The Greenroom

Last month I had the opportunity to play drums for a night of worship that was recorded for a live record. There's not a lot of room for issues or mistakes on something like that, and we wanted everything to run flawlessly. It would have been much more challenging if I didn't play consistently. 

When we chose drums as our instrument, we signed up to be the leader of the rhythm section and that’s a vital role. As we go so the band goes. So how do imperfect people play in perfect time? Using a metronome or click track is a great place to start but it’s no substitute for developing your “internal click.” Here are a couple of training exercises to help you develop your internal metronome.

I’ve recently purchased some new cymbals and I wanted to share.

There are a few different products on the market ranging from $20-$100, depending on what you purchase, to help you find that perfect snare sound. Well, here's a quick and simple way to help you get that "phat", "gushy" sounding snare drum that's FREE! Check it!

As drummers, we need to be the “Boy Scout” of the team. We all need to be prepared for not only the songs we’re playing, but also any changes that may arise. We need to have on hand the tools to accomodate them both.

When I was preparing for David Crowder's "My Victory," I quickly realized that I had to get creative. When you listen to this song, pay attention to all of the production within this track. There are a lot of sampled sounds that you can't reproduce on an acoustic kit but there are some that you can get close to even if electronics aren't available. 

Video recording myself helps me check everything from my posture (which tends to be horrible), to my playing (too busy?), to how I'm engaging with others from behind the kit.

This past week we brought a new drummer into the rotation at my church. I added some input to help the overall feel of the song and to simplify the groove. He was open to the advice and understood where I was coming from to help the song. This really impressed me and I have even more respect for this guy now. 

What is the best way to practice? In this post, we are going to take a look at a few over-arching ideas before jumping into some more detailed thoughts next week.