Online drum lessons 2012 – editor’s picks
Posted on Dec 31, 2012 in Guides and Resources
Traditionally at this time of year we review our picks of free online drum lessons. These are some of best bits from the drumming archives: Popular topics in 2012 Most viewed topic: Practice Routine Topic with most social shares: Drum Techniques Most commented topic: Beginners Review of the year Besides our one-to-one lessons at our London studios we have been leading workshops, running events...
Read MoreThe A Team: drum cover
Posted on Dec 29, 2012 in Creative Concepts
A great way to improve your drumming is to play a drum cover. A drum cover is a version of a song where you lay down new drums over the top of the original recording. The drum parts for a drum cover might stick faithfully to the original drummer’s playing or you might deviate and add in your own ideas. We’re going to create a drum cover for a song where the original version...
Read MoreUsing beat displacement to create drum beats
Posted on Dec 21, 2012 in Creative Concepts
By altering familiar drum beats using permutations and variations you can create new drum beats without a huge amount of effort. Take a drum beat or phrase you’ve got “in the bag” (one that you can play without even thinking about it), and alter it in some way. One way of altering grooves to create new permutations is beat displacement. Beat Displacement In its simplest form...
Read MoreInternal Dynamics
Posted on Dec 17, 2012 in Creative Concepts
Dynamics are an important part of playing drums. There are two basic ways to use dynamics in your playing; short dynamics that apply to a specific note, or long dynamics which apply to a series or group of notes across time. “Short” dynamics A loud note played within a group of notes is called an accent. In drum notation an accent is symbolised by the > sign. An accent applies...
Read MoreTriceratops Groove
Posted on Dec 11, 2012 in Creative Concepts
This groove is based on the “Triceratops Triplets” idea we covered in the previous article. See the original post on Triceratops Triplets to get familiar with these. If you’ve followed through the previous post, the result is a pattern using three limbs playing on three overlapping parts of a group of three notes. Try other combinations by assigning the parts differently. Get...
Read MoreTriceratops Triplets
Posted on Dec 6, 2012 in Creative Concepts
This is a ‘dinosaur’ of a challenge based around groups of 3 notes, hence the name Triceratops Triplets. It is deceptively simple when broken down into its component pieces, but as these components get layered the challenge develops some interesting properties. Try this out first of all by just reading the instructions and ignoring the notation. The notation has been included to...
Read MoreSpicing up Paradiddles
Posted on Oct 19, 2012 in Creative Concepts
Paradiddles can add a fun and unique sound to your drumming. We’re going to explore how to spice up paradiddles and move them from the practice pad onto the drum kit. A paradiddle is two single strokes then a double stroke. When paradiddles are played after each other, the first note of each paradiddle alternates between left and right. Read more about the basics of paradiddles in...
Read MoreTeaser: Bo Diddley Diddles
Posted on Jul 21, 2012 in Creative Concepts
A technical teaser with a creative twist for you this time… We’re going to combine the Bo Diddley rhythm with paradiddles – to give us “Bo Diddley Diddles”. First things first If you’ve never encountered the Bo Diddley rhythm or you’re unsure what paradiddles are, let’s give a bit of background. We covered paradiddles in a previous article –...
Read MoreRecipe for a healthy drumming practice diet
Posted on Mar 7, 2012 in Guides and Resources
There is no universally correct method for how you should practise drums – some things will work better for some, whilst other things will work better for others. That said, there are a few basic principles that you can follow to get the most out of your time practising drums. Think of your drumming practice in the same way as having a healthy balanced diet of food. We know that having a...
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