Author: mydrumlessons

  • Jet lag

    I just came back from France. We were at the airport yesterday. As I watched the crowd shuffling by, I was struck by all these people, so different, so diverse, converging in the place. Maybe the difference of culture was the most obvious. African women with bright colors clothing, Indian women with their sari, people…

  • The sound of summer in Paris

    When I lived in Paris, people would come visit in the summer and tell me that the city was crowded, impossible to manage with all these people every where. And I remember thinking: “Absolutely not! Listen to that! The city is empty, or, at least, running low on people.” It is because during the summers,…

  • All music in a kitchen

    Music is fun! I would even argue that music is the most fun a human being can have. I give you a kitchen with standard equipment. I give you a bunch of kids from 3 to 77 years old. I give you the will to make something happening that is not cooking and, cataclop-cataclop! we…

  • Reading

    It used to be that all the good gigs for drummers involved reading. I can confirm the fact and tell you that, to this day, the most profitable gig I’ve ever done implied that I know how to read. It is such an essential part of being a musician that when I went to Berklee…

  • Sausage method

    A lot of people who start an instrument have a vision, or an inspiration. Because they fell in love with the concerto for Piano #2 of Rachmaninoff or a drum solo by Ian Paige (Deep Purple), they have finally taken the decision to try the piano or the drums. When they arrived at my studio,…

  • The importance of a routine

    Practicing is not easy labor. It can become a chore very quickly. So, one of the thing that can help, is a routine. If we are accustomed to do some piano or drums everyday, preferably at a predetermined time, always with the same succession of exercises or subjects within the time of the practice, we…

  • Listening

    This morning is quiet. I just went outside. I live on a quiet block of the Mayfair park area. I sat on the stairs of my house. Closed my eyes. Listened. A few birds were chirping in the trees near by. Almost no cars were passing by in front of the house, there was just…

  • Where do women go?

    Although I have a few female students, I’ve never had more female students than male students. I have always had more men than women. Now, before I think that it is just because of me, I need to say that when I went to Berklee College of Music, the ratio was about one woman for…

  • Finding a music teacher

    When looking for a teacher do not focus just on the financial aspect. Many people decide if they will take lessons with a teacher or an organization based solely on the price. There are many other things to consider. Here are a few that one can keep in mind while shopping: location, individual lessons or…

  • How can one study an instrument for a long time?

    The question seems empty since we all know how to study. We come to a subject, we encounter our first difficulty and we know immediately what to do. We dig into our tool box for some patience, repeating the task again and again, getting frustrated, analyzing the crap out of it, cutting the task into…