This time of year most of us tend to get sentimental, thinking of our first drum sets under the Christmas tree or our favorite brand of sticks that Santa carefully places in our stockings every year.  For some, this will be the first year that you give your son or daughter the opportunity to learn how to play drums by purchasing them their new drum set, practice pad, sticks, or instructional DVD.

You might attend or participate in a Christmas concert, playing or listening to age old music that may or may not have been jazzed up to suit the modern era.  Millions of people will watch network Christmas specials, cheesy holiday movies, or rerun marathons of a holiday classic.  The important part of all of this, no matter what your beliefs, is that you spend time with your family and/or those your care about and take the time to enjoy what you do have.

Bitter about that 10 year old percussion plus kit with the cracked cymbals you’ve been playing since you first picked up a drumstick?  Jealous that a fellow drummer just got that brand new solid maple, custom pork pie kit with the pristine Zildjian K Customs?  It all doesn’t matter.  You have the gift of playing percussion well and hopefully you have friends and family that support you doing it.

Pissed off that you just saw this other local drummer that completely upstaged you?  Stop being a baby and talk to the guy about learning from him.  Even if he doesn’t give you lessons, in the spirit of drummer comradery he will probably be obliged to toss you some pointers.  Use that person as inspiration and not a target of jealousy.

Through the holiday season (and hopefully through out the year) you should look and be thankful for the things that are important to you and the opportunities that can and will arise in the future.  Look back to the morning you walked out of your bedroom, sleepy eyed, in your footy pajamas and saw that new beginners drum kit with the red bow around it and keep that memory in the fore front of your mind.  Because it truly is memories like this and the hope that you will some day provide that memory for another young drummer that keeps the holiday spirit alive.

This is a guest post by Courtney Brandt;  author of the books The Line, A Fine Line, and Keeping In Line

If you would have told 14-year-old Courtney Brandt how much drum line would impact and ultimately change her life, she probably would have laughed in your face. Entering high school, I was an oboist (that’s right, a woodwind player). I knew I wanted to stay with my friends who were all joining the high school marching band. One problem. My particular instrument was not of the marching variety. Now, as you probably are not aware, most oboists choose to play flute and remain safely with their woodwind kindred. Not me. I heard the drum line on our 8th grade “field trip” to the marching section of the stands one night in the fall and somehow knew I was destined for the group. I could read notes better than a lot of 8th grade drummers, and after announcing my decision to join the Line, was plonked in the Pit. That day, I began a four-year relationship with the Brookwood High School percussion section and unknowingly set in motion the foundation for a series of novels which would introduce me to a number of amazing and talented people.

But freshman Courtney had no idea what she was in store for… She had no clue the friends, crushes, heartaches, victories, losses, highs, lows, discipline and lessons that drum line was going to provide. She just liked the sound of it all – the cadences, the rudiments, the loudness of everything.

As the school year started, I realized I loved being a part of something so unique and competitive. In a high school where my graduating class numbered over six hundred students, being one of three girls in my grade on the Line, I felt like I had something a little different than everyone else. In a place where you’re constantly trying to find your identity, drum line gave me a place to start. In my first semester as a member of the drum line, there were other changes. My vocabulary saw a strong influx of new expletives. I made additional friends and saw different sides of old ones. There was a place to sit in the lunch room, inside jokes, and attractive upperclassmen to chat with. When indoor season came around, the Line went to PASIC and placed in the top five. I was proud, confident, and part of something bigger than myself.

By the end of my sophomore year, no longer content to be on the sidelines in the front line, I basically swore to myself that I was going to make the Battery or die trying. From the last home game to the day of auditions, I practiced daily. This lesson was one of the most fundamental I learned, and still use every day. At fifteen, after putting a lot of hard work into something, I met my goal – and was awarded 2nd bass. From that moment, on, as clichéd as it sounds, I really felt that if I worked hard enough at anything, I would ultimately see results. No questions. No doubt. And this lesson could apply to everything from a job interview to grad school to publishing a book. Ironically, I think it was being in the section in the first place that gave me the confidence to try for the more competitive part of that same section.

I am not without regrets. Not auditioning for or marching with DCI is the highest on my list. When I interact with readers now, it’s one of the things I am most proud to see and one of the activities I encourage the most. There are very few experiences in today’s world that involve the responsibility, dedication, passion, and discipline that marching a summer with Drum Corps International can teach. Since I can’t go on tour, I now live vicariously through my characters and send them on adventures for a summer.

