Tag: Chicago drum lessons

  • 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, depending on each of us, patience, frustration, repeating the task again and again, analyzing the crap out of it, cutting…

  • Climate change and our sense of rhythm clash.

    Here is a working theory: we have a hard time understanding climate change because of our inner rhythm. Now, bare with me. Our whole life is a groove. As soon as we are born we fall into a series of ritual, or rhythms that take place in a sequential way. So, birth, and already, we…

  • Few notes and few instruments.

    Because I study music all the time and I happen to play a few instruments, people assume that I appreciate complex music, very rare and sophisticated architectures of sounds so philosophically elaborate only a rare few understand what is going on. Not so! I’ll take the chance of alienating my fellow musician who suck on…

  • Top drum makers and why it makes a difference on the one you use.

    I stated earlier, in the blog titled “New-Orleans part 3: the noble garbage man”, that drummers from New Orleans used pretty much any artifact to build the music they played. I am not changing my tune. And my approach to drums and drum makers reflects that. I am not endorsed by anyone, I should state…