968

Here is a clip of one of my favorite Tony Williams drum solos. The solo begins at around 25:20 into this clip. Here are some thoughts on the ideas Tony employs. First of all, the snares are off for the duration of the solo….in essence, this turns the snare drum into the highest pitched Tom […]

One of my students recently went to the Drum Fantasy Camp where he got to spend some significant time studying with Dave Weckl, Aaron Spears, Steve Smith and Thomas Lang. He shared many insights with me upon his return; one of which is the following pithy quote from Mr Lang: “Never practice when you play […]

I have to admit, what initially caught my attention was the packaging. A transparent plastic box, a cool looking logo, and a different looking drum key inside. It was up on the shelf behind the counter at Jack’s Drum Shop on Cape Cod, and I asked, “what’s that?” So, I was given a little demonstration, […]

The notion of Pattern Control on drum set means that you take a pattern you are interested in exploring and then manipulate it through different metrics and over various numbers of measures so you can see how it plays out. The point is for you to find ways to use it that make sense. I’ve […]

This past week I did a recording session with a great producer, Felix McTeigue, who I work with a lot. We tracked 4 songs in about 3 and a half hours. One of the secrets of being able to play a song “perfectly” on a session is to create a chart that can guide you […]

Just like last time (Fill Er Up! 11 Trusty Rock Drum Fills), here are 11 more road tested rock drum fills that you can use right away. They are two beat fills and although they are simple, when played with conviction they will sound great. Use the same instructions for practice as outlined in “Fill […]

Having already dug pretty deeply into Ignacio Berroa’s fabulous book, “Groovin In Clave,” which is to clave what Chapin’s famous work,“Advanced Techniques For The Modern Drummer” was to the jazz ride cymbal pattern, I’ve found that I need more interesting things to do with right hand clave. If you read my blog regularly, or if […]

I’ve always loved Queen. But I have a new-found admiration for drummer Roger Taylor now. Check out his drumming on the track “Under Pressure” and you’ll see why. He’s an under appreciated gem of a drummer, so I wanted to make sure I gave him some props by presenting this transcription. Background On Why I […]

NL #50 is a pattern that us dorky-type drummer people call a “roundhouse.” That means that the sticking allows you to go around the drumset, over and over again, for as long as you like. And that, my friends, is definitely a good thing. The trick is that you combine singles (on the toms) with […]

Steph Barker has been teaching at BANG for about a year now. Check out this video and you’ll see part of why students love her.

I am now, as a result of this single interview, a fan of “I’d Hit That.” “I’d Hit That” is a podcast that you can download here: I’d Hit That. I can’t pontificate on the rest of the “I’d Hit That” archive of interviews–which is already substantial–but I can tell you that the interview with […]

Here’s a bunch of simple but effective rock drum fills you can use right away. All of the fills involve alternating single strokes and they all begin with the right hand and alternate throughout (r l r l etc), EXCEPT where a different sticking is indicated on the work sheet. These are straight up hands […]

Groovin In Clave, by Ignacio Berroa The goal of the book is to allow drummers to develop independence against the clave rhythm with the cymbal hand. Consistent practice and diligent work with the book will find the persistent drummer achieving this goal. I know because I’ve been working out of the book for quite some […]

I’ve long struggled with the idea of open-handed playing. Why a struggle, you ask? Well, the logic to not crossing one’s hands is pretty clear. You’ll never knock your hands together as you do when you cross one hand over the other to play the hi-hat, and you have options galore to play every drum […]

I recently discovered that the audio that was posted of this drum clinic was taken down from Soundcloud, so it is no longer available. However, below is a video interview with Philly Joe Jones that is a little over an hour long. I think you’ll find it interesting. It’s the only video interview of Philly […]

Time is a pretty good news magazine. It is also the most important part of being a drummer. Playing in time, with a consistent, even, steady tempo is going to allow you to play with other musicians. In fact, it’s a pre-requisite to playing with good musicians. This inner clock—that all drummers must develop— will […]

Why wouldn’t you want to check out a thesis on Elvin Jones? Exactly what I thought. Here’s the link to over 200 pages on Mr. Jones: Elvin Jones Thesis PDF The writing is clear, the analysis is thoughtful and there are many useful transcriptions. Recommended.