After my high school career, I hung up my mallets and spent the next few years at college. Near graduation, I decided to apply for film school and called a friend (a senior from when I was a freshman on the Line) and asked him about his experience. I’ll never forget his response. He replied, “It’s funny, because you’ll understand like no one else would. It’s a lot like drum line…”

For the same masters application, I wrote of an audition…the same one I had practiced so hard for a few years previously and the one that would ultimately start my first book. After that, I continued writing. I found a community of other band geeks who supported me and I told them stories of a fictional marching community…not too unlike my experiences. Anyone who marched with me can recognize who relates to whom, but as the series continued and I got more involved with the characters, the created world took on its own identity.

Today, I am usually in disbelief of where drum line has brought me. From where I started to where I am today, and all the people it has put me in contact with, it sometimes seems impossible. And, of course, there’s always the future. I think about that 15 year old girl, drumming in the cold basement and know I can make her proud. It is one of my biggest goals to have one of my books adapted into a film. And believing what I do, I won’t be happy until I accomplish that fact.

I’m excited to see that someone decided to write a novel based on being in drum line.  My time in drumline has shaped who I have become and is one of the most memorable times in my life.  I highly recommend being in drum line to any and all young drummers out there.

As luck would have it one day, instead of having a normal rehearsal my band was going to work on our new music video.  I had grabbed my video camera to use as a backup or secondary camera and while driving the thought came to me.  I wanted to give my readers an inside look on how my band, an indie band with some technological knowledge, creates music videos.

Now, this video isn’t going to go into specifics of exactly how to edit and shoot videos against a green screen.  However, it does give an overview of what we do and a peek at what the shoot actually looks like.  The two songs featured in my video are “Still Me” A song that will be on our new CD Blaming Tim Vs. The Mechanical Robots From Outer Space.  The second song more prominently featured is “Made For TV Movie” which will also be on the new CD.  So if you dig the music, visit blamingtim.com for more information on the band.

Without further ado I present to you A Behind The Scenes Look At Making An Indie Music Video:

It wasn’t until a year ago when I became serious about protecting my hearing.  Cheap throw away ear plugs are so cheap there really is no excuse to not use them.  I used to wear earplugs while I was in drum line.  I think think that this was mostly because, as a group, we all consented that this was  a good idea.  And since a group mentality seems to have more power then solitary though in may situations, I obliged and wore the earplugs at every performance and rehearsal.

However, in my personal life I was playing guitar for a four piece band and would always tend to neglect ear protection.  This would sometimes result in nights where I would hear very low, digital sounding bass tones in my ears – making it very difficult to go to sleep.  But, it never failed that at the next practice I would easily forget the pain I went through and again elect to not wear ear plugs.

Something that was discovered by my peers in drumline was that not only did the earplugs help protect your ears, they actually helped us to find mistakes.  In drumline, the goal is to sound as one.  The earplugs helped us to eliminate a lot of overhead noise and hear just the drums.  It was so much easier to hear someone else who was out of sync with the rest of us, while at the same time keeping our ears safe.

Now, as an adult, I wear earplugs religiously at every practice.  You can make up any excuse you want – I look silly with ear plugs, They are uncomfortable, I’m waiting to buy some super expensive drummer specific ear protection, etc..  All of these are nothing but excuses and the more you practice without earplugs, the more you are doing to end your career as a musician early.

So, if you aren’t wearing ear protection now – I encourage you to stop at a drugstore before your next rehearsal and pickup a cheap pack of disposable ear plugs and find out that wearing them really isn’t as bad as you think it might be.

The sound engineer has the power to make you sound crazy awesome or like a blurry, muddy mess.  This is why for live shows it helps to befriend your engineer during sound check (a tip or some drinks won’t hurt either).

My band, Blaming Tim finished the tracks to our new cd several months ago.  However, we kept finding that we weren’t entirely thrilled with the mixes we were getting back.  Not to say that the engineer wasn’t any good – we just couldn’t agree on a sound.  Our piano player, Tim decided that it might be a good idea to look else where for final mix and mastering.

And the best person we could find for our budget happend to be in Chicago.  Since the windy city is so far away from Atlanta, we used the power of the internet(s) to send him the raw tracks.  The results – an amazing mix that I am loving the more I listen to.

In the original mixes I felt slightly discouraged.  My drumming did not sound confident.  To me it sounded like I was missing parts, not playing loud enough, or just overall making a mess of the song… This was not how I remembered feeling during the initial recording sessions.  I mean I was tired putting in 10 hour days behind a kit, but I still remember being much more confident in my abilities.

Now that we have re-mixed tracks I have that initial feeling of “You nailed it” while listening to the tracks.  The point of this article is that, as the title states – The Sound Engineer Has The Power To Make Or Break You.

Anyone else have an experience like this or a sound engineer they would like to recommend.  Let us know about them in the comments.

