Whether we are aware or not, all professional musicians are entrepreneurs. Being a pro musician is the same as being a business owner. We teach music, play gigs, compose and arrange songs, practice, work with clients, hire others, and a thousand other tasks. Thinking of ourselves as not only musicians but business owners might [...]
During my college days, learning to drum was simple. My only job at the time was to get better at my instrument, and this single focus made it much easier to grow skills quickly. I had hours of free time dedicated to practicing, I was surrounded by music, and there were world class instructors [...]
I'm willing to admit that I watch a lot of YouTube. I don't pay for Netflix or even use a friend's password. I also don't own any video game systems. This leaves me with little options for digital entertainment other than YouTube's free services. Thankfully the site has a lot to keep me occupied. [...]
It's a common pain for every drummer. You've practiced the same drum lick over a thousand times at all tempos. You swear you could do it in your sleep. But when it comes time to bust it out on stage at your sweet coverband gig, you completely blow it. Considering the amount of time [...]
One of the most common questions I get from students is "When should I start learning jazz?". Ever since I can remember, jazz drumming has been stigmatized as being the epitome of drumming skill. And rightly so. Jazz is hard! It appears that the word has gotten out to even non-musicians that learning to [...]
All musicians need material to practice with. For drummers, one of the best sources of practice material are drum method books. These method books contain exercises, patterns, and strings of notes aimed at improving drumming ability. However, there are thousands of drum books to choose from. With more coming every year, how does a [...]
"The only difference between you and myself is that I've had more time to practice." This was said to me by one of my drum professors when I was complaining about my progress with learning the drums. At the time, his words didn't speak to me as much. But that was a while ago, [...]
