General Drumming Tips Thread

[Biowaste]

Hey guys, love the forums... there's a ton of good information out there to be had. Here's a collection of things I've learned over the years that has helped me and hopefully will help you as well.

DISCLAIMER: What works for me may or may not work for you. To each their own.

1. Drum carpet - Want to make setup a breeze? I bought a cheap, yet sturdy rug from Wal-Mart and took the time to set up my kit on it. Then I took one of the big sharpies and marked where the pedal, bass drum spurs, and various other things sat on it... During live shows, sometimes you don't have a lot of time to set up... Set the carpet down and set up just like you do at home using the markers as "guides". This is especially nice if you have someone helping you that doesn't know how you set up. Tape works too if you change your setup often. A huge time-saver.

2. Be courteous to the other bands. Try to help other drummers get their equipment to the stage and help with getting it off as well. More than likely you'll get help in return, and will get stage changeovers much more quickly, leaving more time for your set. If there are other bands behind you, then get your drums off the stage as quick as you can and THEN tear down. It's a big time-saver and you'll earn what I call "professionalism points" with the bar, soundman, and other bands.

3. Learn to play without monitors. Get to where you know your songs well enough to play them without hearing much guitar, vocals and bass. Most of the time clubs don't put much thought into setting up proper monitor systems and much of the time they won't push it loud enough for you to really hear everything if it's a loud sound environment. I've played w/o monitors so much that it doesn't effect me if I play without them, but it's an nicely added bonus if we do get a good monitor sound.

4. Learn to appreciate all different styles of music and drumming. Listen to EVERYTHING and "borrow" a little from everyone. If you stay locked into one style or one band then of course you'll sound like them. Stir the pot and bring something new to the table. Not only will this help you become a more versatile player, but it will help you keep your song ideas fresh without being limited or playing the same style over and over... Remember, diversity and dynamics are a good thing.

5. Become a cultured, classy and mature musician. Sure, there's a TON of bands out there that you absolutely don't like. But this doesn't mean they suck. Have a professional attitude and point out little things like specific grooves, fills, stage presence, etc... that you might have liked! Talking bad about someone behind their back isn't professional. You'll be a much more respected musician in the community when you learn to appreciate all music and everyone (remember, this doesn't mean you have to love it).

6. Take pride in your trade. Where else would you rather be than behind the drumkit? Remember to have fun!

7. Practice with a metronome if at all possible. But also practice without it. If people wanted machines instead of humans playing, they'd recruit drum machines to play.

8. Love metal? Want to play fast? Start slow, I don't care how much it sucks. A lot of drummers try to fly before they can crawl. Build that house with the foundation and then work on the other stuff. RELAX - this is important. Guess what happens when you're tense? Yep, you get tired faster. Relax, breathe, control the muscles and you'll be much more comfortable playing faster speeds.

9. Auditioning or trying out for bands? Everyone's a badass on paper and on the phone. Tips: the guys that say they're great, or hype themselves up a lot have something to cover up. They're usually not very good at their instruments. I've learned the guys that are humble are the real badasses that you'll want to play with.

10. Comparing apples to oranges. This vs. That. People have a tendency to compare musicians and musical equipment. Music is an artform and people have their own way of doing things. Appreciate what they contribute. The best thing you can do is trust your ears with equipment. There is no best, only what sounds best to YOU. I can't emphasize this enough.

11. CHEATING - How ridiculous. Music is not a sport, there is no "cheating". A lot of the elitists think some ways of doing things are cheating. Again, music is an artform and you can express yourself ANY WAY you like. Disregard the people accusing people of how they do things as "cheating", as they haven't matured as artists yet.

12. Mistakes - Hey we all make them. Practice your songs and be prepared for anything. If you make a mistake, laugh about it, learn from it and keep on playing the song. ZZ Top has been doing it for decades and my buddies dad said one of the most memorable times was seeing the drummer screw up, laugh about it, then get right back on it! If you want perfection, listen to the CD. We're all human.