Say what you want about the band or even Tre; he has always been an inspiration in not only musicianship and ability, but also showmanship.  You can spin around up in the air on a drum riser all you want and that’s cool, but Tre knows how to shock, entertain, and captivate a crowd with little more then his drum set, sticks, and wit (sometimes a flame and some lighter fluid help too ala Woodstock).

Tre’s sense of humor is easily shown in the release of Greenday’s live DVD/CD release Bullet In A Bible in which most of the time he is being interviewed, he is in full Canadian Mountie uniform and not even acknowledging it.

At age 12 Frank was given the name Tre Cool by Lookout! Records owner Lawrence Livermore.

From Tre’s bio on greenday.net:

Tre decided to drop out of high school his sophmore year. However, he did pass an equivalency test and earned his GED, and he even began taking classes at a nearby community college. He had to drop out of college however, when the demands of Green Day’s touring intensified. Tre’s father, who owns a small trucking company, overhauled a used bookmobile, and even served as the driver on three seperate tours. “I watched them go from a bunch of kids to a group of musicians with work ethic,” says Tre’s father, Frank Wright. “On their first tour or two, it was more of a party than anything else. I still scratch my head and say, ‘How in the hell did they make it?’ They used to practice in my living room here — a lot of the songs they did on Dookie. You hear it coming together, and you don’t expect people are going to go out and buy it. But when it does, you just say, ‘Wow, that’s so cool.’” (Rolling Stone, January 26, 1995)

A quick search on youtube will yield tons of videos of Tre’s antics on and off the stage.

Tre has used the drums of different companies. Tré currently uses Leedy drums and Zildjian cymbals. In the past, he used DW,Ludwig and Slingerland drums, currently he is still listed as an endorser in Ludwig’s website.

Drum kit: Leedy custom maple set in White Marine Nitron with Remo heads

• 18″×22″ Bass drum
• 9″×13″ Tom
• 16″×16″ Floor Tom
• 16″×18″ Floor Tom
• 6.5″×14″ Leedy Broadway Standard Snare

Cymbals: Zildjian

• 14″ K Constantinople/Z Special hi-hats
• 19″ K Dark Crash Medium Thin
• 19″ A Medium Thin Crash
• 22″ A Deep Ride
• 21″ A Sweet Ride
• 20″ Oriental Classic China

Drumsticks: Zildjian Tré Cool Signature

So that’s my quick write up on the drummer that most influenced me to get behind a kit.  Let me know down in the comments section who it was that inspired you to start playing drums and why.

I was fortunate enough to have great parents that understood my addiction to playing drums and even luckier to have neighbors that didn’t mind the drumming or the band practices as long as it wasn’t too early in the morning or late at night.  Hell, sometimes they would come over just to check out the band.

However, now I’m all grown up and have a house and neighbors of my own along with a beautiful wife and 2 crazy dogs that go nuts over the sound of someone knocking on the door, let alone banging drums upstairs (the dogs that is, not the wife).  I haven’t tested the waters with the neighbors yet mostly because of the strange looks I get just loading and unloading the drumset before and after gigs.  I tend to stick to just using a practice pad at home or using a pillow when I feel the need to exercise my wrist strength.

I leave the actual practice on the drumset to band rehearsals.  And after reading this news article, I’m glad that my parents and neighbors were so understanding.  Now, I’m not saying that you should worry about being in the line of fire for doing what you love to do, but it never hurts to take precautions.  Omar (the paradiddler) wrote many great suggestions on trying to keep peace with the neighbors including a link to audiomute who’s slogan is “We make soundproofing simple”.  Looking over their products, it looks like they have a great line and I can’t wait to make a purchase once I start to create my own practice space.

I’m not going to go over all the ways you can sound proof your space in this article (I probably will in the future).  If you are looking for some basic, easy ways to appease those who share your dwelling or live next to you – I suggest you take a look at Omar’s article.

Maybe you are lucky like I was when I was growing up and you have great neighbors – or maybe you hate your neighbors and don’t care how loud you are.  Either way it was an interesting read and I highly suggest you consider it before practicing at home.

After my 5 years away from playing drums I had no equipment aside from a couple of old broken drumsticks (kept because they had some sort of memory tied to them).  At the time I started to play again the economy wasn’t that bad.  However, I had just bought a new house and was preparing to get married within the next few months.  Buying a new drumset was out of the question – Even if I wanted to buy it, my wife to be would have never let me hear the end of it (and rightfully so).

I was lucky enough that a friend of mine needed a drummer desperately and he had a drumset that I could use.  As of right now, I’m still using this drumset.  Over the past few years I’ve added some of my own bits and pieces to the kit – a new splash cymbal, a new snare drum, a new double bass pedal, and some other random bits an pieces.  However, I’ve come to a point where the entry level drumset that I’m using just isn’t enough.

