It was recently reported that drummers are physically in better shape than football players. The report from the UK comes to no surprise to me. I have been drumming for 40 years now and with all the differents styles, techniques and facets that are involved with drums and percussion I understand this finding easily.
Muscle tone and endurance are a constant. The different ways to approach each percussion instrument adds to flexability.
Most everyday people think of a rock drummer behind a drumset when they hear you are a drummer. Well, I do sit behind a kit and have played tons of rock tunes (never again will I play Free Bird. Way over played and requested), Blues, R&B, Funk, Country, Jazz, etc ... But, I have marched in football halftime shows during my college days, parade routes and the likes. I have played in String Orchestras and in Symphonies, Brass Bands, Mardi-Gras street jams, drum circles. Every situation is fun and yet different.
From drumset to tympani to marimba to sleigh bells to a cajon to bongos and congas ... whatever the setup each has to be approached in a different manner than the others. So learning the right technique on the various hand drums vs. the techniques used on concert snare vs. marching snare vs. marching tenors vs. tympani vs. drumset vs. ... you get the picture.
Each instrument has it's own fundamentals, it's basics to being played properly. The right choice of sticks or mallets or even just hand positions can make a big difference in learning the right way or the wrong way. German grip, French Grip, Conventional Grip, Reverse Conventional Grip, Match Grip, Moeller Method; what works well in each style and why? Who named all of this stuff and why? Is it important?
"I'm just gonna play death metal. I don't need all of that technobabble terms and all. I just need to play hard and fast." Sounds like a marathon for a first time runner. Won't make it through a show. Will quickly burn out and/or injure their self.
Look at the mallet player for a moment. Either vibes or marimba. It's like a piano but played with mallets, most times with four of them. The grip it critical for this type of percussion. How about a tambourine? Could do the shake and bop the hip. Good for bubblegum pop acts on stage for this visual. But bad for symphonic pieces.
Drumming is an artform in itself and really is a specialty field for many music majors. Band directors of other instruments will bring in a drummer as specialty staff just to cover the drums and percussion just for that band.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Monday, September 1, 2008
Drumming on Rock Band does more harm than good.
Drumming on Rock Band does more harm than good.
Here, you just bought your new gaming system, Rock Band. You pull open the box, start setting up those electronic drumpads, get all the cables in place, pop in the gaming disc and you ar now ready to put the sticks in the hands and start wailing away. In a feverish race to hit the right drumpad when the screen shows you the corresponding pad to hit and you do and the next and the next ...
You have artfully finished the first song and get your score. You see a few mistakes by the score. You heard the awful rejecting sound when you made a mistake and by the simulated audience response.
Now let's look at why this is a terrible way to learn to drum. Yes, this is terrible and for many reasons.
Did anyone show you the proper grip to holding the sticks? NO.
How to balance the sticks in your grip for maximum effectiveness? NO.
Did anyone show you or tell you not to try playing with so much arm so not to make you tired after one minute? NO.
Did anyone show you whether heel up or heel down will produce longer, less tiresome results? NO.
Did you know (or did they tell you) that 'swinging' the sticks the wrong way can cause Carpel Tunnel Syndrome, Rapid Movement Stress Disorder, pulled tendons, blisters and other problems? NO.
Hey! Where is the hi-hat pedal in this game???
Once again, the gaming industry has come up with another way to milk out dollars from the many that are willing to spend money on games and even market it in a way to make you think that you can LEARN to drum from it. Really, they haven't taught you anything. Grip, strengthening the weak hand to be equal to the strong hand, stick patterns to easily get around multiple surfaces, proper balance of the body and breathing ... all of this is important and unless there is someone there to correct these common problems you will cause yourself more harm than good.
If you want to really learn to play you will need a good instructor that can set you up for long term, injury free, drumming.
Another reason to consider drum lessons BEFORE trying to learn from these games; the instructor will not need to undo bad habits you have already developed from this. Lessons spent on undoing bad habits are a waste of your time and money. If you were to take the lessons to learn the right techniques first you would be further along and learn more in less time, actually saving you money.
Drumming is a sport of endurance and to last the long haul will take the knowledge of a good trainer showing you how to drum smart, not hard.
Ok, WoW anyone?
Here, you just bought your new gaming system, Rock Band. You pull open the box, start setting up those electronic drumpads, get all the cables in place, pop in the gaming disc and you ar now ready to put the sticks in the hands and start wailing away. In a feverish race to hit the right drumpad when the screen shows you the corresponding pad to hit and you do and the next and the next ...
