Tag: drum instructor

  • Stalling

    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, one that he has…

  • Close your eyes

    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. Something else…

  • What moves us

    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 Monk likes to work on wood and make furniture. Let’s assume…

  • Season change

    We, in Chicago, have been going through a very rough winter. Now, this is not to say that it has been easy everywhere else. Yesterday, it was snowing in Las Vegas, for example! But in good ol’ Chicago, we’ve gone severe, we’ve gone berserk. We went to a polar vortex temperature. Minus 50 degrees Fahrenheit!…

  • Just play!

    I happen to play 5 different instruments. Drum, Piano, Voice, Bass and Guitar. I just listed the order of proficiency I’ve got on them. I am the best on drums and the worse on guitar. But I practice each instrument as much as I can. And I never neglect the drums or the piano since…

  • Don’t let the crowd get to you. Part 3.

    Once you have rehearsed and prepared your performance, you’re just about ready to go on stage. Just about. Because there is something else that needs to be addressed: don’t let the crowd get to you. Yes, we are finally coming to the title of this series of blogs. Let’s look at the wrong script. You…

  • Don’t let the crowd get to you. Part 2

    Once you have chosen what your direction will be, what you want (hope) the audience will get from your performance, it is time to prepare. That’s where the discipline comes in. And the creativity. Because, no two ways about it, playing music is a handicap. You have to use an instrument to entertain crowd. Yes,…

  • Don’t let the crowd get to you. Part 1

    The power of a performer can be a deadly thing… for the performer. He or she can get carried away, and destroy the show he had spent so much time putting together. But, before he steps on stage, a performer has to ask himself this question: what is a party? No escaping that. We need…

  • Burn out

    Being a musician is the most beautiful job in the world! Can you imagine being able to make a living at exactly what you love doing? What a thrill! A lot of people trapped in a 9 to 5 day job dream of being musicians.  And yet, so many musicians do not enjoy their craft…

  • Warming up

    That’s it! The day is here. The long awaited day when you can perform in front of people what you have prepared. The instruments are set up on stage, the audience is slowly pouring into the room and the time is clicking.  You, you have practiced. You know your stuff inside and out. You are…