Tag: Drum teacher

  • Protecting your lessons. Part 2.

    In this second part, I need to say that you also need to carve a space in your life to practice your music, one that is sacred, non-negotiable and regular like a clock. For instance, you can decide that very Monday Tuesday Thursday and Saturday, you do 30 minutes of practice from 6 to 6:30,…

  • Protecting your lessons. Part 1.

    So you’ve decided to take some piano or drum lessons. You’ve got the instrument, the teacher and you’ve bee practicing regularly. But then, something comes to disturb the picture and you have to stop because life is what’s happening when you’re making other plans (John Lennon). So your time on the keys shrink then disappear…

  • What to learn on the drums. Part 2.

    After those two concepts that are coordination and speed, you get nimbleness. That’s the ability to navigate the drum kit presented in front of you, going from a tom to a crash cymbal to a hi hat in a swift and elegant movement. It requires a lot of practice and dedication and if you do…

  • What to learn on the drums. Part 1.

    I have noticed that all human activities can get very complicated very quickly. For example I know some people who knit, a pass time that seems innocent enough. Well, not at all, my friends. Apparently you’ve got different concepts like needles or crochet, and a ton of different variations you can do to get a…

  • What I am reading.

    Right now, I’m reading a biography of Schubert. He’s one of the three: you’ve got Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert. They have their stones together in a cemetery in Vienna. That’s Beethoven on the right, Schubert on the left and a memorial of Mozart in the center. Mozart’s body was thrown in a common grave and…

  • When to start taking music lessons.

    You start when you want to go to a concert and can’t wait to see the drummer or the piano player. You start when you focus on that instrument at the concert. You start when you like a song on the radio and bob your head to the beat. You start when you can’t help…

  • Maintenance.

    I am a self-employed musician, a little entrepreneur of sorts, as a matter of fact the smallest kind there is since in my Mum and Pop shop, there is only Pop. In my business I have to deal with equipment. The very computer I am writing you from is part of that list. It has…

  • Concentrating.

    What is concentration? Is it the key to success? Do we need to work on it? These are the subjects being discussed in this blog. Fasten your seat belt. I didn’t check the dictionary, I’m going on the fly here, but we’re going to accept this definition: Concentration is the ability to keep your mind…

  • Musicians biggest enemy.

    What do you think is a musician biggest enemy? Do you think it’s money? Record company executives? Gas station food? Ex-girlfriends? Although every thing I just listed is a serious threat, I don’t think it comes close to the dangers of… repetitive motions. See what I did there! You didn’t expect that, didn’t you? Any…

  • Approaching a lesson.

    I have been very lucky to meet some great people throughout my professional life. Some of them do the same job as mine, or aspire to it. We sometimes talk shop which is always fun. They tell me about their students, I tell them about mine. We have a simple rule: no names, and, if…