You have artfully finished the first song and get your score. You see a few mistakes by the score. You heard the awful rejecting sound when you made a mistake and by the simulated audience response.
Now let's look at why this is a terrible way to learn to drum. Yes, this is terrible and for many reasons.
Did anyone show you the proper grip to holding the sticks? NO.
How to balance the sticks in your grip for maximum effectiveness? NO.
Did anyone show you or tell you not to try playing with so much arm so not to make you tired after one minute? NO.
Did anyone show you whether heel up or heel down will produce longer, less tiresome results? NO.
Did you know (or did they tell you) that 'swinging' the sticks the wrong way can cause Carpel Tunnel Syndrome, Rapid Movement Stress Disorder, pulled tendons, blisters and other problems? NO.
Hey! Where is the hi-hat pedal in this game???
Once again, the gaming industry has come up with another way to milk out dollars from the many that are willing to spend money on games and even market it in a way to make you think that you can LEARN to drum from it. Really, they haven't taught you anything. Grip, strengthening the weak hand to be equal to the strong hand, stick patterns to easily get around multiple surfaces, proper balance of the body and breathing ... all of this is important and unless there is someone there to correct these common problems you will cause yourself more harm than good.
If you want to really learn to play you will need a good instructor that can set you up for long term, injury free, drumming.
Another reason to consider drum lessons BEFORE trying to learn from these games; the instructor will not need to undo bad habits you have already developed from this. Lessons spent on undoing bad habits are a waste of your time and money. If you were to take the lessons to learn the right techniques first you would be further along and learn more in less time, actually saving you money.
Drumming is a sport of endurance and to last the long haul will take the knowledge of a good trainer showing you how to drum smart, not hard.
Ok, WoW anyone?
RockBand and Guitar Hero are creating Wannabe's
In a world where people look for shortcuts to everything there is one thing for sure. Games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero are creating a lot of Wannabe's. Since there is really no musical skills to these games there isn't a real chance to be that great lead guitar player they try to immulate in the game or that great rock drummer they pretend to be.
I say this because I have heard many kids come into the music store and say they are taking lessons from these games. HUH?
Simply put, they are playing on nothing more than a glammed up version of Simon. They paid alot more money for these musical games since they are doing the cover tune thing. Artists songs are being used and the bands are getting a cut from their songs being used. Sure, that's fair. They wrote and produced the songs.
Anyway, the idea that you are learning valuable skills in the music realm has yet to be proven. You are playing along, mind you, not on an actual instrument, but, a cheap replica so that it works with the game. You surely couldn't use such toys in a real gig (unless you are Milli Vanilli).
And parents shouldn't be so naive to agree with their kids that this is a great lesson teacher. How are they being critiqued and corrected for wrong technique? Only a live teacher can do this.
If people would only focus their energy in the right direction in the first place they could save their selves time and money and get it right the first time.
Anyway, when you are ready for the real thing teachers will be standing by to help you.
I say this because I have heard many kids come into the music store and say they are taking lessons from these games. HUH?
Simply put, they are playing on nothing more than a glammed up version of Simon. They paid alot more money for these musical games since they are doing the cover tune thing. Artists songs are being used and the bands are getting a cut from their songs being used. Sure, that's fair. They wrote and produced the songs.
Anyway, the idea that you are learning valuable skills in the music realm has yet to be proven. You are playing along, mind you, not on an actual instrument, but, a cheap replica so that it works with the game. You surely couldn't use such toys in a real gig (unless you are Milli Vanilli).
And parents shouldn't be so naive to agree with their kids that this is a great lesson teacher. How are they being critiqued and corrected for wrong technique? Only a live teacher can do this.
If people would only focus their energy in the right direction in the first place they could save their selves time and money and get it right the first time.
Anyway, when you are ready for the real thing teachers will be standing by to help you.
Friday, August 8, 2008
Art Avila, Promark Sticks endorsed, brings a new drum lesson to Badassdrumming
August 2008
Art Avila, endorsed by Promark Sticks and Badassdrumming.com, has delivered a doozy of a workout to try called X-BOX Template. This is a workout everyone can benefit from. Click the name to see it.
This thing is just sick. Cheeses, flams, flam drags, flam 5's, diddles, pataflaflas, Swiss Army Triplets and more. This is a non-ending workout for any drummer out there.
Become a member of www.badassdrumming.com for free and get more of this from Art and our other endorsed drummers.
Match Grip vs. Conventional Grip - Which is correct?