Recently, I wrote about drummers not wanting to learn how to read music and why I urge all drum students to learn rhythmic notation (Yes, Beginning Drummers, You Do Have To Learn To Read Music). Today I want to rant a bit about drummers who refuse to work on technique. Please don’t tell me that […]

Reading and playing quarter note triplets is a topic that comes up frequently with beginning drum students. In order to understand how to read, count and play quarter note triplets, you first have to understand how eighth note triplets work, which is fairly easy. Eighth note triplets are just groups of three notes that fit […]

Newbie drum students frequently ask, “do I really have to learn to read music?” Many beginners are needlessly intimidated by the idea of reading music, but the truth is that reading rhythmic notation is not particularly difficult. In fact, reading musical notation for drumming is actually easier than it is for melodic instruments. In drumming, […]

There was a time when I was obsessed with a Vinnie Colaiuta solo from Zildjian Day, below. Have a look at the video and you may see why. His usual ridiculous chops dazzled me. His rhythmic mastery astounded me. Who would have thought to put the accents there? Note the following: Vinnie really starts to […]

Quite simply, this is the most important concept to embrace when beginning to learn hand and stick technique for drumming. This is one of the first things we teach our beginning students who have never touched a stick before. Perhaps more interesting is that many drummers who have played for a long time do not […]

Here’s an update to Clave Samba Independence Part 3. I’ve been working through the original, Part 3, and I found that I would break the page down into two bar exercises that I’d repeat, and then start stringing them together. The original page looked too dense to me so I came up with 3.1, which […]

I’ve often been asked if I play any other instruments or write songs. My answer is “no, I never wanted to spend time on any musical endeavors other than drumming.” I want to keep getting better at the drums, so working on other instruments doesn’t make sense to me. It’s that simple….it’s about focus. I’ve […]

This is a ridiculous groove from Steve Jordan’s DVD, “The Groove Is Here”. There is a PDF with a transcription of the groove available for you to download at the end of this post. And, yes, it’s free! Do it. Learn it. Burn it. Like Steve. In the voice over, Steve mentions that what he […]

It’s been a while since I’ve been excited enough about someone’s playing to go to a master class. Probably the last time I did this was when I went to see Dave Weckl at the Collective over twenty years ago. But I really like Keith Carlock’s playing. The more I dig into it, the more […]

I just picked up the latest (March/April 2013) copy of DRUMHEAD, which contains a great story on Dave Elitch. Dave is probably best known from his playing with Mars Volta, but he is not just a prog guy. These two quotes from the article peaked my interest, because you don’t hear about this side of […]

This is a great lick that Keith uses a lot. It sounds huge and sweeping and awesome. It requires great technique to execute properly. Your double strokes and foot technique must be in great shape for this to work. Getting your paradiddle-diddle in order will help you too. The idea for this transcription came from […]

If you read my Twitter or Facebook or Google Plus stuff, you’ll already know that I am into quotes. They inspire me. I hope to help inspire you with them too. So, you’ll see quotes being added to this here little old blog sometimes too. These two quotes from Napoleon Bonaparte, although clearly intended as […]

I’ve seen Keith Carlock a bunch of times with Wayne Krantz and others. His style is very unique–a blend of jazz, funk and chops that mixes together in a very loose effortless manner. His uniqueness and his “greasy” feel are what I think has led to his popularity. This video gives you a sense of […]

Hard work trumps talent. In fact, the real talent? The ability to work hard. Focus, determination, guidance, and a superior work ethic will create opportunity for you. Practice for hours on end. Practice until you can’t screw up. Then go practice some more. That’s what it takes. I have heard many successful people talk about […]

The mission: play clave freely with one’s right hand, play samba with your feet, and play anything you wish with your left hand. So far, in Parts 1 and 2, we’ve explored playing common figures against the above patterns and tried out some musical examples. You can check out those two steps here: “Clave Samba […]

Drumming Games In my last article on this topic, I wrote about how we’ve been using games to get kids excited about learning drumming. These games work; we’ve been continuing to use them with younger students. You can read that first article here: Drum Lessons For Kids: Focus on Fun. Here are 3 new ideas [...]

Simply put, Zildjian Stick Wax has become an essential tool for my playing. John Riley turned me on to it and I haven’t looked back since. Since having a loose grip is one of the keys to strong hand technique, it stands to reason that your sticks might get away from you now and then. […]

Recently I went to see some of NYC’s finest musicians playing some fusion in a downtown club. The show was amazing and I was inspired. It’s one of the great things about living in a city like New York; you can go out on any night of the week and see some of the world’s […]

This marks the beginning of a new series: Nasty Grooves. “Nasty Groove #1” is a linear funk beat, inspired by the likes of Dennis Chambers, David Garibaldi, Vinnie Colaiuta and Mike Clark. It’s a very funky beat…make sure that the ghosted notes are very quiet…that is one of the keys to making these types of […]

It occurred to me the other day that there is one simple rock fill that I’ve been playing for decades, but I have never heard anyone speak about it. Nor have I ever seen anyone write about it. Perhaps it is because rock drummers play this fill almost thoughtlessly, like it’s always been a part […]

Rudiments CAN be used for cool sounding stuff. Nasty Lick #49 is proof of that…because really, Nasty Lick #49 is just a Paradiddle – Diddle. I’ve always loved Gadd’s and Colaiuta’s hi hat licks. My favorites usually included some kind of 32nd note ideas, and they always flowed within a rock solid groove. That’s what […]

