Today I’ll talk about a subject that young drummers wonder about as they try to break through into the scene and make a name for themselves. Because the daunting question most of them have when confronted with an original song is: “What should I play?”Read More

And here we are, struggling with a new variant of the Covid-19, this one spreading like wild fires. It has engulfed all of our lives once again. We are not as afraid as we were two years ago but we don’t feel very safe either. More than that, many people are sheltering andRead More

When I get a brand new beginner on drums I tell her to grab her stick the way she prefers and then try to hit the hi hat or the snare. I do not give more direction than that. I let them find their marks with their grip. I know they usually are eager to get started with the funRead More

As a drummer, I am fascinated with all sorts of sounds. Remember, when you don’t know how to categorize an instrument, you put it in the percussion section. For example, a whistle: percussion. A cueca: percussion. A squeaky wheel: percussion. As percussionist we have theRead More

Some people have it. They come on stage and the eyes follow them no matter where they go. They don’t do a lot. Some people have it so strong, they just do their thing and fascinate. It has a name, it’s called the “X” factor. It’s so rare and soRead More

Fascinating! A city became a music capital because of Kevin Bacon! I’m half-joking. Since you know the title of this blog, you know the name of the city, no mystery here: Seattle. I should write: Seattle! With an exclamation point. Because, who knew? Seattle in theRead More

I’ve been teaching for a long time now. Since 1989, to be precise. Before the dinosaurs, yes. One of the question that seems to come often is “What is the point of playing music?” Actually, that’s not exactly the question my students ask, more the questionRead More

Here we are, stepping into a brand new year. 2022 is shining bright and we all have hopes that it will bring better tomorrows. I will not go into “peace on earth”, although it would be nice, instead I will tackle something we sometimes overlook and that is the mostRead More

I am at a crossroad. I used to have a full house with a wife and two children, but that has stopped. The children have moved out of our home. They are doing their own thing now. It is life and I can’t complain, I knew this day would come since they were born. We had a greatRead More

“What if a large number of scientific studies had found that there was one activity that could improve our cognitive functions, help our memory system to work, help us to learn language, help us to moderate our emotional stages, help us to solve complex problem AND help ourRead More