Match Grip vs. Conventional Grip - Which is correct?
Hello and no, this is not a battle of one grip over the other. This has to do with current practices that are not ergonomically friendly. The rising number of drummers within the past 15 to 20 years that have had drumming related injuries is well beyond the numbers of generations prior. Let's take a look at some of the possible reasons.
The most common injury is Carpel Tunnel Syndrome, an injury of the tendons. This comes from several things.
1. Lack of stretching and warming up before playing.
2. Bad grip or grip technique
3. Bad motion of the wrist/arm
Let's start with stretching. It is a necessary instrument prior to performing. The cold tendons and muscles need time to get into playing condition. Getting good blood flow to the limbs is necessary, too. With the blood/oxygen flow the limbs are now prepared to handle the stress they are about to take on. Without stretching you are placing those limbs into an At-risk of injury.
Next is bad grip. With any job your goal is to expel to least amount of energy and get maximum results. I call it the 'play smart, not hard' theory. Think of like a major purchase. If you can get that big flat screen TV at one store for $1400.00 and the same TV is at another store for $890.00 of course you'll go for the $890.00 deal.
Well, drumming should be the same way. Spend less energy and get the same product. This is where alot of energy is wasted, the grip. If you are not working with the stick's fulcrum (balance point) you are already fighting a lost cause. Second, gripping the stick like a club will tire your hand out. You want a loose grip just barely keeping the stick between the fingers. I tell my students to think of using the friction of the skin only to hold the stick in place, fingers lightly wrapped around the stick.
Now, since we are here on grip next would be what is the right grip. This is going to depend on the angle of the drum. If the drum is flat in front of you then match grip would be best for this drum position. Shoulders, elbows, forearms and wrists are all symmetrical and balanced. This would be ergonomically correct or in harmony with the body.
If the drum is tilted with the left side of the rim up and right side down then conventional grip is ergonamically correct. This grip was designed for field military drummers because the drum hung on a sling and tilted in the process. So the conventional grip was designed just for that. Later adoption to using it on flat field drums has led to more injuries and a player that is ergonamically out of balance. One shoulder is higher, one elbow in vs. the other out and the degree of twist in the left arm from the elbow forward. With this in mind, the spine also twists a little to help compensate for this position. This is not good at all on any marching player. The same goes for any sitting player behind a drumset.
So a marcher playing on a flat drum should be using match grip and this goes for sitting drummers with the snare flat in front of you or tilted toward you. On to bad motion of the wrists/arms.
There are times when a player gets tired and the gig isn't over. What happens? They tighten up. They start holding their breath. They start twisting the wrist in an awkward way. They start using more arm and less fingers ... it becomes an increasing stress to the player because they react in the opposite way they should. With the arms and wrists now reacting in the wrong way the player has increased the risk of injury. The player needs to relax, check their stick grip and their breathing. Any other bad motions, like slouching, will correct itself once you start to relax.
We covered some possible causes of injuries that the player can immediately correct. Let's look at just a few other things real quick that may cause injury.
Let's look at all of the things a percussionist has to strike and how. First, there are nearly an endless amounts of surfaces a player strikes from plastic, metal, wood, resins, composites, calfskins, cowhide, sheepskin, etc. And the choices to strike them from the hand to sticks/mallets to shaking. The gammot is wide open. How dense or soft the material is will also play in the effect on how we strike it and the repercussion it creates.
Todays marching snare drum has gone through many changes over the years in materials but still have these things in common; it's a round shell with heads, has hoops and snares mounted across the bottom head. Todays units are are built tighter and lighter than their predeceasors of 20 or 30 years ago. Torquing the top head, now made of Kevlar, is one design I question. The snare now sounding like a piece of masonite and such high tone doesn't carry far. So to compensate drummers have to play harder to get louder and when that's not enough the director needs to add more snares to the section. So, striking a torqued surface made of Kevlar with a Hickory drumstick ... what does that do to the player's arms? The repercussion (shock) of the strike will send back through the stick to the hand/arm a wave that is bound to have some effect to the player.
I mentioned other materials like metal (cymbals, gongs, bells, chimes, vibraphone ...), wood (woodblock, headless tambourine, marimba, bass drum hoops, cajon ...), resins (xylophone, graphite blocks ...) plastics (tambourine ...), different skins (bongos, congas, doumbek, djembe ...) and even vegetables (gourds, guiro ...) and clay pots (gourd variations, platas ...). Each of these have different methods of holding and striking. There is no doubt that the hand drums will have the most impact on your body overall. Care must be taken to insure the least possible amount of injury. Learning the correct techniques in holding and striking all of these instruments is essential.
