Drums are about time. A drummer's responsibility before anything else is to lay down a steady drum beat for the band. You should understand "groove" thoroughly and be able to lay a backbeat down like nobody's business. Drum fills are secondary.


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A terrific exercise: This version of "WIPEOUT" incorporates single, double, and triple paradiddles. Repeat over and over until you build up your speed. This is a great exercise for hand to hand control applicable to all drums.

R l r r, L r l l, R l r l r l r r, L r l r l l, R l r l r r, L r l l (Capital letters are Accented notes)

Inventory your drums and all your drum equipment: Log all of your instruments, take pictures of your drums (all sides), and make up a separate page for serial numbers.

Videotape yourself playing drums. You will be amazed at what you can learn from this. Everything from that stupid look on your face while your playing, to the snare drum that's tilted at a 45 degree angle.

Repetitiveness is the key to learning drums fluidly. Overlearn it! You will usually not get something down good unless it's repeated over and over again numerous times. Practice drum licks enough times that they become very natural.

Duct tape has been used for drums for years. But did you know that your duct tape roll makes a great drink holder? Set it down to the right of your bass drum foot where it can't be knocked over.

Set up your drums differently than other drummers. Make your own unique statement.

Are you studying drums or drumset with a teacher? After drum lessons, go home and practice right away while it's still fresh in your head. Otherwise you tend to forget a lot of what you learned.

Take the time to tune your drums before a gig. Many drummers tend to let this go but you would be surprised how out of tune your drums can become due to playing, weather changes, and the like.

Double Bass pedal. One advantage to having a double pedal (whether you play it that much or not) is you'll always have a spare in case something happens to your main pedal.

Practice alot or you'll get behind. Drummers of today are very advanced due to all of the drum lessons and instructional material on the net. The bar has been raised and if you want to keep up and be a great, competitive drummer, you should practice diligently.

Think outside the book when practicing! Play along with CDs, MP3s, or even with what music is playing on the radio. Playing along with whatever's on the air will not only sharpen your drum chops, but also gives you experience in playing different kinds of music on short notice!

If, like me, you play hand drums (bongos, congas, djembes, etc.), keep in mind that, like your hands, your drum heads get dry during the winter (keep in mind that, in most cases, they're skins, too!).

Take a small amount of unscented hand cream and apply it to the palms of your hands, then rub it around the drumheads just as if you were rubbing it onto your own skin. Let it sit for a minute or so and wipe off the excess. It doesn't affect the sound quality and it keeps the skin from drying out and cracking...saves you money on your drum heads and helps ya keep the beat goin'!

In a pinch, you can get a sizzle cymbal sound from your ride cymbal by taping about 4 or 5 dimes or pennies to a strand of duct tape about 5" long and an inch wide. Experiment with placement for the optimum sound.

IF you play your drums regularly, change the batter heads every 3 to 4 months and the reso heads every 12 months for optimum sound.

Practise on striking the drum in exactly the same place each time - you will be surprised at the tonal difference just a inch difference can make to the sounds of the drum

Another tip for you skin-slappers: While it's important to keep your hand drums tuned properly, it's always a good idea to detune the drums (loosen the heads slightly) when you're not playing them. This reduces the possibility of the heads splitting or cracking due to unexpected temperature or humidity changes.

Be cautious when using cymbal cleaner because it can remove the logo on your cymbals if you arent careful .

Expensive high zoot drum kits will NOT make you a better drummer! -Les

At the same time, however, you should buy the best drumkit you can afford. So-called "bargain" drumkits are no bargain when you have to buy better-quality drums to replace the cheaper kit after it wears out. Most manufacturers have good medium-price drumkits that will serve as both a great starter kit and a foundation on which you can add more drums and accessories down the road!

