While I could go out and either print out drum tabs or listen to the music or transcribe the songs into sheet music, but that would be a lot of work and could make me reliant on the sheets, especially when I’m playing in a genre that isn’t as accepting of music stands.  Instead, I’ve gone ahead and created a “cliff-notes” version of each song, writing some highlights.

Some things that I start off with some basic: What is the meter? 4/4, 6/8? What’s the tempo (In BPM, or may just a note a general feel)? Do I go with sticks or should I use brushes or the Rutes?

Next I move onto the structure of the song. What do the drums do during the intro (or is the intro drum-less)? How many repetitions are there in each part of the song? Is there a point where I drop out?  What are the dynamics? Is there anything else special to take note?

The intention is to be able to read through these notes right before I play this song, and in combination with concentration and muscle-memory, be able to work my way through the song.  Obviously with practice I should be able to commit these original and cover songs to memory, but this is a good way to cheat my way through an evening of music.

What other ways do you use to get through songs? For my friends who are not drummers, does a method like this work for you?  Do you have any other tips on how to learn new music in a relatively short period of time?

Ok, so I am technically making a post for Monday, but I am promising better content for Tuesday in the form of two posts. Mondays are hard for me as I follow my day at work with band rehearsal with Ken Stevens. Tonight was actually the first night of practice, and I left with a book full of drumming notes and a sore left wrist – I guess it has been a while since I’ve rehearsed a full evening.  Definitely a good time though. It feels nice to be back in the Saddle.

See you Tuesday!

I’ve been sitting on this for about a little over a week, but I am now able to post that as with all good things, Greenfoot has come to an end.  We’ve had a good run, but we’re going to be taking an amicable split.

It’s been a fun four years. Over that time we’ve played over 50 shows, recorded 2 EP’s totaling 8 songs, have written over 20 more songs and played some really fun covers.  Both Jake and Julien – as well as Kevin – have been great band-mates, and I’ve really enjoyed playing with them.  Hopefully our musical paths will cross in the future.

Thanks to all of my friends who came out to support us over the years. We definitely had many fun shows, have played some really interesting places and appreciate all the support that you’ve shown to us – I personally really appreciate it!

Greenfoot wasn’t my first band and most certainly won’t be my last, as I definitely want to get involved in another project.  I’ve detailed some of my drumming influences and aspirations on a drumming page I created. If you or anyone you know is looking for a drummer, check it out and drop me a line!

We’ll actually be broadcasting the sessions live on UStream, so if you’d like to sit in and see us record come check it out!  We’ll kick things off around 11am MDT, but should be going all afternoon.  I’d definitely love for you to stop by and let me know what you think!

I admit they look cool, but then you look at the price tag of $130! Normally a good pair of drum sticks (I typically buy the Vic Firth Buddy Rich Signatures) are $7-8.  You could buy 18 pairs of Buddy for the price of one pair of these Lite Stix.  The funny thing is that the type of drummer that would use these and think they’re cool are the same ones that think it’s cool to break a new pair of sticks every time they play. These should be a lot of fun when they split in half.

Just when you thought you’d seen it all.

I cringed when I heard the news, and after playing the set last evening, my dread was justified.

I understand the reasons why venue owners and concert promoters want to use House Drumsets.  When you have multiple bands in one evening, you want to do everything to ensure bands get on and off the stage quickly.  Having a large piece of equipment remain stationary makes sense, especially when the drums have mics attached to them.  However, I can guaranteed that the person who made/promoted that decision is not a drummer.

When I’m asked what it’s like playing on a house drum set, I give the analogy of driving someone else’s car in a race: Yes, you’ll be able to drive the car and you know where the gas, brake & steering wheel are, but you don’t know the intricacies of this car. You don’t know how it accelerates, how it breaks, how it handles around curves.  The same things goes with drum sets.  It bothers me that people wouldn’t fathom telling guitar players to play on someone else’s guitar, yet have no problem telling drummers they have to play a drum set that gets pounded night in & night out.

This particular drum set appeared to have a 10″, 13″ & 16″ with Pinstripe heads torque’d pretty high.  What this means is that they were “ping-y” and “ring-”, a stark contrast from my darker ebony heads that produce a warmer tone that works with our music.  In addition, I had to grow used to 3 toms pretty quick, a departure from my 4 toms.  It doesn’t help that I flip the order of my two rack toms – the non-standard configuration probably a bad habit, but it’s what I’ve grown accustomed to.  In my bass drum I have a pillow, which produces a more muffled sound, while allowing a good bounce response.  The House Drumset had no such pillow, and it took an adjustment.

The policy allowed us to bring in our snare drum, pedals & cymbals. At this point, the only thing that was left of the drum set was the bass drum and three toms – which makes me wonder how much time was really saved. 

What owners/promoters don’t understand is that if you give them a staging area to set up their gear off-stage, a good drummer can get their drum on stage and ready to go in roughly the same time it takes a guitar player to set up their amp, pedals, and tune their guitars.

When I was in high school, I played on a foreign drum set each and every day – but school drum sets are different than House Drumsets.  With school drum sets you typically get a period of time to be acclimated to the kit before you play it at anything meaningful.  With the House Kit the sound check is the first chance you get to sit behind the kit.  To borrow a line from A.I., “We’re talking about practice, not the game”.  I’m all about rehearsing on another drum set to help save time – but when you’re essentially putting on an audition it’s pretty lofty to expect drummers to be in their elements in a kit they just started playing.

Like I said, I understand House Drum set may make sense to some, but it doesn’t make sense to drummers.

I’ve been a bit scarce this week because I’ve been drumming pretty much every night.  On Monday night I had rehearsal for an one-time “Barnyard Band”, where we’re doing old-school country songs.  On Tuesday I had Greenfoot practice, as we have our “we’re back” show on Thursday and ended up drumming for almost 4 hours that night.  I came home absolutely exhausted.  I got a bit of a break from drumming on Wednesday, but tonight I’m preparing for a full night of drumming.  First I have the “Barnyard” gig, then I’m off to Denver for the Greenfoot gig  If you happen to be in the Broomfield/Arvada area and would be intersted, we’ll be at the Sweetwater Station around 10pm.

More to come on drumming…