Kenneth Ray Sword Jr
www.badassdrumming.com
Hello and no, this is not a battle of one grip over the other. This has to do with current practices that are not ergonomically friendly. The rising number of drummers within the past 15 to 20 years that have had drumming related injuries is well beyond the numbers of generations prior. Let's take a look at some of the possible reasons.
The most common injury is Carpel Tunnel Syndrome, an injury of the tendons. This comes from several things.
1. Lack of stretching and warming up before playing.
2. Bad grip or grip technique
3. Bad motion of the wrist/arm
Let's start with stretching. It is a necessary instrument prior to performing. The cold tendons and muscles need time to get into playing condition. Getting good blood flow to the limbs is necessary, too. With the blood/oxygen flow the limbs are now prepared to handle the stress they are about to take on. Without stretching you are placing those limbs into an At-risk of injury.
Next is bad grip. With any job your goal is to expel to least amount of energy and get maximum results. I call it the 'play smart, not hard' theory. Think of like a major purchase. If you can get that big flat screen TV at one store for $1400.00 and the same TV is at another store for $890.00 of course you'll go for the $890.00 deal.
Well, drumming should be the same way. Spend less energy and get the same product. This is where alot of energy is wasted, the grip. If you are not working with the stick's fulcrum (balance point) you are already fighting a lost cause. Second, gripping the stick like a club will tire your hand out. You want a loose grip just barely keeping the stick between the fingers. I tell my students to think of using the friction of the skin only to hold the stick in place, fingers lightly wrapped around the stick.
Now, since we are here on grip next would be what is the right grip. This is going to depend on the angle of the drum. If the drum is flat in front of you then match grip would be best for this drum position. Shoulders, elbows, forearms and wrists are all symmetrical and balanced. This would be ergonomically correct or in harmony with the body.
If the drum is tilted with the left side of the rim up and right side down then conventional grip is ergonamically correct. This grip was designed for field military drummers because the drum hung on a sling and tilted in the process. So the conventional grip was designed just for that. Later adoption to using it on flat field drums has led to more injuries and a player that is ergonamically out of balance. One shoulder is higher, one elbow in vs. the other out and the degree of twist in the left arm from the elbow forward. With this in mind, the spine also twists a little to help compensate for this position. This is not good at all on any marching player. The same goes for any sitting player behind a drumset.
So a marcher playing on a flat drum should be using match grip and this goes for sitting drummers with the snare flat in front of you or tilted toward you. On to bad motion of the wrists/arms.
There are times when a player gets tired and the gig isn't over. What happens? They tighten up. They start holding their breath. They start twisting the wrist in an awkward way. They start using more arm and less fingers ... it becomes an increasing stress to the player because they react in the opposite way they should. With the arms and wrists now reacting in the wrong way the player has increased the risk of injury. The player needs to relax, check their stick grip and their breathing. Any other bad motions, like slouching, will correct itself once you start to relax.
We covered some possible causes of injuries that the player can immediately correct. Let's look at just a few other things real quick that may cause injury.
Let's look at all of the things a percussionist has to strike and how. First, there are nearly an endless amounts of surfaces a player strikes from plastic, metal, wood, resins, composites, calfskins, cowhide, sheepskin, etc. And the choices to strike them from the hand to sticks/mallets to shaking. The gammot is wide open. How dense or soft the material is will also play in the effect on how we strike it and the repercussion it creates.
Todays marching snare drum has gone through many changes over the years in materials but still have these things in common; it's a round shell with heads, has hoops and snares mounted across the bottom head. Todays units are are built tighter and lighter than their predeceasors of 20 or 30 years ago. Torquing the top head, now made of Kevlar, is one design I question. The snare now sounding like a piece of masonite and such high tone doesn't carry far. So to compensate drummers have to play harder to get louder and when that's not enough the director needs to add more snares to the section. So, striking a torqued surface made of Kevlar with a Hickory drumstick ... what does that do to the player's arms? The repercussion (shock) of the strike will send back through the stick to the hand/arm a wave that is bound to have some effect to the player.
I mentioned other materials like metal (cymbals, gongs, bells, chimes, vibraphone ...), wood (woodblock, headless tambourine, marimba, bass drum hoops, cajon ...), resins (xylophone, graphite blocks ...) plastics (tambourine ...), different skins (bongos, congas, doumbek, djembe ...) and even vegetables (gourds, guiro ...) and clay pots (gourd variations, platas ...). Each of these have different methods of holding and striking. There is no doubt that the hand drums will have the most impact on your body overall. Care must be taken to insure the least possible amount of injury. Learning the correct techniques in holding and striking all of these instruments is essential.
