Rick Allen, drummer of Def Leppard, got in a bad car accident and lost his left arm in 1984. With a customized kit, he was able to continue playing. Check out the video below. Amazing!
Friday, September 24, 2010
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Similar Drum Beats: Phil Collins & Miley Cyrus
When I started drumming, people often asked me to learn the drum beat to Phil Collins' "In the Air Tonight." I always thought the song was completely boring...until the drums come in at 3:41. Listen to the song!
"My Heart Beats for Love" performed by Miley Cyrus is a great tune that reminds me of the drum beat in "In The Air Tonight." Pay particular attention to the beat at 0:47, then 1:47, 2:28, 2:38, and 2:48.
Tuning Drums
I love playing my drums, but I can't stand the sound that comes out of it.
When I watch drummers on TV and live, the drum set sounds beautiful -- in tune and perfect. Sometimes the set has a high-pitched sound, low-pitched sound, or maybe even dry, or extra thumpy. Electric drum kits usually come with a module so you can customize your sound. But I have an acoustic set, so tuning is a nightmare for someone like me who can't tune drums by ear.
So I bought a DrumDial, which measures the tension of the drum head next to each rod. The instructions inside recommend specific tensions for the snare, tom-toms, floor tom, and bass. Basically, the tension should be even. The resonant (bottom) head should be looser than the batter (top) head.
But my kit still sounded crappy to me. I did some research and decided to buy different drum heads: Remo Ambassador (Fusion Clear), Remo Emperor (Fusion Clear), and Aquarian (which I use now). For the snare (the most difficult to tune), I bought Evans.
For whatever reason, my kit still did not sound professional.
When I brought the issue up to my teacher, he told me that I probably needed mufflers, so I bought several sets of studio rings -- Aquarian and Remo, clear and coated. See the ring around the drum head? The ring is supposed to dampen the ringing noise.
I use "moon gels" for my snare. I position them differently to experiment with the sound, but it still doesn't sound clear and crispy. Instead, it rattles too much. Some drummers use tape as a dampener, which I've also tried. No success.
The last thing I bought for tuning is an Evans Torque Drum Key. The handle on the knob has numbers on it for tension, so you can select a number, place it on the tension rod, then turn it until the handle clicks, which indicates the tension is set. I use the Key after using the DrumDial to ensure the tension is perfect.
But the sound is still off. My drum teacher told me to bring my floor tom in, my snare in, or whatever else in, so that he can tune it himself.
One of these days, I'm going to have to.
When I watch drummers on TV and live, the drum set sounds beautiful -- in tune and perfect. Sometimes the set has a high-pitched sound, low-pitched sound, or maybe even dry, or extra thumpy. Electric drum kits usually come with a module so you can customize your sound. But I have an acoustic set, so tuning is a nightmare for someone like me who can't tune drums by ear.
So I bought a DrumDial, which measures the tension of the drum head next to each rod. The instructions inside recommend specific tensions for the snare, tom-toms, floor tom, and bass. Basically, the tension should be even. The resonant (bottom) head should be looser than the batter (top) head.But my kit still sounded crappy to me. I did some research and decided to buy different drum heads: Remo Ambassador (Fusion Clear), Remo Emperor (Fusion Clear), and Aquarian (which I use now). For the snare (the most difficult to tune), I bought Evans.
For whatever reason, my kit still did not sound professional.
When I brought the issue up to my teacher, he told me that I probably needed mufflers, so I bought several sets of studio rings -- Aquarian and Remo, clear and coated. See the ring around the drum head? The ring is supposed to dampen the ringing noise.
I use "moon gels" for my snare. I position them differently to experiment with the sound, but it still doesn't sound clear and crispy. Instead, it rattles too much. Some drummers use tape as a dampener, which I've also tried. No success.
The last thing I bought for tuning is an Evans Torque Drum Key. The handle on the knob has numbers on it for tension, so you can select a number, place it on the tension rod, then turn it until the handle clicks, which indicates the tension is set. I use the Key after using the DrumDial to ensure the tension is perfect.But the sound is still off. My drum teacher told me to bring my floor tom in, my snare in, or whatever else in, so that he can tune it himself.
One of these days, I'm going to have to.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Drummer of the Week: Karen Carpenter
Karen Carpenter, singer in the group, The Carpenters, suffered with anorexia for years and died of heart failure at age 32. Though Karen is remembered greatly for her beautiful voice, many do not know that she was a drummer. Actually, she considered herself a "drummer who sang." Many great drummers praise her skills, including Hal Blaine.
Look how happy she is!
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Drumming Hurdles
What am I doing here? I got home from work, ate my dinner, and then came downstairs to the guest room where I keep my practice pad on a snare stand. I sit on my drum throne, right in front of a full body mirror, and turn on Lady Gaga's The Fame Monster album.
I am now the teacher and the student -- the student is in the mirror, and I am the teacher, closing monitoring my technique. Am I sitting up straight? Are my arms to my sides? Am I holding the sticks at the same height? Is the stick rebounding correctly? Does my grip look OK?
My drum teacher, Jason, told me that if I practice in front of a mirror, I will greatly improve my speed. The first thing I learned from Jason was how to hold the sticks, using matched grip and traditional grip. I quickly settled with matched grip, which is the most common grip.
Matched grip: grab the stick from about a third of the way down and open your palms so that the stick comes across diagonally; hold your fingers loosely around the stick, almost like you're shaking hands with it. Your index finger can be looser than the rest, but your thumbs must always be on the stick. Both hands are positioned the same.