Think of this one as an addendum to my previous post, Nasty Lick 47. The basis is still the five note pattern: Right Left Right Foot Foot. However, I was practicing today and I came up with a new way of ending the phrase, which I really like. That being said, I want you to […]

After a short hunt, Whitesnake has announced that Tommy Aldridge has been hired as their drummer — for the third time. Brian Tichy, the band’s most recent drummer, left the band in early January 2013, after breaking his collarbone in a biking accident. Tichy stated that he was leaving the Snakes to pursue his band […]

The available literature on self help and success is so voluminous that one must take a breath before adding to the fray. My doctor and I were talking about our businesses and he told me about the three A’s. I thought about it for a few days and I realized that the notion is absolutely […]

I recently had a revelation about my playing career. For the past several years, I’ve been practicing Jazz, working with one of the best teachers in the world, transcribing and learning solos, absorbing Jazz vocabulary, working on ride cymbal technique, independence, and trying to play the music with as many great players as possible. It’s […]

My girlfriend posted this video on my Facebook page a few weeks back and I’ve been meaning to share it with all of you ever since. It is a deeply meaningful 3 minutes and I hope it inspires you. Let me know what you think.

A few weeks back, I had a gig at a Rock club in NYC–called The Cake Shop—with MANCIE. We arrived early with our gear, loaded in, and then went around the corner to a bar to hang out and kill time until the show. We had some nachos and I ordered a beer. Then I […]

More 16ths. All singles, moving around the 4 piece kit in an interesting way. There’s not that much more to say about this one, except for the fact that it sounds great. Try it out and see what you think. And it occurs to me as I write this that you can repeat this phrase […]

Here’s an old favorite of mine. It’s a five note pattern: three with the hands (RLR) and two with bass drum (FF). In this instance, we apply the five notes as 16th notes. The pattern is distributed around the kit like so: Right hand on the snare, Left hand on the hi tom, Right hand […]

This week, a student asked me for some exercises to work on ghost notes. Ghost notes, if you aren’t familiar with them, are very quiet notes played on the snare drum. They give your grooves some peaks and valleys and help make things extra funky. The key to making your beats sound great when adding […]

Just another day in the office, working on nasty licks. You’re going to like this one, I promise. Let me know. Here’s the PDF: nasty lick 46

This week I’ve been practicing, as I have been for months now, heel-down doubles with the bass drum. It’s been driving me crazy. But, I’m on the right track. The Perfect Balance Pedal has helped a lot. Sometimes, when I’m working on some technical skill like this, I need some way to keep things fresh. […]

Today I gave a drum lesson to a good friend who is also a very good drummer. But lately he hasn’t been playing drums that much. In fact, I was surprised when he contacted me to set up a lesson. At the beginning of the lesson, I asked “What do you want to work on […]

This first installment of Pattern Control for Drumset applies the pattern “RLF” to 16th notes in a Jazz context. As we work on “RLF” in this context, the first order of business is getting comfortable with the three note pattern itself (as 16ths), and the second challenge is putting the hi-hat on 2 and 4 […]

Now that I’ve had this pedal for a couple of weeks, I wanted to share some more of my thoughts. If you are a jazzer, and if you’ve been struggling with heel down double strokes on your bass drum pedal, this is the answer. You are still going to have to practice your ass off […]

It’s been a long time since I got really excited by a new piece of drum equipment. But I have to tell you, the new Jojo Mayer pedal has done it. I’m kind of freaking out about it. I bought one today. It makes my heel down playing feel effortless. Like butter. I honestly have […]

Introduction Given that BANG! is, in fact, a drum school, I thought it appropriate that the story below is published here on our blog. Neil Peart, who has very directly helped me in my career as a drummer, and whose drumset, “Chromey,” has had a real impact on my ability to expand BANG! The Drum […]

I love this clip. Philly Joe is one of my favorite all time jazz drummers and his soloing is one of the reasons I get excited by his playing. Just check out his hands! So fluid, so loose, such flow to his ideas. It looks effortless. Inspired.

Tonight I taught our “Drumming for Absolute Beginners” Group Class. One of our students was playing a beat that we were working on and when she was done, she said, “wow, I kind of got lost there for a minute….everything stopped….I was just in my own world when I was playing.” And I said, “yes, […]

Last time, in “Clave Samba Independence Part 1,” we worked on some exercises to develop facility within the Clave Samba framework. The basis of that framework? The cymbal hand plays the clave rhythm and the bass drum and hi hat foot play the samba pattern. The point of “Part One” was to free up the […]

The Concept of “Pattern Control” A large amount of musical vocabulary is created through the use of patterns. Much of the time, a great pattern is discovered by listening to our favorite musicians. Many of the best musicians have certain phrases or patterns that they use over and over again, sometimes in many different ways. […]