Kenneth Ray Sword Jr
www.badassdrumming.com
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Drummers are far better in percentages than football players and doctors.
Drummers are far better in percentages than football players and doctors.
Someone will surely say this is obsured but think about it for a moment. Athletes, making millions of dollars, do not obtain 100% efficiency of their sport. It's just not possible. Look at doctors. They get paid to practice their field. WHAT? Musicians have to practice on their own and are expected to perform perfectly, EVERYTIME! I just don't get it.
Ray Sword
Someone will surely say this is obsured but think about it for a moment. Athletes, making millions of dollars, do not obtain 100% efficiency of their sport. It's just not possible. Look at doctors. They get paid to practice their field. WHAT? Musicians have to practice on their own and are expected to perform perfectly, EVERYTIME! I just don't get it.
Ray Sword
The Importance of Paradiddles
The Importance of Paradiddles
I want to take a moment to stress the importance of this rudiment. In the book Percussion Manual Second Edition by the author of F. Michael Combs [ISBN 1-57766-106-0] printed by Waveland Press, Inc. on page 79 of section II. B. is a list of rudiments (most diddle rudiments from the original NARD 26 Rudiments) that Mr. Combs claims are Unessential (rarely necessary). I tend to differ here. I am not sure why he says this but after much study of this rudiment there are too many benefits to having this rudiment in your arsenal.
Looking at the paradiddle the first note is accented followed by an alternate hand of lesser volume and followed by the starting hand with two strokes of the same volume as the opposite hand. Just the fact of sticking going from alternate to doubles over and over builds oneself for better independence and the accent placed on the first note of every four is another training exercise. Along with the other variations of diddles, including diddles containing flams and drags, makes for a superior workout and alternate sticking methods to keep a multi-percussionist from getting tangled up.
Think of master stick control in overdrive. Alternates and double strokes with accents and flams and drags (ruffs). The stick control of Accents, regular stroke and grace (or ghost) notes all present in one rudiment. So here is where I validate the importance of this rudiment.
In section C on the same page of his book he goes on to list additional rudiments from the PAS International Drum Rudiments list. #7 The Single Paradiddle-diddle. #8 Single Flammed Mill. #13. Single Dragadiddle. Now, PAS has recognized these rudiments since they are overwhelmingly used rudiments in competition and in marching drumlines so if the true fundamental rudiment is discredited by being called unessential (rarely necessary) then wouldn’t that lend to saying the same to these hybrids of the same rudiment family? So, I say all diddle rudiments are important and pretty cool to play, too.
Kenneth Ray Sword Jr
I want to take a moment to stress the importance of this rudiment. In the book Percussion Manual Second Edition by the author of F. Michael Combs [ISBN 1-57766-106-0] printed by Waveland Press, Inc. on page 79 of section II. B. is a list of rudiments (most diddle rudiments from the original NARD 26 Rudiments) that Mr. Combs claims are Unessential (rarely necessary). I tend to differ here. I am not sure why he says this but after much study of this rudiment there are too many benefits to having this rudiment in your arsenal.
Looking at the paradiddle the first note is accented followed by an alternate hand of lesser volume and followed by the starting hand with two strokes of the same volume as the opposite hand. Just the fact of sticking going from alternate to doubles over and over builds oneself for better independence and the accent placed on the first note of every four is another training exercise. Along with the other variations of diddles, including diddles containing flams and drags, makes for a superior workout and alternate sticking methods to keep a multi-percussionist from getting tangled up.
Think of master stick control in overdrive. Alternates and double strokes with accents and flams and drags (ruffs). The stick control of Accents, regular stroke and grace (or ghost) notes all present in one rudiment. So here is where I validate the importance of this rudiment.
In section C on the same page of his book he goes on to list additional rudiments from the PAS International Drum Rudiments list. #7 The Single Paradiddle-diddle. #8 Single Flammed Mill. #13. Single Dragadiddle. Now, PAS has recognized these rudiments since they are overwhelmingly used rudiments in competition and in marching drumlines so if the true fundamental rudiment is discredited by being called unessential (rarely necessary) then wouldn’t that lend to saying the same to these hybrids of the same rudiment family? So, I say all diddle rudiments are important and pretty cool to play, too.
Kenneth Ray Sword Jr
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