If you're a hand drummer who plays tunable bongos and congas, keep the lugs lubricated. If you've ever had a lug strip out on you while tuning the skins for a gig--or had to replace one afterward--you know it can be an expensive hassle! Some manufacturers provide a small bottle of "lug lube" with your hand drums; keep it, or a small bottle of multi-purpose oil, in your gig bag.

Make sure your drum throne is not set too high. You should not be stretching to use the pedals of your high hat or bass pedal.

When purchasing a drum throne, look for a model that can be easily adjusted to provide that exact fit Ironfist recommended! The cheapest thrones usually have a limited number of positions that can be adjusted by only a bolt and thumbscrew; better thrones have a locking post that enables you to spin the seat into the perfect position for you.

Jazz drummers - Invest in a pair of fiber brushes, they dont bend like wire ones and more importantly they are a lot kinder to your cymbals especially if you've upgraded.

Drummers... play for the song. Don't try to put all your best drum licks and fills in every tune just because you can. Listen to the music and ascertain what it needs from you first. It may need to just sit there and groove real hard. If it calls for a drum fill, then you can play a creative fill. Otherwise, be a responsible and mature musician and play for the music, not yourself.

If you play drums for a living or as part of a church group, you're going to be sitting behind the kit or your hand drums for quite a while in each gig. Look for a drum throne with a motorcycle-style seat (think of the seat of a Harley-Davidson ElectraGlide), rather than a simple round seat. A biker-style seat not only gives you a more comfortable place for your buns, but it also supports nearby body parts and lessens discomfort.

If the lugs on your bongos and congas can handle a ratchet-type socket wrench, lucky you! You'll be able to tighten and loosen rhe drumheads faster and easier than with the standard wrench your drum maker provided. (You may need a deep socket on some drums, but give it a try--and remember the lug lube!)

A famous jazz drummer once said that instead of trying to beat the sound into the drums, he tried to pull the sound out of the drums - an interesting mindset that could perhaps help you achieve another level on the drums.

This is the best thought process any drummer can have, play the basic beat, if your not feeling the fills don't do them. Never overplay, in time you will figure them out. I am in a 80s cover band and no I don't play each song and/or try to copy the drummer exactly. Why? Because I'm not that drummer. I hear the songs my own way. To me this makes sense.

Volume is important. Not loudness, not softness; volume. There is a time to be loud, a time to be soft, a time to be very loud, and everything in between. Some drummers consistently play too loudly - that's the stereotype of drummers in general. Some, though, play too softly. Open up your ears and listen to the others playing around you. Listen to the balance between the drums and the rest of the band on recordings. Then, record your band when you play - judge how you are balancing.

The bass player may be the harmonic foundation of the music, and while she plays an important role in the tempo, you as the drummer are the anchor, the rock. It is your responsibility to control the tempo at all times. If guitarists start speeding up, rein them in! Never let things slow down when they aren't supposed to. Slowing down is an epidemic problem among amateur drummers.

Try adding some basic auxiliary percussion to your set. No need to add the huge plethora of crazy items that Cab Calloway's or Duke Ellington's early drummers had (they didn't play them anyway). Don't let it be a distraction, but use it for some nice color here and there to spice things up on the drums.

Even if you don't care for jazz, you may find it interesting to listen to some jazz drummers such as Max Roach, Tony Williams, and Art Blakey for the variety of sounds they can coax from their set.

Playing snare in a marching band? Be wary of those super tight heads. Many of them are made of Kevlar, the material used in bullet proof vests. Stay flexible as you play, as there have been reports of young drummers getting Carpal Tunnel syndrome from the style of playing many use on these drums.

Keep your practice sessions fun otherwise when you get bored you will just stop practicing.

Beginner drummers should take drum lessons from a qualified drum teacher or instructor for awhile. Younger drummers are at risk of developing bad habits and a drum teacher can help them avoid common mistakes in form and drumming technique. You can usually get drum lessons from your local music store. Make sure they screen their teachers so that they're qualified to teach. This often requires a degree in music education and/or a lot of playing experience.

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