So far, we talked about being a musician and how people say it’s not a good idea. All these talks that surrounds the budding pro musician are called interference. But the interference are just that: interference. It is not the truth. Not at all. Music is what you want it toRead More

You have to keep your cool. When the problems come, when they are over your head, when you are submerged: you have to keep your cool. This concept is essential when you run a small business such as being a professional musician. Let’s take an example. Let’s takeRead More

It is important to read books if you are a professional musician. I’m not talking about drum methods or books about music. I’m talking about all sorts of books: novels, biography, history, etc… whatever tickles your fancy. It’s good for your brain. When we sit down and areRead More

Hal Blaine just passed away. For the ones who don’t know him, he was a legendary studio drummer who contributed to Phil Spector’s “wall of sound” in the 60’s and 70’s. He played on 35,000 sessions, 6,000 singles and will be remembered for many songs we all heard, but particularlyRead More

If anyone has seen me in the last 2 years, they know that I do some woodwork. It doesn’t mean I am good at it. It means that I am very happy when two pieces of wood that I shaped actually fit together. That’s my claim to fame in wood work. I like the patience itRead More

I teach many different patterns in drumming. Some are fairly straight forward and involve three limbs. Some are much more intricate and ask for odd combinations. I’ll name those odd combos: something on the right side of your body falling exactly at the same time asRead More

We are now firmly planted into a technological world. For better or worse. Better because we each have at least 50 friends on Facebook. Worse because we are more and more lonely. Talking to someone that holds a phone has become a challenge. There will be a moment when the PhoneRead More

Here is something particular: why would you want to show to your teacher something you didn’t prepare? I get into this kind of situation all the time: The student is supposed to do a rock beat from a page, one that I have demonstrated for him on video the week before, oneRead More

There are a million ways to listen to music. Actually, all day long, whether we are in our car, in a restaurant or an elevator: some kind of music will be playing. The form of music we are most familiar with is the one coming at us while we are doing something else. SomethingRead More

Monk was once asked if his hat was influential in the way he played. He said: “No!… Yes!… I don’t know!”. The answer is hard to understand because the question is hard to understand too. It’s a package thing. But now, let’s say that MonkRead More