This has lead me to start thinking of ways to get a new drumset on the cheap.  I personally follow the belief system of Dave Ramsey when it comes to money – I don’t do debt.  I’m working as hard as I can to get rid of the debt that I had before finding Dave, and I don’t intend to add to that with a new drumset and I highly discourage any of you to go into debt just for a drumset (especially if you are new to drumming).

Here are some ways that I’ve come up with to help in getting a new (or new to me) drumset at the lowest cost possible.

1.  Barter – There are a ton of music stores that don’t have websites or have horribly designed websites in my area.  Web development is kinda my thing and I’m trying to build my portfolio anyway so offering a new website in exchange for a drumset works out twofold for me.

2. Craigslist – It’s no secret that you can find used items on craigslist.  Occasionally you run into some diamonds in the sea of low end equipment (new drummers, you may even want to look into lower end equipment).

3.  Ebay – Most drum manufacturers hate it, but you will see some great deals from actual music stores on ebay.

4.  Musicians Friend –  These guys run something called “Stupid Deal of The Day”.  Keep an eye on the RSS feed for any new drumkits that pop up at a ridiculously low price.

If you are completely new to playing drums – I recommend you sit down with a practice pad for a little bit to see if you even find it remotely exciting.  Playing on a practice pad can be very boring, so if you can find any fun in it then you will more then likely really enjoy playing a real drum (or drumset).

The most important things to remember when trying to get a new drumset for a low cost -

1.  Have cash on hand… this makes it so much easier to negotiate

2. Be patient… you aren’t going to find the best deals immediately, give it some time and you will find that irresistible offer.

Do you have any suggestions for getting a drumset on the cheap?  Let me know in the comments.

Image From Marvel.com

So I just finished reading a great article entitled “Brute Force Learning” on theparadiddler.com.  The entire article is based on two completely different ways that drummers tend to learn their craft – either by just pushing through without lessons or any feedback, or with finesse by assessing their progress as they go.

If you can’t afford private instruction (you really should start saving for some lessons because everyone can stand to learn something new) – Omar (The Paradiddler) gives a great suggestion…. take away the kit and setup a camera.

Omar talks about how he setup a camera to record him with nothing but a practice pad.

I want to scrutinize every aspect of my playing and how I can better it. I’ll be examining my posture, how I relax, my stick technique – really fundamental stuff. Then, when I’ve done this for a little while, I’ll start putting the kit back together little by little, at each step ensuring that I only progress, and not regress.

Working with a camera is a great way to not only monitor progression of technique, but once you’ve nailed the song you can watch for other nuances such as stage presence (do you rock it out or are you just the backdrop for your band?).

If you can’t get your hands on a camera then at the very least you should be practicing in front of a mirror and making adjustments as you play.  I’ve started on my journey back to the basics by bringing my practice pad and sticks into work.  How do I pull this off without pissing off my co-workers?  Check back later and I’ll give you the full details.

Is there an essential tool you use to monitor how well you are progressing as a drummer?  Let me know in the comments.

Click Here To Jump To the “Brute Force Learning” Article on The Paradiddler.

Photo by Calabro on Flickr

After I learned how to play drums all over again.  The first thing I started working on behind the kit was a basic triplet groove.  If you aren’t familiar with how to play a triplet, the best way to explain it is this:

Break it down in syllables and say it out lout – TRIP – O – LET – TRIP – O – Let…. there are many different sticking techniques for a triplet, but most learn it as RLR LRL RLR LRL, where each sylabol matches one stick drop.

The triplet groove I was working on started off on just hi-hat with ghost taps (very light taps) on the snare – so it looked like this

S= Snare & H= Hi-hat

HSH HSH HSH HSH HSH HSH HSH HSH HSH

RLR RLR RLR RLR RLR RLR RLR RLR RLR – sticking

Now, you will notice that the sticking to this isn’t what I posted about…remember, I said that sticking can vary for triplets.

Once I got the triplet groove going and I could play it at different tempos , I started vocalizing over top of it – BOOM….. CRACK…… BOOM…… CRACK – it almost sounded like this:

BOOM-o-let-trip-o-let-CRACK-o-let-trip-o-let-BOOM-o-let-trip-o-let-Crack-o-let-trip-o-let.

Once the part was vocalized I just turned the vocals into an action – BOOM = Bass Drum hit and CRACK = Accented Snare Drum hit.

This groove, when complete and put together sound very similar to the beat John Bonham put down behind “Fool In The Rain.”

Once you’ve mastered this Music City Drummers has written a great article on how to practice tripelts by putting the bass drum at the front, back , and middle of the the triplet.  Click Here and read the full article on Music City Drummers