Traditional grip: the right hand is in matched grip, while the left hand is facing up. The stick is held between the second and third finger.
I am now the teacher and the student -- the student is in the mirror, and I am the teacher, closing monitoring my technique. Am I sitting up straight? Are my arms to my sides? Am I holding the sticks at the same height? Is the stick rebounding correctly? Does my grip look OK?
My drum teacher, Jason, told me that if I practice in front of a mirror, I will greatly improve my speed. The first thing I learned from Jason was how to hold the sticks, using matched grip and traditional grip. I quickly settled with matched grip, which is the most common grip.
Matched grip: grab the stick from about a third of the way down and open your palms so that the stick comes across diagonally; hold your fingers loosely around the stick, almost like you're shaking hands with it. Your index finger can be looser than the rest, but your thumbs must always be on the stick. Both hands are positioned the same.
Traditional grip: the right hand is in matched grip, while the left hand is facing up. The stick is held between the second and third finger.My pictures probably make the grip look very easy -- it is, until you start playing (especially when trying to play at a very fast tempo). Drumming is all about the hands. When I played the flute, playing was all about breath control. I thought drumming would be easier since I would no longer have the dizzy, out-of-breath feeling I had as a flute player, but for some odd reason, I can't stay relaxed as a drummer. I always hold my breath the faster I play. Being a good drummer means being relaxed, but I simply can't. I have to work hard to stay relaxed...sounds paradoxical.
Even though I've been taking lessons for over half a year, I still haven't learned all 40 rudiments of drumming. Check out a good list on Wikipedia. My drum teacher said that the MOST important rudiment is a double-stroke open roll, which is right-right left-left, or left-left right-right. By now, I should be playing much faster than I do. A typical practice session is basically the video below (yes, that's me). I start off slowly and gradually build speed, which I do for about 15-20 minutes at a time. It seems easy, but it's super difficult for me to play faster -- my wrist aches, my back aches. In addition, I formed mini-callouses on my index fingers, which could be a good thing -- blisters mean you are playing incorrectly.
I read once (probably my Idiot's Guide to Playing Drums book) that if I'm in pain, then I must be doing something wrong. I really don't think I am.
I spend an even amount of time with the practice pad and the drum set. I usually sit with the practice pad as a warm-up or very late at night when everyone's asleep. Originally, I spent much more time at the kit, but my "chops" were weak.In addition, I have a foot pedal to exercise my foot muscles with. My left foot is much weaker than my right; same situation with my hands.
So this is the life of a beginning drummer. It makes me wonder how someone at an expert level practices, or improves their skills.
Friday, September 3, 2010
About Me
Hi, everyone! Welcome to my blog.
Ever since I was a little kid, the drum set has fascinated me: the tumbling sound of the tom-toms, the loud crash of the cymbals, and the crisp sound of the snare makes every song sound 10 times better. I used to bang on the kitchen table and pause at the sight of drummers, such as Tommy Lee, Caroline Corr, and Tico Torres. I wished for lessons for over a decade, but I didn't begin until January 2010, at 23 years old. Sometime after I finished my undergraduate degree and got a job, I told myself it was time to fulfill my dream.
Luckily, playing music was nothing new to me. I played the flute in school band from 7th - 12th grade. In marching band (11th-12th grade), I played the piccolo, the tiniest and highest pitched instrument in the ensemble. Though students envied the piccolos because of the light-weight instrument, I envied the drum line. Why didn't I play the drums to begin with? I'm not really sure. But now, I'm trying to make up for lost time.
The process of learning how to play has been maddening, but it's still the best thing I've ever decided to do. I never expected the amount of frustration I would face being a drummer, such as coordination and speed. But I love practicing -- often times I go in a trance and don't even notice when someone is in the same room! When I'm not practicing, I'm reading about drummers, listening for drum beats, and searching for the best books and DVDs about drumming.
I'm definitely not a drumming expert, but I still hope I can share some information I've learned, and continue to learn, about the oldest instrument in the world.
Tammy
Ever since I was a little kid, the drum set has fascinated me: the tumbling sound of the tom-toms, the loud crash of the cymbals, and the crisp sound of the snare makes every song sound 10 times better. I used to bang on the kitchen table and pause at the sight of drummers, such as Tommy Lee, Caroline Corr, and Tico Torres. I wished for lessons for over a decade, but I didn't begin until January 2010, at 23 years old. Sometime after I finished my undergraduate degree and got a job, I told myself it was time to fulfill my dream.
Luckily, playing music was nothing new to me. I played the flute in school band from 7th - 12th grade. In marching band (11th-12th grade), I played the piccolo, the tiniest and highest pitched instrument in the ensemble. Though students envied the piccolos because of the light-weight instrument, I envied the drum line. Why didn't I play the drums to begin with? I'm not really sure. But now, I'm trying to make up for lost time.
The process of learning how to play has been maddening, but it's still the best thing I've ever decided to do. I never expected the amount of frustration I would face being a drummer, such as coordination and speed. But I love practicing -- often times I go in a trance and don't even notice when someone is in the same room! When I'm not practicing, I'm reading about drummers, listening for drum beats, and searching for the best books and DVDs about drumming.
I'm definitely not a drumming expert, but I still hope I can share some information I've learned, and continue to learn, about the oldest instrument in the world.
Tammy
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