Last time we worked on the very first drum beat you should learn if you want to play rock drums. Today, it’s beat #2… If you are a drum teacher who wants an easy way to teach a newbie to play a great drum beat, or if you are a newbie yourself, this article is […]

This article is for beginners, or for drum instructors who want a quick way to teach an absolute beginner to play a drum beat right away. Follow the four steps listed below, and you will be playing your very first drum beat in short order. Allow me to explain a couple of things first. We […]

A few weeks back I went to see a friend of mine who was leading a trio at a small club in NYC. She is a great musician, with a lot of technique, creativity and musical taste. She plays a lot of notes. And that is not a criticism. Just a fact. When she plays […]

What about combining samba and clave? Well, I’m giving it a go, because I think it might sound really unique, so here is the first worksheet I’ve been using to develop basic independence. My initial thoughts? It is going to be very cool when I have some real freedom to play independently with my left […]

Relax!One of the biggest enemies of good hand technique is physical tension. Relaxation is the key to achieving a loose, bouncing and open stroke on the drum set. Spaghetti ArmsI frequently use the phrase “spaghetti arms” to describe how relaxed and loose a drummer’s arms should be. Let your arms hang down at your side—like […]

In the article I wrote a while back about encouragement, “The Thinking Drummer: On Encouragement” I described the power of positive reinforcement from important or influential people in one’s life. But what I didn’t touch upon, which is also a powerful force, is the negative influences, or “naysayers.” The “naysayers” are the people who tell […]

A prospective student asked me about adding some Latin patterns to his rock playing. The first thing I thought of was this highly useful and amazing sounding Mozambique pattern, brought to the mainstream pop world courtesy of Steve Gadd. I’ve been using it in my playing for a long time, and it never disappoints. Check […]

Inspired by the Vinnie lick that I blogged about last time (#43), I was messing around in the practice room and I came up with a new variation that I would like to share with you. It sounds great, is easy to play…..those are all the hallmarks of a great lick. I hope you like […]

This marks a new feature, “DrumSpeak,” where we get some great thoughts from the words of great drummers… “As a teenager I could assimilate information quickly but, what I didn’t realize until later is that you have to let that information gestate. When you’re young you think you’re a hot-shot, ready for everything because you’ve […]

Last week my girlfriend rented “Jiro Dreams of Sushi,” and although I only reluctantly agreed to watch it, my attention and imagination were immediately captured by this great film. Now, it is probably my favorite documentary ever. This is an important movie with a profound message. Every musician needs to see it. Actually, every artist […]

Hey so, despite that solo with Electric Black Horse being pretty cool, it got taken down from YouTube, so it’s no longer availabe. However, I have some other drum solo treats in store for you…. two solos that I took with MANCIE…. Enjoy!! This first one was filmed at Spike Hill. And this second one, […]

I recently posted a page of 6/8 independence exercises because I noticed that the drumming literature seems to lack good source material to develop triplet based grooves. Along the same lines, here is a sheet that will help develop the independence needed to play a rock shuffle. “The Funky Primer” is my favorite rock independence […]

It seems like a lot of you are interested in more information about Vinnie’s switch from Zildjian to Paiste. Here it is, in his own words. Have a look and listen.

There seems to be a lack of good material for students to work on grooves in 6/8, shuffles and triplet based feels in general. I decided to remedy that problem by publishing exercises for those needs right here on the trusty ol BANG Blog. The first installment is this worksheet on 6/8. Download the PDF […]

One weekday in the middle of the summer, my father, Michael, took me on a little expedition from our apartment in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, where I grew up, to midtown. I was nine or ten years old. I was off from school for summer vacation, and so was my father, because he was […]

This past week I had the pleasure of playing on a jazz gig with a great vibraphonist, Sean McCaul. He asked me to play some things that I had back in my memory banks but hadn’t had to use in a while. One of them was this groove. This is a groove that I came […]

This time it’s about getting around the drums in a hurry. No, I don’t mean rushing the time, but I mean roundhouse type licks that make me think of Buddy Rich or Steve Gadd. Each of these three licks will get you around the drums in triplets. Licks #40 and 42 are played as alternating […]

Keith Carlock, one of the world’s leading drummers (Steely Dan, Sting, Wayne Krantz), has moved from his long-time endorsement homes of Yamaha Drums and Regal Tip Sticks to Gretsch Drums and Vic Firth Sticks respectively. Carlock’s move seems to have been overshadowed by Colaiuta’s recent change in endorsements (to Ludwig and Paiste), and hasn’t gotten […]

This idea comes from checking out Steve Gadd on “Samba Song,” from Chick Corea’s “Friends” album. It’s a fantastic example of how you can take patterns you already know and manipulate them to create great sounding drum grooves or licks. First off, what do we mean by a “reverse” paradiddle? I think of a reverse […]