13. Show up early as possible for shows. Get your gear loaded and take the time to relax while you set up your drums. What sucks is running late and only having 15 minutes to set up everything. You're rushing your *** off and getting pissy. This is unnecessary stress. The best gigs you play are when you're relaxed. Be professional, responsible and show up at a reasonable time.

14. Dealing with soundmen - They're your ticket to what the audience is hearing from your band. Ask them respectfully to get more kick drum in the monitor or whatever else you may need. Afterwards always show your appreciation for what they do, which often times goes overlooked.

15. Warm up! Ok so the band is playing before you just got on, you have everything set up and ready to go. Take a quiet practice pad (I use the moongel one) and warm up. Not only will you get the blood circulating to those muscles, you won't cramp up and play tense, you'll be naturally relaxed when playing. This also prevents injury (carpal tunnel syndrome). Stretching helps too.

16. Technical Ability and Speed - Not everyone is Thomas Lang, Steve Smith or Dave Weckl. I noticed a LOT of you, especially you youngsters, place too much emphasis on technical ability and speed and forget other things drummers bring to the table. Groove, feel, stage presence, rock-solid timing, among others are ALL things you should learn to appreciate in music. Think from outside the box for a change.

17. Playing the drums to get noticed. The drums are the foundation for the entire band, and I don't care what the vocalist and guitarists say. Without drums they have nothing. If you're playing in a band to get girls or get status, then you're in it for the wrong reasons.

Hope some of these come in handy for you guys now or in the future. I'll have more to post up later on.

-Biowaste

[Den]

Good job for your 6th post! Everything said here is true, and I mean everything. (but hey, if you get a girl that likes the drummer...LOL)

[Biowaste]

Hey I never said drumming didn't have it's perks .

Thanks bro.

-Bio

[Bob Marley]

Wow. That's intresting stuff thanx. Your pretty cool.

[TheTrooper37]

nice post

[coppersnare]

Great post! Thanks.

[kev]

Great post! Thanks alot, i love reading gigging tips One for the University.

[MrScruff]

nice tips...i do tip 12 already, but only out of necessicity.

[Drummer519]

Great post! Here's my contribution for the moment:

18. Rudiments. Learn them. By definition, they are the basics and you wouldn't go do something else that requires the same amount of skills as drumming without knowing and understanding the basics. Learing the rudiments will increase your vocabulary and give you some great ideas.

19. Trancribe. Sit down and listen to a recording and write out what the drummer is playing. Start by figuring out the meter and the possible setup the drummer is using. Then start transcribing voice by voice (bass drum then snare and so on). This will help train your ear and, with practice, figure out almost exactly what a drummer is playing.

[Haplo 913]

Great stuff. I heard the marking a carpet idea before but that one's great. As is learning to play with and without monitors and metronomes. My biggest tips are

-Everyone says it, but practicing rudiments on pillows is just great.
-If you're going to lift a song, take the time to write it out yourself, don't get if off the internet. It helps you learn the song quicker, understand what's going on, and plus you never know if the other tabber know's what he's doing or not.
-Count out bars and time signatures for any and every song you hear, regardless of the song band of genre. Count and count some more. It's great stuff.

[Talon]

20. I'm not sure how true this is, but a long time ago there was a Gigs thread and JulianFC posted some great advice. The only I can remember really well was to buy packs of underwear before going on tour. As crazy as it sounds, he said that it saved a lot of trouble when clothes would be lost and band members were fighting, and having extra underwear was a huge help.

21. An easy household drum improvement if you have mid-grade drums is to put a few cotton balls in your floor toms. It really helps the sound and saves you the trouble of having to tune to perfection everytime.

[Biowaste]

Thanks for the feedback guys and I'll definately agree with the rudiments one. Even if it's the most basic ones, it will help your drumming skill tremendously. It's just like building a house, you gotta start from the foundation and rudiments are definately the "bricks and cement" of that foundation... along with timing and keeping the band together with confidence.

-Bio